Hasta La Gadget!

Out and about in Nippori/Yanaka recently I spotted these transparent QR codes over the top of the usual Tokyo area maps.

The whole sign was covered with a special film and certain key parts of the district were highlighted in squares with a transparent code, scanning which would send you to a site with a detailed route map highlighting how to get there. There were also other QR codes embedded in signs on the pavement near local attractions.

It is part of a Taitoku scheme to promote Yanaka to sightseers, including foreign tourists. The project was just a month-long experiment and appears to be over for now, though of course it is laudable that the local authorities are trying to make it easier for visitors venturing out of Asakusa, Ginza et al into the labyrinthine warren that is the old streets of Yanaka. However, the codes only worked with NTT DoCoMo phones and surely foreign tourists would not be likely to have that kind of handset.

A case of their heart being in the right place? Possibly. Certainly, the attitude is there but the results may not be much. The other main target for the scheme is apparently the elderly, who, though it would be patronizing and naive to exclude from projects involving technological tools, nonetheless arguably may not be the most appropriate group for utilizing the codes. In 2011 the organizers hope to expand the trial, so watch this space for more.

Tokyo has lots of kiosks in train stations to quickly feed or caffeinate busy office workers. For those interested in doing it even faster, and without needing to fumble around with small change, there are now more and more self-checkout machines being installed. The kiosk staff can tend to other business while people who just want something small can just scan the product, instantly pay with RFID-based e-money like Pasmo or Suica, and be on their way.

This particular system is developed by NEC, which also combined it with PaPeRo, their interactive robot. We shot some video of that test case below, which is looking more and more like our retail future. Can robots provide the kind of customer service Japanese expect? Well, in automated transactions such as vending machines they can provide even better service. Combined with a human, such as to answer questions or recommend items, there’s potential to do better on that front as well.

Robots will have the chance to make normally impersonal activities even more personal at lower cost, but there’s always the fear that we’ll be buying our clothes and cars from robots down the line. Robots that not only know every detail about the product, but about us and our preferences. I, for one, welcome our new retail robot overlords.

One of Japan’s most famous temples, Byodo-in, which features on the 10 yen coin, has created 3D footage of 5 religious statues that can be viewed as wallpaper on iPads installed in the temple’s museum space.

Part of the promotions for an exhibition of ancient artifacts running through mid-January, visitors to the temple in Kyoto Prefecture can also download images of restored Buddhist statues to their mobile phones through QR codes.

[Image source]

This so-called “Keitai Omamori” (Mobile Phone Talisman) taps into the Japanese habit of hanging good luck charms on phones (or bags or other belongings). These are other “genuine” Omamori (お守り) purchased at shrines, or they might be Hello Kitty or local mascot versions.

However, much like the cellphone worship Shinto trend we reported on before, this kind of promotion is also revealing the vibrant connection that contemporary people still can have with traditions. Consumers in Japan are very supersticious and much more prone to these kinds of activities, which can be harnessed for commercial or marketing potential.

According to the temple the digital giveaways have led to an increase in younger visitors, both male and female. Religion and marketing together seem to bring whole new possible meanings to the phrase “conversion rate”.

There’s been a real trend for “bijin” (beautiful girl) recently. This isn’t the professional model bijin but rather the “amateur” type, ordinary girls.

It’s no secret that we’ve taken, ahem, pride in reporting on this blog about the Bijin-Tokei, apologizing beauties website and provincial lasses being “saved” by cosmetics.

Visitors to regions around Japan perhaps have picked up the Bishoujo Zukan free paper, which is comprised entirely of (modest) images of local beauties. Or Tokyoites might well have browsed Kanban Musume (Shop Sign Girl), a site that introduces stores and eateries recommended by the women working there.

The latest manifestation we’ve come across of this is the Bijo Goyomi, or “hot girl calendar”.

Every day (except weekends) showcases a new beauty from somewhere around Japan — a real, ordinary girl, that is, not some airbrushed model! There are some examples above.

That basically is the gist of it. Though there are some widgets and a ranking (you can vote for your favorite), it seems to just come down to one thing — we like to look at pretty girls. And though the selling power of Shiseido et al’s fashion models is undeniably still very strong, Japanese consumers/web users are definitely seeking something more down-to-earth and realistic in these recession days, even if just for escapism.

Bijo Goyomi started in late 2008 but, according to J-Cast, its page views have steadily increased in recent months and currently stand at a million a month.

It also has a Twitter aggregate site, ShunkanBijo.com (Instant Beauty).

We spotted this great LED light display at the basement entrance to the Seibu department store in Ikebukuro.

The Hikari no Tokei (”Light Clock”) is created by Yugo Nakamura and Yukihiro Takahashi, making use of eleven thousand LED bulbs. When the store opens and on the hour the clock also plays music.

Apologies for the noisy video; there was a loud promotion happening right in front of Seibu and I couldn’t shoot video actually inside the store. Though you can’t hear the music, it still looks pretty impressive and certainly has a way of beguiling passers-by…