Big Trouble little Nippon

Strong Maching 1 & 2 @ Anime Matsuri/Import Reactor 2009 (Daytime)

2010-12-02T18:42:00.000+09:00

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Apology

2010-11-22T10:36:00.002+09:00

Image via WikipediaYoung Japanese man apologises for the terrible and weird ads and movies that are made in Japan. SORRY!!! ^_^

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Mochi Pounding (you have a dirty mind)

2010-11-07T14:02:00.001+09:00

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Iflyer.tv (New Events Site for Japan)

2010-09-28T12:01:00.000+09:00

iFlyer

Japan’s music scene opens its arms to a foreign startup

By: Dan Grunebaum

Photography by Mark Oxley

Like many web entrepreneurs, Malek Nasser’s business grew out of a personal need for something the internet wasn’t yet providing. Moving to Osaka from his native UK a decade ago to work for a web startup, he had recently relocated to Tokyo.
“Suddenly, from knowing everything happening in Osaka, I went to knowing nothing, so I decided to develop a club search engine in Tokyo,” he recalls over lunch near the iFlyer office in Shibuya. “It was kind of ironic because here I was living in the heart of Shibuya, and I didn’t even know I was right down the street from Womb.”
While there were plenty of websites about clubbing in Tokyo at the time, none of them provided an efficient way of finding out what was happening on a given Saturday night. “The way that people searched for events was to go to each club’s site, and the pages weren’t frequently updated,” Nasser says. “So the idea was to make an event search engine that would also be useful on mobile phones—the slogan was, ‘What’s going on?’”
Five years later, iFlyer is Japan’s largest clubbing site, with over 1,700 events listed at any given time, ranging from live concerts to after-hours parties. But it’s more than a simple database—the site is packed with artist profiles, audio and video content, and event reports, in both English and Japanese.
“When you look at a page, it’s actually a massive collaboration between the artist, club and promoter, each of which does the best they can on their own profile,” explains Nasser’s partner, Sach Jobb, an American who came onboard from Kyoto University soon after the company was founded. “We’re kind of a mashup site. We rely on YouTube for the videos, Ustream for live streaming, SoundCloud for music… so you’ve got this collaborative, almost Wiki-style effort to make it as best as possible [sic].”
But things were rough for a foreign startup in the early days. “When we launched iFlyer, marketing it to the clubs was tricky because we had no name value,” Nasser recalls. “It took a lot of persuading to get the clubs to use it, but as soon as they did, they were convinced, because they end up saving so much money.”
The key to getting Japanese clubs onboard was having them use iFlyer for their homepage—meaning they didn’t need to pay a web designer and also had an instant, targeted audience. “If you build a homepage for your club, unless you promote it well, no one is going to come and see it,” Nasser says. “With iFlyer, on any given month we have around 250,000 unique users. They’re coming for a very specific reason.”
“There was definitely a need for it,” chips in Jobb, noting that the firm has major clients like Shibuya’s Club Asia. “When we launched in Osaka, we were surprised by how quickly it grew. And every year we are surprised. We’re pretty proud of our numbers now.”
Like MySpace or Facebook, iFlyer depends on users to both generate content and decide which events are popular. “Without the artists and venues, iFlyer is just a technological shell,” says Nasser, who’s been programming since he was seven. “It’s the artists and promoters and venues who make it what it is. We don’t input any info ourselves—that’s our policy. We treat all events at the same level. The ranking system is all user-driven; it depends on how many users it gets. The formula is not secret, we’re pretty open about how to get ranked highly.”
With Japanese artists now listing their iFlyer sites along with their MySpace and Mixi pages, the company looks to be in a strong position for growth. But, as is always the case with the rapidly shifting hi-tech industry, success can never be taken for granted. For now, the iFlyer crew is just enjoying its run. “There was a lot of pain and suffering at the beginning—for many years it was a lot of hard work with no salary,” Nasser recalls. “But I’m very proud of where we stand. As we move more into the core music industry, it gets very interesting going to events and seeing amazing artists play—it’s both a business and a hobby.”
For more information, see http://iflyer.tv.

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Guide to walking Japan

2010-09-17T22:37:00.000+09:00

Image via Wikipedia

In Japan one thing that you will do a lot of, is walking. The above video demonstrates the lengths Japanese sararimen and OL (office ladies) will go to to perfect the basic Japanese walk. These common maneuvers can be seen in most parts of Tokyo, most commonly experienced by gaijin at the Shibuya crossing.

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Did someone say Awesome, but WTF

2010-09-17T19:20:00.000+09:00

Sucker Punch the movie

Japanese Facebook profiles

2010-09-17T18:26:00.001+09:00

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Ipod Nano In Japan

2010-09-15T15:44:00.000+09:00

Image via Wikipedia

It's unfortunate for Apple, that their iPod Nano has been getting bad press. First there was the story of US gyms banning the product, due to vouyeuristic activities, then, Kobe news reported late last week, the arrest of a Japanese man using the Nano to film up an 18-year-old's skirt.

The man, a resident of Kobe, Japan, hid the device in his shoe while 'browsing' around in a bookstore. Someone noticed his suspicious activity and he was arrested.

T3.com visited the www.fuckedgaijin.com messageboards, where one members stated:

"Giving a country like Japan a small, easily concealable video camera is like giving a 5 year old fireworks.

