January 28th, 2010 | Author: andy | Filed under: Bizarre, Video | No Comments »
Ladies, are you overly shy? Can’t get up the nerve to talk to that cute guy in your building? Hurtin’ bad after a break-up? If so, order Miterudake For Lady a self-help DVD that helps shy women gain (or regain) their social savvy.
“Miterudake” means “only looking” in Japanese and that’s just what this curious and kinda creepy DVD is all about: 51 young men staring into the camera lens for about a minute each, ending with a quick smile and a reassuring phrase.
Who would watch such a thing, you might ask? According to Avex, the manufacturer, Miterudake For Lady is aimed at the woman whose “heart was almost broken at love and interpersonal relationships.” Obviously chocolate and ice-cream do not work in Japan.
More after the jump. Including Miterudake for Men! (you know you want it, boys).
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January 27th, 2010 | Author: andy | Filed under: Bizarre, Fashion, Technology | 1 Comment »
To help celebrate Meiji Chocolate’s 84th anniversary, Bandai had decided to make a special line-up of Meiji “Infinite” (Mugen) chocolate. The item allows one to enjoy the sublime thrill of breaking off a piece of chocolate from the bar, again and again, sugar & calorie free. Sweet! More info and pics after the jump.
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January 14th, 2010 | Author: andy | Filed under: Bizarre, Culture | No Comments »
Google’s auto-complete feature attempts to find the question users want to ask about Japan. And you’ll find all the answers to the above on JHYPE … (^_^)
December 18th, 2009 | Author: andy | Filed under: Bizarre, Culture, Food and Drink, Video | 3 Comments »
Gyaruru - Natsuko Sone (centre)
You may be wondering why a group of nubile young Japanese Pop (J-Pop) stars make it to Jhype. Rest assured Jhype is still the place to be for all things worth hyping about from Japan. To be specific, we are only interested in one person in the group, Natsuko “Gal” Sone, or better known as Gal Sone.
Sone is known for her bleached chestnut hair, high-pitched staccato voice, thick makeup and girlie fashion, which make her a thoroughly trendy Tokyo “gal.” So what makes her “Jhype” special you may ask?
Let’s see, the fact that she can eat 6KG (no typo, it’s kilograms) OF CURRY SOBA IN 23 MINUTES. Or eat 10 plates of bacon and cheese pasta, 10 plates of gyoza (a staggering amount of 50 dumplings) and 10 plates 0f sushi (a mind blowing 100 pieces of sushi) against a group of 11 (ELEVEN!) people. More after the jump.
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December 1st, 2009 | Author: andy | Filed under: Bizarre, Video | No Comments »
Somebody’s finally discovered a practical use for lazy cats. The video after the jump absolutely made my day. Japan, you have done it again.
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November 20th, 2009 | Author: van | Filed under: Bizarre, Culture | No Comments »
What is this? Why, it’s a guest post by JHYPE friend, Jasmine! – van
Hello Kitty. At a glance, she’s a black outline of a cat with six whiskers, two beady black eyes, a little button nose – and no mouth.
The official word from Sanrio is that Hello Kitty speaks from the heart; and as Sanrio’s global ambassador, she is not bound by language.*
Beyond that, there’s no pinning her down; she’s been everything from princess to witch to black egg (hello, Hakone!) and sumo. She has travelled all around the world, and even beyond.
Her merchandising is possibly even more diverse than Kitty-Chan herself. According to the London Times, there’s an estimated 12,000 Hello Kitty items on the market, with some 600 new items introduced each year.
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November 17th, 2009 | Author: andy | Filed under: Bizarre, Fashion | 2 Comments »
Hole in one?
Golf, in Japan, is almost as important as its national sport (and pastime), Baseball. It’s especially popular among Japanese men in their mid 30s and 40s. Lately, though, golf is fast gaining popularity with the younger market.
This is evident from my last trip to Tokyo, where I spotted a sports clothing and apparel department store dedicated to golf, and golf alone, in the trendy area of Shinjuku.
Now in order to help the Japanese women find a new golfing mate, Triumph decided to offer to the ladies a new and “unique” bra that doubles as a golf-putting mat in order to combine pleasure and … pleasure. More bizzare pics and a video after the jump.
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November 12th, 2009 | Author: andy | Filed under: Bizarre, Culture, Fashion | No Comments »
It was only ever a matter of time before the catwalks (you see what I did there) were dominated by real cats.
Well, Japanese fashion house United Bamboo has begun seriously designing for cats.
To kick it off, United Bamboo has created a line of ready-to-wear (haute CAToure?) items for cats, designed to match their women’s fashions for the Fall and Winter season 2009 – 2010.
Jump through for a preview of what’s on offer…
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November 7th, 2009 | Author: van | Filed under: Bizarre, Culture | 2 Comments »
We’ve all read the books and – for those for whom books are anathema – the websites about the zany Japanese inventions designed to improve day-to-day life.
Butter in a glue stick, slippers with a retractable rod in the heel to squash cockroaches from a distance, double-headed jugs so you can pour two glasses of water at a time, and my absolute favourite: the hardhat with a suction cup on the back, so you can attach yourself to the train window on the way home and fall asleep without your head falling into your chest.
The problem with these inventions is that they seem to ignore one fairly major factor in the success of a new product: will it embarrass me?
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