TOKYOMANGO

Get your hand-printed limited edition TokyoMango t-shirt now (2 weeks only)

My friend Ben and I made a test run of TokyoMango t-shirts on Saturday. They're really nice, do you want one? If so, you can buy one here. Below are the details:

- All shirts are 100% cotton.
- Each t-shirt will be hand-silk screened by me and Ben on his Yudu machine. The shirt logo was custom-designed by Ben. Mango design courtesy of my web designer James.
- The Women's tees come in a t-shirt style (pistacio and white) and a spaghetti strap ribbed tank (yellow).
- The Men's tees come in orange and white. In the pic above, Ben is actually accidentally wearing a girl's tee, but you get the idea... the sleeves will be more manly on the one you get.
- You can choose a custom colored tee for $25. Just shoot me an email with your preference after you place the order.
- The sizes tend to run a little big (except for the tanktops). They might shrink in the wash.
- Some of you will receive a free surprise Japanese toy or gadget with your t-shirt! I'm just gonna randomly stick them into bags, so keep an eye out.
- We're taking orders over the next two weeks only, at least for this first printing. They'll ship at the end of those two weeks, when Ben & I will silkscreen them by hand.
- Last day to order is Monday, October 5th.

UPDATE: T-shirts are no longer for sale. Maybe we'll do another round sometime!

USB alien with illuminated tongue

This scary realistic alien toy modeled after the Alien movie series will sporadically stick its glowing red tongue out at you if you plug it into your computer via its USB cable. Buy it here.

Urawaza is a great holiday gift! Buy it.

It's been a while since I pimped my book Urawaza on TokyoMango, but I really think you should buy it for someone — your mom, your brother, your friend, a White Elephant party — for the holidays. It's green and red, colors reminiscent of Christmas Trees and Santa hats, it's not heavy reading, you'll learn lots of cool quirky tricks, and it's 30% off on Amazon and at Chronicle Books' web site with the discount code Family — which brings the grand total cost to about $10. Totally affordable holiday fun!

Buy Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan

Home bath bomb making machine

There's a new toy coming out at the end of this month that I kinda want. It's a bath bomb maker — you know, those big balls of fizzy aromatic goodness for your bathtub that they sell at Lush. The main ingredients in bath bombs are baking soda and citric acid; so basically all you have to do is add your favorite relaxing smells — herbs, rose petals, essential oils — and some water, put all the ingredients in the ball, stir it and compress it, and out pops a perfect bath ball. If only I had a bigger bath tub at home, I would totally use it all the time. It's a fun craft project and great for producing homemade gifts. The kit costs about $40 and comes with enough baking soda and citric acid to get a project started.

Product page (Japanese, via Impress Watch)

Obama's bow to emperor pisses off conservatives

Some conservatives are pissed off that President Obama bowed at the emperor and empress during his visit to Japan this week. I'm not sure I agree with them. I think they might be thinking of the bow as a subservient gesture, whereas it should probably best be interpreted as the standard form of formal greeting in Japan, much like the handshake in America.

Link

New magazine for people living with facial scars

A new magazine aimed towards people with physical disfigurations will launch next spring. It's called My Face, and it's the pet project of a self esteem support group called MFMS, or My Face My Style. The magazine will include interviews, medical information, and advice on how to fight discrimination at work and at school for the estimated one million people in Japan who suffer from facial injuries or deformities. These people aren't legally considered as physically handicapped, so there's little support. The founder, 42-year old Hiroko Togawa, told Mainichi:

You never know when something like this can happen, such as those of us who have been involved in an accident. I hope the magazine will help take the worry out of finding hospitals and dealing with symptoms.

Link

Article on moe politics on io9 (NSFW)

Over at io9, walking manga encyclopedia Jason Thompson has written a fun and informative article called Militant Cute and Sexy Politics in Japanese Moe Comics.