"It should have become clear by now that unreasonable proportion of Japanese men can't control themselves from doing perverted and voyeristic acts and that putting out such devices in Japan is like add fuel to the fire."

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2010-08-31T16:34:00.000+09:00

Charisma Man, 1998-2002: The Complete Collection

Image by justinrebrown via Flickr

Charisma Man first appeared in the February 1998 issue of the 'The Alien' magazine, and immediately catapulted into legendary-status among readers in Japan's expat/Gaijin world. The creator of the strip, Larry Rodney, teamed up with a graphic designer friend, Glen Schroeder, both from Canada, to produce the first year of outstanding strips. The strips continued through 2002 with Neil Garscadden doing the writing and Wayne Wilson providing the art work. At the end of 2002, a book containing all the original strips was published and quick sales further documented its appeal. 'Charisma Man' has now become common vernacular among ex-pats in Japan and other countries.

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Hikikomori

2010-07-30T17:29:00.001+09:00

Image by justindoub via Flickr

"Hikikomori" is a social condition prevalent in Japan (some say only in Japan.), where young people, unable to cope with social and academic pressures, shut themselves in their rooms for months, even years on end.
Yasuo Yamamoto hasn't emerged in almost a year. Yet even as his condition worsens, someone still cares for him...

Hikikomori translates loosely as one who shuts himself away and becomes socially withdrawn. These men - 80% of hikikomori are males - cannot be diagnosed as schizophrenics or mental defectives. They are not depressives or psychotics; nor are they classic agraphobics, who fear public spaces but welcome friends into their homes. When psychiatrist evaluate these hikikomori using the diagnostic and statistical manual, or DSM IV, the standard guide used in the west to diagnose mental disorders, their symptoms cannot be attributed to any known psychiatric ailment. Instead, Japanese psychiatists say that hikikomori is a social disorder, only recently observed, that cannot be found within other cultures. (Shutting out the sun Michael Zielenziger)

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ron reid jr.-TRAILER FOR ORDER 9088

2010-07-22T17:36:00.003+09:00

Image via Wikipedia

It was a time of madness, it was war. american citizens who looked different were rounded up and put into concentration camps. 250,000 people lost everything and had to rebuild their lives. i was lucky to speak with a few people who were there and generations of their children. i got help from www.goforbroke.org and the japanese american national museum both in los angeles. also the toronto buddhist church who lent their support and syd who gave me his open life story from tragedy to ambassador for the Japanese Canadian Cultural centre. a true labour of love.

See more at YOUTUBE

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Bowing in Japan...

2010-07-22T15:54:00.000+09:00

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Turkish Icecream Vendor Japan

2010-07-16T21:40:00.000+09:00

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Sumos given a bad name

2010-07-16T17:01:00.000+09:00

By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer Eric Talmadge, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jul 15, 2:46 am ET

NAGOYA, Japan – Sumo is more than a sport to Japan. It's like a religion, a bastion of traditional culture and a matter of national pride. Wrestlers aren't just athletes — they are icons, role models and, often, larger-than-life heroes.
Unless, of course, they are getting busted for smoking marijuana, breaking noses in drunken brawls or hobnobbing with gangsters.
And, these days, that's pretty much all the time.
Causing Japan much consternation, recent police investigations have exposed the colorful sport's cozy connections to the "yakuza" underworld, outside-the-ring violence and widespread recreational drug use, dragging sumo's venerable image through the dirt and prompting many to wonder if it can stand up to modern scrutiny.
Sumo's unrelenting scandals have gotten so bad that Japan's public broadcaster, for the first time since 1953, has pulled its ongoing tournament from the air, scrapping three hours of live, daily coverage for a 20-minute program of taped highlights.
Sponsors have bolted and fans are staying away in droves. At the 15-day contest now under way, where the stands are only about half full, police officers are prowling entrances under signs saying "Gangsters Keep Out."
"It's a very tough situation for the wrestlers," said Tamako Imoi, a 63-year-old fan. "I love the sport, that's why I'm here. But I don't want them hanging around with criminals. They should live up to their traditions."
Sumo's latest quagmire involves a criminal investigation into dozens of top wrestlers and coaches who allegedly wagered tens of thousands of dollars on baseball, with gangsters as go-betweens.
The fracas started in the tabloid press, which has long alleged sumo is rife with underworld influences, including bout-fixing — allegations officials have repeatedly denied.
This time, however, the charges have stuck.
Popular wrestler Kotomitsuki, who held the sport's second-highest rank, admitted last month he bet on professional baseball. Police say he was then extorted by a gangster who threatened to go public. Soon after Kotomitsuki's fall, coach Otake, who is a former wrestler, cried on national TV as he acknowledged running up betting debts of more than $50,000.
The association sidelined both, and punished more than a dozen others — an unprecedented seven top wrestlers are sitting out the tournament. The association's chief was temporarily replaced by a former public prosecutor.
"The crisis that we face is one unlike any we have experienced before, and we apologize to our fans," outgoing chairman Musashigawa said.
But many sumo watchers say the latest scandal merely underscores a close relationship sumo has had with the yakuza for decades, a relationship they say is likely to continue.
"Sumo is involved in organized crime because they've had a symbiotic relationship for years," said Jake Adelstein, a former crime beat reporter for a Japanese newspaper and author of the best-selling book "Tokyo Vice." "The wrestlers and the yakuza have a macho admiration for each other. The yakuza by being seen with the sumo wrestlers, acquire `status' and the sumo wrestlers get money, booze, food, and women."
Adelstein said smaller training stables don't have big corporate sponsors and need the money the yakuza offer. "The average salary of a sumo wrestler is a pittance and they need the cash," he said, adding that once a wrestler is beholden to the mob he is vulnerable to demands to throw bouts — which the gangsters bet on — to clear his debts.
Police anger and TV's decision to pull the plug go back to an incident last year, when 55 gangsters from the notorious Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate took front row seats at a tournament to bolster the spirits of their comrades in prison.
The gangsters were clearly visible on the live TV broadcasts, one of the few shows inmates are allowed to watch in jail.
The incident led to punishment for two sumo elders, but no criminal charges.
But by that time sumo was already grappling with the expulsion of several top wrestlers — including two Russians — for marijuana possession and the conviction last December of a coach and his proteges for hazing a 17-year-old wrestler so harshly that he died.
And sumo's woes didn't stop there.
Earlier this year, Mongolian grand champion Asashoryu quit the sport in disgrace after a drunken brawl outside a nightclub. As the holder of sumo's highest rank, Asashoryu's behavior was seen by many as evidence of how low the sport's moral standards had fallen.
The scrutiny over the scandals has also put the spotlight on the ancient sport's troubles adjusting to Japan's modern realities.
Though sumo is still popular, NHK is the only major TV network that still airs the six annual tournaments. Commercial networks pulled them years ago as ratings slid and the sumo authorities requested more money for broadcasting rights.
Today, baseball, soccer and golf more often than not precede sumo on TV newscasts. Sumo audiences are usually made up mostly of middle-age or older fans, further evidence the sport is losing its appeal to young Japanese viewers.
Getting youngsters to actually join up is more difficult still.
Because of the rigors of the sumo lifestyle — which often starts in a boy's early teens with a live-in apprenticeship at Spartan training stables — fewer Japanese are willing to go pro. That vacuum has been filled by wrestlers from abroad, who now make up most of the top echelon.
Only one wrestler with the second-highest rank is Japanese. At 37, he is likely to retire soon.
The sport's reigning grand champion, a Mongolian named Hakuho — who is not implicated in any wrongdoing — slammed the association's handling of the scandal and particularly its decision to withhold trophies for the winner, which will likely be him.
But fans were more worried about sumo's future.

