Electrifying!

I have a confession to make: I am trying to give up smoking. Patch hasn't worked, and I am a bit shy about seeing the doc for prescriptions. So I browsed the net (as usual) to find good alternative means and here is what I found: Electric Cigarettes!

(sources: AKIBA KEIZAI SHINBUN & Thanko Rare Mono Shop)

(It's just vapor, not smoke so it's harmless. 0mg nicotine and tar. Good for quitting the smoke!)

This stuff is totally radical: It encourages you to be a poser, be provocative, and anti-social in an office environment. I mean, who smokes at his/her desk these days and why you wanna have USB-electrified gadget at the desk?!

(source: Thanko Rare Mono Shop, Subtitling by ICE9)

I really like the scientific substantiations of the pseudo-smoking experience: the tip lights as you inhale, and water vapor would come out of your mouth accordingly. Plus, you get to choose between tobacco flavor & mint flavor (like charcoal and menthol choice in the real world) with the cartridges; genuine Japanese inventions!!

Let there be green

Over the holidays, I saw a friend from the States. She told me how she was impressed with Japan being 'eco-conscious,' which I was not quite aware of. But I guess she is right; here is the latest campaign from au, a mobile phone product/service provider:


This is how the Green Road Project works:

STEP 1: You jog with au phone with jogging application and keep and send the record to au.
STEP 2: au saves 1 JPY per a kilo that runners gain through their jogging routines.
STEP 3: au purchases plant seeds with the savings and distribute the seeds at their stores.

The campaign runs through the end of March, and the seed distribution starts from April. Although it doesn't directly benefit the phone/application users, it certainly does give a great sense of membership and feeling great about doing something to stay fit.

A cool campaign and site.

Green Green Green

In the ad world, this has been a topic; One theme, different executions for different cultures (or as we sometimes call them, 'markets'). See these:





The top is a Japanese TV ad and the bottom is from Thailand. There are two points I found interesting:

1) Contextualism
'Green Machine' is, I guess, grammatically correct. But this is an epiphany of 'Japanese style English' such as 'We Do Eco' (by a railway company), in which we contextually take out the meaning, not necessarily the meaning the slogan (or tag line) mandates (e.g. Just Do It). If you really get strict, 'Green Machine' is not even a tag line; it's just a generic noun with an adjective. However, the Japanese can create a series of TVC with the help of Peanut Characters to convey the core message. I think this is amazing.

2) Assimilation, not persuasion
Though different in formats, both Japanese and Thai versions adopted 'teacher-learner' scheme (of course more evident in Thai version). I suspect these show Asian sentiment that consumer engagement can be attained through 'let us all learn together' model. Although this is an dealer ad, take a look at this:



They all deal with Honda's eco-friendly cars (theme), but message conveyance and its manner (execution) gets varied from one culture to another. Certainly, I as a Japanese can relate more with the Japanese ver. and Thai ver. far better to consider Honda's good gas-mileage or hybrid cars.

i'll be back

The year of the rat is about to go, and the ox will come soon.

Wishing everyone a happy new year!

Will resume, soon!

Anime Character for Your PC

It's not a screen saver or wallpaper; it is in a 3D format.

Buffalo, a computing peripherals manufacturer, will launch a Gundam USB flash memory in late November. It is a 4GB memory for 3980 JPY (about 40 USD), and a limited manufacture of 5000 pieces. It was originally a web-only sale, but with the popular demand, they are accepting pre-orders at PC shops in Akihabara.

Now you may think; "Who'd wanna pay 40 bucks on a 4-gig memory?" Well, don't underestimate the power of anime kyaras (=anime characters). Last June, they sold 3000 pieces of Rei Ayanami version and sold out in hours.

Rei Ayanami ver.

What's interesting is that Buffalo is never 'greedy'; they don't increase the production, period. I think it's a great sales strategy of (presumably) a high-margin product; 1)You just need to pay fixed fee amount on the copyright, 2)You can secure the sales by creating the sense of 'hunger' among the target, and 3)You can sustain the consumer interest in the product for the coming versions. Plus, it just looks cute as it 'sits' by your PC when in use (e.g. Rei Ayanami). Along with Gundam, they are also launching Lupin III version as well.

I shall now take off to Akihabara and get one...

Lupin ver.

source: Akiba Keizai Shinbun

Pitch-dark Restaurant?!

I was reading the Sunday edition of Nikkei Marketing Journal (newspaper though), and saw an interesting article. The "Kurayami Shokudo" ('Pitch-dark Restaurant') is becoming popular among hip urbanites of Japan.

