Hasta La Gadget!

Those who live and work in Japan — especially those who have been doing so for a long time — are understandably cautious about projects that can reinforce stereotypes about the country, not least the ones that are not so positive.

Although some of the images painted of Tokyo’s rush hour are a little exaggerated (I have never seen the fabled riot gear-style shields being used, for example), it is still definitely a hellish time for everyone involved.

We’ve just discovered this series by photographer Michael Wolf and, though it will perhaps not help Tokyo’s reputation, we liked it so much we had to showcase it here.

Tokyo Compression is a series of portraits of the poor souls riding the city’s train system in the rush hour and, boy, do they not look happy about it. The series has now been released in book form for our undeniable schadenfreude.

The Guardian puts it well:

…it is the ability to tolerate an elbow in the back and a cheek unceremoniously pasted against a window that sets Tokyo’s commuters apart. There are few arguments, and fights are almost unheard of; it’s as if the powerless, massed ranks of the travelling public have entered into a non-aggression pact – and one that is observed, for the most part, in near silence.

Personally I’ve always admired not only the endurance of Tokyoites but their dexterity as well. You will be amazed at the contortions people can achieve in order to continue reading their manga, using their mobile phone, or playing their PSP (and sometimes performing these tasks simultaneously!). With this gauntlet to get through every morning, it’s not surprising that, come the last train, everyone is fast asleep.

There rarely seems a day that goes by without foreign press reporting on the dilemma facing Japan and its chronically aging population.

Combine this with a recession and continuing deflation then perhaps it was inevitable that funerals would become more competitive. A year ago suburban retail giant Aeon introduced a service, with prices ranging from just under 300 thousand yen (about $3,500) to 1.5 million (about $17,850).

Now come reports that convenience store chain Family Mart is considering its own funeral business.

[Image source Bousai-Map and GiantRobot.com]

Most funerals in Japan are formidably expensive, often costing over 1 million yen (about $11,900). How affordable is that going to be when the population of over sixty-fives hits one in four people? Consumers will want more choice and better offers, especially as most of the formalities and processes associated with traditional funerals are arguably now very remote from most people’s lifestyles.

Actually, this isn’t without precedent. We’ve previously blogged here about QR code and RFID-integration into graves to make death a more contemporary experience.

Likely Family Mart will target regional consumers initially and it will surely be a while before you can purchase a funeral plan while you pick up an onigiri for lunch.

It is possible too that a convenience store funeral would include options for consumers’ more “modern” tastes. We look forward to the AKB48-themed ceremony!

We’ve read disturbing reports that Japan’s love hotels are in danger and some commentators speculate that their numbers will even halve next year.

From January new rules mean that the love hotels that technically operate in the same category as ryokan (Japanese inn) will have to switch to being legally registered as love hotels. This will mean that these “fake love hotels” cannot be within two hundred meters of a school and will be forced to move. More seriously, the hotels will have just one month to submit the applications for the change, the supporting documents costing several million yen to prepare.

[Pic via jetsetta.com]

Love hotels are, of course, short-stay hotels favored by couples in need of the privacy which they can’t get at home. They are usually instantly recognizable by their garish and imaginative exteriors, as any visitor to Love Hotel Hill in Shibuya will attest. They are also examples of “third spaces“, locations that act as living/relaxation/work areas that are not usually possible in typical Japanese homes.

Diamond magazine claims that there may be as many as 35 thousand hotels currently legally registered as ryokan and that the fate of the whole nation’s love hotel industry lies in the balance.

Japan, not known for being a prudish country, has seen campaigns for this law change led by organizations like the “National Fake Love Hotel Removal Group” (全国偽装ラブホテルをなくす会).

So, should couples be worried? Probably not. The likely result is that business hotels in affected areas will simply start to offer daytime “rest” packages. Whenever there is demand there will be supply.

Lifestyle and home accessories chain Francfranc has been opening concept stores recently — we blogged about the slightly bizarre one in Minami Aoyama that features giant cuddly animals and a ping pong table outside.

Tokyo, of course, is not the center of the Japanese universe and cool things happen outside the city. In fact, Francfranc has just opened another store in Nagoya, with the theme “Lifestyle with Arts”.

[Image source here and here]

The striking outside wall is decorated with what are described as “Medieval European pictures” in a variety of “window” shapes. Going in you are then greeted by a massive low chandelier object that surely can’t be an efficient lighting fixture.

Kitsch or innovation? Only by going to Nagoya can you decide.

On a recent passing visit through some innovative retail locations in Aoyama we again popped into the new Francfranc store, with its bizarre stuffed animal zoo and stylish interior.

We also couldn’t help noticing the table tennis newly set up outside! FrancFranc have temporarily installed a designer table made out of stone that anyone with a ball and paddle can use. Certainly a good way to keep the kids amused while Mom looks for some new cups in the store.

There is a net around the table (to stop rogues balls hitting cars and passing pedestrians, no doubt) but sadly no one was actually trying out table when we were there.