FEPY

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic (or National as it is sometimes known) may well be able to power an unrelenting little robot all the way up the Grand Canyon with its new, ‘best batteries ever.’

Yet while there are a gargantuan number of gadgets on the market, most of them seem to have built-in batteries of their own, meaning that regardless of how cute canyon climbing robots can be, they are sadly unlikely to save Japan’s dwindling number of decidedly desolate-looking battery dispensers.

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Tokyo battery vending blues

Originally from Tokyo Times

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When it comes to eateries and entertainment, Tokyo certainly takes some beating, but as far as public places for the capital’s kids are concerned, the city is somewhat substandard. A situation made worse by the authorities apparent aim of making what few areas there are, as unappealing as possible.

Meaning that even if the boisterous little buggers aren’t discouraged by gunshot wounded gorillas,

then evil-looking edifices,

should definitely deter them.

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Tokyo’s unpleasant playgrounds

Originally from Tokyo Times

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Japan may well be one of the world’s most affluent nations, but the current food crisis is still being felt by the country’s cost-conscious consumers. Butter for example has actually been absent from supermarket shelves in some places, and even the single man with his loyal companions of instant noodles and lager has had to suffer his first price rise in years.

However, if such a fella should sensibly supplement his diet with some fresh but far from exotic fruit, heaven forbid that costs in this department should increase, as a (yes a) measly mango can set a salary man back a phenomenally fruity 8,400 yen (81 dollars).

A figure that arguably makes these similarly priced grapes appear something of a bargain — them coming in a box and numbering more than one.

Cherries on the other hand are another matter all together, as pretty packaging aside, for 12,600 yen (121 dollars), a young man could probably pay less to actually pop his cherry than purchase one.

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Far from free Japanese fruit

Originally from Tokyo Times

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Even a minor foray away from Akihabara’s electronics-orientated establishments, or alternatively, just the briefest browse of any otaku site, will quickly reveal that figures and dolls are feverishly doted on in Japan.

Yet whereas the majority of these characters are cloyingly cute, there also appears to be a desire for those that are downright disturbing.

With price tags almost as perturbing as their appearance.

However, with other dolls, it’s generally just the owners that get aroused, whereas with these,

the reaction appears to be reciprocal.

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Disturbing Japanese dolls

Originally from Tokyo Times

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Check out this must-see inspiring exercise video guided by world champion gymnast Mariko Takahashi. It’s for poodles, mostly, but I think it could be useful for humans who want to stay soft, fit, and poodley, too. The full title of this video is “Mariko Takahashi’s Fitness Video for Being Appraised as an ‘Ex-fat Girl.’” It was actually created for Panasonic by a female pop artist named Nagi Noda.

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Artsy Exercise Video by Poodle-esque Gymnast(title unknown)

Originally from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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A new TV drama series that started last week stars pop heartthrob Takuya Kimura as the prime minister of Japan. Whaat? I thought Japanese prime ministers had to be old, bushy-eyebrowed, and totally incapable of making a woman swoon or laugh. (Koizumi LINK may have been the exception.) A weekly magazine took a poll to find out which celebrity they felt would make the best prime minister. The winner? Takeshi Kitano, of course. “He seems like he would understand Japanese politics from a global perspective,” one woman writes of the famed movie director-turned-fiction writer. Not surprisingly, the top 10 had a good number of other comedians—George Tokoro, Tamori, and Akiko Wada all made the cut. In Japan, post-war politics has been a pretty dull, stagnant game across the decades. It’s no surprise that the people want a little fun and flair at the helm.

Beat Takeshi Deemed PM-Worthy by Japanese Women(title unknown)

Originally from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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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.

Keep reading…

Mangobot: Hot Asian Women with Machine Guns(title unknown)

Originally from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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Maifoot, located in Tokyo's geek mecca of Akihabara, delightfully combines everything Japanese Otaku love so well: maids, nurses, cosplay, massages, and maids. Did I mention, the staff are all maids.

Welcome to Maifoot, Service With a Servant!

Originally from Inventor Spot - Inventions, Innovations, and Interesting Ideas for the Inventor in All of Us

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Society may be aging but the older generation still wants to enjoy the benefits of technology. Marketers like Japan's NTT Docomo realize this and their new Raku Raku ("Easy Easy") Phone Basic S cellphone brings hi-tech back to basics.

Selling Cellphones to the Gray Generation

Originally from Inventor Spot - Inventions, Innovations, and Interesting Ideas for the Inventor in All of Us

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It won’t fill you up, but it is a feast for the eyes. This so-called “world’s smallest bowl of ramen” — a 1-micron (1/1000-mm, or 1/100th the width of a human hair) wide bowl containing dozens of 2-micron (1/500-mm) long x 0.02-micron (1/50,000-mm) thick noodles — was created by University of Tokyo professor Masayuki Nakao as part of an effort to develop new carbon nanotube-based microcircuit fabrication technology. Nakao used a metal particle beam to carve the bowl from silicon, and he mixed up a soup of ethanol and catalyst inside the bowl to form the carbon nanotube “noodles.” According to Nakao, it was a major challenge to keep it from overflowing. No word yet on how the microscopic meal tastes.

[Source: Yomiuri]

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