For 3 days once per season, an event company in conjunction with Hakuhodo (2nd largest ad agency in Japan) hosts a reservation-only-crowd to offer Kaiseki (Japanese traditional dishes). Only 40 persons are allowed to per day at a cost of 10,000 JPY (=100 USD).

The aim of the event is to enjoy the meal at its best without relying on eyesight; in this manner, according to both host and participants, one can truly enjoy the genuine taste of the food.

To achieve Pitch-darkness, participants are required to wear eye masks and groups coming together are seated separately.

In other words, you sit with a bunch of strangers in total darkness; what a bizarre concept for a restaurant, right?

However, you are welcome to converse with those around you. Hence, you get to 'meet' your fellow participants during a 2-hour meal and sight-less conversation; this must be a funny feeling.

The event has become popular through the word-of-mouth, though I personally prefer good food and talk with my eyes open...

808 baby! Canned T-shirts from Uniqlo.

UT WEB is an online store run by UNIQLO that only features T-shirts. Its collection is huge; you would really enjoy just browsing. New items are added weekly, most of which are collaborations with famous artists, cartoon characters and manufacturer logos.

Last week, they launched a collaboration with ZTT records. Who could ever thought of that?! As my Japanese blog is named as an homage to 808 State, I HAD to get their '90' album artwork.

I bought two; red for daily use, and grey, same as the original work, for keeps. Fortunately, my new work place is close to their only 'offline' store in Harajuku, so I don't have to wait for shipping.

The Harajuku store is uniquely designed; The concept of the store is "Futuristic T-shirt convenience store."


It's like a 21st century version of Stanly Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange." The displays are also uniquely done; each T-shirt is placed in a plastic bottle. Each bottle is transparent so that you can see the design of the T-shirt, but also has a lable to show variations within the same series. The shelf is like that of coffee beans or canned drinks; definitely looks like convenience stores.
So, if you are ever visiting Tokyo, pay a visit to UT store for a futuristic shopping experience.

Mode Japonesque

Ok, GK still thinks that I have not done enough to compensate my dormant period, so here is another one. He wrote about a disastarous Japanese car ad, and here is my counter offer.

Nissan makes various car ads (duh), and each always has a theme as 'SHIFT_XXX.' Here is one for TEANA with 'SHIFT_hospitality.'



Filming is beautiful, and the actress (Rei Dan) is breath-takingly stunning, but beyond that, the creative concept is concise and true to the functional offers of the car. The narration takes functionality to a higher level of emotion:

"Sitting in this space, my spirit becomes soothingly liberated."

"Omotenashi"

"Welcome to New TEANA"

'Omotenashi' is a translation of hospitality and it is well woven with the tranditional Tea Ceremony and its spirit. One may argue that it is too 'cultural,' but isn't that exactly what we want to (or should!) play with to make better communications? Plus, I like the track choice; it is the Japanese version of 'Waltz for Debby,' making the whole impressions gently powerful.

I think it's about a time for me to let go of my German wagon...

Yodobashi-Akiba goes International

GK nags me that I have been a total slacker, so here is another hommage to 'Akiba.'

I have previously talked about 'Akiba' a couple of times, and I am more and more feeling confident that Akiba is a must-see place if you ever make a trip to Tokyo.

Previous goverment had promoted 'Yokoso Nippon' ('Welcome to Japan') campaign to vitalize Japanese economy by encouraging foreign travelers to this land of Rising Sun. It has actually been a success; the latest news reported that visitors to Japan has increaed by 160% in the last 3 years. At the same token, Tokyo is yet to be non-Japanese friendly; English is still hardly spoken at local restaurants and shops. I personally find it very interesting to visit local restaurants when travelling abroad, so I wish Tokyo will be more international to be truly visitor-friendly.

However, you will be in good hands in Akiba; Yodobashi Camera (one of the largest electric appliance store chain) in Akihabara decided to make it mega vision multi-lingual. It will feature product guides and store guides in English, Mandarin, and Korean (source: Akiba Keizai Shimbun). Overmore, store clerks are multi-lingual too! So, once you visit the store, you can not only buy the gadgets you always wanted, but also ask them travel tips and places to hang out!

Yokoso Nippon!!

Guide to Akihabara

I have posted some Akihabara news in the past (1, 2), and I wonder how many of you are by now REALLY interested in Akihabara, Japan. Not yet enough to get yourself a ticket to make a pilgrimage to the 'Otaku' Holy Land?

Here is the book to get you in the mood: "Guiding Your Friends Around Akihabara in English." As the title suggests, it is designed for Japanese audience, but wirtten in both Japanese and English. So you can self-guide the tour in Akihabara! The book doesn't only cover the Akihabara itself, but also other spots in Tokyo for great food and travel tips.

How do you like 'Akiba' now?

