Eco movement a hit with marketers, comedians alike

The latest product to employ the “My —“ prefix (think “my chopsticks” and “my mug”) is the “my soy sauce set” from the Okayama-based Katumaru food products company.

This set of five 100ml bottles of individual sized soy sauce portions includes one of each five flavors (traditional, yuzu, rice, “purple,” and wine) and sells for ¥1,050. Though we’re not sure if this is specifically part of the “my hashi” eco movement or targeting gourmands who prefer high-end flavored soy sauces to the typical plastic-bottled stuff that comes with take away food.

With “My” showing up on everything these days, the so-named eco movement seems to be going the way of the politically correct movement in 1990s America. Unfortunately, because “my chopsticks” was a pretty good idea.

Like the then politically correct suffix “challenged,” which was added to all sorts of invented shortcomings by American comedians (think “vertically challenged” for short people) “my” has been showing up in a number of gags recently. For example someone who sings off-key at karaoke can be said to be using “my melody.”

Can the eco-boom withstand the comic hit?
Note: We are not even mentioning the solar panel bra.

Tags: Comedy, ecology, food

Celebrities personalize your digital toys

It isn’t enough these days for your mobile phone or MP3 player to use the latest technology, they should also be designed by your favorite actor or pop singer. Or at least one of the ones who have signed on to design products marketed to the growing number of consumers who are looking to express their personality through their digital toys.

Sony has released an MP3 player in collaboration with J-Pop icons Puffy Amiyumi. Both of the two designs have a retro pop look that also happens to be very fashionable among teens and young women this season.

Softbank, Japan’s fastest growing mobile phone service provider, has announced that pop star Koda Kumi is the latest celebrity to lend her name and questionable design talent to a series of handsets as part of the Fan Fun series.

The bright pink phone comes in three designs “strawberry,” “cherry,” and “candy&pumps” and is obviously targeted at the lucrative cute-obsessed teen and tween market that make up Koda’s fan base. The celebrity-designer element extends to the menus, wallpaper, call and mail indicators, and phone pouch.

Other celebrity collaborations in the 29 design strong series include Bae Yong Joon, the Korean heartthrob popular with middle-aged women, and Riyoko Ikeda, creator of the popular 1970s manga series La Rose de Versailles featuring the cross-dressing heroine Lady Oscar. Both of these examples show that those consumer wishing to express their fandom are not limited to impressionable teens.

Not only do these designer phones allow a degree of personalization, they virtually ensure that customers will need to replace their handsets often.

After all, how much longer can it be cool to carry around the DJ Ozma phone?

Tags: celebrity, design, Mobile

Goo geomaps you through Tokyo time and space

After stumbling across this the other day we simply can’t get enough. Tokyo has indeed come a long way since the war and the massive firebombing campaign via one Curtis Lemay, and the thriving metropolis that emerged from the ruins epitomizes the so-called Japan Miracle. But we all knew that already.

Now we can see it. Goo Maps, the child of NTT Resonant and their geo-mapping software, has now combined historical maps of Tokyo’s 23 wards. Beginning with drawn Edo Era maps, you can click the time tabs at the top and jump to aerials of postwar 1947 (昭和２２年), 1963 (昭和３８年), and to the (slightly dated) present day without ever leaving your digital geographic location. For better mapping without the Edo features, I suggest starting here. Below is the most famous intersection in the world…

Personally, I’ve spent hours with this already, finding my favorite places in Tokyo and jumping back to see what they used to look like. Typically, it means a rice field or neighborhood now covered with office buildings, shops, or newer homes and apartments. There’s also a feature that maps famous historical restaurants and shops that may or may not be still around. Akihabara circa 1947 is below.

Highlights include:
• Shibuya Station
• The 1963 Olympic Stadium, Harajuku and Yoyogi Park, once home to a military base.
• Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace (also below, circa 1963)
• Roppongi Hills
• Shimokitazawa
• CScout Japan’s present day office in 1947

This is precisely what’s in store for all geomapping as time goes by. Generations to come will not only be able to explore their world from above, but instantly jump back in time to view the past and see how far we’ve come (or fallen). I’m going to assume that these aerial photos came from the U.S. military, so surely the Empire has many more out there from all over the world waiting to be pieced together.

If you find any gems, please link to them in the comment section, and have fun exploring!

Tags: Geomapping, Goo, History, NTT Resonant, tokyo

New work wear for convenience and style

Respected work wear brand Toraichi has teamed up with 7/11 to offer a line of clothing and accessories that will be available exclusively at the convenience store. Just when we thought that the convenience store had stocked everything we could possibly want (cosmetics, stationary, fresh green tea), they come up with something new that we didn’t even know we could need.

