TOKYOMANGO

New app lets you choose what you dream about

There's a bizarre but very intriguing new app that lets you choose what kind of dreams you're going to have that night. You can choose from eight different scenarios -- flying, becoming rich, having someone you like confess their love for you, etc -- the app detects when you're in REM sleep and plays a soundtrack that seduces your brain into imagining whatever scenario you choose at the right time.

It's free, and you can get it here -- if you've tried it, let me know how it worked for you!

via JapanTrends

A plastic banana case for your real banana

You know, in case you're carrying a banana in your bag and you don't want it to get smashed. Found at Daiso, the new $1.50 Japanese superstore in SF Japantown, by Tomo.

The transformation of a gyaru

It takes me about five minutes to get ready to go out (little bit of makeup, quick hair fix)... I have a feeling this girl takes a little bit longer than that.

This transformation is slightly reminiscent of the time I watched my friend Alex (a guy) transform into a fabulous drag queen.

Table for Two, a cool non-profit that aims to solve hunger and obesity at the same time

My childhood friend Fumi heads the US office of a Japanese non-profit called Table for Two. It's really neat -- you should know about it if you don't already. Founded by former McKinsey consultant Masa Kogure, TFT aims to simultaneously solve hunger in the developing world and obesity in places like Japan and the US by offering healthy meals in first-world cafeterias that also donate a portion of proceeds from that meal to a school lunch for a kid in Africa. TFT collaborates with NGOs in the hunger countries to distribute 20 cents from every meal purchased in the US or Japan to buy a nutrient-rich meal -- usually including maize, some protein (beans, dried fish), and green vegetables -- in non-conflict zones with high levels of malnutrition.

The idea that hunger and obesity are two sides of the same global issue has been echoed by Ellen Gustafson, co-creator of FEED bags (watch her TEDTalk here).

On Tuesday, TFT is launching a campaign to try to get TFT meals into 100 school campuses in the US in 100 days. Anyone can start TFT at their school cafeteria or kiosk, or help publicize the campaign. More info is here. If you want to learn more about TFT over a healthy delicious meal, check out one of the existing participating restaurants here.

Artist Riusuke Fukahori's amazing goldfish art

This is a beautiful video that shows the artistic process of Riusuke Fukahori, who just showed a selection of amazing multi-dimensional goldfish art at a gallery in London. Apparently he was inspired by his pet goldfish to do both the giant painting drawn finished with a broom and the 3D-looking acrylic on clear resin series.

Gokiburi hoi hoi, a wonderful home for annoying cockroaches

I was on a work call with an editor in the UK today and he said one of two words he knew in Japanese was ゴキブリホイホイ　(gokirubi hoi hoi). In case you don't know what this very important word means, it's actually the name of a popular cockroach-catching contraption that is shaped like a little house. The house has mysterious substances in it that lures cockroaches in through its doors; but once they enter, they get stuck on the sticky floor and can never get out and eventually die. We used to have one in our old house but I don't remember seeing any immobilized cockroaches living in it.

You may not need a real gokiburi hoi hoi if you don't have a roach problem, but you can get this lovely little keychain that looks like one -- it even comes with a resident cockroach! -- for just 600 yen here.

Strange man plays a flute made from a cabbage

In this video, a man has figured out how to make a flute out of a cabbage. Watch him play the butterfly song.

Yayoi Kusama's latest: obliteration room

Artist Yayoi Kusama does it again -- this time with the help of Australian children! As part of her latest exhibition Look Now, See Forever -- on view at the Queensland Art Gallery through March 11 -- she prepared a stark white room and then gave visiting kids thousands of colorful dots that they were then allowed to put wherever they wanted. So cool!

via Spoon and Tamago

More Yayoi Kusama links on TokyoMango

Happy New Year from TokyoMango!

For those of you who have not gone to sleep on January 1 yet, please try to dream about Mt. Fuji, an eggplant, or an eagle. It has long been known that carrying one of these three items in your subconscious is the key to having a good year.

The photo above is of kids' calligraphy at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. If you ever wondered why all Japanese people have excellent penmanship, it is because we are trained to do this from a very young age.

Super sexy Mai Shoji's weather forecast on NHK World

My super old childhood friend Mai is a weather girl at NHK World. Watch!

Kim Jong Il is dead - bizarre mourning video + testimonial on successor from his former sushi chef

The Korean Central News Agency announced Kim Jong Il's death on its web site today. The news was accompanied by this strange three-minute montage showing lots of people mourning, and one solo interview with a woman who works at the capital's electric wire factory at the very end.