Back to School, Boys!!

"Welcome home, master!"

Akihabara (the Otaku, or 'geek', capital of Japan) hosts a number of 'Maid Cafes' where - well, the picture above pretty much says it. (No these are not sex shops. If you Googled 'Maid' and 'Sex' then sorry please return to your search results).

Akihabara culture and Maid Cafes have already gone mainstream - just check out this canned-coffee ad featuring Tommy Lee Jones (follow the links for more in the series):



So to keep ahead of the real world, the wonderful otaku have come up with a new 'cosplay' (costume play) cafe motif: School.

Last week, a new maid cafe opened in Akihabara called "Akiba School Maid Class" decorated as a classic Japanese classroom where maids and customers are 'classmates.'

The twist is the role-playing not only of children but of childhood boy-girl relationships. What otaku/geek wouldn't love that - especially since this time the girls (act as though they) like you.

For the record, "Akiba School Maid Class" world does not offer any 'extras'.

English Friendly Japan?!

A recent internet survey reveals that English conversation is the most popular extracurricular activity among working Japanese women. According to the study, 24.5% of working females 20-34 are taking English conversational lessons after work or on weekends, followed by going to the gym (22.5%), Yoga/Pilates (22.2%), and cooking classes (15.0%)... What does this mean?

If I read the data right, acquiring English conversational skill is as meaningful as physical wellness or cooking skills. So are Japanese women aspiring to be the perfect cosmopolitana to fulfill intenational men's fantasy of Asian 'chic mystique'. To wit; here is a TV commercial by a language school:



No, I shall be politically correct: The research indicates that foreign language skills play a significant role in the concept of well-being for Japanse women; that sounds better.

Besides that's just advertising, probably by some dude.

Return of the Mouse!

I know Mickey has failed in the US, but could make it right this time in Japan: Disney mobile has launched its service starting March 1, 2008 with Japan's fastest growing operator, SoftBank (ex-Vodafone).



Japanese mobile phone business has a unique structure in which operators (e.g. NTT DoCoMo) dictate content services (e.g. iMode). Therefore, handset manufacturers have to customize specs for each operator to meet their unique service standards. This drives up costs for the manufacturers and is a key reason Japanese handset makers have little presence abroad, despite some of the most cutting edge designs and technology. It also means non-Japanese makers such as Nokia, Samsung, LG, and Motorola continually fail to make a dent in Japan. (even RAZR bombed)

All of this makes the launch of Disney Mobile in Japan a novel approach: it will use SoftBank's infrastructure while offering consumers dedicated phone models and content services such as ring-tones, wallpapers, and even Disney-ized character mails. This kind of business model is often called MNVO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), yet in this case, it is almost like a joint-venture with a single operator.

From a consumer's point of view, this is great news: You can get premium-looking phones with Mickey all over the place, you can subscribe to Disney application services for free, and get other exclusive goodies.　While not a fan personally, (never even been to Disneyland!), I can see this will drive Disney fans crazy. Mickey is gonna do it this time for sure.

As a matter of fact, I kinda start to like Hillary Duff...

Sweet Madness pt.3

So, tomorrow is THE DAY: St. Valentine's Day!

An interesting research result was announced by Dai-ichi Life Research Institute (Japanese only). The research title was 'Problems at Work' but somehow included the question "Do you give/receive chocolates on Valentine's Day?"

The results:



What is interesting? 20-something Females give chocolates to their male co-workes most (47.6%), and 50-something Males get chocolates from their female co-workers most (47.9%).

What's going on here?!? Respect for elders? Forbidden love? Good old-fashioned boss-bribery? After hours chocolate-fueled workplace hanky-panky?!

No, it seems the quirky Japanese tradition of 'giri-choco' (obligatory chocolate) is alive and well. So who's eating all that chocolate?

And, by the way, where's MY choco!?

The Battle of Akihabara

You may (or may not) have heard the Michelin recently granted Tokyo eateries the most stars of any major city in the world. But Tokyo is not all about high end food.

Mili-Meshi (Military food; Meshi means "food", e.g., Ita-Meshi is Italian cuisine, Thai-Meishi is Thai food) is gradually becoming a 'boom' in Japan. It started among military freaks when a hobby magazine featured military foods from around the world. This caught the eyes of product managers at Sega, the game developer, and they joined up with a Japan Self Defence Force food supplier. Mili-Meshi is now one a popular prize for 'UFO Catchers.'