Cookie cutters in Kappabashi

My friend Garth went to Tokyo recently and took this photo at a baking supply store in Kappabashi. I have never seen so many cookie cutters!

My neighbor is a pastry chef and she fell in love with some pastry forms she saw in a Japanese book on the topic. I spent a lot of time trying to find something for her while I was there. I ended up meeting a woman at a store who, through half Japanese half English communication, helped me find a goldmine of baking supplies.

Link

Que Houxo's fluorescent live art

Japanese artist Que Houxo does live performances where he draws giant flowers and other beautiful things using fluorescent paint in black light.

Link via NotCot

Bra doubles as a golf putting green

Lingerie company Triumph's newest conception is this crazy green bra that transforms into a putting green. If you get a ball into the boob hole, a built-in speaker says: "Nice shot!"

Via Pink Tentacle

Related stories:
The bra that counts down to marriage
Man-bras a big hit
Rice and miso soup bra

Reader photo: The way to Pontocho

I absolutely love this photo taken by TokyoMango reader Ian Nelson while traveling in Kyoto with his wife.

New "luxury" capsule hotel has computerized lighting, fancy sheets

Product designer Fumie Shibata has created a new concept for a luxury capsule hotel — she is transforming the most barebones way for traveling businessmen to spend the night into a trendy fancy type of thing. It's called 9 h (Nine Hours) and the first one will open in Kyoto next month. The hotel will include 125 clean, minimalist capsules, as well as lockers, showers, and a communal lounge. Each capsule has its own computerized lighting system by Panasonic and sheets with a thread count equivalent of a four-star hotel. It's 4,900 yen a night.

Nine Hours main page via Designboom

46 years ago today: a coal mining accident and train wreck kill 600

Wired.com spotlights two tragedies that happened on Nov 9, 1963: industrial accidents that killed more than 600 people in one day.

The first accident occurred at the Miike coal mine between Omuta and Arao. Ten mining carts loaded with coal were being hauled to the surface at around 3:12 in the afternoon. One of the chains linking the carts together severed and sent eight of them careening out of control to the bottom of mine. The carts traveled nearly 400 yards and hit speeds of 73 mph before crashing....As if that weren't enough, several hundred miles away in Yokohama, a deadly three-train railroad crash had occurred.

This day in tech [Wired.com]

Pics of readers wearing TokyoMango Ts

Here are some pics of you good-looking TokyoMango readers wearing the t-shirts that Ben and I made... from top to bottom, Mat, Nami, Derek, and Ruby & Malcolm.

Crystal-studded Hello Kitty MP3 player

Wondering what music player to buy? For $150, you can now own this beautiful (?) crystal-studded Hello Kitty MP3 player that doubles as an accessory.

Link (via News on Japan)

Toyjector, a low-res, super cute toy projector

For $150, you can now get this cute, boxy toy projector called the Toyjector. It's two cubic inches and weighs just four ounces, so it's super portable, but it really is just a toy — it projects 300x224 images and only has an internal 1W mono speaker. But if you're looking for a cute-and-little gadget-y holiday gift for a non-gadgety person, this could be a good gift. It goes on sale in Japan at the end of November.

Press release (Japanese, via CrunchGear)

Reader photo: Gate at the top of Mt. Fuji

Lovely photo of the gate at the top of Mt. Fuji taken by TokyoMango reader Kevin Menchavez.

Judith Hill, the half-Japanese woman who sang at MJ's memorial

Last night, I watched This Is It, the movie that documents Michael Jackson's final days of rehearsing for the big comeback concert that was slated to begin just days after his sudden death this summer. If you haven't seen it already, you really should. It was kind of amazing to see how he worked behind the scenes.

Anyway, I wanted to introduce the woman who was supposed to sing with MJ on tour. Her name is Judith Hill, and she's half Japanese, half African-American. From what I could see in the film, she was the only female background vocalist chosen and she had a lovely rendition of I Just Can't Stop Loving You that she was planning to do with MJ on stage. She also led the final Heal the World rendition at the memorial service held right after he died.