"I don't think there is any way to deny that the Japanese don't support sumo as much as they used to," said Toru Ishii, a fan who came at 8 a.m. to watch the younger wrestlers' matches. "We grew up with sumo, but young people today hardly ever do sumo. We have high standards for sumo wrestlers. This is all very sad."

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Popping Bubble Wrap toy

2010-07-14T22:38:00.001+09:00

Bandai has done it again, and we’re slowly learning how many enjoyable small tasks there are that we want to do forever on a little toy. Popping Bubble Wrap…pinching out soybeans…now we’re opening packages?
The Mugen (infinite) series of toys from Bandai Asovision has now brought us the Mugen PeriPeri, a keychain toy that aims to replicate the pleasure of opening a package for the first time. Snacks, boxes, and other tear-open packages tend to reveal good things, so perhaps experiencing this sensation boosts endorphins and sends us into pleasure mode.

Now that we’re over the novelty of these toys (not that they aren’t fun, mind you), wh
at does it say about Japan? Foreign press would likely spin these toys as “weird, wacky Japan” items that show how crazy Japanese people love to pop bubble wrap and open boxes so much that they want to carry them around.
For us, these toys have much simpler and innocent secrets to success. Clearly, the Mugen PuchiPuchi bubblewrap simulator was a creative stroke of genius, but what pushed it into critical mass was the power of the internet, bringing 30,000 visitors to the product page on the first day and catapulting it into the press without needing a massive ad campaign. This is highly unusual in Japan, but is a boon for manufacturers in a world of declining ad budgets.
Either way, our next product suggestion would be for the Mugen Apple, a toy that allows you to recreate the feeling of opening Apple products forever. We might even stand in line for it!

Original Article click here

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Fuji Rock ---What we can expect

2010-07-13T17:06:00.001+09:00

I have already posted the line up for this year, but given i have never been to Fuji rock before i wanted to see what i was going to expect. I figured you may also want to know. So here are a few videos from Youtube below. ENJOY

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Ninja Training for girls in Japan

2010-07-10T17:12:00.000+09:00

Another Japanese game show using Japanese girls with massive tits to entertain the masses.

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Sega world Japan Odaiba (JOYPOLIS)

2010-07-08T21:38:00.003+09:00

This guy is soooo funny.. love the accent.

Below is a gaming pod found in most areas of Tokyo. The best ones are in Akihabara.This is an instructional video with English. You will need to watch this if you want to play one.

And this is inside the POD

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Japanese Subcultures

2010-07-07T20:40:00.004+09:00

Japan is to crazy what the Middle East is to oil: sitting on quantities that can supply the rest of the world for decades. Of course, we say that with nothing but admiration. Their mind-blowing and often unsettling subcultures have faced the pressure of high expectations and stifling social codes, and responded by taking rebellion to new, terrifying places.

#6.

Dekotora

When lots of Americans picture Japan, they're picturing Tokyo--one big Blade Runner-esque city. But take the subway out of the city, past the endless suburbs and there's a Japanese heartland just as rough and tumble as the deepest parts of the South. There are even Japanese truckers.
But unlike American truckers, who spend their off hours doing meth and hiring inexpensive prostitutes, Japanese truckers spend their free time--and thousands of their yen--turning their trucks into something out of an extremely flamboyant, musical version of The Road Warrior.

