Virtual Beer Satisfies Every Sense - Except Taste

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:00:00 -0700

Thinking of a cool, frosty beer after a long day at work or play? Just imagine cracking open a cold one... nice! Now you can experience the vicarious pleasure of popping open a beer or soda can anytime, anywhere, as often as you want.

Indoor Fireworks From Sega Toys Light Up Your Living Room

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:20:44 -0700

Sega Toys introduces the Uchiage Hanabi, a modified planetarium with speakers that brings fireworks indoors to spark up any celebration, no matter what the weather.

Japan's NTT DoCoMo Updates the 'Pay Phone'

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:12:15 -0700

Hauled into jail by some rural deputy sheriff and need to pay a fine? If you're in Japan, you can use that one phone call to make an instant cash transfer. Finally, a pay phone that actually pays!

Dental Plaque Detection Camera Puts Your Teeth On TV

Steve Levenstein — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:27:00 -0700

Dental-ivision? It's the ultimate reality show, and besides, what would you rather watch: oral hygiene or Oral Roberts? Thanks to the Miharu Dental Intraoral Plaque Detection Camera, you CAN handle the tooth, right in your own living room.

Japanese TV Dusts Off the Competition With Maid Detective

Steve Levenstein — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:38:30 -0700

"Maid Detective" takes the bizarrely popular Maid concept from Akihabara cafes to the silver screen. Actress & singer Saki Fukuda cleans up crime scenes every week on Japan's TV Asahi.

Talk About Timing - Michael Jackson 'Live In Japan' DVD Released June 23

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:53:09 -0700

Timing is everything when you're a performer and nobody knew it better than the late Michael Jackson. Timing is also essential in business, as Amazon.com is surely realizing - the new "Michael Jackson: Live In Japan" DVD was posted on the Amazon website a mere 2 days before MJ's untimely death.

Feeling Blue? Japan's Got a Beer for That

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:00:00 -0700

Feeling blue? Japan's got a beer for that: Okhotsk Blue to be exact, a foamy brew made with water sourced from icebergs, tinted icy blue with seaweed.

Life Preserver Pill Box Could Be a Life Saver

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:48:57 -0700

Pills, spills and thrills - that's what pill boxes and life preservers have in common. Now Troika combines the best features of both in a miniature life preserver travel case that holds all your life preserving pills and vitamins.

Prius Hearse Makes Your Last Road Trip a Green Ride

Steve Levenstein — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:51:00 -0700

Think "hearse" and a long black Cadillac is what usually comes to mind. Toyota has a better, greener idea however: the Prius Hearse.

Japanese Replica Taxi Meter Shames Free-Riding Freeloaders

Steve Levenstein — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:23:36 -0700

Freeloading friends making you feel like a taken-advantage taxi driver? Spoiled teenage kids too lazy to take the bus? Don't be a crabby cabby, get even - and get a fake (but oh-so-real-looking) taxi meter!

The Top Ten Bizarre, Radical & Cool Nintendo Wii Case Mods

Steve Levenstein — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:38:35 -0700

Nintendo's popular Wii home video game console just might be the biggest hit Japan has had since the Prius. The Wii has sold so well, it's only now that customers are being offered the Wii in black as opposed to bland old white. Not everyone has been patient, however, as these ten wild & wacky Wii mods illustrate.

Undersea Uranium Farms Could Be A Goldmine

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Japanese researchers are considering the possibility of constructing giant undersea sponge farms to collect uranium suspended in seawater. If enough farms are built, every nuclear plant in Japan could soon be running exclusively on ocean-sourced fuel.

Natural Moisturizing Lotion Leaves Skin As Soft As Silk

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:15:50 -0700

Skin as soft as silk isn't just an expression anymore, thanks to naturally moisturizing lotions, soaps and skin care products containing Sericin, a silk protein that has kept silk workers' hands smooth and soft for centuries.

Remote Control LED Light Bulb Offers 7 Shades of White

Steve Levenstein — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:40:39 -0700

"Any color you like, as long as it's white!" No, it's not a bizarro version of Henry Ford, just Sharp's new LED light bulb. Using the included remote control one can dial through 7 different shades of white light - without any white heat.

Laughs Will and Testament: Japan's New Manga Will Kits

Steve Levenstein — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:46:23 -0700

Estate planning goes from exhausting to exciting as Kokuyo's manga style will kit explains tough legal issues in classic comic book style.