The dear leader will most likely be succeeded by his son Kim Jong-Un. We don't know too much about him, except that he's about 28 or 29 years old and he appeared to be KJI's favorite son.

A snippet from the NY Times quotes the Kims' Japanese sushi chef as follows:

“When Prince Jong-un shook hands with me, he fixed me with a vicious look,” Kim Jong-il’s former Japanese sushi chef wrote in a 2003 memoir describing his first encounter with the boy, then 7, dressed in a military uniform and known as a “prince” among his father’s aides. “I still cannot forget the look in his eyes. It seemed to say, ‘This is a despicable Japanese.’ "

What you shouldn't do near train tracks, in pictures

1. Don't get drunk and wear a tie on your head
2. Don't be in love with your iPhone
3. Headphones won't make you look any cooler
4. Videogames will only make you crankier

Make sure you don't exhibit any of these dangerous behaviors near the train tracks!

Betabrand's new "Saito Jacket" (and a silly Christmas promo video)

Tomo -- The Tofu Project's creative director -- is also an occasional clothing designer. He just designed this shirt jacket for SF-based indie clothing label Betabrand called the "Saito Shirt Jacket" and made this silly Christmas-themed promo video for it. I don't know if I want Saito Claus to show up in my chimney but the shirt is cool!

You can buy it here.

Christmas tree made of Santa Clauses

If you've ever been in Tokyo in December, you know that you can't escape Christmas decorations anywhere. When I exit my apartment door, the elevator hall in my parents' building plays holiday tunes. Big companies sponsor extravagant light displays, mom and pop shops sell reindeer costumes for little dogs, and there are a gazillion different kinds of Christmas trees on every street corner. This one, made of tiny Santa Claus dolls, is one of my favorites. If you want to see it in real life, it's in Tokyo Midtown.

Men in blue light and suits at Cloudforce Japan

Yesterday, I spoke on a panel at Cloudforce Japan 2011--an annual event hosted by Salesforce.com. Before my panel, there was a keynote speech by CEO Marc Benioff. The entire room, which fit about 5000 people, was illuminated blue and almost everyone was wearing a suit. During our panel, Mr. Toyoda, the CEO of Toyota, made a cameo appearance. We were all on World Business Satellite, TV Tokyo's daily business news show, last night. Full segment should be online next week.

Hafu, a doc about being mixed-Japanese in Japan

Three days left to contribute to the post-production costs of an upcoming documentary called Hafu, about the experience of being half Japanese in Japan. According to the filmmakers -- one of whom went to my my middle school -- one in 30 Japanese today are born to one non-Japanese parent. Yes, the world is getting more diverse! And yet there's a lot of inherent discrimination against mixed-race people. An interesting topic close to my heart -- I also have one non-Japanese parent, and most of my friends do too. These ladies have more than met their fundraising goals, but why not join in on the fun? Donate to their IndieGoGo campaign here.

Japan has ended

Friend of a friend posted this photo on Facebook. I think it's supposed to say "本日は終了しました” (we are closed for the day) but instead they wrote ”日本は終了しました” (Japan has ended). How silly of the person who punches in train signs!

Upcoming documentary about an amazing female judo wrestler

My friend Yuko is the editor on this awesome upcoming documentary about Keiko Fukuda, the only woman in the world to earn the highest ranking in judo. She's 98 years old now. Pretty amazing. The Kickstarter campaign is over (and funded - yay) but I'll keep you guys posted on when this comes out so we can all get excited about watching it!

Illustrator Yuko Shimizu's new book = perfect for your artsy coffee table

Yuko Shimizu is a super-talented illustrator who lives in NYC. Her self-titled monograph came out about a month ago, and is full of provocative surrealistic comic art drawn first with traditional calligraphy brushes, overlaid with digital color and background to look like graphic prints. Super cool. I first met Yuko when I was working on the Studio360 piece about women artists in Japan. She told me that she had always drawn erotic women, but didn't realize she was a feminist until she came to the US for art school and her teachers asked her to analyze her own art for the first time. (The Western tendency to analyze is different from Japan, where it's more common to simply appreciate the aesthetic value of a piece.)

Get it here!

Three different styles of Hello Kitty shrinage

A friend recently posted photographs of a Hello Kitty shrine on Facebook, and I thought, how ridiculous! Of course, it turns out there are more than one type of Hello Kitty shrine in the world. I have no idea why, but there are two more after the jump.