People in Japan have been using kairo portable body warmers for centuries to brave the winter cold, but it’s taken a while for someone to come up with a viable summer equivalent. The Ice Ruck does, well, exactly what you’d expect something with a name like that to do. This compact backpack, available in three ...
It didn’t take us long to establish that Japanese deodorant does a rotten job of concealing our natural odor (sorry, that’s probably not an image you wanted), but here’s a spray that might actually come in handy this summer. When the heat gets too oppressive, just apply a few squirts of Hinyari (“cool and refreshing”) ...
While the young salarymen of yesteryear used to dine out in style on the rich platter (ahem) available at convenience stores, today’s single fellas prepare their own food. Welcome to the era of what the Japanese media have dubbed bento danshi (“packed-lunch boys”). Fledgling cooks afraid that such behavior will affect their status as red-blooded ...
After a lifetime of hard experience, we feel comfortably resigned to the inevitable: action and reaction, what goes up must come down, and so on. However, Japan’s Green House Co. insists that what can’t be controlled through divine intervention can be tamed by power cords and computer ports. With the flick of a switch, their ...
The searing temperatures don’t seem to have had much effect on the trend for chunky headphones, at least on the stylish streets of Shibuya. Well, if fashionistas could handle wooly hats a few summers ago, an oversized bit of headgear like this should be a breeze. Part of Sony’s summer range, the MDR-PQ2 comes in ...
The Noughties saw underground stencil artists like Banksy take over the streets with irreverent anarcho-punk graffiti that they hoped would topple the whole stinking system. If you’d like to follow in Banksy’s footsteps but don’t fancy nicking your fingers while using a Stanley knife (hey, stenciling isn’t only dangerous when you’re out on the streets), ...
Takara Tomy’s Choro-Q—those squat toy cars known to Americans of a certain age as Penny Racers—have been immortalized in countless video games in the past. Quid pro quo, the latest addition to the range looks to Nintendo World for inspiration. The “Choro-Q Hybrid! Mario Kart Wii Series” features dinky renditions of Mario, Yoshi, Luigi et ...
Remember that scene in A Beautiful Mind when Russell Crowe traced ducks and umbrellas out of the night sky to make Jennifer Connelly fall in love with him? Well, that was the ’50s, when you could still see stars from a courtyard in a big city and, um, there were such things as courtyards. But times move ...
The humble nail clipper gets an ultra modern and thoroughly practical makeover from Tripod designer Satoshi Nakagawa. Easy to grip and clip, this simple clamshell number won a well-deserved place in the most recent JIDA Design Museum Selection, an annual round-up curated by the Japan Industrial Designers’ Association. Those afraid of losing their grip can ...
Whatever you feel about the merits of Japan’s new prime minister, there’s no denying that his name is eminently—nay, deliciously—punnable. Kudos to “original graphic item online shop” ClubT for taking the gag that most of us were too embarrassed to make ourselves and turning it into an eye-catching garment. Their “Yes We Kan” T-shirt is ...
We’ve been known to spend literally days dithering over which gifts to send home to our more discerning family members (the dullard uncle gets socks every time, natch). But even the pickiest relative should be won over by the wares at Yuzya, an online shop that specializes in traditional Japanese handicrafts including ceramics, furoshiki and ...
Call us snobs, but we don’t usually feel much compunction to write about clothes pegs in this column. We’ll make an exception, though, for the Clever Peg, which promises to change the face of washing line-related technology forever. Developed by Aussie company Rimm Industries, this innovative double-action clip can be picked up at either end, ...
Proving that the kidult generation can grow up without growing out of their former passions, this accessory brings an injection of class to the lucrative otaku market. To celebrate 30 years of dot munching, Namco Bandai Games Inc. has released a special commemorative Pac-Man Wallet. Fashioned from leather and available in black, red or blue, ...
The rainy season is upon us, which means a good few weeks of soggy trains, frizzy hair and shoes that never dry. With this oval gizmo on your side, though, there’s no excuse for letting your books and clothes go moldy in the dampness of your home. The Shikke-tori no Tamago (Egg Dehumidifier) has a ...
On a scale of 1 to 10, we’d rate our enthusiasm for novelty musical instruments at, like, about 11 zillion or something. So, yeah, we were pretty taken by Korg’s latest offering. The Monotron promises classic analogue sounds on the cheap, with a ribbon controller and the same kind of filter used in the original ...
At the last hipster gathering we went to, we were slightly disconcerted to note that only one person in the room had a traditional, clamshell-type Japanese keitai. Such is the ubiquity of the iPhone that it takes more than a few novelty apps to stand out from the (well-dressed and -coiffured) crowd—something like, say, cladding ...
There’s a certain predictability to our experience with umbrellas: first we lose the case, then we lose the brolly itself. Yuen’to Design has removed the first of these worries by combining the two together: their Magic Umbrella pops out of a durable plastic case which then serves as a handle as you brave the elements. ...