The very reasonably priced “Red Ear” series features t-shirts (¥750), hand towels (¥399), boxer briefs (¥780), work gloves (¥350), and a durable multi-use case (¥580) for clipping your mobile phone or cigarettes to your belt. All items are styled to match Toraichi’s “Fighting spirit for working” motto that sums up the general construction worker aesthetic of traditional tobi pants and tabi shoes in dark monotone.

Meanwhile manufacturer Marugen is working to change the throwaway image of work wear through its new website Tobikakumei (Work wear Revolution). The one-month-old site specializes in top quality 100% Japanese-made apparel of the kind traditionally worn by construction workers.

With images of stylish young men in ballooning tobi pants, the site also features advice from the resident “work up coordinator.” With prices starting at ¥4,500 and reaching upwards of ¥8,000, these items are significantly more expensive than the usual work gear, but the fashion and quality element means that their appeal has the potential to extent beyond those who actually need the clothes for work.

For a more in-depth look at construction worker fashion, check out PingMag’s excellent article on the subject.

Tags: Convenience Stores, Fashion

PASMO Home Security and Tracking from Tokyu

Japan’s Tokyu Security is slowly unveiling a series of home, school, work, and child safety services all integrated into the ubiquitous PASMO card, which is now carried by millions of Tokyoites every day.

PASMO, which was originally released as a contactless RFID payment card for trains in Tokyo, has been slowly integrating other services and becoming much more than just a train pass. Credit cards, retail point programs, coin locker keys, and cashless payment are all part of the system, effectively reducing the number of things we have to carry around every day.

Now we can add the keys to our homes as well. PASMO is being introduced at apartment buildings, making it possible for residents to enter the premises and their own apartments with their personal PASMO cards. The Denen Hills complex is one such example.

In addition, PASMO is also offering child tracking services so parents can keep instant tabs on their children. When the child uses PASMO to check-in at school, enter/leave a train station, or arrive back at home, the parent is notified via mobile or PC. Of course, this doesn’t involve GPS tracking as with kid-friendly mobile phone, but can go a long way in providing a sense of relief to busy parents.

Such systems are also being deployed at companies to give building access, but can also be useful for paying for cafeteria food and even transport fees to work (if the employee is lucky enough). However, the ease of PASMO gives way to privacy issues as well, and a company card would effectively give them the ability to track your every movement. Late to work? A quick check can show whether your “late train” is actually just a “late you”.

As our wallets get lighter, so does our privacy. The anonymity of cash is slowly disappearing anyway, whether we use RFID cards or not. One of our sources at Toppan, a printing company and innovator in RFID, told us that one of their ultra-micro chips is being considered for integration into paper currency in the name of “preventing counterfeiting”.

This technology is amazing, no doubt about it, and we would never advocate limits on these innovations, but it’s surely important to keep in mind where this can go in the very near future should governments get even more involved than they already are.

Tags: PASMO, RFID, Safety, Security, Tokyu

SPF forecast for UV-conscious weather watchers

With summer around the corner we are already seeing the expected deluge of “UV Care” goods, including creams, shirts and parasols that all promise to cut out the harmful rays and keep a woman’s skin from showing any signs of outdoor activity. Knowing a buzzword when it sees one, the Japan Weather Association has added a “UV Information Page” to their tenki.jp portal, the nation’s largest weather information website (Tenki = Weather in Japanese).

The site includes a recommended SPF for the day and map detailing the strength of UV rays around Japan, expressed through a color-coded five level scale.

Surely this will turn not a few complexion-obsessed women into devout UV weather watchers, but we have to wonder, where is the cute character? Surely if they didn’t have the resources to create one they could have gotten the always tan-less Hello Kitty to sign up.

Tags: Skin Care, Weather

Real models for real fashion

The “real fashion” movement, characterized by a devoted following to the fast fashion of Shibuya 109 and the pages of magazines like Vivi, has gotten a bit more real. In addition to their stable of popular professional models, fashion magazines often use “reader models,” non-professional, non-agency wanna-be models who, in response to ads in the magazine or website, send in photos and an applications.

These “regular girls” inspire readers to personally connect with the publications and are, of course, a whole lot cheaper. Recently, however, these readers turned models have been striking out on their own.

Dokumo Girls is a fashion and beauty website penned by five reader models who had their first 15 minutes of fame in the pages of Vivi, JJ and the like. The site, which features blog-style articles on hair cuts and shopping trips, is part of the larger Dokumo Style site that contains online shops, brand tie-ins, street photo reports, and extensive advertorial all featuring reader models.

In similar style, free magazine Venus, created by a group of college women and now three issues strong, is also positioning itself as a reader model publication.

