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In this video, Brian shows us one of the tricks from my book, Urawaza. I spilled egg yolk on the floor this morning. By sprinkling salt on top of it, though, we were able to change the texture of the egg so that it's easier to clean up. It really works!
For more Urawaza videos, click here.
Or even better, pick up your own copy of the book here.
A man who obviously doesn't clean out his stuff that often found a 58-year old homeless woman residing in his closet. She had been there for an entire year, and he didn't know until he noticed that food was missing from his fridge.
Japanese closets usually have two layers—a top shelf and a bottom shelf. They're deliberately made to be deep and dark so you can store blankets and mattresses inside. (Traditionally, Japanese sleep on mattresses on the floor; they put them away during the day to make space.) When he finally became suspicious, the guy put security cameras in his house and had timed images sent to his cell phone. He saw movement in the middle of the day, so he called the cops. But they didn't find any evidence of a break-in. MSNBC quotes investigators as saying:
“We searched the house ... checking everywhere someone could possibly hide. When we slid open the shelf closet, there she was, nervously curled up on her side."
I wonder where the poor lady will go next. Maybe she can hide in his bathtub.
(Thanks, Brian & Jason!)
I was interviewed by this guy, Jian Ghomeshi, on the CBC's popular radio program, Q, yesterday morning. The topic was my Wired feature on Hiroyuki Nishimura. He asked me about how I found him (everyone asks—Hiroyuki is notoriously hard to track down), why he's so unconventional, and whether 2channel and NND were going to lead to a revolution in the formality of Japan.
These two bad ass little boys are part of Japan's new SWAT team. A company called Tokyo Marui sells a vast collection of illegal guns and weapons. They're not real, of course—but they're super realistic "air soft" guns that run on batteries and shoot BBs. This particular series is called "Automatic Electric Gun Boys," and features a line of submachine guns made just for kids. Nice!
Link (Thanks, Baker!)
Does your dog need a professional massage? Here at this Doggie Reflexology spa in Azabu Juban, your dog can get 15 minutes of bliss for just 1575 yen ($16). Ridiculous, right? You can also buy her an onsen-style bath for $30, a trim for $60, and—get this—a henna hair dye job for $30.
Anyway, why wouldn't a dog owner want to massage her own dog? I love rubbing Ruby's ears and neck. It brings me just as much relaxation as it does to her. And I know her snout has started to gray (she turned five this year), but seriously? I am not about to get it professionally colored.
But I will not judge those who are into this stuff. In fact, may I recommend the canine oxygen cell for those who want their dogs to acquire instant beauty and health.
On the plane ride home from Rio, I watched this really cute movie called Honey and Clover. It's the first live action adaptation of a popular manga about a group of art students training under a guy named Hanamoto. One day, Hanamoto introduces his cousin's daughter, Hagu, to the group. She's a super cute, talented artist and all the guys instantly fall in love with her. The story unfolds at a mellow but highly entertaining pace—it really does feel like you're flipping through the pages of a well-scripted manga. But it's not annoyingly girly or overly artsy at all—there's a certain innocence to it that even my gadget-loving boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed. (He won't admit it now, but I overheard him telling my dog that he discovered a new movie that he really liked called Honey and Clover.)
Honey and Clover is available on DVD and sometimes shows in theaters. Check out the web site for more deets.
Last time I was in Japan, I found this old school candy and toy store in Odaiba. It was in one of those new mega complexes, but their shelves were stocked with traditional toys and masks and dagashi—dirt cheap candy ranging from little Cola-flavored drops to pork cutlet-flavored strips of mystery meat. Here are some of the things I picked up, all for under $1:
A plastic-and-styrofoam airplane. Is it just me or does it look like a kamikaze pilot plane? These were probably made in the immediate post-war and I remember seeing them when I was a kid.
Continue reading "My Mini-Collection of Old School Japanese Toys and Candy " »
I'm back home after a week in South America. What did I think? I think all Japanese should become Japanese-Brazilians. Here are 10 reasons why (in no particular order):
1. The sunset in Rio kicks the sunset in Tokyo's ass.
2. Brazil has some of the coolest night clubs in the world. This
one, called Rio Scenarium, is a giant three-story building on the
oldest residential street in Rio. It's filled with antiques, giant
comfy couches, live music, and porcelain dolls.