The guys at Tokyo Flash must watch a lot of sci-fi movies. How else to explain the Escape C—the kind of all-in-one communication dongle you’ve probably seen in ’70s vision-of-the-future flicks but never imagined might actually exist in real life? This sleek black pendant can connect to pretty much any Bluetooth-enabled device, be it your ...
“Tokyo definitely doesn’t need another select shop,” pronounced Monocle editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé last month, in an interview which our MP3 player conveniently decided not to record. Brûlé was in town for the opening of the new Aoyama Francfranc store, a warehouse-like emporium of designer furnishings that also provides a home to Tokyo’s very own branch ...
When they first combined shampoo and conditioner in the same bottle, it felt pretty earth-shaking to us, but that’s nothing compared to some of the multitasking tricks that household appliances are managing these days. The 20cm x 10cm Vion is a compact ionizer-slash-air-cleaner-slash-deodorizer with the muscle to keep a 10-mat room fresh and fragrant. It’s ...
The internet worked itself into a lather when Kotobukiya first unveiled these babies back in January, a full five months before they were due to go on sale. Heads up: you can actually buy them now. Following up on the success of its Lightsaber Chopsticks, the company this time around looked closer to home for ...
Earlier in the year, we introduced the first in Phat Company’s Dokidoki Doubutsu Series, a line of PVC figurines that celebrates unsung members of the animal kingdom. If you’ve already bought their alpaca doll, now you can complement it with the newest additions to the range: the shoebill and capybara. (Yes, we had to Google ...
As any Japanese parent can tell you, otete and anyo are the commonly accepted terms for a baby’s handy-wandies and tootsies. And as those same parents will also confirm, babies don’t stay babies for long. Rezon, the product wing of Tokyo design firm Kawano Hideo Activity Inc, has hit on a neat way to commemorate ...
Fifty years after his death, Frank Lloyd Wright continues to hog shelf space in even the most fashionable of boutiques. These days, fans of the architect’s distinctive work can find all manner of stationery, accessories and furniture that incorporate his signature motifs. We were particularly taken by Acme’s most recent “Pen of the Month,” which ...
Mankind has been using soap since the days of Ancient Babylon, but there have always been certain practical limitations—try carrying a bar around in your pocket on a rainy day and you’ll see what we mean. Hats off to Dreams Inc, who’ve made soap genuinely pocketable, taking the kind of streamlined plastic packet normally used ...
With hay fever season behind us, we can now look forward to a glorious summer of smog, dust and all those other irritants that turn a long-suffering section of the population into sniffling wrecks. Okay, it probably would’ve been more helpful if we’d written about Bio International’s Nose Mask Pit (tagline: “99% is shut out ...
As novelty instruments go, the Keromin takes some beating. This puppet frog contains a Theremin-esque synthesizer whose pitch is controlled by opening and closing the mouth. Totally inspired (and bonkers), the original model also came with a prohibitively high price tag attached. Fret not: it’s since had a baby, which does most of the same ...
The Japanese penchant for making meals from a selection of small dishes has never been fully reconciled with the minute size of most apartment kitchens. Belle Maison’s Tamago Hitotsu de Tamagoyaki Furaipan (literally “Frying Pan That Makes Tamagoyaki With One Egg”) goes some way towards solving that issue. This compartmentalized skillet allows you to prepare ...
Sure, you can get all kinds of fancy iPhone apps that’ll wake you up just before the train arrives at your stop, but we’ve yet to come across anything that stops you dozing off in the first place. The Nap Vieeb Plus II (really rolls off the tongue, that one) promises to keep you awake ...
Normally, when we realize that our desk needs a clean, we just shrug and get on with whatever it was that we were doing. More diligent (or less slovenly) readers might appreciate this gizmo, a handy automatic sweeper with a passing resemblance to everybody’s favorite aphid-eating beetle. The Desk Cleaner Ladybug contains a small motor ...
Speaking from experience, we’ve missed some of the most important phone calls of our lives just because we had our keitai on “manner mode” and didn’t notice it going off. Princeton’s new vibrating Bluetooth bracelet makes such episodes a thing of the past: strap one of these to your wrist and it’ll buzz you every ...
E-money is big business in Japan. But despite the advances in coverage over the past few years, users are still confronted by an eternal problem: knowing how much money is actually left on their card. Or, er, cards. The Relet guarantees that you’ll never be caught short at the cash register again: simply slip your ...
In Do the Right Thing, Radio Raheem needed 20 batteries to keep his ghetto blaster juiced. Today, he’d ask for nothing more than a spot of sunshine. The Solar Sound is an eco-friendly stereo rig that’s tailor-made for lazy afternoons in the park: just let it soak up some rays, plug your iPod in, and ...
