Hello again! Japan’s presence and ever-growing influence on the rest of the world is greater than ever. University of Tokyo lecturer and downright nice guy, Roland Kelts, takes a closer look at what’s going on in his incredible book, Japanamerica. Amidst a whirlwind press tour of the world, Roland (no newspaper-style surname using here!), took the time to chat in-depth with us about his book and the influence of Japan.

Wait right there though! You can win a copy of this very fine book, right here on Plastic Bamboo! Just send an email to stuart [at] plasticbamboo.com telling me what you think the one thing the West should take from Japan is. Roland mentioned some of the things he thought would be beneficial in the interview, so you can’t use those ones! Best/funniest/stupidest/extremely-serious answer will win. I might even get Roland to judge it, providing he’s not in a bad mood with me for taking so long to post this. Good luck!

From the photo above it looks like Tokyo’s Summerland is a popular place to go. Let’s see what happens when the wave machine is turned on…

Via Kilian Nakamura

Bangkok police chiefs have decided that the best way to punish any of their rule-breaking officers is to make them wear a Hello Kitty armband. The armband is “large, bright pink and has a Hello Kitty motif with two hearts embroidered on it.” Police Colonel Pongpat Chayapan said:

“This is to help build discipline. We should not let small offences go unnoticed. Guilty officers will be made to wear the armbands in the office for a few days, with instructions not to disclose their offences. Let people guess what they have done.”

Incredible.

Source: BBC News via Anime News Network

Sky News is currently hosting a little picture gallery of a new aquarium that’s opening in Yokohama on Friday. Have a look here if you’re not too busy!

The Illustrated Braille Club is a group of volunteers who get together in Kitajima, Tokushima Prefecture, to turn picture books and other illustrated stories into Braille. The group takes the books and encodes them into dots, which are then printed by a special printer that punches raised dots into the paper. The finished Braille volumes then make their way to not only Kitajima’s local public library, but also to libraries and schools for the blind.

The club’s representative Kōji Sangawa, 82, said “the visually impaired don’t have many opportunities to experience art, so they enjoy our work. I want to continue working as long as my body allows me, with the encouragement of their words of gratitude.” What a nice man.

Via Anime News Network

The thought of going to a gym can be negative, especially when you think of puffing away on exercise machines, and sweating so much that your hair sticks to your face. A machine in Japan called Conbini, a name taken from the Japanese for convenient store, is proving to be very popular though, as it prevents either of those off-putting aspects. The machine pushes the person’s feet up and down, and back and forwards, and a sweat is rarely broken, as it seems to be doing most of the work. A 500 yen coin ($4.10/£2) is simply inserted in the Conbini, and a 10 minute exercise regime begins. To prevent wandering male eyes, there are ladies only sections and partitions between machines to give you a carefree bounce about!

Via Wired

The third Monday of July is Umi No Hi/Ocean Day in Japan. It’s a National Holiday with many people spending the day at the beach. To celebrate this occasion, our favourite watch manufacturers Tokyoflash are offering their customers a special discount coupon giveaway on their website. Time to get yourself a nice new watch to match those speedos or bikini!

More burger news! Fans of the Mega Mac will rejoice at the announcement of the new Mega Teriyaki - 903 calories and 64.3 grams of fat in the form of two pork patties, teriyaki sauce and sweet lemon mayonnaise. McDonalds are even pitching it against the Mega Mac in the ultimate burger battle, which you can monitor for yourself here.

Via A Rinkya Blog

Hmm, what to snack on in-between Trout Burgers and Mega Macs. Yes, of course, Every Burgers! Chocolate and biscuit in tiny burger form!

Via Samurai Samurai

Network Security Japan has come up with the ultimate security solution for those navigating the dark streets of Osaka alone at night. By carrying a ‘Robot Locator’, those in trouble can simply press a button to send a signal to the nearest vending machine relay device. This in turn sends a distress signal to NSJ’s headquarters, where they check the GPS co-ordinates of the pressed Robot Locator.

The patrolling security officer in the relevant area is alerted immediately, where they then track down the location of the incident, even if the person who pressed the button in the first place is on the move.

Flash demo after the jump.

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Heartfull, a company that designs home health equipment has created a device that allows the elderly to look after their toilet needs entirely by themselves. The unit has a hose and a rubber cup that the user pees into, where the urine is then sucked into the machine’s body. As a little extra surprise, the hose then sprays warm water to give them a little clean. The waste stored in the tank can be flushed down the toilet when necessary. The unit goes on sale in August for 168,000 yen (£700/$1400). You’ll also be able to buy an optional bowel movement cup for 21,000 yen (£90/$175), as well as a showerhead for washing hair for 8,400 yen (£35/$70).

Source: Nikkei

Put your money away! Vending machine operator Apex Corp. is introducing a new system that will give customers the option of watching an ad instead of paying for their drinks. A 30-second video commercial plays while the drink is poured in to an ad covered paper cup. Apex currently maintains 35,000 drinks machines that vend at 70-120 yen per cup. The system will be introduced across Japan from June.

Via Japan Probe

Have a drink and watch the trains at this new model train theme bar in Tennoji-ku in Osaka. It’d be better if the trains were bigger so they could actually send your drink along on a carriage. Still, it’s a model train theme bar. I shouldn’t complain.

The Metro in the UK has a great story today on the latest scam to hit Japan - “Maiko Kawakami, who starred in the Japanese thriller Violent Cop, showed photographs of her pet on a television talk show only to be told it wasn’t a dog - but was in fact a lamb.” Flocks of lambs have apparently been shipped to Japan from the UK and Australia, and sold on the Internet to unsuspecting Japanese customers who have no idea what a poodle looks like. Best line of the article: “The scam was only spotted after a leading Japanese actress said her ‘poodle’ didn’t bark and refused to eat dog food.”

I felt like some sort of Internet archaeologist when I came across this site. Last updated July 14th 1997, the Tokyo Toilet Map had great vision. Intended as a guide to the best toilets in Tokyo, the site’s owner couldn’t continue documenting his toilet trips for some reason or another. Perhaps the novelty wore off, or maybe he grew frustrated at the lack of interest in the site. We’ll never know. All we have left are photos of a few Tokyo toilets, a list of intriguing bullet points, and an apology for the owner’s English language competence. The bullet points read:

* I check the men’s toilet. Because I am man.
* Mainly I check toilet at stations.
* It may be women’s toilet version with my wife’s cooperation.
* I check toilet for who do whose buisiness.
* I collect graffiti. Because it is fun.

Hope everything is ok, Yuuji Hayashi. We’re thinking of you.