Source.

Known as dekotora (a combination of the English words "decoration" and "truck") these guys add amazingly elaborate spoilers, lights, boxes and elaborate murals to their rides.
A dekotora truck can have a Cadillac bumper, illuminated chrome side-running boards, paper lanterns, luggage racks that light up like Christmas trees, detailed murals featuring dragons, samurai and cartoon characters, and even metal tubes shooting off the front that serve no purpose at all.

Source.

Amazingly, most of these trucks are actually used to transport goods. Sure, the guys may only turn on all the lights when they're showing the cars off to their buddies, but they also work in these things. It's like the FedEx guy coming to pick up your package in a neon David Lee Roth jumpsuit and a pink feather boa. Awesome, in other words.

#5.

Gyaru

Named for the English word "gal," gyaru are young girls who dye their hair sickly shades of silver and blonde, get fakey tans and slather the makeup on thicker than Bugs Bunny in drag. They can be found hanging out on street corners in almost every major city, but the movement was born (like almost every freaky Japanese style) in the ultra-hip Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo.

There are all sorts of subgroups of gyaru, and each successive generation gets weirder than the last.
First came the kogyaru, high school girls who wore sexualized versions of their school uniforms (supershort skirts and incredibly saggy socks) and dyed their hair blond. Once that style peaked, some girls started to go off the rails. Known as ganguro, they slathered dark makeup on their faces, painted their lips white and attached shiny stickers to their faces.

Don't look it in the eyes!

Some of the ganguro, however, weren't satisfied with looking like panda hookers and went one terrible step further. Calling themselves yamanba, which means "mountain hag" in Japanese, these girls made themselves look as ridiculous as possible, and wore makeup that would make John Wayne Gacy sleep with a nightlight.

#4.

Lolita

On the Internet at least, the word "lolita" conjures up images of sweaty middle-aged dudes who hang around schoolyards and get their hard drives confiscated by the FBI. But in Japan, lolita refers to another bizarre subculture. Unlike their gyaru contemporaries, who cake on the makeup and bare as much skin as legally possible, lolita's dress up in clothes so modest, Queen Victoria would tell them to loosen up a little.

Clad in petticoats, high-collared dresses, bonnets and wielding fluffy parasols, they walk the Bladerunner streets of Tokyo looking like graduates of The Tim Burton School for Girls. There are all kinds of lolita's, each with their own variation on the theme, but they all share a love of women's fashions that died out before their grandmothers were born.

And these aren't just outfits they wear to special clubs or garden parties. You can see grown women in these full Victorian doll costumes on trains, in book stores and wolfing down cheeseburgers at McDonald's.
Why, you may ask? It has something to do with the rejection of male-created beauty standards and sexualized dress. Yes. In Japan, to express their rejection of oppressive cultural stereotypes and proclaim their independence, women dress like creepy school girls from 200 years ago. That sounds about right.

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Wa Lolita

2010-07-07T10:02:00.003+09:00

Day 2 of Tokyo Street Style Week marches forward with Style Arena’s survey of Cyber-kei. You’ll recognize DJ Sisen and other Tokyo Decadance regulars in these photos; the club night is, of course, is ground zero for futuristic fashion. Style Arena cites the use of “metals, plastic, vinyl, and rubber”, “metallic and florescent colors,” and the influence of manga, anime, and video games.

One cannot talk about Wa-kei without mentioning Takuya Angel, the brand that fuses traditional patterns (kimono, geta) with modern Tokyo’s cutting-edge looks (cosplay, Gothic, Lolita, and cyber). Most of these photos are from a Takuya Angel photoshoot from last October (that’s my friend Count de Sang on the top right) – but Qutie Fresh and Lacrima also offer Gothic and Lolita styles with Wa patterns.

Goth + Punk, Goth + Mode… Dark elegance manifests itself both on the streets and in expensive stores. Do you think we’ll be seeing more of Wa Lolita in 2009?

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Japanese Wrapping Paper (cloth)

2010-07-07T09:57:00.002+09:00

This method is most widely used for packing lunch. The cloth once unwrapped can be used as a table cloth.

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Japanese Summer: Beaches

2010-07-07T09:11:00.001+09:00

Japan's Enoshima beach reeks with pollution making it impossible to feel refreshed on hot days. Photo: Glenn Carmichael

