Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 24, 2009, 8:38 am
Sanyo recently announced a new line of batteries in their Eneloop series of rechargeable batteries called Eneloop Tones. Boasting eight new colors instead of the normal white batteries, the new cells ...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 24, 2009, 4:19 am
Since UNIQLO may well be the most web-savvy retailer around (see UniQlock, Uniqlo Calendar and Uniqlo Tunes), it might come as a surprise to some readers to hear that they JUST started Twitter and Mix...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 18, 2009, 4:27 am
SONY has launched a campaign to get us all singing in our cars. “Singing in your car” takes an activity that we all do (often to the annoyance of fellow passengers) and turns it into an i...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 17, 2009, 6:21 pm
Japanese innovation in telephony is clearly ahead of the rest of the world, but did you know about the coming convergence between phones and silverware that was predicted years ago? Tsubame-Sanjo stat...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 16, 2009, 11:40 am
If you’re anything like me, you just can’t get enough tokoroten. All summer, every day, I’m just fiending for the sweet, sweet product of sea algae. Luckily, Bandai Asovision is addi...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 16, 2009, 4:27 am
Without adding any kind of judgement for or against Obama (this video says it all), his recent visit to Japan stirred up the silliest controversy ever. The other day the Drudge Report ran a headline s...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 13, 2009, 3:31 am
We’ve previously reported on this site about the official Rakuten Auction channel on NicoNico Douga. Now here’s another corporate-endorsed video, one that appears to smash, literally, out ...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 12, 2009, 5:07 am
Japanese developers Mobile Art Lab have come up with a unique way to mix technologies old and new. The PhoneBook is just that – a phone combined with a book. You take a specially produced pictu...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 10, 2009, 11:43 pm
Christmas is just around the corner and we figured we’d introduce three new RC products for the boys. A good start for any serious RC fan should be the G-Bound Super Car, with its gargantuan wh...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 10, 2009, 5:01 am
We just love interesting collaborations. “Adorable” character Hello Kitty and her owner Sanrio have teamed up with Swarovski to produce a mobile music player decorated with three hundred c...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 9, 2009, 4:08 am
Take an old brand and a banal product. Add some simplistic, funky packaging and an interesting theme and, hey presto, you might just have a hit. That’s what health goods manufacturer Morishita ...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 6, 2009, 5:22 am
Just launched, the Deco-Monster is a collaboration between au KDDI and Casio to promote the latter’s Exilim mobile. The campaign revolves around the “dynamic photos” that the Exilim...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 3, 2009, 11:51 pm
A long time back we reported on this Ani-Light prototype being developed by Takara Tomy. Now comes news that Seiko Clock has got together with Takara to release the gadget properly from December. The...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Nov 2, 2009, 5:10 am
We all loved (and continue to love) the UniQlock. And the UT Loop widget let you customize your own t-shirt collection advert. Now, as part of its HEAT TECH range, Uniqlo has released a new blog par...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 29, 2009, 10:33 pm
Rakuten Auctions (楽天オークション) has launched an official channel on Japanese novelty streaming site Nico Nico Douga (ニコニコ動画) (lit. “laughing videos”). Rakuten Auct...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 28, 2009, 8:04 pm
Just when you thought you had a grip on all the inter-chain point cards on the Japanese market. Just when you thought it was safe to go into a convenience store…Along comes another one. Conveni...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 28, 2009, 4:57 am
We hope you all made it last week when CScout Japan supported PSFK in producing the Good Ideas Salon Tokyo at Hotel Claska. To celebrate Nissan’s zero-emission car’s release at the Tokyo M...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 26, 2009, 9:27 pm
We’ve had “my bag” (マイバッグ) and “my chopsticks” (マイハシ). Now comes “my bottle” (マイボトル). A campaign is being run by the 8 Metropolit...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 26, 2009, 2:04 am
Quick, get your shoes on. There’s only a few days left to take part in the KDDI au campaign 5min. WALK (ファイブミニッツ・ウォーク). The idea is to walk with your mobile for at leas...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 23, 2009, 2:25 am
Ever wanted to touch pudding without getting your hands yucky? Back in 2007 we were the first to break the news on Bandai’s PuchiPuchi (プチプチ) toy. Puchipuchi in Japanese is the sound of...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 21, 2009, 3:51 am
Previewing at the Tokyo Motor Show (starts Saturday October 24), Subaru has teamed up with Beams to produce the body design for the electric car Plug-in STELLA. The two previously teamed up for 2007&...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 20, 2009, 9:44 pm
It sounds like an oxymoron. The king of cheap, discount shopping launching its own brand? Fear not, Don Quijote is sticking to its usual weapon: bargains. Under the brand name 情熱価格 (”pa...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 19, 2009, 8:53 pm
ATM fraud is a big topic in Japan, with police in many areas launching big publicity campaigns. Amongst the main targets are the elderly, often telephoned by perpetrators claiming to be relatives and ...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 18, 2009, 11:32 pm
The relatively long-running beer TV commercials for Kirin featuring famous parents with their children (or famous children with their parents) have been rather shamelessly copycatted by Suntory this a...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 16, 2009, 3:52 am
