Tag Archives: japan

Is It Ever OK To Apply Makeup In Public?

Bianca PosterliApril 8, 2010 //

I’m one of the lucky few who doesn’t have to deal with the hassle of a morning commute, and let me tell you, it’s amazing. But for those individuals who have to hop in a car or on the subway to make it to work in the morning, any spare time is a necessity. Suddenly small tasks like breakfast, phone calls, and makeup application turn into on-the-go procedures. I’ve seen it all — women using eye lash curlers while driving, mascara application through bumpy subway rides, and people chowing down on cereal bars or full meals underground. Well, Japan says no more! With a cute illustration, the country made it clear to subway riders than any makeup application is just not acceptable while in public. Keep the beauty routine in the bathroom, please. What do you think? Do you apply makeup in public or does it gross you out?

After the jump, another suggestion about what to avoid … Keep reading »

Japanese Restaurant Honors The Male Member For One Night Only

Catherine StrawnMarch 31, 2010 //

Each spring, Kawasaki, Japan, puts on an annual fertility/penis festival, and a Japanese restaurant in New York City is carrying on the tradition. Matsuri will host its own Kanamara Matsuri, or Festival of the Steel Phallus, on Thursday, complete with edible sweetmeat resembling male members. The special menu includes a Big Sausage, a Get It Up Hot Pot, and for dessert, a Hard Banana Cream Pie. If you were hoping for an appropriate time to suggestively eat phallic-shaped food, here’s your chance. [Refinery29] Keep reading »

Does This Creepy Robot Baby Make You Want To Get Pregnant?

Jessica WakemanMarch 23, 2010 //

Lately, all it takes is a chubster in a Gap onesie for my ovaries to throb. But the good citizens of Japan are apparently less inclined to make babies — so the University of Tsukauba built them Yotara, a robot baby, to encourage the birth rate. Yotara giggles, sneezes, sleeps and “wakes up” when a rattle is jiggled. (Watch a creepy video about all this here.) A heated water pump system gives Yotara a runny nose and touch sensors in his skin control his facial expressions. “We’d like people to experience the innocent, joyful expressions typical of small babies,” said Hioki Kunimura, the leader of the Yotara project.

Uh, how is this supposed to encourage more Japanese to have babies instead of just “adopting” robots they can shut off? Don’t you people remember Tamagotchis? [Sky News] Keep reading »

Japan’s Latest Men’s Fashion Trend Is Sexist, Thug-Inspired

Leonora EpsteinMarch 9, 2010 //

According to The Senken, “The most widely read fashion daily in Japan” (I’d never heard of it either until I was handed a copy at Paris Fashion Week), the latest men’s fashion craze is a style called “OraOra,” which “comes from a sound Japanese people make when threatening someone.” As such, the general theme is a “bad boy” look, characterized by baggy black sweatsuits, gangsta body language, guido-like graphic embellishments, and sunglasses. Explains The Senken, “It is a tough guy’s look that says ‘don’t mess with me’ in head to toe black. The key words for this look are outlaw and tough guy.”

We’d normally just sigh and shake our heads in heavy disappointment at the continual lack of male fashion sense, but things get weird when we find out the supposed “reasons” this trend is taking off … Keep reading »

Japanese Hair Dye Will Give You Creepy Magic Mohawks

Leonora EpsteinMarch 8, 2010 //


This Japanese commercial is either an anti-drug PSA showing you how terrifying and creepy you sound when you’re high, or it’s a promotion for a men’s hair dye. Chances are with the latter, but that doesn’t make it any less bizarre. Ready yourself for some clapping mohawks and a weird, drugged-out rendition of “If You’re Happy And You Know It Clap Your Hands” … in Japanese. At least, we think? [YouTube via Gawker TV]
Keep reading »

No Fancy Nails, Dyed Hair, Or Earrings For Some Japanese Athletes

Annika HarrisFebruary 22, 2010 //

Dang, athletes in Japan have some serious dress code rules to contend with in order to participate in their sport. First, we told you about snowboarder Kazuhiro Kokubo, who was banned from the Olympic opening ceremony by the Japanese Ski Association because he was sporting a “hip-hop” twist on the national uniform. Now, we’ve learned that synchronized swimmers could face lifetime bans for expressing their sense of style. Japanese officials have implemented a policy, which goes into effect April 1, that will ban a swimmer if she/he goes to competition with elaborately painted or designed nails, dyed hair, or pierced ears. These rules are supposed to prevent the athletes from looking like rock stars, but they seem a little harsh to me. I mean, aren’t most people paying attention to their swimming or diving skills, instead of their fashion sense? [Reuters] Keep reading »

Abercrombie & Fitch Is To Japan As Oil Is To Water

Leonora EpsteinFebruary 9, 2010 //

Run, run for your lives! Cologne-doused, shirtless Abercrombie & Fitch models are coming after the people of Japan! While this may sound like the plot of a bad spoof movie, it’s not too far off from the truth. (OK, well, not quite.) Apparently, the retailer has set up its first outpost in Japan, and the culture clash has been unexpectedly–and hilariously–problematic. Keep reading »

How Do We Feel About Breast Milk Shampoo?

Leonora EpsteinJanuary 11, 2010 //

Shiseido sells a line of shampoo and body washes in Japan that touts “mother’s milk” as a component. Ew! Do these Shiseido products really have breast milk in them? Turns out they don’t (phew), but rather, the beauty company is trying to sell “the concept of mother’s milk,” which apparently means pulling nutrients from other sources that also happen to be found in breast milk.

So, uh, isn’t that still kind of strange? The idea of getting the benefit of mother’s milk (even if it isn’t the real thing)? Let’s hope this isn’t the beginning of an uncomfortable trend—breast milk for beauty products. [Inventor Spot] Keep reading »

These Wacky Japanese Beauty Products May Be Headed Your Way

Bianca PosterliJanuary 4, 2010 //

When it comes to beauty products (and fashion, for that matter), you can always count on Japan for crazy out-there trends. And with a new decade comes new inventions, and more ways to spend money on your appearance. These inventions are already a big hit in Japan, so they have a fair chance of being repackaged and sold here. Just what beauty gizmos might your hard-earned cash go toward this year? Well, let’s see, there’s …

Keep reading »

Now Your Bustier Can Double As A Putting Green

Susannah BreslinNovember 12, 2009 //


I’ve heard of some strange lingerie in my time, but the Nice Cup in Bra, comin’ at ya straight outta Japan, is probably one of the more bizarre. That green bustier? It magically transforms into a putting green. In Japan, there’s a golfing boom among young women — “those women always on the go” — who, it seems, must sate their putting urges on the spot. The deets: “The mat is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) in length and has (unsurprisingly) two cups to aim for [and] small pockets for holding golf tees and scoring pencils.” If you make a whole-in-one, the bra exclaims, “Nice in!” The miniskirt turns into a flag that tells everyone to be quiet while you focus on the green. [Examiner] Keep reading »

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