Summer on the main island of Japan is hot, humid and often just plain hard work.
The baking heat is omnipresent. In response, much of downtown Tokyo has become a city that lives, ant-like, underground. Venture onto the baking streets and the 35 plus temperature makes you gasp for breath, break out in an instant sweat and, quite simply, dream of being someplace else.
So it is not surprising that during these muggy summer months the Japanese consider a trip to the beach an important escape
For the 30-odd million people around Tokyo many will choose to visit the Shonan Peninsula and, in particular, the numerous beaches around Enoshima Island.
Now Enoshima is famous for several things including the island itself, which sits a few hundred metres offshore. It is where Benzaiten, the goddess of music and entertainment is enshrined. It also features picture postcard views of Mount Fuji, especially during the clearer winter months. A short one-hour trip by train from Tokyo, the area has always been a popular place to visit.
It is easy to see the parallels with Sydney's Bondi Beach. Close to town. Picture postcard views. A melting pot of old and young people. A thriving tourism industry and firmly entrenched local community. And, critically, a heaving mass of humanity during the summer months.
However this is where the similarity ends.
Over the past few decades, Australia has worked diligently to protect the natural environment and keep our beaches in great condition. This has not been difficult as, for many Australians, a visit to the beach is almost a spiritual experience. A place of contemplation. A spiritual cleansing of sorts. Pure white sand and crystal clear waters.
Unfortunately, the Japanese summer hordes save their spiritual activities for the shrines and temples . . . and treat Enoshima's beaches with total contempt.
For two months during the summer the beach is a pigsty. Fast food wrappers, empty beer and soft drink cans, dog turds, broken glass, rotting fruit, a million plastic bags and a billion cigarette butts. The smell of decay makes one want to dry retch.
It is futile trying to escape the crud by getting into the water — it feels like an oil slick. And faeces floats everywhere.
During summer, the Government also builds wooden structures on the sand – yes, on public land — and rents them out to the highest bidder as food marts, tanning salons and beach bars. Convenient? Yes. Attractive? No. Sacrilegious? I think so.
Then there is the built environment surrounding the beach. It is understandable that the sea walls are high and strong. Tsunamis are a real threat. However, concrete in a natural setting never works that well — especially given how much concrete is in sight. It is not just the concrete seawalls. It is the concrete buildings. The roads. The jetty. Concrete is sprayed everywhere. You know the area is in trouble when you start referring to concrete as a colour.
The surrounding infrastructure on the shoreline – including tacky love hotels, gaudy food chains and ugly car lots manned by aggressive dudes flogging parking spaces – does nothing to help.
The environment at Enoshima Beach really is a bizarre contradiction for a nation that prides itself on cleanliness and orderly behaviour. I was always led to believe that the Japanese truly respect their natural environment. Or perhaps Enoshima Beach is simply a pressure valve for Tokyoites in summer . . . where they can strip off not just their clothes but also any respect they have for their surroundings.
That it takes place at one of the key locations to view Mount Fuji – Japan's Uluru — is just a tragedy. This place has so much potential during summer. Instead it is a disaster zone.
The failings of the government to seriously address this issue deserve attention. However, I suspect other pressing matters, such as the state of the economy, take priority. When iconic Japan Airlines is struggling to survive who gives a stuff about a beach being a toxic waste dump during summer?
Back to summer in Sydney and I have just finished a body bash at Bondi Beach. Clean air. Clean white sands. Crystal clear water.
With 'Bondi Rescue' cameras rolling, I watch as one of the lifeguards instructs about 30 kids to pick up their empty bottles and fish and chip wrappers before they leave the beach.
After living through several Japanese summers on Enoshima beach, I couldn't help but smile and think this the way it should be.
Matthew Abrahams is an entrepreneur. In 2009 he returned from a three-year stint in Japan where he worked in Tokyo and lived near Enoshima Beach.
Pictures supplied by Glenn Carmichael: http://irubyourbrog.blogspot.com/2009/09/enoshima-part-2-beast.html

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Yukata - The summer casual kimono

2010-07-06T21:31:00.001+09:00

The Yukata is a casual light cotton kimono for wearing in summer. Yukatas normally have very brightly coloured designs on them. Today these kimonos are mainly worn to the traditional Bon-Odori and summer festivals. The relative simply design of Yukata means Japanese women can, with some practice, put this kimono on unassisted.

The name yukata comes from the word ‘yu’ (bath) and ‘katabira’ (under clothing). In the Heian era (794-1185), court nobles wore linen ‘yukata’ which were draped loosely after taking a bath. The yukata was later also worn by Japanese warriors and by the Edo era (1600-1868), it was widely worn by the public when public bath became a popular recreation in Japan.

Today, the yukata is widely worn as a casual wear in summer, as well as in festivals. Further, the yukata is also widely worn in ‘ryokan’ (traditional Japanese inn). The yukata is loved for its lightweight cotton material. Fabric designs vary from the traditional plain cross hatch pattern to the more colourful designs. A cotton sash is usually worn with the yukata for casual daily or nightly wear. In attending festivals and public occasions, the yukata is worn with a wider belt, which can be simply wrapped around the waist and tucked in at the end. For a more formal appearance, the yukata is worn with an obi belt, along with a matching geta (wooden sandals) and purse to complete the attire.

Japanese girls and young Japanese women both here in Australia and in Japan enjoy the opportunity to dress in their Yukatas. Today there are not as many suitable chances to wear this colourful traditional Japanese outfit.

In Australia many Bon-Odori festivals feature a Yukata competition, which is a little like a traditional beauty pageant. The major difference is the emphasis on adherence to traditional style including hair, make-up, foot ware and disposition.

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UNI QLO JAPAN review

2010-07-06T18:47:00.003+09:00

UT stands for Uniqlo T-shirt. The brand’s concept store was opened last year April in Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku area, 5000 square feet divided over 4 floors. UT t-shirts are sold in clear plastic canisters displayed like canned food in a fashionable high-end supermarket.

In a toxic retail environment, where most major apparel chains experienced 10-15 percent declines in same-store sales for December, Uniqlo finished the year up 10.3 percent. This came on the heels of Uniqlo’s stellar November, with 32.2 percent comparable-store base growth and the largest recorded monthly sales in the brand’s history.

