Fasten on the Chocolate

Lately, I’ve been reading about some odd chocolate pairings with sea salt, bacon and even wasabi. But how about chocolate with a touch of cubic zirconia?:

I’m drooling over my keyboard just looking at this picture — the perfect combination of cute and addicting. \(^o^)/

Former fashion model Tadaaki Wakamatsu began creating these mouthwatering jewelry pieces back in 2000 just to keep people smiling through the Y2K economic slump. His company, Q-pot, has since surfaced in high-fashion boutiques and department stores. It sounds strange to mesh food with fashion, but in the land of talking peanuts does it really seem so far-fetched?:

iPhone Chocolate Bar Case

Biscuit keychain

Strawberry cake pendant

Q-pot has been making blogosphere headlines through their fanciful collaborations with Disney, French sweets company Fauchon and Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Who would’ve thought that fashion-form desserts would be such a lucrative business. Just shows that anything is possible!

Himawari

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Rice in a Bottle

Have you ever looked at something and thought, “That’s SO Japanese!”

That’s what I said to myself when I saw this:

I know what you’re thinking, “But this isn’t a crazy pizza or even a misspelled sentence…!” Yep, those are super Japanesey things. Though what I’m talking about are those curiously eco-conscious things Japanese people do, like separating trash down to the last soup label or air-drying laundry along the balcony.

At the cost of 680 yen ($7.23), you can use this spout to conveniently store this week’s dinner. Generally speaking, uncooked rice comes in a big, bulky bag that has nowhere to go other than under your sink where scary bugs and germs lurk.

But with this handy dandy spout you can transfer rice into empty 2-liter PET bottles and store them in the fridge. Simply use the cap to measure it out when it’s time to cook.

I’ve never seen a Japanese household without at least two beverage bottles in the fridge, and when it comes to throwing them out, they take up a lot of space in the bag. Storing a bottle of rice in the fridge not only saves a bottle from an uncertain fate it guarantees you’re not going to have bugs in your fried rice. Now who’d want that? Yikes! =X

Himawari

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Say it ain’t so. A special case to hold your banana?!

I mean, just how precious is that single banana, and just how long are you planning to keep it around?

Bruises are not only a fact of life, they add character to your fruit. Brown mushy spots never hurt anyone.

Though it’s not surprising you’d see a product like this in Japan where they take packaging quite seriously. Whether at a bakery, department store or 7-Eleven, you’ll often have your purchase placed in a bag within a bag. You may even get ribbon!

A couple years back, TV programs lauded the banana-a-day diet as the best way to kick-start one’s metabolism in the morning. So I could imagine millions of Japanese people treating their bananas like gold keeping it safe in one of these plastic containers, as if to say, “Hands off!!”

For those in the U.S., you can get one for $8.50 on J-List, otherwise, I’m sure you could fashion one out of saltine box. Personally speaking, I’ll go on a limb and leave my bananas unsheltered. I’m just a risk-taker like that. \(^o^)/

Himawari

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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

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. Have you found a present for that special lady? I’ve been looking feverishly for something my mom will both laugh and smile at. I could easily hand her one of my naked baby photos, but I’ll spare myself the embarrassment.

Aside from flowers and chocolate, it seems that engraved items are big this year. For all those alcoholic moms, Yahoo Japan sells a personally-engraved beer mug (3,800 yen; $40.28). The glass cup is pre-inscribed with the message: “Please take care of your health. Don’t drink too much.” Oh, the irony…

A far classier item is this engraved rice bowl made from Arita-yaki porcelain (3,675 yen; $38.95). It’s a top-seller on Yahoo Japan and you can see why…

After all, what self-respecting mother would be caught dead without her name inscribed on her rice bowl? Just in case she leaves it on the train, someone can use it to track her down, though you’re better off engraving her phone number, too. V(^_<)

Seriously though, Arita pottery is famous, so having your name engraved on it would be like engraving your name on a gold nugget. Your mom will brag to her friends about it for days!

I'm still not sure which one I'll give for my mom, though I might just go cheap and do my own engraving… at the beach, on the sand. I'll write, "Happy Mother's Day!" Oh, you prefer a beer mug?! Sorry… maybe next year? (x_x;)

Himawari

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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