A Guilt-Free Phone

My cell phone is beeping to its demise and I can’t recharge it! I usually don’t keep my charger on me, so when I’m low on batteries I pray to the cellular gods to keep my phone running ’til at least sundown.

Wish I was in Japan. Then I’d get a Solar Phone SH002 by Sharp. It’s the first of its kind, recharging the battery under the sun so that you can wander for days in the desert and keep in touch with your BFF.

For every 10 minutes of golden rays, you get one minute of talk-time or 2 hours on standby, which isn’t bad if you’re the type who spends lots of time outdoors. Vampires be warned.

In true Japanese fashion, you get a nice array of colors to choose from: sky blue, prism white, and sparkling red. And as an added bonus, the phone is also waterproof (!?) — though water-boarding isn’t encouraged.

Compared to the iPhone, it doesn’t come with many apps but the ones that it does have will come in handy for sporty types: a pedometer and a tool to measure your golfing performance. I love the iPhone for its limitless vault of apps, but I also love this phone for its sheer ecological value. Maybe one of these days, the two will have offspring! \(^o^)/

Himawari

—————————————————————————
Visit us on facebook!

—————————————————————————
Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
japanizmo, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more

Sweets for Men

“Sweets Otoko (Man)” is the new buzzword describing the growing number of Japanese men buying up desserts these days as shops and cafes hone in on this untapped demographic. News is going around that more men are visiting the local ‘dessert buffet,’ which has been a notoriously female-only affair.

For those who don’t know, ‘dessert buffets’ are like salad bars: you pay a set fee to stuff your face. Sometimes there’s a time limit and oftentimes there’s a line out the door. Eating events like these only come a few times a month for a limited number of hours, so it becomes a big spectacle.

I could see why men up until now have been so intimidated by swarms of women running after a tray of creme brulee. Though these days, men are starting to arrive with their own crew of sugar-happy friends.

I’ve mentioned here before the popularity of fresh caramels. And more recently you’ll see caramels seasoned with pepper, salt, or even wasabi (!?) And if you don’t think size matters, think again. The website Men’s Sweets Cafe lists an assortment of extra large desserts, from super-size chocolate cake to whipping cream-filled mochi. That’s more bang for your bundt cake!

Personally, I’d love to try this chocolate pudding. It’s light on sugar and has hints of salt and cinnamon. It looks so soft and velvety it makes me want to drink it down like milk.

Of course, Pocky was the true innovator of this ‘for men’ trend. Men’s Pocky seemed silly at the time, but it did stir interest. It’s no different from regular Pocky other than being coated in dark chocolate. But most straight guys wouldn’t be caught nibbling on a pink stick.

It almost feels like reverse discrimination to see all these delicious desserts being labeled for men. They look so good and who says women don’t enjoy dark chocolate, salt and pepper in their sweets? As a strong, liberated female, I’m making a plea to take our desserts back. Who’s with me?!

Himawari

—————————————————————————
Visit us on facebook!

—————————————————————————
Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
japanizmo, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more

Sexy Paper for Humid Days

If you want a successful drugstore product, leave it to heartthrob Takuya Kimura to sell it. He’ll not only rub it in his hair, he’ll massage it on his face, and splash his body with it, too.

Part sexy, part odd, Kimura’s TV commerical appearances have left a heavy impression on consumers not only in Japan but throughout Asia. Look on Youtube and you’ll find dozens of fans attempting miserably to mimic his unconventional moves.

Kimura’s most recent commerical series has him estatically wiping his chest down with ‘Gatsby body paper.’ No, it’s not the center-page of a classy novel. It’s a disposable cloth dampened with deoderant/anti-persperant powder and dabbed with a touch of citrus. People living in dry regions wouldn’t need it, but in hot, humid regions like Japan, it’s a lifesaving product. Imagine sitting in a crowded meeting room with no air conditioning in the middle of summer. In no time, sweat starts pouring from your forehead, armpits, back and the only thing you have is a tissue. No matter how hot it is, with Gatsby body paper you’ll feel fresh and clean throughout the day. I’ve used a female version of the product and was amazed by how cool my skin felt, the drawback being that your skin tastes bitter from the powder (Yes, I lick myself sometimes).

It’s a strange concept to apply deoderant powder over your entire body, but thankfully, the scent isn’t nearly as strong as a stick of Teen Spirit. So wipe to your heart’s content.

Meanwhile, young Japan is abuzz with Gatsby body paper. Watching this video of Kimura with some high school baseball players, how can you not go out and try it yourself?:

Himawari

—————————————————————————
Visit us on facebook!

—————————————————————————
Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
japanizmo, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more

My Adorable Sandwich

My 3-year-old nephew is the cutest kid in the world. He’s cute when he pouts, when he babbles, even when he drools. v(*^o^*)v

So when I saw him in Japan last month, I fell in love seeing him get his grubby little hands into his baby food. It was a white-bread jelly sandwich with the crust cut off to perfectly fit into his tiny mouth. He’d stare at it and nibble, stare and nibble, until it was gone.

When it came time to leave my nephew, I had an urge to take part of his cuteness with me. So I went to Amazon and found the same sandwich cutter his mom used. It’s a simple tool you press against bread. The outer frame cuts the bread and the inner frame seals the bread together. The package suggests microwaving your food before cutting so that the bread is moist and sticky.

Using the same cutter you can create both squares and triangles. And you can stuff almost anything: tuna-fish, potato salad, ham and cheese, poached eggs, small toy cars, anything!

So why is a crustless sandwich so charming? Maybe because anything 80% smaller than its regular size is, by definition, ultra-cute! But it’s also because some sandwich crusts are just a little bit stale and bland, so why bother with them, right?

For those who think it’s such a waste to throw away perfectly crusts, you can always toast it, chop it and use it in your next tonkatsu fry. And there’s always French toasted crusts.

This weekend you can count on me using my bread cutter a lot. I’m gonna make a triple-decker sandwich and mail it to my nephew. Hopefully, it’ll last the journey. =P

Himawari

—————————————————————————
Visit us on facebook!

—————————————————————————
Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
japanizmo, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more