Report: Tama-chan Boosts Business

For only the price of cat food, a kitty in a train station in rural Japan has benefited the local economy.

In April 2008, Lets Japan wrote about Tama-chan (Cat in Hat Can’t Quit), the official hat-wearing stationmaster feline at Kishi train station on the Kishigawa Line in Wakayama Prefecture.
Tama-the-cat was appointed in January 2007. Since then, railway officials say 55,000 more people used the line than would normally be expected.

AFP reports on a study by Katsuhiro Miyamoto, a professor at Kansai University’s School of Accountancy.
The research released earlier this month shows sales of Tama-chan picture books, DVDs, and other goods, brought the local economy as much as 1.1 billion yen (10.44 million dollars) in 2007.

Tama-the-kitten was found on the street and brought to the station by the owner of a nearby shop, then kept by the owner of a grocery store next to the station, before becoming the cat-in-residence at Kishi station.

Tama-chan has recently been promoting the railway’s "Strawberry Photo and Sketch" contest for its "Strawberry Train". The contest deadline is October 30, 2008. The strawberry-themed train debuted on the first anniversary of the  establishment of the Wakayama Electric Railway. The line had been part of the Nankai Electric Railway until April 1, 2006.
 
Strawberries are grown throughout Japan. Wakayama is not especially known for strawberry production.

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Three major companies publish advertisements and material containing misspelled words. The McDonald’s Japan McRIB sandwich wrapper "will makes you hungry". KDDI telecommunications is unsure about "your" and "you’re" in a newspaper ad, which has been published twice. And, when you use your Softbank mobile communications Mysoftbank web page, you are "logined".  related: McRIB Japan review

www.housingjapan.com/rental-apartments-tokyo/renting-guide/Multicultural real estate agents

To make renting an apartment easier for non-Japanese, and deal with discrimination by apartment landlords and owners, one prefecture in Japan is sponsoring an effort to establish a database of "multicultural" real estate agents.

The government of Saitama Prefecture began it’s effort in 2006. There are now 113 multicultural real estate agents registered. Saitama is located 23 kilometers north of of Tokyo.

Information pamphlets in Chinese, English, Portuguese and Spanish are available, and telephone interpretation is offered by volunteers. (Multicultural information .pdf download English .pdf; List of real estate agents English .pdf download)

The Daily Yomiuri reports the project has become widely known among foreigners by word of mouth.

Phone numbers and addresses of the participating agents are included in the list. Lets Japan viewed 42 websites listed in the multicultural real estate registry, and found the logo displayed on only three sites: Roomspot; Risouhouse; Saihokujisho

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Discount Monks Comforting

The traditional all-inclusive Buddhist funeral service held at temples is being challenged by lower-cost freelance monks.

Obohsan.com is one of these independent-monk providers. It has 45 monks on it’s roster, enlightened in seven disciplines of Buddhism.

Having a monk dispatched to a designated funeral service location cuts out the payment to a temple, where the temple-associated monk usually performs such services.

According to a 2007 survey by the Japan Consumers Association, consumers paid on average JPY 549,000 for ceremonies that include posthumous Buddhist naming, sutra-chanting,  and monetary offerings.

Obohsan.com offers an à la carte service selection – JPY42,000 yen for sutra-chanting at wakes and JPY84,000 at funeral services. It offers other pricing options, including four price plans for posthumous Buddhist naming, ranging from JPY31,500 to JPY157,500.  read more: Dial-a-monk firm eases funeral cost worries

Hearses Are Too Depressing

Transport of the deceased to their final destination is becoming more subdued. Use of the traditional garish, shrine-style hearses (miyagata) is steadily declining, in part because residents near funeral homes and crematoriums have complained, saying the miyagata are tacky and depressing.

The trend of crematoriums banning miyagata became evident around 1990. Now, the longstanding bans, complaints, a desire to avoid the idea of death, and changes in attitudes about showy processions, have led to the more common selection of the unobtrusive hearse version.