Her own music is a super cool, too — she's still unsigned, but I'm willing to bet she'll become reasonably famous.

JudithHillMusic.com

The 10 most common Japanese last names

Last week, I posted about a JT story that researched the complexity of the historically super long Japanese naming system. I also asked if you could guess what the 10 most common Japanese last names were. Here are the answers:

1. Sato 2. Suzuki 3. Takahashi 4. Tanaka 5. Watanabe 6. Ito 7. Yamamoto 8. Nakamura 9. Kobayashi 10. Kato

Japan has 100,000 last names, compared to about a million in the US, several thousand in China, and 200 in Korea.

Link

Firefly-themed ad campaign offers cool artsy e-card alternative

Hotaru-san (Mr. Firefly) is a fun web program that lets you send short messages to people in a slightly e-cardish way, except it's much more fun. The start screen shows a gymnasium full of people dressed in black full-body tights with giant light bulbs on their bums; they're supposed to be fireflies. When you type a message into the boxes at the top of the screen and press start, the firefly guys will get up, rearrange themselves, and spell out your message with their butt lights. Once you've created a custom message, you can send it to people by email. Cute idea! It's an ad campaign for web provider So-Net.

Link (Thanks, Kazuyoshi!)

USB breast-warming pads (maybe NSFW)

Thanko has a wonderful solution to those whose nipples get cold during winter days at the computer — The USB Bust Beauty Pad. Just plus it into your computer, slip the U-shaped pads under your bra, and cozy up as the pads get warm. The pads are meant to last about six months, and the whole set-up costs about $20.

Product page (Japanese)

Japanese full names used to be super long

My mother sent me an interesting article published in The Japan Times earlier this month that digs up the origins of Japanese first and last names. Japanese names used to be super long back in the pre-Meiji period, including clan name, birth order, two ancient titles, and a personal name. The first name-last name simplified combo is only a century or so old.

The story also comes with a fun sidebar that lists the 10 most common Japanese last names. Can you guess what they are? I'll post the answers on Monday.

Link

Reader photo: Myodani Station, Kobe

TokyoMango reader Kevin Menchavez took this lovely photo of Myodani Station in Kobe.

Yoko d'Holbachie's surreal alien creature drawings

Yoko d'Holbachie is a young, super-cute surrealist artist who draws these strange colorful creatures. If you want to see her work in person, she'll be exhibiting at the London Miles gallery in London from Nov 19-30.

Artist's home page

Hello Kitty solar charger

If you love Hello Kitty and care about the environment, this Hello Kitty solar charger strap could be a good fit for you. It also comes with a Kitty-shaped carabiner.

Product page (Japanese)

New toy plays back everything you record backwards

Takara Tomy has a new crazy toy called the Sakasa Master Japan. It's actually a recording device that plays back whatever you say backwards — useful for those who want to make up a secret code language or are linguistically curious. But mostly, just pure entertainment.

Buy it here.

Reader photo: The Thunder Gate by night

TokyoMango reader Gilles Losier took this photo that he describes as follows:

I was in Japan for 2 weeks in June. The second night of my visit in Japan when I was coming back from Akihabara going to my hostel located in Asakusa. When I walked threw Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate). Nakamise was so calm and peaceful, nothing like this during the day time.

Video: Men wearing colorful leggings for fashion

Men's stores in Tokyo are now selling leggings, which some guys like to wear under capris. Funny when the one woman interviewed at around 1:30 says: "I prefer men in jeans." Later on, though, another woman says, "If it looks good, I think that's fine."

Related story:
Boys in skirts are a new fashion trend in Shibuya, Harajuku

(Thanks, Larry!)

Reader photo: Purple umbrella at Gojo City Temple

Reader Jason Sedlaczek took this lovely photo of a purple umbrella sitting quietly at the foot of Gojo City Temple in Nara.

