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Japanese women reveal their biggest expenditures ever

A while back, I’d been struggling for months with an old laptop that took a solid 30 minutes to start up each morning. My repeated attempts to rectify the problem, using the most advanced electronics trouble shooting techniques known to me (hurling every curse word I knew in both English and Japanese at the screen), only proved successful in cutting the waiting time down to 29 minutes, unfortunately.

Eventually, I bit the bullet and bought a new laptop. Despite my lovely and crafty wife talking the salesman into a 3,000 yen (US$30) discount, it was still the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought. Not that I’m complaining of course. It works great, and since almost all of my work, in-home entertainment, and overseas correspondence is done through my PC, my life is honestly better for having purchased it.

You can’t always count on being completely satisfied every time you drop a giant wad of cash on something, though. Japanese women’s Internet portal My Navi Woman recently released the results of its survey on working women’s biggest expenditures, and whether or not they got hit with a dose of buyer’s remorse afterwards.

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Weirdest collaboration ever? Convenience store + menstruation website = pink bread

Japanese marketers love a good crossover product. We recently covered the very strange Mountain Dew-corn chip mashup, a Pizza Hut-Evangelion pairing, and any number of Hello Kitty crosses. But even weirdness-loving Japanese may be put off by news of the latest crossover collaboration between Circle K-Sunkus convenience stores and menstruation-tracking website Luna Luna: a pink steamed bun.

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10 ways shopping at Wal-Mart in China is completely different from how it is in the US

Wal-Mart just recalled donkey meat in China because it contained meat from other animals, including fox.

Despite the recent scandal, the mega-retailer has become wildly popular in China. Wal-Mart plans to open 110 additional stores there in the next few years.

Shopping at a Chinese Wal-Mart is totally different from shopping in one in the U.S.

We highlighted some notable contrasts.

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As Comiket approaches, convention center convenience stores prepare for war

Twice a year, Japanese amateur manga convention, Comiket, rolls through town, bringing in its tow an apocalyptic nerd storm of cosplayers, manga enthusiasts and rare comic and figure hunters. If stereotypes are to be believed, this means that twice a year, instant ramen, energy drinks, curry and soda consumption spike considerably.

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The top five things foreigners want to bring back to Japan after visiting their home countries

As the end of the year approaches, many foreigners living in Japan are heading back to their home countries for the holidays. Of course, seeing family and friends for the first time in a while is the best part of going home. But many people also have fun stocking up on all the familiar products that are hard to find in Japan. Check out the results from a survey on Japanese website, Madam Riri, asking foreigners to reveal the items they like to buy in their home countries and bring back to Japan.

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Chinese man leaps to his death during five-hour shopping trip with girlfriend

A man from China’s Jiangsu Province has reportedly leapt from a seventh-floor shopping mall balcony following a heated argument with his girlfriend during a five-hour Christmas shopping trip. When the young woman said that she wanted to visit one more store, the 38-year-old threw the bags he was carrying to the floor and jumped over the rail, horrifying shoppers.

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Get the realistic Tumbler Batmobile you’ve always wanted… for your iPhone

Yarisugi is a Japanese word that means overkill or something done to excess. It’s the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the realistic replica of the Christopher Nolan-era Batmobile announced by Premium Bandai this week. Not because they’ve copied the vehicle in minute detail, as you can see in the image above, but because it is, in fact, an iPhone case.

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Tokyo Disney Resort marks 30th anniversary with $22,000 Franck Muller watches 【Photos】

Tokyo Disney Resort is approaching its 30th anniversary, and it wouldn’t be Disney if they didn’t have a whole slew of commemorative items in the works. Recently, they announced a partnership with Swiss luxury watchmaker Franck Muller to produce a set of men’s and women’s watches for the occasion. And you can make one yours if you have 2.2 million yen (about US$22,000) to blow.

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This inappropriate lamp gives new meaning to the phrase “turn you on”

In 1994, the product design company, Propaganda, was established in Thailand to fill the need for playful products in home and work environments. Since then, the fun-loving brand has expanded immensely. Stores can be found in more than 30 different countries, including Japan, the US, and many parts of Europe.

Today we’d like to focus on one of Propaganda’s many tongue-in-cheek trinkets. This peculiar lamp is certain to brighten your day.

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Like many people who immigrated to Japan, for my first few weeks in the country, almost every day involved a trip to the local 100 yen shop. Setting up a new home requires a big investment of time and money, but at the very least, in Japan you can largely outfit your kitchen with a handful of 100-yen (US $1) coins.

And it’s not just dishes and silverware you can pick up on the cheap, but a variety of handy things to make your home life easier, as featured in a recent ranking of the top 10 convenient items from the 100 yen shop.

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The eye PIECE for you! One Piece glasses reduce computer glare and look good doing it

So you’re a One Piece fan. You have the ice cream maker from KFC, you’ve stayed in the hotel room, and you never leave your house without your One Piece water cooler. But you still want more One Piece in your life! What’s a fan to do?

Well, why not slap your favorite character across your face and walk around like that all day??