... here and seeking return customers eager to collect more of this unique set. There’s even a QR code to along with the campaign. These products, though promoted as unique and collectible (e...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 15, 2009, 2:52 am
This is the second in a series of examples of “third spaces” in Japan, locations that act as living/relaxation/work areas that are not usually possible in typical Japanese homes. They are a respon...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 14, 2009, 3:38 am
Nihonshu (日本酒) is the real name for sake, or rice wine. It is basically the Japanese version of gin or whiskey, and is made from fermented sugar and starch. The quintessential Japanese drink, it...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 13, 2009, 5:05 am
Good Ideas Salons are where forward-thinkers come together to share ideas to make things better, whether that’s better work, better play or a better world. Drawing from a range of industries, Good I...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Oct 13, 2009, 12:35 am
Joke Racer, currently in Beta stage, is set to take the online gaming world by storm. This is something for car-lovers, toy-lovers or just those with a few moments to kill online. Simply by joining u...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Sep 21, 2009, 2:33 pm
Police in Japan are an interesting bunch. There’s certainly the typical “cop” side that most around the world are familiar with (nosy, aggressive, etc) and it’s always best to ...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Sep 21, 2009, 1:32 pm
We first talked about the augmented reality Sekai Camera app for the iPhone a while back, but now it’s gaining momentum in a real way. The innovative app allows users to view the real world thro...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Sep 18, 2009, 5:42 am
Aside from not having much of a lawn (if any) to play in, Japanese pets must be the most spoiled in the world. Well, they’re at least the best-dressed. Examples of pet luxury abound in Japan, fr...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Sep 16, 2009, 9:46 am
Going through our nearly daily rounds at various Tokyo drugstores, we started seeing a sudden influx of displays and ads for Shiseido’s UNO brand’s new FOG BAR hair-styling spray, a new ta...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Sep 16, 2009, 5:04 am
What will mobile handsets look like in the next twenty years? We were lucky enough to see some futuristic prototypes on display here in Tokyo, and were blown away by the technological progress each on...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Sep 10, 2009, 4:07 am
NOTE: This post is mildly NSFW, so careful on the links. No pron of course, but we do allude to sexuality and have related links. Do you know what this is? Think long and hard about it. Long ago we...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Sep 9, 2009, 9:38 pm
In the years that we’ve been blogging about Japan, CScout Japan has moved from a few sites in several forms, but we’ve never lost our thousands of daily readers. This is great news, and we...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Sep 6, 2009, 9:30 pm
This season’s Tokyo Girls Collection took place last Saturday at Yoyogi Stadium in Harajuku, attracting around 23,100 followers of fashion. See our Spring 2009 and 2008 coverage to get catch up on t...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Sep 2, 2009, 12:52 am
I seem to recall having heard of this film or seen some previews a while ago, and I’m not quite sure what to make of it at this point. After all, the trailer starts off with a nyotaimori “...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 29, 2009, 5:18 am
We aren’t going to do this every day, but I have thousands of photos that I always thought I would use for client projects or blog posts I never got around to doing. Thought this one would be go...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 27, 2009, 3:45 pm
Interesting. First Philip Morris sells its products along with a Georgia coffee (from Coca-Cola), and now BAT does it. This time, however, the color scheme is dead-on perfect. Coincidence? I’m...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 27, 2009, 3:28 am
We don’t usually get into politics here, mostly because, as Murray Rothbard observed, the State is nothing more than “bandit gang writ large”. Japan has been in the interesting posit...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 27, 2009, 2:51 am
This is the first in a series of examples of “third spaces” in Japan, locations that act as living/relaxation/work areas that are not usually possible in typical Japanese homes. They are a...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 24, 2009, 1:15 pm
I was walking through the cereal aisle in a nice big suburban Tokyo supermarket (Machida I think) and something caught my eye. It’s amazing that in a place where every brand is competing for eye...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 24, 2009, 12:59 pm
Do you love classic soft vinyl figures from Japan? M1GO is basically the only company staying true to the retro form while giving them a modern edge, especially with color. If you’re in Tokyo yo...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 20, 2009, 11:27 am
As noted in Monocle Magazine’s liveable city index, Tokyo does indeed have 247 Starbucks. While it might be cliche to say there is one on every corner, there are a few real examples: the Roppongi Hi...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 19, 2009, 2:37 am
Just ran “CScout” through Spezify, and some interesting, long-lost, and (until now!) unknown content comes bubbling up. Very cool stuff.
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 18, 2009, 1:54 pm
We’ve been quite light on our blogging recently, but there’s just so much going on around here! First of all, we’re moving our blogging operation to JapanTrends.com in the next weeks...
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Michael Keferl posted an article on CScout Japan - Aug 13, 2009, 6:05 am
A new toothpaste from Kao is specifically targeting the office worker crowd. Called “Clear Clean Change,” the product is being marketed as an “after the lunch hour” toothpaste. The two flavors...
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