Boys in skirts are a new fashion trend in Shibuya, Harajuku

There's a new fashion movement in Tokyo, and it involves men in skirts. The Mainichi calls them "the skirt boys" — one interviewee, who calls himself Shana, claims he was inspired by Harry Potter robes. He does not consider himself a cross-dresser, however:

Cross-dressers are people who want to be girls. I'm not wearing this because it's what girls wear, but because I like the line and the texture of the material.

Men's fashion magazine Smart is thinking of doing a special section on skirt boys for an upcoming issue. Maybe it's similar to the Utilikilt fad in the US?

The Taste of Tea, a cute-beautiful movie about a quirky family

I just watched a movie called The Taste of Tea. The director is Katsuhito Ishii, and starring actors include Tadanobu Asano from Ichi the Killer and Rinko Kikuchi from Babel. It's about a quirky family living in rural Tochigi and their little obsessions — the dad with his hypnotherapy, the grandpa with his dance moves, the son with his teenager hormones and the adorable little daughter who is convinced that she'll be able to rid her life of a giant spirit of herself that follows her around everywhere if she can perfect a backflip.

The Taste of Tea is full of charming little anecdotes — my favorite was the one in which an uncle recalls the story of how he pooped on a giant egg while wandering around in a haunted forest. Such a great story within a story. The film is several years old, but it got high acclaim at film fests and I recommend it as part of your Japanese movie collection.

Get The Taste of Tea on Amazon

New documentary about wacky inventor Dr. NakaMats

Dr. NakaMats, the kooky inventor whom I wrote about in my io9 column, MangoBot, in Jan 08, is the subject of a new documentary. It's an in-depth look into the life of a guy who claims to have more patents than Edison, a recipe for Super Viagra, a lifespan of 144 years, and who has run for political office several times.

Related stories:
Japan's wackiest inventor saves the world with super viagra
I met Dr. NakaMats in Shibuya
Dr. NakaMats' male model debut
Crazy inventor running for mayor

Azuki-flavored Pepsi

Pepsi's newest unique flavor following this summer's Shiso flavor = Azuki, or red bean. If any of you have tried it, please let me know how it tastes.

Link

Burger King celebrates new OS with Windows 7 Whopper

What better way to celebrate the release of Windows 7 than with a giant 7-patty BK Whopper that costs 777 yen? It's a limited edition burger, available only for 7 days!

Link

Reader photo: Somber Asakusa

Love this slightly somber photo of Asakusa taken by TokyoMango reader Erik Katerborg.

Reader Photo: Hiroshima shrine ablaze in red lanterns

TokyoMango reader Jay Horinouchi writes:

I made my aunt stop her car as we were driving by, because I thought a temple was on fire. But I soon realized it was a tiny shrine that had a bunch of red lanterns for lighting, which gave the surrounding sakura an awesome red diffused glow.

Beautiful!

Man arrested for prank calling the cops 12,300 times

A 61-year old Shiga man was arrested yesterday for calling 110 (the Japanese equivalent of 911) over 12,000 times in a span of nine months. It's not clear why he did this or what he claimed to be calling for, but he was ultimately charged with obstruction of duty. Apparently, the police had someone go to his house four times to personally request that he stop, but the prank calling continued. What a pain in the butt.

Link

Megahouse's Disney character-shaped cookie making kit

Toy company Megahouse has come out with yet another fun family cooking tool — this one's a cookie maker that makes sugar cookies in the shape of Mickey Mouse heads.

Product page (Japanese)

Related stories:
Machine makes teddy-bear shaped pastries
New Bandai somen toy is a giant slide for noodles
Toy pot sticker maker from Bandai goes on sale Saturday
Toy sushi maker for creative sushi parties

Cat toy with spilled guts named after popular song

This toy (?) is called Neko Funjyatta (literally, I stepped on a cat, though it's commonly associated with a kids' song frequently played on the piano known elsewhere as the Flea Song) and features a plastic cat with its guts spilling out.

via Boing Boing

Video: Funny people running in slo-mo to Nujabes song

This video features about a dozen Japanese people running like crazy — literally — in slow motion. It's quite entertaining! (Speaking of running... I just got back from running my first half marathon this morning.) The music is by Nujabes featuring Shing02.

