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!

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.

Major cosplay party in Roppongi 10/25

If you're in Tokyo later this month — or if you want an excuse to go there — you might check out what promises to be a huge otaku event held not in Akihabara but in trendy Roppongi. Special guests include girls from premium maid cafe @Home as well as LiveDoor founder Horiemon.

CharaPa!'s English web site (Thanks, Ben!

Solar-powered twirling figurine stand

What better way to utilize solar energy than to use it to flaunt your figurine collection? This solar-powered figurine stand by Thanko uses sunlight and/or fluorescent light to power up, then slowly rotates so you can put your favorite figurine or gadget on a rotating pedestal.

Product page (Japanese)

New maid cafe lets you custom-dress girls and get slapped in the face

A new concept cafe opens in Akihabara on October 4th. It's called Cute Room, and it promises clients a 2.7-dimensional fantasy world — basically, something in between 2D and 3D, but getting closer and closer to 3D. From what I can tell from the web site, the difference between this and other maid cafes is that you can customize the fantasy by choosing a room to hang out in, a costume for the girl to wear, and the types of activities you want to do with them. Aside from the $1 a minute entrance fee, there's a long menu of paid services you can get — video game, a hand massage, a slap in the face, a love letter, a gift exchange. 30 lucky customers will get a sneak preview on Oct 3.

[Cute Room main page (Japanese) via DigiMaga] (Thanks, Hitoshi!)

Summary of Joi and Lisa's session about Japanese obsessions at Foo Camp

On Saturday, August 29th, Joi Ito and I gave an impromptu talk at O'Reilly's Foo Camp about Japanese otaku culture and how it relates to hacking and Zen Buddhism. The talk wasn't recorded so we don't have an exact transcript, but here's the gist of it:

We started by showing several photos that portray otaku obsessions—rows of figurines on a store shelf, cat cafes, itasha, body pillow covers, a man with his body pillow girlfriend, and a maid cafe bento box with a bunny rabbit drawn on the lid. We also showed some non-otaku photos, like a perfectly designed plate of cooked vegetables at the restaurant Daigo and Yoichiro Kawaguchi's futuristic sea creatures lined up in front of a Yushima Seido temple. The obsessiveness of otaku culture, we said, can be seen even in more traditional and non-otaku Japanese aesthetic, from food presentation to religious display. And it's this obsessiveness—which clearly goes beyond economical or functional rationale—that enables the precision manufacturing, cleanliness, punctuality, and politeness that we think of as stereotypically Japanese.

Joi noted that the caste system of Japan probably plays a role in this obsessiveness. For generations, people have been taught to be happy perfecting their role in society, without necessarily viewing social or financial gain as a measurement of their success—it's the shokunin culture in which focusing on one job allows one to obsess with abandon until they reach perfection on a very local level. As examples, we mentioned waiters working for no tip and the guy at Narita airport whose only job is to tell people that their checked-in bags are on the revolving belt. As an example of obsession reaching a perfected end, Joi mentioned ukiyo-e, a type of woodblock printing that was popular during the Edo period. According to Professor Mitsuhiro Takemura, a media design scholar at Sapporo City University, the art form was essentially made more simple and abstract through rapid iterations until it reached obsessive perfection, and that was where innovation in this genre ended. (The actual end of ukiyo-e is attributed to the Meiji Restoration.)

Otaku Encyclopedia, a book that teaches you everything about otaku culture

Great news for those of you who have always wanted to know everything there is to ever know about the otaku world! A new book called The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan, written by Patrick Galbraith, is now available on Amazon. I have a copy, and was impressed by the thoroughness of his research &mdash he is doing his PhD at Todai, after all. Ever wonder what "moe" really means? Want to know more about Shokotan, itasha, or maid cafes? It's all here.

The super awesome Fred Schodt wrote the foreword.

The Otaku Encyclopedia by Patrick Galbraith

Fuzzy cat ear headband with earphones

On BBG, I just blogged about these earphones integrated into a fuzzy nekomimi hairband. It comes in black, too.

Product page (Japanese)

Dancing Hatsune Miku robot with iPhone 3GS for a head

From my BBG post:

The face displayed on the 3GS screen is actually that of Hatsune Miku, the anime girl depiction of a vocaloid software created by Yamaha that continues to be a huge hit among Japanese web geeks. The music she's singing is Levan Polkka, a Finnish folk song. Videos of Hatsune Miku singing Levan Polkka became a huge meme on the web video site Nico Nico Douga, which I wrote an article about in Wired Magazine last year. The scallion-twirling, someone explained to me, is a symbol of dumbness — only a really brainless person would stand there and twirl scallions all day.

via BBG via Pink Tentacle

Maid-themed lap pillow for pervs who like frilly skirts

In Akihabara, they have these establishments where men can walk in and get their ears cleaned and scratched by girls dressed in maid outfits. Otaku love it because they get to put their head on the maids' laps. So it naturally follows that a product like this maid lap pillow exists. The lap pillow has been around for awhile, but this is the first time I've ever seen the maid-themed one.