'UFO Catcher' are those crane machine games in video arcades with toys/stuffed animals you try to grab with a crane but just wind up losing money in. Sega was looking for new types of prizes to lure players. They launched the Mili-Meshi prize Akihabara; the famous 'geek' capital famous for anime, gadgets, and 'otaku' (geeks). It didn't take long to capture the hearts and minds of the Akihabara Crew. The Mili-Meshi pack contains 4 retort food pouches containing 2 Japanese-style pilafs, paella, and Japanese-style steamed rice .

the package

4 retort pouches

The food was originally developed for soldiers to absorb maximum nutrients with minimum effort, and is quite high in calories. However, all the soldiers in Akihabara are marching for it. And now the general public is becoming interested in Mili-Meshi eats, as a major newspaper reported recently.

Sweet Madness pt.2

Now it's February and the Valentine's Day is coming up. I wrote about Valentine's Day in Japan a while back, and I found something interesting about the diffusion of a culture within a society.

A toy manufacturer, MegaHouse, has launched a toy called "Tororin Choco Pot" (Tororin is a mimetic word of something melting). It is basically a battery-operated heating pot with which you can melt chocolate bars and pour the resulting liquid into various shaped trays to make your own personalized chocolates. It is targeted at low-teen girls, and the manufacturer is expecting to sell 50,000 units by the end of March 2008. List price is 3,465 JPY (about 33 USD).

Now that adult females buy premier chocolates for the Valentine's Day, it used to be a trend that they buy chocolate bars at the stores and melt them to make their 'own' chocolate; pseudo-homemade. That was a trend over 10 years ago. Now the trend is back among the low-teens! Despite industry expectations, 'Tororin Choco Pot' is nearly out of stock in many retail stores. Now this is a typical 'back to the basics' movement or 'revival of the oldies'? Or just plain old idea-recycling. The real question is who are these little girls making chocolate for??

Tokyo Taxi Chronicles 1

Like I wrote about the smoke ban in Tokyo cabs the other day, I LOVE chatting with cab drivers. Whether in Las Vegas or Florence, cab drivers are the ones who are in the know about the city. In Tokyo, where taxis often outnumber private cars in the city, cab drivers are a great source of 'insight' into the city.

Lately, I've been drilling local cabbies on the recent cigarette ban.

Surprisingly, they all say overall it has been quite with no major problems. However, several drivers told me an interesting story: they have lost female customers since the ban.

It seems that riding in a taxi had been a great opportunity for many business women to catch a smoke before or after work. Basically, they don't smoke at home and avoid smoking at work under the watchful eyes of male co-workers (yes, there is still sexism in Japan and smoking at work is considered a manly habit). The solution then for them was to get off their train a station or two before the office, catch a cab and enjoy her purple haze.

Since they are no longer allowed to smoke in cabs, they simply stopped riding them. I first thought it was just a rare case, but heard the same story from several drivers. Now I wonder where these women go to enjoy a smoke... or do they substitute it with something else like sweets and booze??!! My investigation continues...

Sweet Madness

Department store basement floors in Japan are called 'Depachika' and usually host various food tenants; deli, bakeries, local delicacies, take-out dinners, etc. But one cannot miss the great temptation of Depachika sweets: yummy chocolates, cakes, cookies and other high-end goodies.

From Jan 23-28 Shinjuku Isetan will host the 5th annual Salon de Chocolat. There will be 55 chocolate brands from 11 nations gathering to allure the sweet fans of the city.

www.isetan.co.jp/sdc/
(Sorry, Japanese only)

Today's morning news reported that 500 people lined up for the event opening yesterday. All could not enter the floor so hundreds of them even had to line-up on the staircase. A box of 18-piece chocolate was on sale for 17,500 JPY (about 165 USD), and women don't just line up for that, but also love taking photos with the patissiers as if they were Hollywood celebrities!


This event is clearly greasing the wheels for Valentine's Day sales; in Japan, the 'tradition' is for women to give chocolates to men (see, Japan really is a great country!). It is also true that some of them give themselves chocolates as a 'reward' for their stressful / hard urban daily lives.

If you can't make the event, get yourself a free sample of Fresh Chocolate (chocolate made from fresh cream, Nama-choco) while perusing the selections. Fancy a piece worth 10 USD?

last resort gone...

A new regulation took effect on January 7, 2008: smoking is now banned in Tokyo taxis.

While Japan is one of the 'lenient' nations on smoking, more offices, restaurants, and public spaces are now smoke-free. Taxis were almost the last resort for smokers who ride it in between client visits and meetings. Shinkansen (the bullet train) is also smoke-free today.

A cab driver told me the other day that female customers are more detesting to the ban, which I thought interesting. This might be (?!) bacause of male/female psychological differences, but more over, statistics show that while the entire smoker population is decreasing in Japan, female smoker population is growing.

Stressed salary-men of Tokyo, what are we gonna do???!!!