Your private, portable Rotenburo bath

New portable traditional Japanese bath

Japan is the land of Onsen and Sento (Japanese style public bath). When your average Japanese full time workers go on vacation, their morale and loyalty to the company doesn’t allow them to take long trips for one or two weeks like most Europeans are used to doing. Usually they only go on a one or two day long trip, often to an onsen or ryokan (Japanese style hotel) somewhere outside of Tokyo, far away from the stress and hectic daily routine. To do so, there is nothing better than relaxing in a rotenburo (outdoor bath), lying in a hot spring under the blue sky.

To get this traditional bath atmosphere without going to a far ryokan, Auvelcraft has invented a small Japanese style portable bath to use at home or take camping.
The standard version has a compact diameter of 86cm and a height of 68cm. Weighing 55kg, it can easily be carried by two people and transported by car. The boiler weighs another 22kg and uses wood or charcoal to heat the water!

Home luxury, particularly that related to relaxation and wellness, has been increasing in the area of FMCG: Sauna masks, body massagers/shapers, home oxygen, etc are all booming. Once out-of-reach items reserved for the spa are now accessible to consumers to use in their own way, even if that means bringing your bath with you to set up by the river.

Auvelcraft’s homepage

Tags: DIY, Luxury, Onsen, Wellness
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends

Papercraft the hit summer pastime, marketing tool

We first mentioned free, printable papercraft designs when we introduced Motomachi’s website, you know the guy who takes a picture of a vending machine everyday? Due to the popularity of his site, he began offering a downloadable paper model of his well-documented machine.

Now with the hot summer months in full tilt (meaning bored children and adults alike trapped in air conditioned boxes watching Olympic softball), we’re seeing a number of papercraft sites on the net.

Brands like Nissan and Yamaha hope to score young fans with free papercraft versions of their vehicles, while Cannon (remember they make printers too) offers popular summer themes, like beetles.

Blogs are also a platform for hobbyists to show off their original work; for example, check out this impressive tribute to Rilakkuma’s 5th anniversary.

One of the most talked about on the internet papercraft downloads however, comes from JR West Japan and is hardly new.

What began 10 years ago as one model, the Nozomi Shinkansen, has since grown to over 40, including not just a variety of trains but also well-loved stations and backgrounds for creating whole dioramas.

It may sound like a niche hobby, however, the site recorded over 1,000 downloads one day in July this summer. What makes the JR items standout, and helps explain why they are enjoying a resurgence in popularity, is the quality and the elaborate attention to detail that makes these papercrafts convincing, and charming, models of the original.

Of course, Japan has a long history of papercraft, with the art of origami, but this new free download trend is a clever blend of contemporary technology and branding.

Tags: Cannon, DIY, JR, kids, Nissan, Summer, Web, Yamaha
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

Gakken Analog Synthesizer SX-150

When it comes to retro gadgets that make us DIY-happy, Gakken’s Otonanokagaku (Science for Adults) never disappoints. Just last week we showed off their still-unannounced 8mm Camera and Projector, which captures the essence of what the retro trends in Japan are all about: Simplicity.

After years of being bombarded with the newest and greatest, 20-30 somethings are yearning for the simpler days, and simplicity is what Gakken is all about.

From vacuum tube cars and amps to Tokyo Tower models (soon to be retro?), Gakken is always coming out with fun gadgets that teach as well.

This week they’re debuting a cool little Analog Synthesizer SX-150 that is battery-powered and stylus driven, and would look really cool next to my Intellivision. Hook it up to the Mini Theremin kit to make your simple gadget life even weirder.

Of course, the best thing about Gakken is that they’re a publisher, not just a fun gadget maker. Each item they sell is part of a kit that is sold like a magazine, so you can pick these up at bookstores for decent prices. This one runs for about $30, which isn’t all the much more than buying a CD in Japan!

Tags: DIY, Gakken, Retro
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

Sterling Silver DIY Love Letter from Stone Ocean

This has to be one of the more inventive products marketed towards the Christmas season shopping rush: jewelry company Stone Ocean’s “Sterling Silver Love Letter.” Precious metal and romantic sentiment, a perfect holiday combination!

It’s actually a do-it-yourself silver pendant kit that comes with silver blocks embossed with alphabet, number, and symbol designs that can be arranged inside a silver frame.

The set includes either 51 or 62 blocks, depending on the set (in case you were wondering how to compose a sentence with limited letters), a glass plate to keep the letters from falling out of the frame, tweezers, mini-screwdriver, and chain.

It looks impossibly frustrating to put together, but I suppose that is part of the appeal. Imagine the hours spent toiling in the name of love! You can’t get that from a mobile phone.