Product page via Japanator

Akihabara station sign for your desktop

Wish you lived in Akihabara instead of your mom's basement in bumblefuck nowhere? Now you can have your very own desktop-sized, backlit Akiba station sign in your room. It's for sale for about $10 at major electronics stores in Tokyo.

via Impress (Japanese)

Geeky portable shrine worships gadgets and figurines

The geekiest shrine ever is this portable mikoshi designed by a maid cafe employee in Akihabara. Instead of Buddhas and mochi, this shrine features a TV screen, a keyboard, anime figurines, laptops, game consoles, and tons of cell phone handsets.

via Japan Probe

Maid replica figurine made with a 3D printer

At a nanotech trade show a couple of years ago, Japanese company Nakamura Choko unveiled this figurine replica of a maid created using a non-contact 3D digitizer and a rapid prototyping machine. Full text @ BBG

RuPaul's new music vid has NND-syle mash-up porn (NSFW, maybe)

In his new music video for the song Jealous of my Boogie, famed drag queen RuPaul takes inspiration from the otaku community's obsession with American porn star Billy Herrington. The video sharing site Nico Nico Douga has tons of mash-ups of Herrington's old porn flicks; RuPaul tapped into this and made his own. I'm sure it will be huge in Japan.

By the way, someone just told me that RuPaul's new America's-Next-Top-Model-for-drag-queens reality show is really good. The first season just ended, so I'm going to splurge on reruns.

Shokotan in a hazmat suit for Norton ad

Check out this awesome Norton Symantec anti-virus ad featuring otaku celebrity Shokotan in a Hazmat suit. Pret-ty cute!

via Pink Tentacle

Video: Otagei = a new dance form for Akiba geeks only

Otagei is a unique dance form that originated in the backstreets of Akihabara. It literally means "otaku tricks," and entails a series of strange moves, or tricks, that geeks do to send energy to anime singers and maid idols on stage. I had the unique opportunity to see otagei up close while reporting a story about maid cafes for Afar, and learned some of the moves myself. You can, too. Just follow the steps of the guys in the video. We'll be touching on the topic at ETech, too. A much more close-up look at the art form after the jump.

High school girl forced to wear maid costume by teacher

An 51-year old male teacher in Akita Prefecture was caught forcing one of his students to dress up in a maid costume. The student was blackmailed into it; he told her that she wouldn't get class credits if she didn't do it. He claims it was a joke; the school tried to keep it on the down-low by simply suspending the teacher, but the girl's family called the cops on Tuesday. The costumes were props for an art club project that he was administering; the girl refused to wear the maid costume because her parents were against it. That's interesting, that her parents were against it. Perhaps they have a negative perception of maid cafes and cosplay. I wonder if that's common?

BTW, this pic is of my caramel macchiato at a maid cafe. It has a kitty drawn on it with caramel. Soooo much better than Starbucks.

Link

Related stories:
I became a maid cafe maid for 30 minutes
The 10 commandments of a maid cafe

Brian's virgin maid cafe experience

Valentines Day van celebrates porn star Billy Herrington

Happy Valentine's Gay! I saw this van parked on the main street in Akiba today. Billy = Billy Herrington, a gay male porn star from New York who has become a huge web meme on Nico Nico Douga. He even made a special appearance in Akiba today, at an event sponsored by a major figurine manufacturer!

I became a maid cafe maid for 30 minutes

Does this photo really need a caption? My friend Hina and I did this today as part of my reporting for an upcoming travel feature.

Rural town gets help from manga artists to sustain local economy

The town of Ugo in Akita prefecture is wintry, snowy, and hungry for tourists. That's why local retailers solicited help from manga artists in marketing local produce to youngsters and foreigners—by putting images of cute cartoon character girls on packages of rice, one man transformed his dwindling business into an enormous otaku trend. His bags of high-quality Akitakomachi with the naime girl cover costs nearly $30 each, but the entire batch sold out on the day it was released. Prior to packaging it this way, the company was selling only 18 tons of rice a year—with the new marketing plan, he's selling 32 tons a MONTH. Amazing!

via Japan Probe

Body pillow covers sold on streets of Akiba

If you ever wondered where in the world you can get awesome body pillow covers that make you feel like you're really hugging an anime girl, you're in luck. They sell them on the streets of Akiba for just 2000 yen.

