Let’s Chit Chat about Kit Kat

Our good friend, Lisa Katayama of Tokyomango (and Boing Boing) fame recently wrote about the wonderful world of Kit Kat in Japan (and beyond). Lisa mentioned that “Sampling different flavoured Kit Kats has become a side hobby for some Japanese, and in turn Nestle produces unusual flavours for consumption — mostly in Japan, but also in other countries, presumably for Japanese tourists to take home as gifts. Some of the more curious flavors include soy sauce, grilled potato, and sports drink.”

My personal favourite would be the Cherry Blossom / Sakura flavoured Kit Kat. Marketing gimmick aside (for the cynics), they do taste awesome. Certainly beats the old chocolate milk, white chocolate or dark chocolate variety here in the local supermarkets. Anyway, enjoy the Kit Kat collection (from Flickr) and have a great weekend!

The Art of Rice

A Sengoku warrior on horseback

The name Inakadate usually doesn’t conjure up any specific imagery of Japan in one’s head. It has a population of around 8700 people and it is situated about 965km (600 miles) away north of Tokyo. Mount Fuji, vending machines, futuristic miniature technologies, karaoke, boxy cars, pokemon, anime, maid cafes, cosplayers, mechas … have nothing to do with this village in the Aomori prefecture. So why does Inakadate make it to JHYPE?

Every year, hundreds of volunteers and villagers in this rural town create rice field art by planting four different varieties of rice in late May across huge swathes of paddy fields in special patterns. Let’s have a look at some of the truly AMAZING works of rice crop art in Inakadate (and beyond).

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Why is Japan so …..

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 … (^_^)

I, Robot

Sorry for the slow updates as of late. The team at JHYPE had been in great demand outside the internet world for a change (i.e. working hard to pay off our christmas indulgences). We will eventually return to normality with more wacky and wonderful Japan.

To make up for it, may I present you the wonderful robots at last year’s IREX (International Robot EXhibition) at Tokyo Big Sight. Here are a few photos from the event. Enjoy!

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CHANEL Samurai Armour

In a salute to luxury brand Chanel, artist Tetsuya Noguchi has created some concept samurai armour suits designed to appeal to the fashion-conscious warrior. Made from resin, cashew lacquer, cloth and glass, the exquisitely crafted protective suits sport the iconic double-C logo, allowing the wearer to flaunt his superior social status while crushing the enemy on the battlefield.

More pictures of the luxe armour after the jump.

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Natsuko “Gal” Sone

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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Casio EXILIM EX-G1: As Close To Gundam As You’ll Get

If ever you need proof of Japan’s pervasive mecha culture, you only need to look at the latest EXILIM  EX-G1 from Casio. The styling is almost derived from the latest Gundam or Evangelion anime.

The EXILIM  EX-G1 is Casio’s first foray into shock-resistant, waterproof, freezeproof, and dustproof digital cameras.

The EX-G1 claims to be the world’s slimmest shock-resistant camera, too, offering an interesting combination of rugged design with sleek lines to satisfy the taste of any intermediate camera lover – mecha fan or not. More info and pics after the jump.

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The Pussy that Transcends All Genres: Hello Kitty

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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9h Capsule Hotel by Design Studio S

I, for one, welcome our capsule overlords

When in Japan, you absolutely have to set aside time (say, about 9 hours) to have this particular unique experience at least once.

No, I’m not talking about buying used girls underwear from a vending machine – I’m talking about staying overnight at a capsule hotel.

Three years in the making, the 9h Capsule Hotel (designed by Design Studio S) is named that because you’re supposed to only stay there nine hours, and each room is so small you can’t even stand up in it. That’s right: it’s a capsule.

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Haute CAToure (Ready-to-Wear Collection) by United Bamboo

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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