Trends in Japan - CScout Japan Blog

Tama Depa, interactive Tamagotchi shop opens up

Written by: Rebecca Milner on October 2, 2008 at 2:21 am | In Marketing & Ad Trends, Technology & Gadget Trends | 1 Comment

We were pretty disappointed with the closing of Shamrock Air, the cute concept store with the aircraft-like interior that required shoppers to pre-register online for a boarding pass to enter. Taking its place at the highly visible entrance to Harajuku’s Takeshita Dori, however, is a new Tama Depa with a few nice concepts of its own.

Tama Depa, produced by Bandai, is a contraction for Tamagotchi Department Store, meaning the shop carries just about everything Tamagotchi you or your child could possibly want.

Not only to play with, but also to eat, as Tama Depa specializes in “Tamagotchi donuts” visible (and smell-able) from the street.

Fans who sign up for a Tama Depa membership online are rewarded with an animated version of the donut take-away case for their Circle Link avatar. Circle Link is an SNS forum for character loving school kids organized into “circles” for members who follow the same character.

And who wouldn’t want to be a fan of Tamagotchi in exchange for free (unfortunately virtual) donuts? Membership also promises more avatar goodies in the future as well as off-line event notification.

Another way to get your hands on virtual donuts is to pass by the front of the store. Here, an interactive monitor takes the faces of those standing in front and puts them on the screen with an animated donut in hand.

The inside (sorry, no photos) is also fully decked out with video screens.

The opening of Tama Depa, on September 20th, came just ahead of the announcement from Bandai that color tamagotchis are on the way.

Tags: Bandai, Characters, Digital POS, Harajuku, Retail, Tamagotchi
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends, Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

Tokyo Girls Collection gets green

Written by: Rebecca Milner on September 11, 2008 at 2:29 am | In Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends | 2 Comments

At exactly 3pm the 7th edition of the much-feted Tokyo Girls Collection began with the following address: “From a tiny cell phone it was born. Emerged suddenly from the chaos and sparked a revolution.” The revolution being the ability to be able to buy whole outfits as you see them coming down the runway in real time with your mobile phone at the event. That, and the appearance of over 300 popular fashion magazine models, is the beauty of the TGC, which attracted an impressive 22,700 young fashionistas to Yoyogi Stadium for the all-day event.

More impressive however was how the event managed to take the current eco trend to heart and beyond the now ubiquitous eco bag (though the latter were selling like hot cakes in the retail pavilion).

An intermission video featured models answering the question, “What’s your ecology?” to tune of saying no to plastic bags and using “my hashi.” Vivi model Jun Hasegawa gets credit for saying that she actually turns the shower off while soaping her hair. Considering the influence these models have over mainstream fashion, it is a safe bet that more than a few fans will want to emulate their ecological ways. To that effect, the event featured a booth where visitors could sign a “My Challenge” pledge to reduce their daily CO2 output by 1kg, which a number of the models had also signed.

Uniqlo, an oddly unfashionable partner, chipped in by bringing its recycle project to the event, asking visitors to drop off unwanted clothes at the entrance for recycling or donation.

Perhaps the most out-there element of the greening of the event, however, was the planting of three trees outside of Shibuya station. Called the Shibuya +1 no Mori (Shibuya +1’s forest) was created on July 31 through cooperation with the NPO Gaia Initiative and included celebrity appearances by the likes of Yu Yamada.

While three trees may not seem like a forest, the symbolic act draws on the character for “mori” (forest), which is made up of three tree symbols. Shibuya is the heart and retail center for most of the brands participating in the show.

Another interesting departure for this season’s event was the decision to include a collection of runway shows by more high-end select shops, at the expense of the inclusion of a few regularly featured, reasonably priced ones. Organizers Girlswalker.com and Xavel seem to be priming the event’s fans for graduation from Shibuya 109-style “real fashion” to more high end shops. An interesting move, and we’ll be watching to see what they do next.

Looks from select shops Free’s Shop, Another Edition, Loveless, pictured above. And by the way, in case you were wondering, it is all about plaid this fall.

From Spiral Girl, Moroko Bar, and Cecil McBee, pictured above.

Tags: Eco, Fashion, Girls, Harajuku, magazines, Models, Shibuya, Tokyo Girls Collection
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends

Shop LaForet online from April 1

Written by: Rebecca Milner on March 24, 2008 at 7:25 am | In Fashion & Lifestyle Trends | No Comments

LaForet’s major store renewal last month was only the first step, the iconic Harajuku department store also has a web-based renewal in the works: an online store, called LFH, to open on April 1st.

Pre-opening hype includes the opportunity to fashion your own “blog parts” interactive avatar to be displayed on your personal blog that will give updates from the store.

After careful consideration I decided to go with a cherry-colored mushroom cut (see below) and a cosmic hippie dress. Each avatar also has a corresponding number that you can enter into the website to find your own and those of friends.

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Click here to make your own until the end of the month.

Tags: Fashion, Harajuku, LaForet, online shopping
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends

Harajuku’s LaForet gets a new look and renewal

Written by: Rebecca Milner on March 4, 2008 at 3:51 pm | In Fashion & Lifestyle Trends | No Comments

Harajuku’s iconic LaForet department store, a venerable favorite for trend-setting teens, opened its doors last Saturday to reveal the results of a major overhaul. 13 new boutiques and 17 updated ones add up to equal LaForet’s new spring campaign, “LaForet 30 years into the future.”

LaForet has a reputation for using some pretty elaborate photographs in their advertising campaigns, and the spring 2008 poster proves to be no exception.

New boutiques include unisex graphic design T-shirt brand Laundry, Lolita fashion label Metamorphose, and trendy global goods concept shop Wall (pictured left to right).

Meanwhile, staples such as the earthy Lowry’s Farm, punky World Wide Love, and sporty Lipstar have undergone renewals (pictured left to right).

“Renewal” is a popular Japanese-English expression for giving a shop (or bar or restaurant) a new, more up-to-date look. LaForet just completed another major renewal project in 2006, which included the opening of Tokyo’s first Top Shop outlet, leading us to believe that the 30-year-old department store is starting to feel its age.

Despite the basement array of gothic, punk, and Lolita get-ups and tie-ins with top local and up-and-coming overseas designers on the floors above, the corridors lack the enthusiasm for consumption seen one train stop south in Shibuya.

In comparison, popular Shibuya 109, which seems to have captured a lot of La Foret’s former influence among fashion conscious youth, opened four new boutiques, Re Dark, Cizare, Miel Chrishunant, and Titty & Co. (no pun intended, I believe) and eight renovated ones since February.

The pre-spring season (as well as the pre-fall one) is typically the slowest period for retail in Japan and many stores use that time as an opportunity for “renewal,” playing on the tried and true wisdom that anything “new” is sure to get them in the shops.

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