Continue reading "10 Reasons Why Japanese People Should Emigrate to Brazil" »
Dentsu is Japan's biggest advertising agency. In fact, it's one of the biggest in the whole world. It was started in 1901 and has 15,000+ employees who work in the 11th tallest building in Tokyo, the Dentsu Building, in Minato-ku. It has a lot of history—the first ever newspaper advertisements and TV commercials in Japan were all produced here.
I've only been there once, to interview someone for a Wired,com story about 2-channel. The reception looked like an alien landing gate; the rest of the office was pretty normal.
Japanese ads are awesome. A lot of them feature catchy tunes that people all over the country sing when they get drunk. I'll dig up some YouTube vids and post them a little later.
Fifi & Romeo is this super luxury expensive doggy brand based out of LA. Here are some pics from the Azabu Juban store in Tokyo—each of these silly little outfits costs over $100/ea. Ruby doesn't get to wear shit like this, she only gets weird-shaped sweaters I knit for fun out of my Stitch-n-Bitch book.
Continue reading "Designer Doggie Clothes at Fifi & Romeo" »
I'm really bad at self-promotion and publicity and all that blah blah, but I think it's time to remind you guys that if you haven't already, you should buy my new book, Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan. It's a great gift idea for a birthday or Memorial Day or a very belated Mother's Day. Basically, I researched over 100 weird tricks—like how to clear your sinuses using scallions or how to run faster using rubber bands—and wrote up real-world scenarios of when you might need them, and scientific explanations on why they work. My publisher, Chronicle Books, did a great job with the design—it's like a pretty miniature coffee table book.
The first time I wrote about the urawaza phenomenon was in the October 2006 issue of Wired. That was back when TokyoMango was just a month old! One of my editors at Wired, Rob Capps, had been watching these strange YouTube videos at work, and I did a little research and found out it was from a Japanese TV show. Hence the magazine story, and then a Chronicle editor contacted me, and here we are.
In the intro, I write about how the concept of urawaza evolved from being gamer geek lingo to a more universal household term. I also tell stories about getting in trouble in grade school and an important lesson my mom taught me in adulthood.
Curious? You can get it on Amazon. And I'll make sure I tell you guys when my next book signing is. (I did one at Maker Faire, but I forgot to write about it. Did I tell you I was bad at this publicity stuff?)
My MangoBot column this week is about two movies featuring hot Asian women with machine guns: The Gene Generation and The Machine Girl:
Asian women with machine guns are sexy, scary, and fetishistic. If you're in San Francisco in June, you're in luck—you can get a double dose of ass-busting Asian women at the Another Hole in the Head horror movie fest, where two crazy, ruthless Oriental beauties battle evil in a cumulative three hours of gory revenge and fantastical sci-fi crime-fighting.
Dogs wear microchips filled with information that will help them find their way home. Lost parrots can just tell you where they are. When a woman found an African Gray parrot perched outside her window in a suburb of Tokyo, she called the authorities. They captured the parrot and put him in a local animal clinic.
There, the parrot decided he was tired of keeping quiet like he had at the police station. He started greeting people and singing children's songs to passersby. Then, 10 days later, he told someone, "My name is Yosuke Nakamura, and my address is XXXXXXX." Then he told someone else. Then he went on repeat and told everyone until they were convinced he was telling the truth. So they went to the address, and sure enough, the Nakamura household lived there and were mourning the loss of their parrot, Yosuke.
The Times of London reports:
It is still unclear why Yosuke refused to sing at the police station. “I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me,” Mr Uemura said.
His parents taught him well. African Grays are among the smartest birds on the planet. They have the cognitive ability of an average six year old human.
Reiko Kaneko is a cool artist who makes these awesome little boiled egg holders. The little knife-wielding soldiers will protect your precious egg no matter what! It's great for kids with lots of siblings who tend to steal their breakfast. Or, for artsy people who appreciate a little humor while they're satiating their boiled egg craving in the middle of the night.
And for those of you who can't make a perfect boiled egg to save your life, there's the microwave egg boiler and the multitasking electric egg boiler.
Link
My book publisher, Chronicle Books, is having an Urawaza contest via their weekly newsletter. Check out the rules!
POST YOUR OWN URAWAZA VIDEO AND WIN!
The first 10 readers to submit a video will win a free copy of Urawaza. Also, one lucky winner, selected by Lisa Katayama, will have the chance to share their urawaza with our readers as a guest author on the Chronicle Books Blog.*
To enter the contest:
1. Create a video of your favorite lifestyle trick in action and post it to your YouTube account.
2. Describe your video and tag it with Urawaza, Chronicle Books, DIY, and anything else you'd like.
3. Send the link to webmaster@chroniclebooks.com with your name, city, and Urawaza in the subject line.
Now go get tricky!