Citrulline Snacks and Drinks do Athletes a Flavor

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:54:32 -0700

Citrulline is the new "flavor of the month" in Japan, and now it's creating a buzz over here. A non-essential amino acid found in watermelon rinds, citrulline is being added to energy drinks and even chewing gum - but it's sexual athletes who have really sat up and noticed!

Kinder, Gentler, Smokier: Japan Tobacco's 'Smoking Manners for Adults' Ads, Part 6

Steve Levenstein — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Japan Tobacco's admen likely burned through a lot of the company's main product in conjuring up 73 "Smoking Manners for Adults" ads. Gently chastising smokers while not turning them off tobacco altogether takes guts... and butts. Here's part 6; ads 51 through 60.

Fujifilm FinePix Z300, First Digital Camera With LCD Touchscreen

Steve Levenstein — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:00:00 -0700

The Fujifilm FinePix Z300 digital camera is a 10-megapixel point-and-shoot beauty that features a 3-inch LCD touchscreen similar to the one on the iPhone. No need to click to take a pic, just point, touch and shoot!

Samurai Armor Underwear Induces Hot Pants In 'History Girls'

Steve Levenstein — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:19:27 -0700

Make love not war? Why not do both - while wearing your samurai underwear! These elaborate and expensive briefs feature the logos and styles of Japanese most formidable warlords of the Warring Era, and are a big hit amongst modern ladies!

Japanese Game Company Gives Productive Workers Big Baby Bonuses

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:43:10 -0700

Making babies for fun and profit? We all know about the former but now Japanese game company Koei Tecmo is doling out the dollars for "productive" employees - whether they're good workers or not.

Japan's Asahi Shimbun Scores Social Media Goal, Tweets Soccer Play By Play

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:18:40 -0700

On the go and eager to know the score in that crucial soccer clash? Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper has the answer: tweeting the play by play to fan followers via their new Twitter account!

USB Cigarette Could Be Habit Forming, Humor Inducing

Steve Levenstein — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:25:36 -0700

The e-cigarette from Thanko plugs into your computer's USB port and offers puffers a genuine smoking experience... without all the nicotine, tar, ashes, smell and, er, smoke.

Sushi Look Adds Taste to Issey Miyake's 'Pleats Please' Clothing Line

Steve Levenstein — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:18:31 -0700

Issey Miyake's "Pleats Please" designer clothing line is being presented in a most tasteful manner - by dressing up the fabrics to look like sumptuous sushi!

Office Paper Recycling Machine Turns Trash Into Toilet Paper

Steve Levenstein — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:41:51 -0700

What's an eco-friendly way to recycle used office paper and botched photocopies? Here we might mulch it to be used in farming. In Japan they're turning it into toilet paper.

Call Goes Out to Boost Used Mobile Phone Collection

Steve Levenstein — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:07:33 -0700

Cellular phones are gold mines, even when they're no longer wanted. Problem is, as phones get better people are more reluctant to get rid of them. A new campaign by the Japanese government seeks to reverse this disturbing trend and boost mobile phone recycling.

Japanese Mini Erasers Say "I Rub You Too!"

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:01:37 -0700

Dim Sum Set of Erasers
Collectible mini erasers have long been popular in Japan, and now the fad is spreading to schools on these shores as well. read more »

Edgy Japanese Eraser Has 28 Corners

Steve Levenstein — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:16:54 -0700

Students, businessmen, artists, basically anyone who uses a pencil will at some point need an eraser, and the best eraser to use is a new one with sharp corners - which quickly get rounded with use. Not so with the Kadokeshi Plastic Eraser from Japan, which has - count 'em - 28 corners!

Starbucks Japan Shakes Up Summer With Coffee Jelly Frappuccino

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:03:27 -0700

Coffee Jelly Frappuccino is coming back on the menu at Starbucks Japan, just in time for another hot, humid Tokyo summer! Starbucks bills this cool, caffeinated treat as "Coffee To Eat", but doing so through a straw really, er, sucks.

Creepy Stress Relief Balls Look Like Baby Heads

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Soft polyurethane Cao Maru resin balls in the shape of expressionistic faces stretch and squeeze to relieve your stress. They also look a lot like baby heads - which adds that extra touch of creepy.

Environmental Twist Plastic Bottle Saves Space, Reduces Waste

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:01:46 -0700

I LOHAS, Coca Cola Japan's entry in the bottled water sweepstakes, is going green... with a twist. Once you've drained the bottle just give it a twist - and help save up to 40 percent in disposable volume.