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J A P A N O R A M A

Ahh, Japan... land of the rising sun, rising sin, and rice with nearly every meal. In Japan everything is possible and possibly everything is available - often with a unique and unexpected twist. Vending machines dispensing whisky, frozen meat, live rhinoceros beetles or schoolgirl panties? Where else but in Japan, where urban legends live and die on streets that have no names.

As the Japanese Innovations Writer for InventorSpot.com and an unabashed Japanophile, I take great joy in channeling the relentless tsunami of on-the-edge Japanese ideas and products, each wondrous one revisiting and reinventing 1950s Japanese Transistor Radio Syndrome for the post-atomic age!

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Coin Laundry Calls When Your Clothes Are Clean

Kyoto Laundry Service announces "Hello Call”, Japan's first coin-operated laundry voice information service. Got things to do and people to see? No problem, your machine will phone when it needs more detergent, more change or more repairs.

Self-Stirring Pot Puts New Spin on Stove-top Cooking

Is stuck pasta your kitchen nightmare? A Japanese dentist has created a stir with Kuru-Kuru Nabe (“Pot Round and Round”), a cooking pot with sculpted sides. Turn up the heat and watch basic thermodynamics go to work so you don't have to!

Celebrate Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary with Asahi Wonda Gold Canned Coffee

Gentlemen, start your mornings! In honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., Japan's Asahi Soft Drinks is including one of 10 miniature model motorcars with selected cans of Wonda Gold coffee.

Japan's First Police Cat Rats Out Criminals

Beware the long paw of the law! Potential lawbreakers in Kyoto, Japan had better think twice before engaging in criminal acts because Iemon, Japan's first police cat, is on patrol... when he's not curled up asleep at the station, that is.

Remote Control USB Cockroach Will Infest Your Desktop

Just in time for Mother's Day, it's the Remote Control USB Cockroach from Japan's JTT Online Shop! You won't want to stomp this robotic pest into insect oblivion, however: they're 3 inches long and cost $20 each.

Time to Read? Amazon Japan Limited Edition Analog Alarm Clock

Amazon Japan is offering a simple yet stylish analog alarm clock for a limited time only. The clock comes in black or orange, sports the Amazon Japan website URL on its face, and wakes up loyal Amazon customers with an electronic beeping chime and complementary flashing lights.

Saddle Leather Computer Mouse for Skin to Skin Luxury

Desktop computer users tired of caressing a bland, boring, cold plastic mouse all day can click up to some luxury thanks to Japanese specialty retailer Atelier Wazakura. The so-called Kawanezumi (Leather Mouse) features our favorite handy peripheral swathed in soft, supple Saddle Leather. Giddyup!

Heat Conducting Designer Ice Cream Spoon Softens the Hardest Häagen-Dazs

So your ice cream's too hard but waiting for it to soften at room temperature can be agonizing. “If you wait, you might wait too long and it turns into liquid,” explains Japanese architect and designer Naoki Terada. “All this frustration, all this calculating. It had to stop somewhere!” Now thanks to Terada, our long national nightmare is over.

KDDI's Concept IIDA Smartphone Features a Manual Analog Clock

Look Ma, hands! Japan's KDDI is showcasing a curiously retro smartphone that's a real blast from the past. The phone's bezel features a manually-wound analog clock, thus creating a fusion of elegance and technology.

KFC Japan Serves Beer & Booze Beside the Bucket

Forget that Happy Meal, at KFC Japan it's Happy Hour! Want a double with that Double Down? Perhaps a cocktail with your cock-a-doodle-doo? Tokyo's newly opened KFC Route 25 restaurant has begun serving beer & booze by (or at least, beside) the bucket.


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