Save ¥100,000 with voice recorded encouragment

In our coverage of the latest generation of interactive digital piggy banks we noted that despite their often cartoon-ish appearance, these banks were for adults. Here is additional proof: the new Voice Memory Bank from Toy Box is designed to help you save ¥100,000.

That is not small change. That’s about $1,000 (give or take the fluctuating exchange rate), or about what a young-ish couple might need for a weekend at a hotspring resort, a package trip to Okinawa, or matching Louis Vuitton key holders. It is also a sum that might be worth investing, but the popularity of these banks just continues to confirm the stereotypical Japanese tendency towards mattress-style saving.

The key sales point of the Voice Memory Bank is that you (or your significant other, as the press material notes) can record an encouraging (nagging?) message that gets replayed with every ¥500 coin deposit. The bank itself requires an investment of ¥1,995 (about $20).

In other savings related news—and I don’t know how we missed this—a coalition of toy bank manufacturers, including Takara Tomy, Bandai, Banpresto, and Toybox, declared October 10th to be “savings day” (take that birthday of the Republic of China).

Apparently because the number “10” looks like a coin going into a slot, as demonstrated by the picture above.

Tags: Money, Piggy Banks, Saving
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends

Okamoto’s Myth of Tomorrow at home in Shibuya

Taro Okamoto’s famed (and once lost) mural “Myth of Tomorrow” now has a permanent home in Tokyo’s Shibuya Station. To be quite honest, it was a bit shocking at first without context, but the 30 meter long work depicts the moment that the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima during WWII in all the fury of hell unleashed.

This is interesting for several reasons, not least of which is the choice of location. Shibuya is far from being a somber place to reflect on the tragedy of nuclear warfare, but perhaps that’s what makes it a good location. It shocks people and makes them stop, which was a nice surprise for me (who always assumed Tokyoites stop for nothing). Despite the rush hour traffic of people scrambling away from the office, crowds gathered in front of the mural taking photos and talking.

After being lost in Mexico for decades, “Myth of Tomorrow” was rediscovered and restored at the behest of Okamoto’s widow who died only a couple of weeks before it made the journey to Japan.

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

Pasorama SR-G9001 Electronic Dictionary

Now we’re making some progress with electronic dictionaries! Since I’ve come to Japan, we’ve moved from very basic dictionaries that still made me grab actual books for looking up kanji characters, to more advanced models that have touchscreens for writing the characters. The new Pasorama SR-G9001 from SII ups the game some more by making your PC dictionary life easy as well.

Using an included dock and software you can use the SR-G9001 from your desktop whenever you need a good dictionary, and without having to use the smaller screen and more limited navigation. Cut and paste is also a revolutionary feature in this case. When you’re done, simply disconnect and have the dictionary on-the-go as well!

Via Impress

Tags: Electronics, Language
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

Disney Stitch USB humidifier steams your desk

Coming soon from Runa Net, the Stitch Humidifier connects to your PC via USB or AC adapter and moisturizes your work space during the long, dry winter.

This is another in a long line of cool Japanese humidifiers that come out on the market every year, but this is one of the more unique. Character-loving OLs will no doubt eat this one up.

Tags: Characters, Disney, Humidifiers, Lifestyle
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

Crowdsourced cup ramen via Mixi SNS

Cup ramen maker Acecook has been collaborating with Japanese SNS giant Mixi to create new flavors along with the community (login required) there. Since geeks are online alot, and are known for consuming vast quantities of instant noodles, this is a match made in heaven complete with blog parts (below).

Users in the community (over 4000 now) could vote on flavor variations and even marketing slogans to promote the products that they help to design. Now that the innovation process is over, on November 28th there will be a special party for group members in Osaka to celebrate the new flavors that are being released in a few weeks. December 8th brings “Collagen noodles” and “Milk Tantanmen“, while December 15th is the debut of “Bacon, egg, and vegetables” and “Ginseng Chicken”.

Above are some variations from the previous campaign with Mixi.

Like we said, within Mixi this is a great match because of all the niche groups that can be tapped for their expertise (read: fanaticism) about certain subjects. It’s also a pretty controlled environment, so users are helping the process along with the company, not creating their own open-source cup noodle. With the chaos that is 2-channel, one can only imagine what kind of cup noodle they would invent in there.

Thanks to our friend Marco at CyberMedia for the tip!

Tags: Crowdsourcing, FMCG, food, Mixi, SNS
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

Issey Miyake Pleats Please Licca-chan, and other fashion collaborations

Move over Be@rbrick, it’s Licca-chan’s turn for the spotlight, along with a bit of fashion brand collaboration. First up is the Pleats Please Licca, a limited edition of the iconic Japanese doll that sees her draped in the accordion folds of Issey Miyake’s no less iconic line, Pleats Please.