*Winner will be selected from all entries received by June 15, and will be notified by email. By entering the contest, you agree to all credited reuse of your video by Chronicle Books and author Lisa Katayama.
Taichi Saotome may be the most beautiful man in Japan. The 17-year old actor is a famous onnagata, or female impersonator who has starred in everything from jidaigeki (period plays) to Zatoichi movies. His new play, Sennen no Inori (The One Thousand Year Prayer), debuts on July 23rd in Tokyo and August 4 in Nagoya. It already has rave reviews, mostly by women, who claim they were more moved by his feminine performance than anything else in the whole world.
Saotome was destined to be a superstar. His father is the head of a famous theater troupe, and Beat Takeshi had eyed him as promising talent since he was a wee elementary school kid.
Keep reading for a sneak preview of his stellar performance in Sennen no Inori.
Continue reading "Taichi Saotome = The Most Beautiful Man in Japan" »
Soccer is the #1 sport in Brazil. I went to a Palmeiras game on Sunday night at this awesome stadium in Sao Paulo. And yes, they won. Also, soccer in Brazil was probably a big inspiration for the creation of the J-League, and the unofficial #3 national sport in Japan (after sumo and baseball). The J-League—a national professional soccer league consisting of 18 teams—was just formed in 1992, but it made instant soccer fans out of every single Japanese person within days of its inception. When players like Brazil's Zico went to Japan to play and coach, it was a huge big deal. (My little brother had him as a coach in his middle school league. Lucky guy.)
So I was super excited to go to a real Brazilian soccer game. It's still early season, so the stadium wasn't full, but the people who were there were serious fans. Guards with riot shields surrounded the field, just in case. The stands shook every time the crowd sang a song or cheered or clapped.
I wrote a short article about the movie Death Note for Wired.com:
Death Note is a live-action sci-fi movie about a notebook that kills anyone whose name is written inside it. In the past year, the original manga upon which the movie is based -- which was previously adapted as an anime, a novel and a two-part TV series -- has been linked to bullying cases in China and Virginia, and an unsolved murder in Belgium in which the killer claimed to be a character from the franchise.
"It's not the kind of movie that parents would encourage their kids to watch," says Shusuke Kaneko, Death Note's director.
My WIRED feature about Hiroyuki Nishimura, the founder of 2channel, and his two web sites—2channel and Nico Nico Douga—is now online at Wired.com.
The story is in the June issue of the magazine, too—the 15th anniversary issue—but the web has all kinds of fun extra features, like an ASCII art gallery, a video of me explaining the sites, sample Nico Nico Douga videos, and two extra articles about Japanese web culture and its influences in the US.
I spent 10 full days in Japan this February reporting this story—I interviewed dozens of people who are active bloggers, engineers, and entrepreneurs in Japan's web industry, and really dove into the culture of innovation and forward-thinkingness that exists there. It was a fascinating journey.
Read Meet Hiroyuki Nishimura, the Bad Boy of the Japanese Internet
Hello from Sao Paulo! This is a great city. Eclectic food, awesome graffiti everywhere, soccer fans, lots of PDA, and a big-city vibe comparable to the kind you feel in Tokyo, Paris, and New York. Yesterday, our gracious hosts from Mouses took us to Liberdade, the biggest Japanese district outside of Japan. Very cool. I took lots of pics. Keep reading for a short photo tour.
Continue reading "A Quick Photo Tour of Sao Paulo's Japanese District" »
Being a cab driver in Tokyo is no easy feat. The last taxi I took there was driven by a twenty-something year old newbie who picked me up in front of my parents' house. It was pure coincidence that he drove by—it's a quiet residential neighborhood and he was lost, trying to get back on the main road. I raised my hand, he stopped, the automatic door swung open, and I plopped down on the lace-covered backseat. He was facing forward, both gloved white hands on the steering wheel. "I am a newbie!" he said out loud. "Would that be okay?" I said that was fine. I was just going to the office, and I could direct him there.
"But you have a GPS," I asked. "Doesn't that help you?" The newbie replied that the GPS was provided by the taxi company, and was at least a few years old. The road map had changed significantly since, and it sometimes brought him more trouble than good. To pass taxi driver school, he was tested on a map of Tokyo—but like most cases of rote memorization, things only linger in your head while you need them.
