Men's Premium Bra Offers Hope for Japan's Overly Endowed

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:47:56 -0800

Show us your moobs! Well, at least show them off with the new Men's Premium Bra from Wishroom. It's no joke either, Men's Bras are the number one ranked seller at Japan's Rakuten online store.

Reusable Heart Shaped Hand Warmer is People AND Earth Friendly

Steve Levenstein — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:00:00 -0800

Cold Hands? Warm Heart! This reusable, environmentally friendly, heart-shaped portable heating pad puts out heat to the beat, again and again!

Social Network Mixi's Up Designer Ramen

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:26:10 -0800

Social Networking - is there anything it can't do? Mixi, Japan's largest social networking site, and cup noodle maker Acecook have combined for a tasty collaboration that is cranking out new instant ramen flavors and cool slogans to advertising them.

Baseball Knuckles Under as Japan League Drafts Teen Girl Pitcher

Steve Levenstein — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:05:10 -0800

A league of their own? Not in Japan at least, where 16-year-old female knuckleballer Eri Yoshida has just been drafted by a Japanese pro baseball team. The boys of summer - plus one girl - will take the field in April 2009.

Panasonic's New EVOLTA Batteries Last Longest

Steve Levenstein — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:00:00 -0800

Boasting an electrifying 10-year shelf life, Panasonic's new EVOLTA batteries handily surpass the best that rivals Duracell, Energizer and the company's own Oxyride batteries can offer. Says who? Only the Guinness Book of World Records!

read more »

Bite Counter Keeps Kids Chewing, Stops Mom from Nagging

Steve Levenstein — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:00:00 -0800

"Chew your food!!"... How many times have busy kids heard that exasperated command from overly concerned mothers? Now the Kami Kami Sensor from Japan's Nitto Kagaku will keep kids biting their food - and Moms biting their tongues.

Look Mom, No Hands! Faceless LED Watch is All Band, No Dial

Steve Levenstein — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:00:00 -0800

Watch this space, but don't look for a face. Hiranao Tsuboi's faceless LED wristwatch is all band and no dial, a curious concept but one that ensures you're not the only one watching your watch!

Adult Diapers Come Out of the Closet in Japan

Steve Levenstein — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:00:00 -0800

Adult diapers have not only come out of the closet, they're taking center stage! A recent Tokyo runway show shines the spotlight on what has become a $500 million per year business in Japan. Could it happen here? Depends...

Scientists Use Muons to Take Volcano X-Rays

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:07:55 -0800

An innovative imaging system that uses muons - a type of cosmic ray - to reveal the interior of a volcano has been developed by scientists at the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute.

Twitter Drawers Collection Tweaks Twitter to a T

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:49:10 -0800

The Twitter Drawers Collection, or TDC for short, offers twitterers from Japan and elsewhere a free way to add a unique Japanese accent to their tweeting.

Top 10 Strange & Unusual Japanese Police Stations

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:33:34 -0700

"Koban", or Japanese Police Boxes, are commonly found on street corners in cities or towns, large or small, across Japan. Not to be confused with the Doctor Who's Tardis style police call boxes formerly common in Great Britain, Japanese Koban are larger, display a red light and five-pointed gold police badge outside - and often feature unusual styling... here are the Top Ten!

read more »

McDonalds Japan Goes No-Brand with Quarter Pounder Shops

Steve Levenstein — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:00:00 -0800

McDonalds Japan is testing the waters of no-brand marketing with newly opened Quarter Pounder stores in Tokyo.

Tomy XIAO Digital Camera Packs Portable Printer

Steve Levenstein — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:00:00 -0800

The instant camera is back, and it's better than ever! Forget Polaroid, Tomy's XIAO is a 5 megapixel digital camera that prints full color photos using Zink inkless paper.

Shinsoku Sports Shoes Sell Well With the Right Stuff

Steve Levenstein — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:00:00 -0800

A new type of running shoe is breaking sales records in Japan while helping young athletes keep on track - literally. Shinsoku sports shoes are designed with asymmetric soles that give young runners extra traction on oval courses.

The Top 10 Weirdest and Funniest Japanese Condoms

Steve Levenstein — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 04:01:16 -0700

Fans of "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" know that Japanese can burn rubber with the best of them. Need proof? Here are the the top 10 most interesting, unusual and downright weird ways Japan's condom manufacturers seek to beat off the competition in the rubbery race for safe sex supremacy! read more »

Toshiba Wins Over Gamers with Triple GPU Laptop

Steve Levenstein — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:00:00 -0800

Gamers on the go will be thrilled by the new Qosmio X305-Q708 laptop computer from Toshiba. With not one, not two, but THREE onboard NVIDIA graphics processing units, these Toshiba laptops give dedicated game players the unparalleled 3D gaming performance they've long demanded.

