Tag Archives: japan

Breath Checker Device Lets You Know If You’re Primed To Kiss

Leonora EpsteinNovember 3, 2009 //

In our digital age, that old hand-to-mouth trick to check your breath is so passé. (Plus unreliable if you just caressed your hands with some scented lotion. Ahh, guava patchouli breath … mmm. Kidding.) That’s why there’s this Date Breath Checker, a hilarious Japanese (of course) gadget that reads the levels of grossness on your breath. Helping you prep for that first date kiss, all you do is blow into the purse-sized device, and it analyzes your odor through a series of very technical smiley/frowny faces. Happy icon? That sweet crème brulée did you good. Sad face? Why did you even suggest Indian in the first place? Keep reading »

Japanese “Beauty Cushion” Helps You Lose Weight While You Sleep

Leonora EpsteinOctober 27, 2009 //

And now for the latest in crazy Japanese products: the Beauty Waist Cushion, an ergonomically designed pillow which will give you a rockin’ bod just by sleeping on it. The Beauty Waist is “designed to enforce healthy posture and the tightening of key muscles, which in turn encourages an ideal body shape.” Wow, and to think all this time you were killing yourself with crunches when you could have just been dreaming yourself to rock-hard abs. But that’s not all! There’s also the Beauty Bottom Cushion, which will make your butt “taut enough to bounce a 100 yen coin off of.” So would this mean you could literally sit on your ass all day and get some benefit from it?

Sounds like the best workout ever. Also, if you believe all this, we have this bridge to sell you … [Japan Trend Shop] Keep reading »

This Is What Goes Down At Japan’s Fashion Week

Amelia McDonell-ParryOctober 23, 2009 //

Apparently, “Vogue”-era Madonna is still very in. [Cabaret Aki and Jackal Kuzu for Gut's Dynamite Cabarets, Tokyo, 10/23/09] Keep reading »

How Your Cell Phone Can Help You Get Dressed In The Morning

Bianca PosterliOctober 13, 2009 //

Cell phones are getting smarter and smarter. With Apple’s genius, there’s an app for just about everything. But now Japan has decided that their cell phones are style savvy enough to help girls decide what to wear.

Mobile carrier KDDI recently launched EZ MyStyling, a Flash application that allows you to not only create looks and purchase outfits but also create your own model to appear in your likeness, meaning those terrible dressing room lights and long lines may soon be extinct. Test out the latest fashion trends from your phone while waiting for the bus, subway, or even sitting on your couch. Once you’ve dressed your model, move to the computer and suddenly she has the ability to strut down a runway. Online shopping, avatars, and daydreams of runway fame — could you ask for more?

Now, if someone could only create the perfect Cher Horowitz closet from Clueless …. Keep reading »

Over-The-Shoulder Boulder Scarves

Leonora EpsteinOctober 3, 2009 //

Do your boobs hang low, do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie ‘em in a knot, can you tie ‘em in a bow?

We would certainly hope not. (And if they do, we’d advise you to look into a little thing called plastic surgery. Kidding.) Unless, of course, you’re all about flaunting low-slung boobage, then some boob scarves will be right up your alley. Another oddity from the land of Japan, these neck warmers feature nipple-adorned cushions at the ends. Most of the designs come in white with a graphic embellishment that looks like a floral tattoo. There’s also a green scarf with matching neon nipples (for clients with alien-sex fetishes?).

Riiiight … well, if you got it flaunt it? We’re just not sure what would be worse—a man or a woman flaunting this fashion “moment”? (Shiver) [Lost At E Minor]

Keep reading »

Chloe Sevigny Freaks Us Out In New Japanese Video

Lily QAugust 20, 2009 //


Hip NYC boutique-turned-empire of sorts Opening Ceremony opens in Japan next week, complete with an indie star-studded — Jena Malone, Jason Schwartzman, etc. — video series meant to promote the whole enchilada. We’re sure the Japanese are rather excited about the coming of Opening Ceremony’s particular brand of fashion-y hipster cool clothes. But WTF is with this odd Chloe Sevigny video (above)? Is this a cultural divide thing? Or is it really just all-around too strange to comprehend? [Refinery 29] Keep reading »

Jessica Simpson Tweets The Tokyo Earthquake And Other Celebrity Disaster Survivors

Amelia McDonell-ParryAugust 12, 2009 //

In Tokyo yesterday, Jessica Simpson tweeted: “Thought i was hallucinating during a 6.6 earthquake in japan. i have never felt anything like this in my life. laying in bed watching cnn.” Now, every time there’s an earthquake in Los Angeles, people will think, “Let me twote dat.” Just like us, celebrities experience life’s natural disasters. Read on for our favorite celebrity survivors. Keep reading »

Japanese Women Turn To Hostess Clubs For Jobs

Amelia McDonell-ParryJuly 29, 2009 //

While the recession has wreaked havoc on relationships here, in Japan it’s given a better name to what used to be a naughty profession: hostessing. Hostess clubs are akin to gentlemen’s clubs, only they’re all about non-sexual attention—beautiful women are paid to tend to men’s drinks, light their cigarettes, and laugh at their lame jokes. Young Japanese women have a crazy hard time getting hired for other jobs, since companies tend to favor men of the same age. Meanwhile, hostessing can be crazy lucrative—top hostesses make between $100K and $300K a year—and thus professional hostesses have gone from being considered tarts to respectable career gals. High school girls ranked hostessing #12 out of the top 40 professions, above nursing or working for the government. And why wouldn’t they want to spend their nights in evening gowns, sipping champagne? It’s a helluva lot better than getting minimum wage to temp, right? [NYTimes] Keep reading »

Pillow Cases: 37-Year-Old Japanese Man In Love With His Anime Cartoon Pillow

Jessica WakemanJuly 27, 2009 //

Meet Nisan, a 37-year-old man who lives with his parents outside a suburb of Toyko. Now meet his girlfriend Nemu, who is about 12 years old.

Nisan’s girlfriend isn’t a real 12-year-old girl, fortunately. She’s a body pillow with a picture of an X-rated anime character on it, from a game called Da Capo. Nisan brings Nemu, who has wide, child-like eyes, a pixie haircut, a blue bikini and gold ribbons in her hair, to restaurants, karaoke and the beach.

A reporter for the New York Times magazine joined Nisan and his pillow for lunch to talk about their real-life “Lars And The Real Girl” relationship—glibly scribbling about their sick relationship with no mention whatsoever of how this tween girl fetish is one wrong move away from being criminal. Keep reading »

Love Conquers All In Japan

Daniela GuernicaJuly 2, 2009 //

While most businesses in Japan are crashing, the hotel industry has found a way to “stimulate” the economy. Giving new meaning to the term “love shack,” the country’s love hotels are racking up some serious tail. Chock full of “amenities” like DVD players, karaoke machines, makeup, custom rubbers and hot tubs, love hotels are open to all couples and all fetishes. The veil of sex-shame has fallen in Japan (unlike their neighbors in China), paving the way for this new multi-billion dollar business of love. And they’re getting creative! One hotel has a room with a merry-go-round in it. Not one with a circus fetish, I would much rather stay the night in the Hello Kitty-themed hotel in Osaka. [CNN] Keep reading »

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