When you go to a baseball game in Japan, you get a real gourmet meal, not just hot dogs and churros and beer. Order a hamburger at Tokyo Dome—home of the Giants—and it comes etched with a perfect number 1. Or maybe you prefer the Chinese-inspired shumai lunch while rooting for the Yokohama Baystars.
Continue reading "Gourmet Lunches at Baseball Stadiums in Japan" »
Yep, I'm off to São Paulo for a week—and hopefully taking a side trip to Rio and some jungly rain forests. Look! São Paulo kinda looks like Tokyo. Did you know it also has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan? There are about 1.5 million Japanese immigrants and descendants living in Brazil—more than in the US. And some of them are hot and talented! My two favorite Japanese-Brazilians are supermodel Juliana Imai and Lovefoxxx of CSS. CSS is a kickass indie-electro girl band from Sao Paolo that I've seen in concert a couple times in San Francisco. Pics after the jump.
Continue reading "Where's Lisa? I'm in São Paulo Looking for Lovefoxxx" »
Thanks everyone for entering the free movie ticket contest for Death Note! I've picked two winners based on how much I laughed—not freaked out—when I read about how you would use the killer notebook if it fell in your hands.
Linda said:
If the Death Note fell into my hands, I would use it to plot world domination, starting by assassinating of the Prime Minister of Malaysia in which all proceeds and child labor workers will be donated to the Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good. Yay for charity!Or I would give it to Viz Pictures in exchange for a housekeeper.
I guess my friend Alyssa thinks sumo wrestlers are sexy, because she just sent me this video of six chunky, hunky, mostly naked guys in fundoshi doing their version of a sexy carwash. It's actually a really funny Subaru ad.
Two melons—yeah, melons—sold for $25,000 at a retailer near a large wholesale auction in Sapporo. Crazy!
The melons are from a city called Yubari, which is in financial crisis. It's only saving grace seems to be its very expensive, very juicy melons.
I don't know who bought them.
The live action film Death Note comes out in select theaters next week. It's a story based on a famous manga about a notebook that can kill people—just write a person's name in it, outline how he's going to die, and it will come true. Two young, strange, good-looking Japanese boys go head-to-head in the hunt for the guy who carries the evil notebook. I saw it a preview screening of it a couple of months ago—it's really good!
I'm giving away two tickets for the Death Note screenings on May 21st here on Tokyomango, courtesy of Viz Pictures. All you have to do is shoot me an email with your name, address, and a short statement on what you would do if the Death Note fell in your hands (remember—you can't just throw it in the bin, because someone else might pick it up and commit crimes with it).
Tix are for Bay Area screenings only. All entries must be in by Thursday at noon PST. Thanks!
The first robot in the world was an Edo period miniature humanoid that served tea, circa 17th century. My friend Christine and I found a replica for sale at Maker Faire last weekend.So cool!
Fred Schodt writes all about this robot in Inside the Robot Kingdom,an out-of-print must-read about Japan's robotics industry.
Why does this guy look so happy? All he's doing is dishing out some miso soup, right? Well, this is actually a specialty miso soup cafe in Nirasaki, Yamanashi prefecture, where a non-profit Miso Soup School was opened recently. For 100 yen, you can get a bowl of soup with fresh vegetables and serious pork. The region has historical ties to miso soup, which was considered battlefield food during the Sengoku Period, when battles were fought there.
Must be yummy. I have no idea where Nirasaki is but if anyone goes and tries a bowl, please let me know how it was.
Gajin Fujita is a LA-based Japanese-American artist who combines traditionally-inspired images with graffiti. His materials include semi-precious metals like white gold that he slabs onto wooden panels, plus spray-paint, plus stenciled images of cranes, geisha, samurai, and flowers.
His work is currently on display at the Haunch of Venison in London.
Every time I walk past one of those weird infomercial stores in suburban shopping malls, my hand automatically goes to those brain massager things that you can stroke your head with. I don't really believe it improves circulation and makes you smarter (or whatever they claim it does), but it feels great. Well, in Japan, we have the same thing, except it vibrates and is powered by USB.
Also runs with two AA batteries.
Product page (Japanese)
You know you always wanted to cuddle up with your diarrhea medicine. This is a big cuddly pillow modeled after Seirogan, a classic gastrointestinal drug with a really pungent smell. Not only does the pillow look like seirogan, but it also smells like it. Gross, and slightly nostalgic.
