Christmas Gift Guide from Japan

Written by: William on December 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm | In PRODUCT INNOVATION | No Comments

It’s that time of year again. What to get the kids that will keep them occupied for at least an hour? And that savvy nephew who seems never to be surprised by anything? Then there’s the parent who is impossible to buy for — or the loved one you want to give something super special.

Well, you can be sure to find plenty here in Tokyo.

This is our gift guide to a very small selection of goodies available locally, brought to your worldwide courtesy of the JapanTrendShop.

Things for the home and kitchen are always a safe purchase for a whole range of people. But why settle on something boring? Especially when there are cups as funky as the Treasure Mug, which looks like it is half “buried” in the sand of your table!

Cooking is at the center of any decent Christmas celebration and here’s something to liven up the results that come flowing from the kitchen — and healthy ones as well! The Cucumber Molds can be used to help you manipulate vegetables to grow into fantastic shapes — hearts and stars!

Not just eating. Christmas is certainly a time for drinking as well, so why not add that certain something to your beverage with the Ice Ball Mold, which in seconds crafts immaculate ice spheres. Not only do these spheres look amazing, they also melt slowly, keeping your drink cooler for longer.

However, if something more celestial is more up your alley, then sit back and gaze at the stars with this Homestar Pro 2nd Edition Home Planetarium, which beams 60,000 stars and constellations, plus the earth and moon right onto your home ceiling.

This one’s definitely for the tech fans. Great for peer-to-peer transfers, the Toshiba FlashAir SDHC Memory Card is officially the world’s first with embedded wireless LAN functionality. It has a 8GB memory capacity and Speed Class 6, and will provide a simple and quick way to share photos with friends, or transfer them to cloud storage services and social networks.

We previously blogged a few weeks ago about this Kyosho Space Ball. Don’t be fooled by the low-fi appearance; actually it works a treat. It’s essentially a flying gyroscope, though one that can bounce off surfaces and walls (particularly useful for that kid, young and old, who tends to break new toys straightaway).

Did anyone see the Hugh Jackman movie Real Steel? Then you will love recreating the bouts from the film with the Omnibot Battroborg Battle Robot. These fighting robot can be moved by you with the nunchuku-style wireless motion-activated controllers. This means they literally respond to how well you box, so you get to experience all the skill and agility of the sport — without the blood.

If you want something for younger members of the family but particularly something for the engineering and creative types, then Gakken’s Otona no Kagaku “adult science” series will offer plenty of challenges and rewards. This Home Planetarium is one example, a nifty homemade planetarium, not quite as impressive as the Sega Toys’ Homestar Pro Second Edition, naturally, but perhaps better for being made with your own hands!

Recently celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, Tamagotchi digital pet was THE hit toy of the Nineties. Another generation, another fad. Yet the Tamagotchi is still going strong thanks to Bandai, who keep updating it for the current consumer. This includes this new Tamagotchi iD L with all new Tamatomo characters and functions, available exclusively in Japan.

At Christmas and New Year we also tend to over-indulge.

If you’re worried about how you look and want to work at it in a small way, there are some solutions for you.

At a risk of giving fodder to the “wacky Japan” enthusiasts, there are some admittedly unusual beauty gadgets on the market in Japan. Of course, these are not mainstream items but nor are they just bizarre for the sake of bizarre. They are effective to a certain extent and should be approached as genuine health tools, albeit ones that look a little different!

Take the Hana Tsun, for instance, which helps shape that snout of yours into the straighter profile you’ve always wanted.

Or there’s the Face Slimmer, an “exercise mouthpiece” which does similar tricks to your whole face.

If karaoke is more your thing, then be sure to take a look at the Beauty Voice Trainer.

And finally, if the kids get too excited with all the fun and presents at Christmas, help them get off to some well-deserved rest with this sleep therapy Hug and Dream Minnie Mouse Robot. It “breathes” with the timing of a parent’s gentle, rhythmic pats on a troubled infant’s back, easing the child’s own breathing and calming them down.

Tags: Gadgets
Category: PRODUCT INNOVATION
Other categories: CULTURE, LIFESTYLE

Black Friday, Cyber Monday Gift Guide from Japan

Written by: William on November 23, 2012 at 1:07 pm | In PRODUCT INNOVATION | No Comments

Looking for some good Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping ideas this weekend? Forget your local store for a moment and feast your eyes on some of the goodies Tokyo has to offer.

Japan Trend Shop is having a 10% off sale over the holiday and here are some of their recommended gift ideas.

You might remember our blog post from a few weeks ago about this Kyosho Space Ball. It looks a bit low-fi but actually it works a treat. This flying gyroscope can bounce off surfaces and walls, so you won’t look sheepish breaking your new toy straightaway by bad piloting.

Next up, grooming. Whether you are a participant in the hairy Movember shenanigans or not, we all need to take our grooming seriously, and that includes the men.

Enter the Men’s Eyebrow Shaving Guide, a handy frame that you can place over your eyebrows and make sure you get the perfect shape when trimming pesky hairs.

Or if you’re more into reckless fun — especially with friends — then you will absolutely love the Omnibot Battroborg Battle Robot, a fighting robot that you move with nunchuku-style wireless motion-activated controllers. The tiny robots literally respond to how well you box so it becomes a battle of skill, not just steel.

For something stylish around the house, you can’t go wrong with this Balloon Lamp, so simple but elegant you wonder why no one thought of it ages ago. The floating high-intensity LED lights glow for over 100-hours. Absolutely great for parties!

Also a very nice way to entertain guests and family members is with the Homestar Extra Planetarium, which projects 120,000 stars onto your ceiling. A sophisticated domestic lifestyle accessory, it was made in collaboration with famed planetarium-maker Takayuki Ohira.

And this time of year we send a lot of cards and notes to each other. Why not spice up things up with the Coharu Label and Tape Printer? This is a unique printing kit where you can customize your own messages, labels and tape for adding to presents and so on.

The Tamagotchi digital pet recently celebrated its fifteenth anniversary and the global hit is still going strong, with Bandai releasing this new Tamagotchi iD L with all new Tamatomo characters and functions, available exclusively in Japan.

We couldn’t resist also mentioning the surprise hit of last year (and this year as well!), the Beauty Lift High Nose, the most original way we’ve seen to replicate the effects of plastic surgery for a much lighter budget.

Finally, after all the partying, it’s time for some shut eye. And what better way to make sure the kids get their full dose of snooze? With this sleep therapy Hug and Dream Minnie Mouse Robot, which works like a parent’s gentle, rhythmic pats on a troubled infant’s back, easing the child’s breathing and calming them down.

And the best thing about this time of year? It’s the last point before Christmas when it’s still feasibly permissible to buy YOURSELF presents!

Tags: Gadgets
Category: PRODUCT INNOVATION
Other categories: CULTURE, LIFESTYLE

Kyosho Space Ball is RC Star Wars interrogation drone

Written by: William on October 24, 2012 at 7:31 am | In PRODUCT INNOVATION | No Comments

There is already such a pantheon of RC driving and flying toys out there, you wonder where else there is to go for makers.

Well, Kyosho have come up with this globe-like Space Ball, a football-like flying sphere that is surprisingly sophisticated.

The gyroscope might look a big simple — or rather, empty — but the materials have been designed for durability so it can bounce off walls and floors whenever you mis-pilot your vessel, or when you fly so much you run out of power!

We also like the little extras, like its LED light to help guide you between furniture, or the “aroma” function so you can let off a fragrance as you zip around the room.

It seems that we are only a short step away from the cool interrogation drone that was in the original Star Wars film, or even the light saber “seeker” practice spheres that buzzed around the Millennium Falcon shooting lasers at Luke Skywalker.

Back in October last year, there was also spherical flying machine developed by Japan’s flying defence as a spy gadget no doubt to help combat pesky Chinese fishermen trying to invade the Senkaku Islands.

Tags: Gadgets
Category: PRODUCT INNOVATION
Other categories: CULTURE, LIFESTYLE