On pages interspersed with ads and advertorial, the amateur model editors strike poses and weigh in on the season’s fashion trends. They also hold twice yearly fashion shows put on by reader models and manage a website, girlsfashion.jp, that contains event and audition information.

Last month, Venus held a pop-up office on the first floor of the iconic LaForet department store in Harajuku, which served as a make-shift reader model studio. Shoppers were invited to stop by to shoot a mini-session with the hopes that the jury of peers would select their picture for the pages of the magazine.

Fashion watchers in Japan have been begging for the latest fashion revolution, and while the ultra-mainstream girlie girl looks featured in these reader model publications are hardly cutting-edge, even the purists among them have to admit that these girls are shaking things up a bit.

Tags: Fashion, LaForet, magazines, Models

Dairy comes in surprising places

Despite what you may think about the traditional dairy-free Japanese diet, milk continues to make steady inroads, most recently showing up in a number of FMCG food products that have proved surprising hits.

The latest is this questionable Milk Curry cup noodles from Nissin, which joins Milk Seafood and Cheese Curry in the pro-dairy instant soup line-up.

Milk isn’t just an ingredient, but a draw on its own at Hokkaido-based Motoyama Milk’s newly opened Motoyama Milk Bar in the Roppongi Hills shopping complex.

The stylish, modern soda fountain features milk shakes served by “milk maids” in somewhat convincing costume, plus an assortment of other milky menu items. Gimmicky and pricey, yes, but sure to draw visitors.

Meanwhile, industry giant Meiji Dairy, announced plans to open a simulated cheese factory this month, called Tokachi Cheese Plaza in Hokkaido. Tourists who flock to Hokkaido in the summer to escape the heat can watch a simulated process of natural cheese production, have their questions answered at the PR corner, and dine in the restaurant.

Since Hokkaido is well-known to be the dairy producing region in Japan, manufacturers who want a piece of the current appetite for local foods are playing up their Hokkaido connections. TV talent Tanaka Yoshitake (from the northern region of Japan, just shy of Hokkaido), has produced a series of Hokkaido Fresh Caramels that are made from fresh cream and New Zealand white honey. They also come in rustic cheese wheel packaging to highlight the dairy connection.

Judging by the amount of press these little sweets (¥850 for 12) have gotten since they debuted at the beginning of this month, visitors to Hokkaido this summer will no doubt be scooping them up by the bagful as souvenirs.

Tags: beverages, FMCG, food, Hokkaido

Weekly Blog Parts: Sekisui BlogHeim

Japanese pre-fab house builder Sekisui has created a nifty little blog part that allows you to create your own little Sims-like homestead for your blog. Of course your house is chosen from Sekisui’s digitalized collection of modern homes, and you can pick your own family, the weather, and a special message. There’s also a photo album feature that we uploaded a few to.

The marketing aspect is that you get to test out the house, kick the tires as it were, against the elements by the click of a button. Earthquakes and fires might destroy the neighboring homes, but not the Domani LX!

Build your own Sekisui digital pad here (Japanese only). However, there’s a burglar around as well, so don’t say you weren’t warned.

Tags: Blog Parts, Pre-Fab

Perfect ice for perfect drinks

Somebody out there is working on a device to create the perfect ice cube. Or ice sphere actually.

Taisin has introduced a mold that seamlessly creates a perfect sphere, no chipping and shaving required. Simple place a chunk of ice into the metal press and, as it melts, the device will close around the ice forming a ball, which is then released by the flick of a switch.

The Ice Mold, available in 55, 65, 70, and 80mm mold sizes, can make 30-40 ice balls an hour.

Spheres of ice are preferred by serious on the rocks drinkers because the reduced surface size means that the ice melts at a slower pace, keeping your drink from getting watery to quickly.

Contrary to what you might think, bartenders in Japan consistently take home top honors at global competitions, not because of their flashy antics or strange new concoctions but because there is an intense devotion to making simply the best drink, of which perfect ice is an obvious component.

Speaking of top-notch beverages, Asahi’s Nikka Whiskey label will be releasing again for a limited time its Non-chill Filtered 20 Year Single Malt Whisky that took home the award for best single malt whiskey at the annual World Whisky Awards.

Chilling during the filtering process is common practice to reduce the risk of the whiskey becoming cloudy, though at a sacrifice of taste. Nikka’s Non-chilled filtered goes for full taste, at the risk of having to sacrifice a few cloudy batches. Sales are limited to 1350 bottles and will sell for ¥20,000 (about $187), which considering the other premium beverages on the market, seems totally reasonable.

Combine the Non-chill Filtered Nikka Whiskey on the rocks and a Taisin ice sphere for a perfect whiskey on the rocks!

Tags: Asahi, beverages, gadgets