Cosplay photo gallery on Wired.com

My photo gallery of cosplayers at Tokyo Game Show was published on Wired.com this past weekend.

Read Japanese cosplayers keep fantasies fresh (with Febreze)

Where to sell used otaku goods in Tokyo

Last week, I went to Nakano Broadway—the real mecca for geeks (critics say Akiba has become tourist heaven)—with moot, the mysterious guy who founded 4chan (yes, I did meet him, you can believe me or not believe me, I don't care). We just walked around for a couple hours, I bought a superhero Gachapon and he bought a lighter and a figurine. I felt like taking pictures here would disrupt the otaku safe-haven-like atmosphere, but was fascinated enough by this kaitorisho—where people can sell everything from used manga to old cosplay costumes to random toys found in their home—to take a couple of quick photos. How in the world do they put values on things here? It's so interesting. For example, the sign below claims that Peko-chan goods will sell for very high prices. The girl in the pink wig was selling a ton of random stuff.

My afternoon at Monkey Net, a halfway house for otaku

Yesterday afternoon, I found myself with two hours to kill and an itch to do something meaningful in Akihabara. I sat down at Mister Donuts with a French cruller and American coffee, reading the Cool Japan Akiba guide book that I had half-jokingly bought the day before at Nakano Broadway with Moot, the founder of 4chan. I tried checking my email on my iPod Touch but had no luck. There's this crazy building on one of the side streets that I was dying to check out. It has, one on top of the other, a Gundam bar, a military-themed cafe, and a imouto maid cafe where they call you "big brother" and "big sister" instead of master and mistress. I walked over. Gundam bar and military cafe were closed, and I just couldn't imagine walking into the imouto place by myself, so I left. I tried checking my email on my iPod Touch but had no luck.

Finally, I decided I was tired of walking around and checked myself into Monkey Net.

Yasuo Fukuda Is The New, Very Old Prime Minister

Guess who's filling Abe's resigned shoes as PM of Japan? Yep, this 71-year old grandpa, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda. His father was prime minister, actually, from 1976 to 1978—he's the first 2nd gen PM of Japan.

Too bad Taro Aso lost. That could have been the ultimate otaku revolution. The guy's a known manga maniac and proponent of having Gundam be the next ambassador to the world.

Link

Maid Taxi Offers Otaku Paradise On Wheels

You're a big geek going to Tokyo for the first time. Why not make the most of it by hiring a Maid Taxi to take you around? These cabs come equipped with PS3s, a deck of cards, and a sexy Japanese girl in a maid outfit to pamper and please you. Rides start at 1200 yen, and for an extra 200, you can play competitive games with your ridemate—if you beat her, you get to win some special items belonging to her! No, not her panties, you pervert. Or maybe. I'm not sure. She'll even go to dinner with you. This is a great, great service for the cosplay fetishist—or anybody else who wants a little bit more entertainment than the tacit white-gloved cab driver of times past.

Maid Taxi homepage (via News on Japan)

Magazine for American Otaku Launches

What is an otaku?

Simply stated, an otaku is a nerd. But a distinctly Japanese kind.

A stereotypical otaku has a huge manga and anime collection; toys and figurines; more friends online than in real life; longish unkempt hair, skiddish eyes, and a goofy but sincere smile.

Yeah, kinda like this dude in the picture...except wait, he's American! Fully aware of the conflict between his nationality and his obsessions, this thirty-something year old—my man Patrick Macias—decided to embrace the fact that he was indeed an American otaku. And then, as he went public with this admission, he realized that he wasn't alone—in fact, there was a huge underground of Americans who had stashes of Gundam toys, bookshelves lined with shojo manga, and liked to dress up as their favorite superhero. We need to unite! Macias thought. And so he started a magazine.

Otaku USA kicks off this summer with its premier issue, featuring manga, anime, games, and music geared towards American audiences who love Japanese otaku culture.

You can subscribe on their site or pick up a copy at your local bookstore.

The Top 5 Tokyo Maid Cafes

Maid cafes are a popular, totally geeked-out phenomenon centered in the back alleys of Akihabara's electric town. Their specialty? Girls dressed like French maid who say, "welcome back, master!" when you enter, delicate cakes and dainty dishes that make you feel like you're in a fairytale, and walls lined with comic books, video games, and figurines that's like chicken soup for the the otaku's soul. Overall, these cafes provide superb subservient service to even the nerdiest, loneliest man in the neighborhood.

Here's a roundup of some of the most popular maid cafes in the Akiba district, with links to reference for your next visit.

#1

Little PSX has everything an otaku could ever want--a PlayStation, free Internet access, all-you-can-eat Japanese snacks, and waitresses that draw ketchup kittens on your omelet.

#2

The royal British maids of Melty Cure offer reflexology and aromatherapy as well as quality alone time with your maid of choice. Aaaaaahhhhh.

Amazon Japan Opens Otaku Store

Amazon Japan launched the world's first online otaku superstore yesterday. The shop features over 300,000 anime figurines, DVDs, games, and comic books. It's revolutionary that geeks can now get all their gear without ever leaving their rooms. It might even put Akiba stores out of business.

Vagina book is the new Akiba bestseller.

You just never know what Akiba geeks will get obsessed with next. First it's robots. Then it's Gundam. Then it's PDAs. Now it's medical books about female genitalia. That's right, the newest craze is over a book called "A Guide to Pain and the Female Reproductive System," which, on the streets, is simply referred to as "the vagina book."

Why a bunch of nerdy guys who have probably never touched a woman--never mind experienced reproductive pain--would be placing orders at geeky Akiba bookstores for the already-sold-out, 12-page, 1,900 yen medical guide book is totally beyond me.

"We started selling it in September and news spread over the web, which sent sales skyrocketing. Salarymen in their 20s and 30s are buying most of the copies. But I still have absolutely no idea why it's selling so well," says a bookstore keeper.

One brave 30-something year old salaryman shared his thoughts with us. He says:

I thought I'd buy it to give me some help seducing any women I could bring back to my home.

IF you ever bring a woman home, that is. Good luck to you Mr. Salaryman.

Full story here.

How the otakus are planning to kick the otaku-muggers' asses.

A couple months ago, I blogged about the otaku attacks in Akihabara and hinted at the upcoming otaku revolution, which may entail the re-creation of Marioworld. I got my first clue as to how they might execute it this morning.

Here's what I suspect they're thinking:

1. The otakus buy a box of 12 Marioworld bricks for 4,560 yen. Slightly pricey, but worth the investment.
2. They open each box to find dotgraphic character keychains inside. These are the indispensable warriors who will fight the battle for geek dignity and respect.
3. They put 100-yen coins inside the boxes, which is actually a piggy bank.
4. The otaku-muggers come to Akihabara, looking for rich geeks with Zelda pocket cash to jump. But they get distracted by the question marks on the Mario bricks, which are floating inconspicuously in front of the rows of electronics stores. Curious. the otaku-muggers upper-cut the floating brick and out comes a 100 yen coin! The greedy muggers start going after all the boxes, but some of
them are harder to reach. So they have to bounce of walls and stuff.
5. While the otaku-muggers are bouncing off walls, Dotgraphic Mario will chuck a Dotgraphic  Turtle Shell at them. The




otaku-muggers will get hit by Turtle Shell and die instantly.

I'd like to be able to tell you that this came straight from an exclusive interview with the Otaku Revolutionary Forces, but it didn't. I'm just speculating, but there's a high possibility that I may be exactly right.

Akiba high-tech toilets' grand opening.

Tokyo's first super-luxury public toilets had their grand opening on the 16th of October, and have since been available to geeks and other Akihabara visitors to pee and poo in for 100 yen a piece. The toilets feature personal attendants who  keep the stalls clean and respond to any urgent...uh...needs that patrons may have. The toilet seats are heated, and do all those things that are expected of toilets in Japan these days, like spray water and air. Touchscreen panels in each stall let you navigate through the Akiba streets and find your desired figurine store or maid cafe while you defecate.

There's even a baby-changing station in the men's toilet, which is weird. I have never in my twenty-some years seen an otaku lugging a baby on his back. But whatever. The Chiyoda municipal government must have had a good reason for thinking that spending 90 million yen on this 160-sq meter establishment was a good investment.

(via Akiba Blog)

Secret scoop: Otakus planning a revolution.

In the news recently, stories of attacks on the otaku community in Akiba by punk ass youth who target these poor uber-geeks because they are totally defenseless AND they carry tons of money to buy Gundam toys with. Well, most people don't know this yet, but the otakus are planning a major attack on the punks in the very near future. The exact date is a secret, but I can tell you this: It's going to be crazy. Like, the way Nostradamus predicted the world would end. The revolutionary coup will involve never-before-used weapons such as idol trading cards and golden bazookas, and will result in the addition of a fifth island to the Japanese archipelago constructed with spare gadget parts in the shape of Mario's head.

Stay tuned for more breaking news on this topic.