As girths expand worldwide, the technology to keep us fit is getting ever more ingenious. The Adidas miCoach must be one of the most high-tech offerings to date, helping runners of all abilities to improve their fitness and finish times. In a nutshell, it uses a dinky heart rate monitor to advise you when to ...
Foreign observers are apt to mock the reverence with which Japanese people treat business cards, but if our meishi looked at nice as these, we’d expect them to get a bit of damn respect. Stationer par excellence Winged Wheel makes personalized meishi with handmade cotton paper, using floral designs inspired by Meiji-era woodblock prints. In ...
Kasper Rønn and Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen are versatile chaps. When they aren’t lending chic interior design to luxury penthouses, they’re decking them out with products like this. The Chill Serving Platter incorporates a removable cooling pad that can be stashed in the freezer. Stick it under the porcelain plate before serving, and your sushi will stay ...
Butuzou World is niche in the nicest sense of the word. Hey, sometimes you just need a Buddhist statue, and discerning devotees take their business here. We got a bit obsessed delving through this online shop’s wares: how about Ucchusma, the fire god and, um, guardian of the bathroom, sculpted from boxwood with gold trim—a ...
When a product only comes in pink and beige versions, it gives you a pretty good idea of the target audience. Such is the case with the Tolton, a massage device that’s aimed squarely at the lucrative “exhausted housewife” demographic. Now there’s no need to beg your hubby for one of his inept shoulder rubs: ...
Cereal was never this much fun when we were younger. Never mind the infinite varieties of Marshmallow Mega-Charm Puffs out there—just check out the dishes kids get to eat them from. The Spilt Milk Bowl looks like an accident, but is designed in such a way as to withstand one itself: its flexible silicone material ...
Even if you can’t stand the music, MTV Japan’s worth watching just for the cartoons. None more so than Usavich, a series of CG animated shorts that follows a pair of bunny convicts—the tough-as-nails, sneaker-obsessed Kireneko and dopey, affable Putin—as they do time in a Soviet prison, then make a break for freedom. Be warned: ...
Make no mistake: Japanese kids love their creepy-crawlies. If the wide-eyed tyke in your life has already got the pet stag beetle, Mushi King trading cards, video games and figurines, this one’s probably next on his (or her) wish list. Gummix is a sort of culinary chemistry set that, with a spot of liquid, sugar ...
We wouldn’t mind scoring one of these, if only because the umbrella rack at the Metropolis office is reserved for visitors only. Go figure that one out. The Stand Umbrella is, as its name suggests, a brolly that’s able to support itself unaided, thanks to a tripod at its tip that—mercifully—is small enough to ensure ...
Hot on the heels of last year’s Jelly Belly headphones comes another load of cutesy kit for candy addicts, courtesy of MoreBest. The company’s Jelly Belly netbook and camera cases are tailor-made for the kawaii crowd (just look for the people with more than one strap on their keitai). They’re also on the small size: ...
As dreams of a paperless office come closer to fruition, old-school desk accessories are increasingly turning into fetish objects. This must be one of the most scrumptious we’ve come across to date: a gleaming bird statue sculpted from chrome-plated zamak (yeah, we just had to Google that one too), which serves the prosaic function of ...
The traditional shoe of choice for construction workers and ninja impersonators, rubber-soled split-toe jika tabi have been making inroads into trendier circles over the past few years. Recently launched brand Japonista Sole aims to introduce overseas audiences to the phenomenon, and—here’s the clincher—actually has tabi that will fit your clunky foreign feet. Get the practical, ...
With its compact curves and sleek tempered glass surface, the Withings is a scale for the iPhone generation—complete with iPhone app. After measuring your weight and calculating your BMI, fat and lean mass, the unit transmits the results via WiFi and charts them up in an online application, which is also viewable on your keitai. ...
Guaranteed to deliver a warm, fuzzy feeling all winter long, these are the ultimate accessory for the music-loving female: ear muff headphones. Seriously, we’ve no idea why somebody didn’t think of this before. Not only do they lend the wearer an adorable Eskimo chic, they also allow you to bop around town wrapped up in ...
Forget dragging a generator with you when you go out busking. The Eneloop Music Booster, which goes on sale here at the start of next month, is tailor-made for itinerant musicians and guerrilla giggers. This rechargeable 9V battery pack comes with a couple of outputs that can be used to power effects pedals, amps and ...
“Dammit, where did I leave my keys?” are words that you never need utter again when you’ve got yourself a Loc8tor Lite. Attach a dinky homing tag to your easily waylaid item of choice, and the next time you lose it you’ll be able to search it out using the credit card-sized handset. The Loc8tor ...
How’s this for simple: Daisaku Shoji’s Magicool is a neck scarf that requires nothing more than a quick soak in water to keep you fresh for hours. This is thanks to an absorbent polymer concealed inside that swells up when rinsed, providing a cooling effect as the water evaporates—which, lest we forget, is the function ...