Tags: Customization, DIY, Fashion
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends

Elekit DIY vacuum tube audio kits go retro

In general, old-style vacuum tube audio products have seen a rise in popularity over the last year, particularly in the DIY category, as a classic retro sense is standing in contrast to the dime-a-dozen sleek components we see all the time. Elekit is now putting vacuum tubes in just about everything.

For your iPod or audio player, the TU-882 headphone amp will take you 5-6 hours to put together, but will give that added boost to your precious (and weak) tunes with three impedance ranges from 4 to 1000 Ohms. It’s limited to 500 pieces, and will go for about $280.
.

A bit more unexpected is the TU-884CD, a vacuum tube amped-up CD player also being released at the end of November. Limited to 1000 pieces this year, it’ll set you back about $300 and looks pretty cool next to a standard Elekit amp.

While we aren’t exactly audiophiles over here (forgive our lame tech details), these DIY amp kits are part of a larger retro trend here in Japan, taking modern products and giving them a classic feel. Everyone has a home stereo in some form or fashion, but vacuum tubes give a feeling (and a glow) that shows style as well as musical appreciation.

Elekit homepage

Tags: A/V, DIY
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

New Block Tokyo Tower from Gakken Toys

There have been a few offerings this year Tokyo Tower models, the most intricate of which being the Tokyo Tower 2007 from Sega Toys.

While not as cool as the Sega model, Gakken Toys is now offering a Tokyo Tower model you can build yourself called the New Block Tokyo Tower.

The New Block Tokyo Tower lights up, but can also be modified to become a hot-air balloon, bridge, or skyscraper. While not as tall as the massive tower in the background of our photo, this model is quite large and seems to be aimed more at kids. Either way, if I actually had the space in my place (and I’ll never get rid of the Beerbot) I might consider getting one just for the cool box.

New Block Tokyo Tower homepage

Tags: DIY, Gakken, Tokyo Tower
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

D-Torso cardboard papercrafts a hit in Japan

UPDATE: JapanTrendShop now carries the D Torso Chihuahua papercraft kit.

Created by Japanese designer Yuki Matsuoka, D-Torso products are stylish cardboard items now becoming popular for the mainstream in Japan. Using laser cutting, all of the pieces are designed by computer and cut to exact specifications to be put together by the user. They’ve been around for some years now, though primarily in the original D-Torso mannequin models, but are finding a large audience with the “pet” series.

Shaped like various animals such as dogs, cats, and pigs, the new colored editions of the pet series have found their way into design-oriented shops all over Tokyo. The Shin Marunouchi branch of the lifestyle store Idea Seventh Sense alone sells an average of 1000 pieces per month to customers, and we just happened to stop by the Tokyu department store in Kichijoji just as they were setting up their first display two weeks ago. Having a girlfriend with two rambunctious dachshunds, I was obliged to get at least one for ¥1260 ($10.50), and it took about thirty minutes to put together.

Along with the new pets, D-Torso also makes some really cool (and hopefully sturdy) shelves. They aren’t featured on their website, but we saw them in a feature that the Nikkei Marketing Journal did on their recent success. Other lifestyle products include various shapes of table and even a cardboard wine bottle holder!

While simple, these creations actually look much nicer than one would assume cardboard products could, and compliment a modern house setting quite well.

Tags: DIY, Papercraft
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends

DIY vacuum tube iPod amp kit from Otona no Kagaku

With a brand name that means “Science for Adults”, Otona no Kagaku (大人の科学) comes out with a lot of cool DIY project kits for everything from telescopes to kaleidoscope projectors in magazine-style editions with parts and instructions…kind of like Robozak, but you get all of the parts at once. Coming sometime this year is a DIY vacuum tube amp kit for your iPod or other DAP. Of course, for flashy vacuum-powered music, the iBlueTube is the standard from Japan.

We aren’t sure about the specs or how complicated it is, but the fact that it looks like it’s straight out of an army surplus catalog makes it completely appropriate to be paired with the laptop Command Center.

The vacuum tube amp will be released at an undisclosed date this year.

Picture taken at the Tokyo Toy Show
More at Otona no Kagaku

Tags: A/V, DIY, Gakken, iPod
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

Hakoanime: Make your own LED anime in a box

We’re not talking serious animation here, but the Hakoanime (Box Anime) from ELEKIT allows you to draw your own animation with four separate pictures, and then uses four LED lights to animate them together. You construct the box yourself (takes about an hour), draw the pictures on the special paper, and then slide it in for animation.

Each of the four lights is timed to take each image separately and project them onto the main screen in sequence. Hakoanime is mainly for kids or for creating interesting home decor. It will be released March 20th and will go for ¥1980 ($16.40).

Pictures from ELEKIT

Tags: anime, DIY
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends