Freak-out Kitty Teaches Kids Piano

Does your kid refuse to go to his piano lessons? Maybe you should get the little brat a Doki Doki Nyago. This new learning tool from toymaker MegaHouse is literally called the "Oh-my-god-I'm-so-nervous-Kitty!" and uses feline scare tactics to make your kid excel. Like many other piano toys made for learning, the goal is to press down on the keys as they light up in sequence to form a tune--if you screw up, the lesson continues without much consequence. Not Doki Doki Nyago! Make one mistake, and the robotic cat will leap off its pedestal and hiss and scratch at you.

Japanese Entertainers Against YouTube

Have you been searching for those funny Japanese YouTube videos people were talking about, only to find that they're "no longer available"? On Monday, YouTube co-founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley got an express mail letter from a Japanese entertainment group. The letter made a simple request: create a system on YouTube that would prevent users from uploading copyrighted videos. The letter follows the removal of 30,000 Japanese videos in November after the group complained of copyright infringement and was signed by 23 TV major stations and entertainment groups. We'll see how Googly YouTube tackles this problem, but in the meantime, if you want to watch Japanese people flying off toilets and eating until they gain 5kg in an hour, you'll have to go to a video rental shop.

Juice Blender with Pulp or No Pulp Option Filters

My parents make fresh fruit juice every morning to go with breakfast. Keeps them healthy. This new blender from National lets you pick whether you want Lots of Pulp or No Pulp in your homemade OJ. All you do is replace one preset filter with another to switch between the two modes. Comes out February 07. Product page (Japanese)

The post-it pad that looks like an Onion.

The Kokuyo Design award winners were announced a week ago, and this awesome post-it pad won the grand prix. The theme was "leaves." Each layer looks slightly different from the one before it, and the translucency and texture make it really feel like you are peeling off thinly cut layers of the onion.

Brad Pitt's Softbank Commercial

First it was Cameron Diaz causing Japanese boys to go gaga over Softbank's new phones and calling plans. Now it's Brad Pitt, campaigning to get screechy-voiced school girls to switch carriers. Cameron Diaz, along with the new "call-for-free" concept that her commercials promoted, caused Softbank's system to crash overnight when phone numbers became portable in late October. Maybe Brad Pitt will cause its handsets to spontaneously combust.

FujiFilm disposable camera takes perfect pictures in the dark.

A popular new disposable camera from Fujifilm's Utsurundesu series takes perfect pictures on a dark night or in a badly lit room. The cameras are called "Night and Day Super" and "Room and Day Super," respectively. Each uses a special lens filter, and with the flick of a switch can change shutter speeds to adjust to substandard lighting as though it was equipped with a fancy lens. You can see how much better the night and day super photos come out compared to the regular disposable with flash pictured at bottom. Room and day just went on sale a couple of weeks ago, so if you're going to a wedding or a strip club on your next trip to Tokyo, I would recommend picking one up so you can get good pics of the bride, or the boobies.

Cyber Cycle Hunters.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of motorcycles are stolen from the streets of Japan and smuggled out to Taiwan and Thailand for black market resale. But thanks to a new Web site set up by comedian Supataro Kondo, Japanese bikers can rely on more than just their U-locks for the safety of their beloved Harley. Currently, over 4,000 lost bikes are listed on the site, and 25 have been found abroad thanks to the tips and pics posted on the site. Full story here.

Blue robotic panda cell phone strap

Growing up in Tokyo, the most exciting thing about going to a department store was the immaculate rooftop playground. The rooftop playground was a miniature amusement park with a video game arcade, a little train that went around the roof, go-karts, and robotic pandas that you could ride around a little enclave. Kids love going to Takashimaya on a Saturday afternoon to buy new clothes for mom and new golf clubs for dad, because that means they get to play Galaga and Tetris and ride robotic blue pandas all day. (I don't know why Macy's and Bloomingdale's haven't adopted the same model. It's ingenious.) Sadly, the days of the department store playground are long over. But for those who are nostalgic, there's the cell phone strap mini version of that exact same robotic panda that you so joyfully mounted as a child. Remote-controlled via the little "Let's Go Panda" wheel, Panda can speed forwards, backwards, or come to a screeching halt. And even if you didn't grow up in Japan with fond memories of panda-mounting, this is still an awesome little toy for your RC strap collection, along with the dinosaurs and the race cars. Get yours here.