These accomplishments allowed parent company Fast Retailing to raise its consolidated operating profit projections for the August 2009 fiscal year to ¥99 billion ($1.1 billion, at current exchange rates) — an expected 13.2 percent increase from last year. Net sales are currently forecast to hit ¥627 billion ($7.1 billion) — a 6.9 percent increase.

The recession has certainly made Uniqlo’s low price clothing an obvious choice for consumers, but economic anxiety cannot fully explain the brand’s success. Uniqlo deserves credit for its constant stream of proactive campaigns designed to win over a large number of diverse consumer groups, both in Japan and abroad.
Although Yamaguchi Prefecture-based Fast Retailing has a long history of selling apparel, the idea of Uniqlo as a Gap-style national brand only dates back to 1997, when the company teamed up with ad agencies to refine its image. Only a year into this new strategy, the company hit the jackpot with a widespread consumer boom for its fleece products. Uniqlo lost steam after the trend’s end, however, and eventually experienced declining profits in 2002 and 2003. Ever since, the brand has been engaged in a large number of innovative campaigns to win back public interest.

In just the last two years, Uniqlo has made a distinct effort to attract sophisticated customers beyond the middle-mass base. Their award-winning UNIQLOCK became the favorite screensaver of Japan’s young PC users thanks to minimalist graphic design, chronological functionality, well-choreographed adorable Japanese female dancers, and original music from producer Fantastic Plastic Machine.
The bilingual free magazine UNIQLO PAPER helped associate the brand with New York hipster culture thanks to the Chloë Sevigny on the cover and photography by Terry Richardson. In Japan, monthly advertorials in men’s magazines like Popeye let fashion-forward readers in Japan see new products styled according to the latest fashion principles.
Retail spaces have also played a key part in the brand expansion. Uniqlo’s Ginza store — right on the neighborhood’s main avenue — raised the brand’s profile as a purveyor of trendy fashion rather than generic basics. Last year’s UT T-shirt store in Harajuku employed the talents of famed creative director Kashiwa Sato to offer a high-tech shopping experience. T-shirts, including a Pantone-color series, are available in giant vending machine capsules within a space over-run with moving LED message boards.
These appeals to cutting-edge consumers, however, did little to change the brand’s reputation of being mostly dedicated to casual menswear. In order to better target women, Uniqlo tied up last September with “real clothes” fashion festival Tokyo Girls Collection and model Yu Yamada to produce a series of sweater dresses for the Shibuya 109 set. The company further targeted young women with new products such as the “beautiful leg” stretch denim (using popular model Norika Fujiwara in the TV commercials) and a “bra-top” that puts brasserie-like pads inside of a tank top.
Despite such narrowly focused marketing efforts, Uniqlo never alienated its middle-market, middle-aged consumers, who mostly shop at the brand for the low prices, laid-back styles, and easy access. The incredibly functional, but not particularly stylish “Heattech” line of winter under items is currently selling-out nationwide despite a production run of an unprecedented 28 million pieces.
Surveys indicate that Japanese consumers are not just buying Uniqlo out of desperation but actively like the brand. In the yearly TBS General Consumer Preference Survey, Uniqlo took the top “preferred brand” ranking in 2008 for women in their 20s at an incredible 41 percent — beating out perennial favorite Louis Vuitton (26.7 percent) for the first time. Just a year before, Uniqlo had only hit 23.1 percent with the same survey group.

Admittedly, most consumers use Uniqlo products as invisible inner-wear rather than key wardrobe items. According to a survey in Nikkei Marketing Journal on January 16, 62 percent of women and 61 percent of men who buy Uniqlo mostly purchase shirts, turtlenecks, and sweaters. Many young customers have ceased thinking the brand is unfashionable, but they still do fear that others will easily identify the Uniqlo in their daily wear. As Japanese fashion blogger Dale wrote on his site Elastic, however, “Uniqlo is fashion’s most famous supporting actor!” In other words, fashionable young consumers rely on Uniqlo to “pad” their daily wardrobes, but then let high-fashion pieces act as the most visible and memorable pieces.
Uniqlo’s success has come, of course, at the expense of other retail sectors. According to the previously-mentioned survey in Nikkei Marketing Journal, 45 percent of consumers who increased their shopping at Uniqlo curbed their shopping at department stores and fashion buildings (like PARCO and Marui). This set of consumers have become fully satisfied with Uniqlo’s quality and price. Furthermore, compared to “fast fashion” rivals H&M, Zara, and The Gap, Uniqlo has a distinctly Japanese design sensibility that fits the Japanese body and closely responds to the industry’s other trends. The items are also so neutral and basic that each consumer segment can adapt the brands to their own specific wardrobe needs: somewhat like American Apparel, but with lower prices and a more accessible brand identity.
Uniqlo currently manufactures over 90 percent of its products in China. Despite general squeamishness about Chinese-made goods and a reputation for being the most “quality-conscious” customers on earth, most Japanese consumers now believe that Uniqlo’s cost-performance is quite high. While these Chinese factories seem to be serving Uniqlo well, the company is making an attempt to diversify production capability. Fast Retailing has just inked a deal to create a joint venture in Bangladesh and appears to have high hopes for new factories in the developing nation.