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“Customers also bought…”: Product searches for rope on Amazon JP yield creepy results

A friend of mine once shared an image with me of the product recommendations section from Amazon.com, which showed a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 paired with a bulk pack of adult daipers. Apart from shut-ins who would rather soil themselves than leave their military-based shooter and go to the bathroom, it’s hard to imagine why Amazon’s super computers would suggest that the two products were a perfect match.

An equally odd product pairing appearing on Amazon JP caught the attention of Japanese netizens earlier today, but rather than giving them a good chuckle it has quite freaked them out.

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Great Scott! Back to the Future DeLorean Lego set finally here

Believe it or not, a Lego Jar Jar Binks has existed for years, but the iconic DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future has only just now been immortalized in block form.

Starting out in 1949 as a seemingly simple toy set consisting of multicolored blocks that fastened together, Lego has grown into a vast toy and ever more complicated empire spanning hundreds, even thousands, of play sets depicting iconic characters and scenes from geek culture.

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Westernized kimono resemble cosplay more than actual clothes

Summer is the season for festivals here in Japan. Every weekend some district or other is putting together a party for locals and tourists to come and enjoy. There are food stands, game stalls, temporary toy shops, and people all around. Most come with a parade event of sorts and end with an explosion of amazing fireworks. But above all, something you’re always going to find at any self-respecting festival are people dressed traditionally in lightweight yukata (a summer kimono) and jinbei (robe-style shirt and shorts) as they wander the streets.

But what about in Western counties like America? In early September of every year, Saint Louis, Missouri, holds a large Japanese-style festival in the city’s botanical gardens. Despite the lingering heat of late summer, somewhere between 20 to 30 thousand people attend this great cultural event each year. But what do they wear? Judging by the array of kimono and yukata available at the English shopping site A Fashion, people hoping to model some Japanese styles might find themselves in what resembles a crazy costume more than actual clothes.

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  • Jun 28, 2013

Convenience stores really have become an integral part of our lives, haven’t they? We think nothing of seeing them on every street corner, and I’m sure we’ve all come to rely on them in times of emergencies (like when you’re in dire need of Häagen-Dazs cookies & cream ice cream at two in the morning). Well, convenience stores may be practically ubiquitous, but we have to say this particular one took us by surprise. It’s certainly not like any convenience store we’ve ever seen!

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Little Danbo cleans up and gets a job with exclusive BEAMS collaboration figure

The popular manga character and customizable toy Danbo has finally decided to move out of his parent’s house and get a real job, after spending his angsty teen years traveling Japan in search of enlightenment.

This collaborative figure from toy maker Kaiyodo and clothier BEAMS outfits little Danbo with chic, modern-casual business attire, preparing the box boy for his new career – we’re guessing somewhere in the logistics field.

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Sailor Moon gets more Super Star accessories

There’s a lot of exciting stuff taking place in honor of Sailor Moon’s 20th anniversary. Premium Bandai has decided to celebrate in its own way by showering us with new cosmic merchandise, including magical girl make-up and now a beautiful transformation brooch ring set. It’s the perfect accessory: subtle but always there for you, in case the world needs saving. Read More

Corn Soup, Robots and Pheromones: Strange New Beauty Product Hits Japanese Shelves

We’ve covered the Japanese obsession with corn soup here on RocketNews24 before. It’s a popular flavor for all kinds of snacks and even comes in little cans out of vending machines. But this latest corn soup product might be taking the obsession a bit too far…

LC Love Cosmetics has announced it will be selling a product billed as a “kiss beautifying liquid” that is supposed to give you extra kissablity by adding the taste of corn soup to your lips. Read More

Tokyo Store Launches Concierge Service to Help Clueless Men Shopping for their Girlfriends

With White Day little over a week away, thousands of men in Japan are currently feeling the heat. Having received gifts from their loved ones on Valentine’s Day, it’s now time to return the favour by buying their sweetheart something that simultaneously says “thank you” while acting as a token of their affections.

But when most men think of the words “great gift”, they often envisage things like video games or iPad-controlled helicopters, and the chances of such items going down well with their wives or girlfriends are slim to none.

Thankfully, help is at hand! Available at Tokyo’s Tokyu Hands department store, the White Day Concierge service is designed to help male shoppers on the hunt for a romantic gift find something that their other half may actually like, rather than just a female Tenga toy with a ribbon tied around it and the promise of a shoulder rub.

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Lotteria x Evangelion Fukubukuro! What Anime Surprises Await Inside!?

Fukubukuro, lit. “lucky bag”, are a wonderful way for stores to shift merchandise at the start of the year, not unlike western stores’ New Year’s sales but with far more mystery and intrigue involved. Shoppers take a gamble when they purchase these gift bags as they are completely sealed and their contents unlisted, and they don’t always contain products that we desperately need, but fukubukuro usually contain items whose cash value far exceeds the bag’s asking price.

So when our reporter Kuzo heard that the fast food chain and home of 30-patty cheeseburgers Lotteria was offering up special collaborative Evangelion bags for just 2,000 yen each, he powered down his Wii U, stepped out into the sunlight and sprinted – well, sort of jogged while wheezing quietly – to his nearest store to grab one for himself.

Was it worth the US$22 purchase, or was Kuzo lumbered with a cooking-oil-scented bag of tat? Find out after the jump.

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