New mobile fire alert system for hotels.

Fire safety is one of Japan's greatest national obsessions. The phrase "hi no youjin" (火の用心, meaning beware of fire) has been preached for decades, maybe even centuries, and the national Fire and Disaster Management Agency is always in the midst of some kind of campaign to prevent house fires, which are pretty common in the dry season. The Agency's newest initiative has been to offer hotels and inns with a free downloadable software that would send e-mails to guests' cell phones in case of a fire. The program will automatically keep a list of all current guests and sends an auto-alert when the fire starts. This way, we can avoid tragedies like the Hotel New Japan fire of 1982 that killed over 30 people. At left: regional fire warning signs that are as cute as a button. Story here.

Capitol Tokyu Hotel closes.

My favorite Chinese restaurant in Japan was called Star Hill. It was in the Capitol Tokyu Hotel, and my grandma used to take us there religiously so we could get our fix of sharks fin soup and Peking duck. Now, my grandma's passed away, and the hotel closed its doors on Thursday to make way a yet-to-be-announced building project. The hotel was originally opened by the Hilton clan in the early 1960s. Rockstar singers like MJ, Pavarotti, and Eric Clapton have stayed there, and our last two lovely prime ministers--Koizumi and Abe--used to get their haircuts at its salon. Bye, bye, piece of my childhood. Oh well. It's not as bad as the time they bulldozed the neighborhood I grew up in to build Roppongi Hills. Full story here.

Lisa's Japanese below-the-belt prank tutorial.

A critical element of interpersonal relationships in Japan is the below-the-belt PRANK. (No, not pantsing. That's way too simple and benign.) Today, let me introduce you to two of the most popular variations, one of which is displayed in the Doritos bag on your right. 1. The Kancho. Nobody survives elementary school in Japan (even if you're white) without receiving a few kanchos on the way. To kancho, simply put both hands together as if in prayer, and fold over all fingers except your two index fingers. Keep the index fingers straight and solid, for these are your kancho weapons. Next, find a target. Any butthole will do, but I suggest going for those that are clothed yet easy to find. Approach the butthole slowly. Then, when the owner has his head turned, swiftly jab your adjoined index fingers up the butthole and say "kancho!" (We did this regularly to people going up the train station steps on the way home from school.) 2. The Denki Amma. A commonly used wrestling move among Japanese schoolboys, the denki amma gives your opponent an ambiguous blend of pleasure and pain. One boy grabs the legs of the other, lifts his right foot, strategically places it on the other dude's shaft, and then launches a series of rapid foot taps. Slightly painful, enormously submissive, and awkwardly erotic, the denki amma symbolizes the kind of male bonding that women and foreigners most likely will never fully understand. (excerpted from my ToM post)

Refreshing Japanese beer cell phone strap.

Japanese beer goes with sushi, octopus balls, pizza, dried squid, mayonnaise, chocolate, hot girls in bikinis, and a relaxing hot spring bath. Much more versatile than a Coors Light, which only goes with drunk frat boys and hot girls in bikinis. Now they've made mock-ups of your favorite brew into cell phone straps. Instead of Asahi, Sapporo, and Kirin, you get to choose from Asari (that means "clam"), Sappari ("refreshing!"), and Kibin (I don't know what the fuck this means). Get yours here.

Schwarzenegger's Hilarious Energy Drink Video.

Back in the 90's, during the lull between filming The Terminator and running for Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger did a series of commercials for a popular Japanese energy drink called Arinamin V. Here's an explanation (in case the clip alone's not entertaining enough for ya): Schwarzenegger wins a bunch of money at a strictly business mahjongg game that he and his business partners are hosting. (He was supposed to let the client win.) His partner, the guy on the right, freaks out, saying "No no no, you're not supposed to win!" As expected, the defeated (and humiliated) client says: "Mr. Inoue, I'm sorry, but we'll have to retract from the previous agreement." Arnold hides behind the wall, and emerges saying "Daijou-V!" And the chorus starts chanting the same thing. (Daijobu means "it's all good" in Japanese.) All of a sudden, everything is all good. The businessmen shred the papers, forget the formalities, and have a blast. Arnold has saved the day without using superpowers or politics.