On the retail side, Uniqlo’s global roll-out has been relatively successful so far, with branches established in the U.S., the U.K., France, China, Korea, and Hong Kong. The brand will also be moving into Southeast Asia soon, with its first location in Singapore scheduled to open in April. Uniqlo is also actively planning market entry for Germany and Russia. And, with a menswear-only store opening in London’s Selfridges, Uniqlo is developing a strong niche position in the West as a supplier of clean and simple “Japanese style” at an affordable price.

With an economy that looks likely to worsen throughout 2009, Japanese customers will certainly be inclined to continue shopping at Uniqlo. If the brand continues to hone its image as a fashion-forward company with high-quality products, Uniqlo will no doubt maintain its status as the top dog in the industry. This is not the fleece boom redux: consumers are not buying Uniqlo to participate in a fad. They are buying Uniqlo because the products meet their standards and fit their current needs.

Uniqlo is on the exact same page as Japanese customers — and that can never be a bad thing.

The brand’s concept store was opened last year April in Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku area, 5000 square feet divided over 4 floors. UT t-shirts are sold in clear plastic canisters displayed like canned food in a fashionable high-end supermarket.

UT t-shirts are designed by renowned artists, designers, photographers and musicians. Among others: Terry Richardson, Nobuyoshi Araki, Kim Jones, Peter Saville, Gareth Pugh and Solve Sundsbo. The t-shirts are first introduced here and eventually find their way to UNIQLO stores all over the world.
“The UT Project has one goal in mind – to let you wear what you love,” explained Markus Kiersztan, owner of MP Creative and consulting creative director for UNIQLO when the store opened last year. “T-shirts have become an important form of self-expression for the current youth culture, allowing people to highlight their sense of individuality. By selecting artists from all genres and aesthetics to design t-shirts for this project, we have tried to create a collection that embraces the inspiring diversity of our customers.”

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Ten Summer festivals of Japan

2010-07-05T20:10:00.000+09:00

By: Dan Grunebaum

Atoms for Peace. Photo Courtesy of Smash

1. Fuji Rock Festival ’10

The Headliners: Muse, Them Crooked Vultures, Roxy Music, John Fogerty, Massive Attack, Atoms For Peace
Every year on the final weekend of July, a psychedelic tent city springs up from the damp slopes of Mt. Naeba in Niigata Prefecture. This gathering of the wild and woolly is the brainchild of rock promoter Masa Hidaka and his merry pranksters at Smash Corporation. The 14th edition features 161 bands, making for one of the broadest lineups yet.
The headliners break down roughly into three categories: supergroups, heritage acts and local favorites making their umpteenth appearance in Japan. Supergroups include the turbocharged jam session Them Crooked Vultures, featuring none less than Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). Those two hard-rock warhorses appear on the massive Green Stage in their new roles as drummer and bassist for frontman Josh Homme, of Queens of the Stone Age. Led by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Atoms For Peace are a supergroup of an altogether different flavor, with Yorke’s arty musings rising above the sinuous bass lines of sometime Red Hot Chili Pepper Flea.
Heritage acts consist of Roxy Music and John Fogerty. Created by Bryan Ferry in 1971 and at one point featuring Brian Eno, glammy art rockers Roxy Music reformed in 2001 after years of inactivity and have toured sporadically since, with this Fuji Rock gig marking their first appearance in Japan since 1983. Fogerty, meanwhile, was the frontman for American roots rockers Creedence Clearwater Revival, penning definitive songs like “Proud Mary” and “Bad Moon Rising.” Resolving decades of dispute with his record company (but not with his bandmate and brother Tom, who died of AIDS in 1990), Fogerty is back on the road singing CCR songs, making his first showing in Japan in 38 years.
Matthew Bellamy’s stadium-filling Muse, meanwhile, seem to be able to do no wrong. Their latest album, The Resistance, hit number one in 20 countries, and they return to Japan (following a Budokan date in January) for their first appearance at Fuji Rock since 2007. Massive Attack’s theatrical blend of electronica, hip-hop and dub has long made them favorites here, and while their first album in seven years, Heligoland, may have been lackluster, they’re sure to find a warm welcome in a festival-closing set on Sunday night.
Of course, Fuji Rock veterans know that the most fun to be had is at the lesser stages scattered along the pristine river valley. Chancing upon an amazing but unknown band—often the only time they’ll ever come to Japan—at stages like the Naeba Shokudo or Cafe de Paris can often be a lot more fun than mixing it up with the hordes at the White or Green stages.
This year also promises plenty of the usual circus-act hijinks, including appearances by the Human Cannonball and The Wheel of Death, as well as the Narasirato Pan Pipers from the Solomon Islands, who Smash reports didn’t even know what passports were, much less that they needed them to come to Japan.
When: July 30-August 1 Where: Naeba Ski Resort, Niigata Prefecture Tickets: Three-day pass ¥39,800; one-day pass ¥16,800 Tel: Web: www.fujirockfestival.com Fan site: www.fujirockers.org

Jay-Z. Courtesy of Creativeman

2. Summer Sonic 2010

The Headliners: Jay-Z, The Smashing Pumpkins, Stevie Wonder, Dream Theater, Pavement, Pixies
The urban answer to Fuji Rock’s mountain frolic, Summer Sonic scales back to a two-day affair after last year’s flirtation with a three day, Friday-Sunday schedule. Creativeman says this was driven mainly by the difficulty of booking enough strong acts over three days at two locations in Tokyo and Osaka, rather than a lack of fans.
Modeled along the lines of England’s urban Reading Festival, Summer Sonic is a commuting-distance event that caters to a younger demographic with thinner wallets. The lineup is noticeably younger as well, with an increasing emphasis on pop, hip-hop and R&B.
Following last year’s sets by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, the 2010 edition sees Jay-Z mount a stage in Japan for only the second time, with teen sensation Taylor Swift also making her sophomore appearance following her February debut. Rapper Nas, who has long since settled his feud with Jay-Z, will hopefully lay down some tracks from his highly rated new collaboration with reggae scion Damian Marley, Distant Relatives. Meanwhile, the one and only Stevie Wonder will be on hand to show folks where it all comes from.
Notwithstanding all the R&B, there’s still plenty of rock’n’roll on offer, ranging from alt-rock royalty like The Smashing Pumpkins, Pavement and Pixies to West Coast punk perennials The Offspring to European acts like Richard Ashcroft and Dream Theater, as well as a bevy of new blood hoping to crack the Japanese market.
This year’s edition of Summer Sonic also features a killer Midnight Dance segment with sets from the likes of LA mash-up king Steve Aoki. Over at the Beach Stage, Japan’s own art-rockers Clammbon will be performing songs off their encyclopedic new album 2010.
When: August 7-8 Where: Chiba Marine Stadium and Makuhari Messe Tickets: ¥15,800 (one day); ¥29,000 (both days) Tel: 0180-993-030 Web: www.summersonic.com

Roberta Flack. Courtesy of Tokyo Jazz

3. Tokyo Jazz 2010

The Headliners: Roberta Flack, Al Jarreau, Maceo Parker, Jazz Crusaders, Joshua Redman
In 2002, public broadcaster NHK recruited pianist Herbie Hancock to oversee the launch of a grand new jazz festival in Tokyo. After testing venues ranging from stadiums to convention centers, Tokyo Jazz settled into the elegant Tokyo International Forum, which has proved a good fit for the festival’s well-heeled audiences.
This year’s festival reprises some themes of the past: the opening gala features The Super Premium Band, with pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Lenny White, while the Saturday afternoon groove session includes former James Brown bandleader Maceo Parker.
TJ 2010 then shifts gears, with a Saturday evening program dubbed The Voices, featuring Roberta Flack and Al Jarreau, and a Sunday morning Women in Jazz section that welcomes drummer Terri Lyne Carrington’s Mosaic Project.
The festival wraps up Sunday night with Jazz Stream, designed to bridge past and present through sets by Dutch free jazz exponent Han Bennink, fusion group the Jazz Crusaders, young-gun sax player Joshua Redman, and guitarist Kazumi Watanabe, reprising his breakout album Tochika with all new arrangements.
When: September 3-5 Where: Tokyo International Forum Tickets: ¥6,500-¥9,500 (individual concerts); ¥18,000 (one-day pass) Tel: Hello Dial 5777-8600 Web: www.tokyo-jazz.com

Kodo. Courtesy of Kodo

4. Earth Celebration

The Headliners: Kodo, A Filetta
Toshio Kawauchi once imagined a festival “for world culture to flow in new directions.” Twenty-two years later, the voyage to Sado Island is undertaken by world music fans from across the globe.
Hosted by storied taiko drum ensemble Kodo at its base on Sado in the Japan Sea, Earth Celebration promotes peace with a week of workshops that culminates in three days of concerts at the hilltop Shiroyama stage.
The drummers of Kodo have been spreading their gospel of peace and unity through music via tireless touring since 1981. Kawauchi added the Earth Celebration to the menu in 1988, inviting musicians whom the group had met on their journeys to join them in the languid atmosphere of their island commune. The grand finale each year sees the guests taking the stage with Kodo for a collaborative performance, with strange but often wonderful results.
Last year’s lineup included Dutch musical explorers BLØF, and this time around Kodo has invited Corsican singing ensemble A Filetta. Founded in 1978 by the then 13-year-old Jean-Claude Acquaviva, the group combines folk songs and hymns with original compositions, dance, theater and opera.
On a practical note, the popularity of the festival in recent years has strained the ability of locals in the tiny town of Ogi to provide accommodation, so those making the trek should be prepared to camp, share lodgings at one of the few minshuku, or stay in another town on the island.
When: August 16-18 Where: Ogi Town, Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture Tickets: prices vary for individual events Tel: 0259-81-4100 Web: www.kodo.or.jp

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Courtesy of Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

5. Festa Summer Muza Kawasaki 2010

Tokyo’s many symphony orchestras face the twin problems of how to fill their splendid halls and how to bring a new generation of fans to classical music. To address these issues, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra—under Dutch conductor Hubert Soudant—created the reasonably priced, three-week Festa Muza Kawasaki.
The festival sees all nine Kanto symphony orchestras joined by a number of world-class guests. Highlights include the Opening Concert, in which the host TSO will perform Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony and Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which features actress Fumi Dan as narrator.
For kids, a Magical Orchestra program on August 1 offers a selection of pieces by composers like Tchaikovsky and Sibelius, all of which have the word “magic” in their title.
When: July 25-August 15 Where: Muza Kawasaki Tickets: A wide range of prices and options available Tel: 044-520-0200 Web: www.kawasaki-sym-hall.jp/festa
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Ten Summer festivals of Japan

1. Fuji Rock Festival ’10

2. Summer Sonic 2010

3. Tokyo Jazz 2010

4. Earth Celebration

5. Festa Summer Muza Kawasaki 2010