Rudolph has Nothing on the Flashing Seal

The end of the year seems to bring nothing but dread and gloom for my friends. A layoff here, a sick loved-one there. Around Thanksgiving, my friend John loses grasp of optimism and lays dormant in his bedroom for the next couple months. It’s all so depressing.

What they need is a flashing seal ($3)!

Give him a couple taps and his face lights up in different colors. Talk to him, kiss him and throw him around. The cool part is that no matter how much you abuse him, his face always looks up at you with a grin. Sadistic love, perhaps?

The roly-poly comes in a big momma and a wee baby size that you can strap onto your cell phone along with the 50 other charms you already have. But unlike other straps, this one will always be there for you with a smile. So don’t let the holidays/cold weather/awful turkey gravy get you down. Spring is just around the corner and your flashing seal is lighting the way!

Himawari

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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

It’s the Sun! Take Cover!

Japanese women aren’t fair-skinned by accident. They go to great lengths to stay out of the sun by wearing oversized hats and pulling up their sleeves. (Though to be fair, some women also like to work on their tan.)

With this handy-dandy UV ray checker, you can keep your vampire-white complexion flawless. Just hold it to the sky. UV rays are invisible to the naked eye, so you never know when you’re in danger. Too bad we don’t all sparkle in sunlight like Edward Cullen.

The 3-inch palette doubles as a mirror, so you can use it to pat on an extra heap of sun-block and double up on the SPF-45 lip balm. Then whenever UV rays hit it, it turns a different color. In other words, TAKE COVER! Amazing technology if you ask me. \(^0^)/

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

For the Love of Trains and Loose Change

I’m getting a major wave of nostalgia watching this video right now:

This coin bank plays all the tunes I used to hear just before hopping onto a Tokyo train. I’m having these flashbacks of me trying to squeeze into a car that’s packed with morning commuters. Aiyah~ why do we do these things?!

Strangely, I miss my daily rendezvous with Japanese public transportation. That’s why I want this coin bank so much. Every time you throw in a coin, the headlamps turn on and it plays all the tunes heard from the station platform.

In a city of 13 million, not everyone takes the same commuter train; that’s why there’s four different types to represent some of the more popular trains: Yamanote line, Chuo line, Keihin-Tohoku and the ever-popular shinkansen. They’re perfectly detailed like the real thing. You can even open and close its doors. Neat!

Though be warned, these train banks will burn a $60 hole in your wallet. So the challenge is to see how fast you can return that money to your bank. Faster than a speeding bullet? Let’s hope so!

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

Playing with Your Food

There is no limit to Japan’s obsession with food, especially with what’s called “Eki-ben,” those boxed lunches sold at the train station. To me, they’re like brilliant works of art. They express the mood of nature with the use of season-ripe vegetables, and they sometimes employ modern-day technology to get their point across. I wouldn’t be alone in admitting that part of my reason for taking the train is so that I can grab an Eki-ben along the way.

So take that obession and stretch it out to something that won’t ever go bad and you’ve got Eki-ben playing cards:

The truest food nuts will love this deck of 52 cards ($10) showcasing some of Japan’s most famous portable lunches, like Hakodate City’s rice-stuffed squid bento or Gunma prefecture’s touge kamameshi (chicken and vegetable mixed rice) bento. Each card includes a tantalizing photo along with mouthwatering descriptions. But don’t lick them. Paper isn’t tasty.

One of the factors that keep Eki-ben intriguing is that you can’t just walk into the nearest supermarket to get them. You have to actually go to that town or remote village station because they make use of regional products, a.k.a. meibutsu. So in a way, having a deck of the bento cards may actually be the closest anyone will get to having them all.

52 pickup, anyone??

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