Product page (Japanese)
From my bimonthly futurism column on io9:
Way before Speed Racer became fodder for one of the season's most highly anticipated blockbusters, it was a simple 60s-style Japanese cartoon. The original Speed Racer was a TV anime series called Mach GoGoGo, aired on Fuji TV—one of Japan's major television networks—in 1967 and 1968. Like many other sources of entertainment in Japan at the time, Go's determination and the superior technology of Mach 5 were symbolic of the country's rapid post-war recovery and the determination that drove it. While you're waiting to head to your multiplex to watch the Hollywood version tonight, let me take you back in time and show you a glimpse of the original.
I'm in New York City and the hotel I'm staying in doesn't have free Internet, so here's a quick post about the restaurant I had dinner at last night. It's called Basta Pasta NYC, and it's a Japanese-owned Italian restaurant with awesomely Japanese pasta dishes like tobiko-shiso spaghetti and onsen tamago. It's off of Union Square, and I was craving fish egg spaghetti so I went there with five of my college girl friends. They all live in the city but some of them hadn't seen each other since we graduated. Too bad I was too full for the purin (Japanese-style flan) they serve for dessert.
Anyway, strongly recommended for anyone who likes any kind of food with a Japanese touch. Not to be mistaken with fusion, which is often just western food infused with Asian.
Restaurant main page
I just finished reading a book called Dog Man by journalist Martha Sherrill. It's a simple biography of a man named Morie who spends his life in the mountains breeding Akitas. It was one of the best stories about Japan that I've read in a long, long time.
Sherrill follows the lives of Morie and Kitako Sawataishi from the moment they met in wartime Tokyo to their present day life as elderly mountain dwellers. While it has a seemingly simple plot on surface level, it's one of those books where, when you're done reading, you think, wow. This book works on so many levels. There isn't a single fluffy adjective or expression of emotion anywhere, and it's written with the snappiness of good magazine journalism—yet you'll find yourself close to tears at the end of several chapters. Morie, the husband, is a super Asian patriarch who makes decisions without consulting his wife and hardly shows any emotions. But he has one gigantic soft spot that he dedicates his life too, and that's the Akitas.
Continue reading "Must Read: Dog Man, a Story About Akitas" »
This is an old NY Times article, but I just had to shed light on this blue Chihuahua issue. To get smaller, cuter, and rarer dogs, backyard breeders in Japan are doing screwed up things like mating dogs repeatedly with their own offspring to make rare recessive traits show up more often. Pictured here is one of these blue-tinged chihuahuas that were so very trendy a couple years ago. People paid up to $10,000 for these. And of course, horror stories that come with excessive in-breeding abound: some of these pups have brain disorders that make them just run in circles all day, and others had "bones so frail they dissolved in their bodies." Apparently, genetic defects in dogs are 4x more common in Japan in the US or Europe.
Good thing Ruby's a red minpin, not a blue chihuahua.
A couple in Fukui prefecture committed suicide together in a car today. They mixed some chemicals to make hydrogen sulfide, and then released it in the car. The suicide pact was successful--they both died. The interesting thing was that they left a little note on the car window, facing out, that read: Caution! Toxic Gas.
Apparently, there were a few other instances of suicide by toxic gas recently, and in some, people nearby got sick from the fumes. This was a respectful way of making sure that nobody else but themselves got hurt.
Strap-ya has these cute cell phone strap capsules that have little trees from different countries in them. Pictured here is the hose tree from Argentina. Also available are trees from South Africa, Mexico, and the US. The trees are actually alive, and if you water them properly (once or twice a month), they can live for up to six months in their little capsules. They could even grow to be real trees if you replant them in soil.
In Japan, a lot of the older generation has been reluctant to adopt Internet use. Not anymore. Recently, more people in their fifties and sixties are going on Match.com to find love. The guy in the picture is a 65-year old cab driver named Yoichi Kawamura. He has been divorced for twenty-some years, but now, he's dating three different women. "My horizons are wider and my life is richer," he told Reuters.
The latest episode of BoingBoing TV is about a Japanese pop culture documentary called Tokyology. There's an interesting segment about a new law that could put all the electronics parts stores in Akihabara out of business. Before there were maid cafes and cosplay stores and megastores like Don Quixote, Akiba was a treasure trove of vintage electronics. It still is, they've just been pushed into the back streets, behind all the flashiness. It would be a real shame if they went out of business—so a group of young artists featured in the documentary pay homage to them in their "exhibition of vanishing products."
