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.
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!
House H is the latest project by Sou Fujimoto Architects in Tokyo. The house is an “experiment to find a balance between volumes, spaces and light”.
The non-designer crowd usually cringe at fancy designer phrases like this, but I have to say that Sou’s House H is pretty spot-on with that phrase.
There’re a lot of stairs in this house too, and where are the bedrooms?
More pictures after the jump.
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.
Let’s cut to the chase: these are Japan Self-Defense Force Sunglasses (or JSDF for short – we ♥ acronyms here in JHYPE) and, apparently, they’re officially endorsed by Japan’s armed forces.
Each lens boasts the ability to withstand an impact from an object up to 6.55mm (0.3in) traveling at 171km/h (or 106mph). Of course, those specs probably won’t mean much against a 9mm bullet speeding toward your eye at over 1,000 miles per hour, but that’s more of a concern for the JSDF than it is for us regular folks.
Japan may be known for the wacky and wonderful, but it’s also known as one of the most stylish and cutting edge places on planet Earth. Take this Plastic Moon House for example.
Built in Tokyo, Japanese architects Norisada Maeda Atelier designed this house that includes a dental practice and swimming pool.
As you’d expect (err), the swimming pool is stylishly integrated on the top floor above the dental practice area on the ground floor.
Plenty of pictures after the jump.
“Collectible Erasers” sounds like an oxymoron to most people outside Japan, but in the Land of The Rising Sun (or Rising Fun in this case) these are hot collectibles for those who are in and out of school. They are literally too cool for school.
Take a look at the above dimsum set for example. The fine detailing extends to individual grains of fried rice and four sets of chopsticks!
The sushi, snack food and cake erasers have to be seen to be believed. They look so good you’ll be tempted to take a bite, so don’t say we didn’t warn you.
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.
One thing you have to love about Japan is the way its manga/anime culture permeates into normal everyday life. From the life-sized Gundam in Odaiba to the futuristic Himiko watercraft in Tokyo Bay (we’ll look at both of these soon), you can’t help but be bombarded with anime-inspired paraphernalia everywhere you go.
Take this computer mouse by Elecom for example. It has styling and design cues straight from the pages of “Ghost in the Shell” or “Metal Gear Solid“. But it’s all not just style and no substance.
Things You Said