Nano Turntable for Mini Music Players Makes Anyone a DJ

Steve Levenstein — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:00:00 -0800

The new "Hey Nano DJ! Turntable Speaker Phone Charm" turns anyone with an iPod or other MP3 player into an instant DJ mixmaster. Add voice, siren or scratch effects to your fave hip-hop tunes - or Bach, if that's what you like!

Political Gamers Play On at Super Obama World

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:00:00 -0800

The 2008 election is over at last and junkies for presidential politics are faced with going cold turkey. The solution? "Super Obama World", the retro style video game that pits Obama against Palin on her frozen home turf.

Frozen Mouse Cloned, Are Mammoths Next?

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:32:54 -0800

The successful cloning by Japanese researchers of a mouse kept in deep freeze for 16 years has sparked hope that prehistoric Woolly Mammoths may walk the Earth again one day.

Inhale, Exhale, Repeat: Japan Tobacco's 'Smoking Manners for Adults' Ads, Part 4

Steve Levenstein — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:55:30 -0800

Japan Tobacco's series of 73 "Smoking Manners for Adults" ads - numbers 31 through 40 provided here - have lately achieved international recognition, including comedian David Sedaris' amusing discussion of them on Late Night with David Letterman. Without doubt the ads are (often unintentionally) funny, insightful and thought-provoking, but will smokers who read them really think about their manners?

Puff Politely: Japan Tobacco's 'Smoking Manners for Adults' Ads, Part 3

Steve Levenstein — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:45:00 -0700

Welcome to the third installment of Japan Tobacco's 'Smoking Manners for Adults' ads. With a total of 73 ads making the rounds of Japanese ad space, it's unlikely you'll see the same ad twice – but you'll definitely get the message that smoking demands consideration. Here are ads 21 through 30...

Bacon USB Flash Drives Make Memory More Meaty

Steve Levenstein — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:00:00 -0800

These meaty Bacon customized USB flash drives cater to those who believe that anything "bacon" just can't be bad. Mmm, bacon...

Coke Machine Calls Cops, Canned By Crooks

Steve Levenstein — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:00:00 -0800

An innovative new soda vending machine from Coca-Cola Japan offers passersby much more than a refreshing cooler. An onboard emergency phone provides instant communication with local police while a top-mounted security camera records the street scene below. At least it did for a couple of days...

Newspaper Blog Brings Tabloid Format to the Blogosphere

Steve Levenstein — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:26:09 -0800

Six Apart's award winning Newspaper Blog adapts the familiar newspaper look to serve the needs of bloggers, schools and - no pun intended - desktop publishers. "Print Screen" doesn't just mean capturing a screenshot anymore.

Bad Kitty! BALZAC Hello Kitty Goes Goth

Steve Levenstein — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 08:52:35 -0700

Hello Kitty is not for kiddies anymore, as this collaborative effort from Sanrio and Japanese punk-goth band BALZAC so graphically illustrates.

Chimney 2 Humidifier - Smoothing Up the Air Up There

Steve Levenstein — Tue, 08 May 2007 08:28:26 -0700

Looking for a good looking way to humidify the air?

Our Guest Blogger, Steve Levenstein, is a writer, copywriter and
Japanophile from Toronto, Canada. The tide of wild, wacky and wonderful
products from Japan seems to beg for commentary, and Steve has happily taken on the burden of doing just that. Steve is the Assistant Editor of The Driver Magazine and has just set up his portfolio website here.

He has some great inventions from Japan to share with the readers of AmericanInventorSpot.com. Here's his article: read more »

Tomato Soap Leaves You Clean and Stress Free

Steve Levenstein — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Vege Table Soap from WenBee washes away stress with the powerful antioxidant phytochemical Lycopene. What makes tomatoes red when ripe now leaves your skin glowing pink with good health.

'Reflection of Mineral' House Proves Urban Design is Hard

Steve Levenstein — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:00:00 -0700

Tokyo is a nice place to visit and you WOULD want to live there - especially if your home was the 'Reflection of Mineral' house by innovative urban architect Yasuhiro Yamashita.

Bigfoot Goes East? Yeti Footprints Discovered by Japanese Researchers

Steve Levenstein — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Abominable snowman or improbable snowjob? Researchers from Yeti Project Japan have discovered a set of odd footprints that just might be from the Yeti, Bigfoot's mysterious Asian cousin.

Calamete Pasta Fork Enables Neat Noodle Nibbling

Steve Levenstein — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 09:43:06 -0700

Dining just got more dangerous, thanks to the fiendishly spiky Calamete pasta fork!