(Thanks, Larry!)

TokyoMango t-shirts shipped, and Reader Gallery

Dear readers who ordered a TokyoMango t-shirt,

I just went to the local post office and shipped off a boxful of t-shirts, which should get to you within a week or so. Please keep an eye out for yours, if you ordered one. And THANK YOU. It took Ben and me almost three full days to make them, but that's a good thing because we ended up selling a lot more than we expected — plus, it was fun.

Also, I'd love to do a gallery of photos on the site of TokyoMango readers wearing the t-shirts. Email me a pic to mango [at] tokyomango [dot] com by the end of the month to be a part of it.

Thanks, and have a good weekend!

Lisa

Video: Keromin and Maywa Denki perform duet at Engadget party

At a party held for Engadget in Roppongi last night, Maywa Denki's newest quirky instrument, the Otamatone, did a duet with the famed theremin-like frog puppet, Keromin.

Pudding in a cup looks like a woman's breasts (maybe NSFW)

I think this may be the perviest flan packaging in the world. It's called Niigata Oppai Purin (Niigata Boob Pudding) and to unveil the nipple-like cups of flan you have to unhook the anime girl's bra.

Hello Kitty's internal organs revealed

Ever wonder what Hello Kitty's insides look like? Here's your answer.

Link

Music video by Sour features fans on webcam

I love this music video from a song on Sour's new album, Water Flavor EP, that David posted on Boing Boing. The people in the frames are fans from all over the world, filmed on their webcams.

Koizumi makes voice actor debut with Ultraman flick

Schwarzenegger stumbled into politics after his Hollywood career peaked, but former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi is just getting his debut in acting — he'll be voicing the part of a minor superhero in an upcoming Ultraman flick called MegaMonster Battle Ultra Galaxy.

Video: Top 10 middle school textbook graffiti genres

In a funny Top 10 list created by the popular TV show Spring of Trivia, a team of researchers went through the pages of 10,000 middle school textbooks and tallied what kind of graffiti was the most common. Among them — bloody noses, unibrows, forehead wrinkles, faux wigs, and the #1 most common type of textbook graffiti = speech bubbles.

via Spoon and Tamago

Pervy iPhone app lets you look up a girl's skirt

This is one of those pervy inventions that is at once brilliant and disturbing — it's an iPhone app that lets you look up the skirts of pretty Japanese women by blowing on or rubbing the screen. Does this encourage train perverts, or does it provide them an outlet that distracts them from doing this in real life? I don't know the answer.

(Thanks, John!)

Related stories:
Widget displays time held up by a hot Japanese girl
Love in 2D, story in the NY Times
Geisha: The company that turned a virtual French maid into a hit product

Space-age robot art from the 1950s

Life Magazine has a great collection of robot art from Japan in the 1950s. Space travel was becoming a hot topic, science fiction was picking up steam, and toy companies were making all kinds of robot and space age-themed trinkets. Here are a few examples, with more at the Life web site.

Golden poop inkan stamp for good luck

A lot of official documents in Japan still require an inkan, or a personalized red stamp. It's the equivalent of a signature in the US, except you have to carry it around with you — each is unique because of the name, obviously, and the font. This golden poop charm is actually a real functional inkan — it stamps good luck on whatever document you need to endorse, be it a marriage certificate or bank papers.

Product page (Japanese)

Four year old killed by two dogs owned by a lawyer

A four-year old boy died today while visiting his grandma. He was mauled by two dogs belonging to a local lawyer, who owned a little yard that the dogs and the kid were playing in at the time of the incident. The lawyer's name is Takamitsu Shikichi. No word yet as to whether charges will be held against him.

Link