Check out PingMag’s in-depth investigation into the secret underground world of wagashi (Japanese sweets!).

Bestever Japan Co. has expanded its Happy Relax Eye Pillow collection. The pillow is designed to relax those beady eyes of yours by heating or cooling little bags of gel contained within an animal-shaped mask. Ideal for easing the eyestrain from a long drive or watching TV for 8 hours without blinking.

Yours for 935 yen (£3.80/$7.65)!

Source: Nikkei

A Bathing Ape has released its latest item of limited edition wear, the Batman hoodie. It’s unfortunately 53,600 yen (£218/$439), but you do get a free Batman toy!

Via A Rinkya Blog. Image from Official Bape

This isn’t the most interesting of items, but I thought I should post it just for the woman in the photo’s facial expression. Looking at her newly purchased model of Tokyo Tower, she seems proud, in disbelief of its beauty, and strangely, a little bit in love with it. She loves spending nights in alone with her model, changing the colour of the lights to match her mood. Ahh, 11,000 yen (£45/$90) well spent.

Just when you thought Tokyoflash couldn’t get any better, they’re offering one lucky Plastic Bamboo reader the choice of ANY watch from their incredible selection. To enter, simply answer the following two questions.

1. At Tokyoflash shipping is free for most watches, but how long does delivery take?
2. Which Tokyoflash watch might be useful in the event of a Nuclear War?

Email your answers to iwantawatch@plasticbamboo.com.

Also, out of curiosity, when you email in can you tell me what specifically you read Plastic Bamboo for? Is it gadget news? Random oddness? What would you like to see more of? Want to see the charts back? Glad they’re gone? Anything whatsoever! What you say will have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on your chance of winning. The winner will be selected at random after the closing date, Sunday 8th July.

Just a quick reminder that you can get Plastic Bamboo while you’re out and about using your favourite mobile device. The site will format itself into a stripped-down small-screen friendly version when you visit via the usual address.

I’m pretty sure every single person has a designated place for his or her mountains of change. It’s easy enough to chuck in your pennies when you get home, but the hassle comes when it’s time to count them, plus you can only guess at what your savings are as you go along. Fortunately, the Life Bank One bottle top is here! Screw it on to the top of any bottle and watch the counter increase as you save. Sadly, it only counts 1 yen coins. Looking at it I actually doubt that. I’m sure it just counts the number of coins, so larger denominations might be possible. Getting one for someone’s birthday present will cost you 999 yen (£4/$8), but I’m sure it would make them very happy.

Source: Ascii

Weirdo clothing brand, Kamei Proact, has created the ultimate rain-wear item for a group of friends on the move. The three-person nylon raincoat can be worn by a single person if desired, but two other ponchos contained in the collar can be folded out if you have others who want to join in the fun. The raincoat, part of Patrick’s spring line-up, isn’t cheap at 50,400 yen (£208/$413), but remember, it’s impossible to be unhappy in a poncho.

Source: Nikkei

We’ve seen sushi cushions before on Plastic Bamboo, but this goes one step further. 70cm long, the Fresh Salmon Pillow is so fresh it’s still sealed. The best thing about it, as the manufacturer states, it “does not smell of salmon.” Shame. Currently sold out, the Salmon Pillow costs 2625 yen (£11/$22).

The Illoiha gym in Tokyo has decided to emphasize the “indoor” in indoor climbing. Wannabe mountaineers need to navigate mounted picture frames in order to scale the wall, rather than the usual artificial handgrips. Oh, sorry, forgot about the shelves and deer head that’s up there as well.

Via Sci-Fi Tech

Magical Beauty is yet another creation from the brilliant minds of Takara Tomy. Why waste your time fiddling with make-up or spending money going to the hairdressers? Just get yourself a Magical Beauty! Take a photo of your face using the inbuilt camera, then spend minutes seeing what you’d look like with cartoon hair by hooking the stylus-driven device up to a TV. Let’s take a closer look at the potential tens of different ways you could look:

Wow! I never knew one person could look so different in so many ways! And for only 9,429 yen (£40/$80)! Ahh, buy your kid a Wii instead, Miis are so much more fun. Plus they might actually enjoy themselves for more than 7 minutes.

Toto has come up with a quite disgusting looking portable toilet. Designed for places that don’t have the required plumbing for a dedicated WC, the toilet let’s you do your business from a wooden chair, where you can then remove the waste bucket from inside. Lovely! All for 132,300 yen (£580/$1130). Hold on, where have I seen this before?

Source: Impress Watch

Sega Toys has just launched the cutest companion you could have, conveniently in time for Easter. Dream Chick (not the kind that you normally see on the Internet), is a fluffy hand-sized chick that flaps its wings when held. Making you feel even more adored, it makes “peep peep” noises when its head is stroked. Dream Chick is available for 1,507 yen ($12.90/£6.62).

Source: Akihabara News

Onitsuka Tiger was Japan’s first ever sport shoe brand and is now over 30 years old. Made Of Japan is a flash site featuring shoes made up of numerous images from various Blogger pages that mention Japan. Set an alarm for about 5 minutes to snap you out of becoming too engrossed in this site. Want to know more about Onitsuka Tiger? Trends in Japan has a great article about their new found popularity.

Via Offline Geek

Hot dogs for sale! But where? Over there by the beefburgers. The photo above is of the world’s longest hot dog. Made in the Akasaka Prince Hotel in Tokyo, the dog was officially recognized by Guinness as 60.3 metres long. Yum!

Via Weird Things