Like the real deal, the Licca ensemble is versatile and convertible.

Only 1,000 dolls are up for grabs and the ¥26,500 price tag includes a ¥1,250 donation to Unicef. The Pleats Please Licca is part of the Power of Toy Project, which pairs up beloved toys with leading contemporary creators.

Next we spotted Licca on parade at the Girlish Style fair at Seibu department store. The week-long event showcased popular fast fashion brands from the Kobe Collection and asked the designers to create their own signature Licca-chan.

Clothed in miniature versions of real outfits for sale, these designer Licca dolls struck us as tangible versions of the avatar “dolls” on the popular Girls Walker shopping site.

The fair also included an exhibit on Licca past and present, like the famous “Street Licca” (left) and her psychedelic incarnations (right).

Plus fashion spreads inspired by Licca

And everything from Licca interactive signage to art.

In case you had any doubt of Licca’s power over the imagination, there was also some interactive signage to play around with, mixing characters and fans with digital cuteness. As for the doll itself, JapanTrendShop is currently holding on to two or three of these limited edition Issey Miyake pieces while they’re still available.

Tags: Collaborations, Fashion, Licca-chan, Limited Edition, Toys
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends

Asahi Ginger Draft spices up beer selection

Asahi has got a new beer on the shelves that doesn’t fall into any of the current beer trends (just to recap those would be metabo friendly and premium). It’s called Ginger Draft and is a light “beer” spiked with ginger extract.

Whether or not you think that sounds exciting or awful, the 5% alcohol happoshu actually has very little ginger taste. Much like the rather tasteless Kirin Sparkling Hops we covered a year ago, this one gets a diplomatic no comment.

So what’s up with the ginger? Well, thanks to the advertising materials, featuring pop acts Anna Tsuchiya and Monkey Majik, we know that Ginger Draft is targeting the just eligible to drink market.

We also know that rival drink manufacturer Suntory has a “Blue Ginger Ale” carbonated soft drink in the works to be released later this month. It is in fact light blue and would make a delightfully colorful cocktail mixer.

Tags: Asahi, beer, beverages, FMCG, Suntory
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

Chokkan Band from Taito out and on the town

Even before the iPhone, NTT DoCoMo was making phones with accelerometers that let you play chokkan (motion) games, send an email with a flick of your wrist, and use the phone physically to interact with applications. Recently, much has been made of using the onboard cameras to accomplish the same thing, and there are more and more cool applications coming out.

For those of us without Guitar Hero we can now use our mobile phones to play Chokkan Band courtesy of Taito.

The sensor on the phone detects movement, allowing anyone to use the phone as a guitar, violin, drums, or other instrument. Synched up together, you can create an entire band in perfect harmony, jamming out to songs downloaded through the service. The game is free, but songs come at a small fee.

Below is a video from the new online campaign for Chokkan Band starring their new…err…spokesmodel rocking out around Tokyo in public baths, at the laundry, in Shibuya. You know, normal places where you would play in a rock band with your mobile phone.

Check out more at Chokkanband

Tags: Campaigns, Mobile
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends, Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

November 14th is Anti-Aging Day in Japan

The NPO Anti-Aging Network (AAN) has declared November 14th to be “Anti-Aging Day.” AAN is a network of medical professionals and estheticians that provides information on the latest developments in anti-aging technology, practices, and preventative measures as well as general information on wellness as it pertains to lowering your “body age.” This year’s festivities will fall under the theme of “Now and forever beautiful and healthy through anti-aging” and will include seminars from well-known personalities in the medical and beauty fields.

We do have to wonder, however, does anti-aging really need more awareness, the way we have “breast cancer awareness month?” Anti-aging is certainly a national obsession (though one I am not claiming is limited to Japan) and is rivaled in its marketing usage here perhaps only by “metabo” (metabolic syndrome). There is more to this parallel: aging, once a concern of vanity, is being increasingly positioned as a “lifestyle disease,” like metabolic syndrome and stress related illnesses, that can be fought through a combination of scientific developments and wellness strategies.

Tags: Anti-aging, beauty, health, Metabo, Wellness
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends

Lotte Gum celebrates Shonen Sunday and Magazine

Chewing gum giant Lotte is helping to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of classic weekly manga Shonen Sunday and Shonen Magazine with fully branded versions of their own classic gum and chocolate wafers.

In th case of the Green Gum, even the internal wrappers are branded with character pictures and storylines celebrating the last fifty years. Casual retailer Uniqlo celebrated the milestone this year as well with special limited edition t-shirts.

In this case the collaboration is perfect, bringing two post-war brands together in a clearly retro way that benefits both and enforces their “classic” status.

Tags: Collaborations, Lotte, manga, Retro
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends