sazae

Someone’s actually put an actual radio in an actual seashell, because marketing!

Heading to the beach this summer but but can’t bear the sound of those infernal waves breaking all day long? Then Japanese radio station bayfm78 has the perfect (?) solution: A radio literally built into a real sea shell!

▼ Because people holding sea shells to their ears wasn’t cliche enough.

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Based in Chiba, the station went out and specifically selected sazae (commonly called “horned turban” in English) shells that had been found in the prefecture’s waters and then put their technical personnel to work assembling the listening devices by hand. As such, bayfm78 will only be making 100 of these sazae radios, which will cost 3,980 yen (about US$35). If you really want one, you’ll have to register for their lottery — and then you’ll only get the opportunity to purchase one if your name is drawn.

If nothing else, it’s a very exclusive item.

▼ Then again, do you want to encourage this kind of punnery?

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If you’re on the fence about entering, just check out this video of the station’s hosts discussing their fancy new creation. It’s surprisingly low-key — not a single eagle scream is heard anywhere! They clearly have not taken any lessons from American talk radio…

https://youtu.be/8ODjonCQJmI

Finally, if you’re wondering what, exactly, you’ll get in your sea shell radio, here’s a run down of its features: A sazae shell, a micro USB port for charging, a volume dial, a main switch for power and tuning, a speaker, and an antenna. So, basically, it’s your standard portable radio.

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If you want to enter the lottery, just head over to bayfm78’s website. You’ll have from April 1 to April 30, and you’ll be notified by email if you’ve won.

And if you’d rather spend your time relaxing by a real beach, you should definitely check out Okinawa’s Chillma Villas. They’re not as portable, but they do feature some gorgeous views!

Sources: Net Lab, bayfm78
Images: bayfm78