The Japan Hearse Association, based in Tokyo, has a membership of about 1,500 funeral homes and operators. In total, the members own about 1,500 miyagata. The number has fallen from the 2,100 owned in 1998, its peak year. read more: Neighbors say flashy hearses too depressing

photos: Gold hearse; plain hearse;  memorial service. related: Japan Funeral Coach; hearses and funeral options.

Bye Buy Butter

Thirty-five years ago, it was toilet paper. Now, consumers and bakeries are hunting butter as Japan is suffering a butter shortage.

Supermarkets are limiting butter to one per customer. At OK Mart, Hokkaido butter brand was available, up 100 yen from it’s previous price of 199 yen. Buyers were allowed only one package of the precious gold.

Manufacturers are apologizing as usual.

Bakeries and restaurants have been having butter troubles since late 2007.

Falling butter production in Japan is due to a variety of factors since 2006, including government efforts to maintain prices for local milk farmers, dairy closures, a decline in milk consumption, excessive import tariffs, and worldwide grain-feed price rises.

French bakery chefs are concerned: “We’ve had to come up with some new items that use less butter, like cookies. But you’re talking about flavor. How can you replace butter?” says a pastry chef at a bakery in Tokyo. la times

Butt Shortage Not First

Japan went into “oil shock” in 1973 when Arab members of OPEC set policies that would quadruple the price of oil. Reports predicted a shortage of goods, including (more…)

The Blue Shield

The one-man shelters that many of Japan’s homeless construct from heavy blue tarpaulins can be found in parks, under bridges, and along river banks.

An April 2007 Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare report shows there are 4,213 homeless in Tokyo’s 23 wards, and about 18,500 homeless nationwide. The country has a population of 127 million people. The average age of homeless in Japan is 57.5 years.

The numbers of homeless living in these locations:

Urban parks: 5,702
River bank: 5,653
Highway: 3,110
Station: 910
Other Facilities: 3,189

The Washington Post details how the homeless can get back into the system, and states that compared to US standards of homelessness, being homeless in Japan is “not a bad gig”.

Sometimes the homeless in Japan lose their sturdy do-it-yourself shelters, due to the cops, or the weather. The stories below reveal how some homeless people have opted for improved conditions. (more…)

Opposite Directions

Decreasing auto sales in Japan, combined with new laws targeting elderly drivers and other efforts to prevent pensioners from driving, are making it more difficult for auto manufacturers facing a different demographic future.

Newsweek reports automobile sales in Japan have been declining steadily over time. It says aside from minicars and luxury foreign brands, sales of all other types of vehicles are decreasing. Newsweek details a number of factors for the developing disinterest in car ownership.

A 2007 report by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association includes data about the vehicle preferences of people aged 50 years or older. According to the report, “a large number of respondents in this category said they wanted to curb car-purchasing and other car-related expenditures. However, among goods and services they wished to purchase with their retirement benefits, ‘automobiles’ ranked fourth among a total of 19 items.” The research also showed people are keeping their cars longer.

To counter the continuing sales decline in Japan, car makers have been improving marketing strategies. Toyota’s Gazoo website features “Drive Dates” hosted by cute female “idols”. Toyota also developed, built and operates the Tressa Automall near Yokohama.

Nissan’s Cube compact car brand has it’s own artists and music label. Nissan has a whole website of entertainment, including Kid’s Nissan and Nissan origami. Honda is targeting the youngsters with games online at Honda’s ToyTown, which includes popup paper-craft instructions.

License To Shop

Meanwhile, Tokyo city government has been working to get senior citizens to stop driving. Tocho is so concerned about the increasing number of automobile accidents caused by elderly drivers, it is offering incentives to persuade golden agers to quit driving. (more…)

The Wine Advisor reads the bar code on the bottle label and offers food recommendations to match the wine. The electronic scanner terminal is installed over wine racks at the 10 newest Peacock supermarkets in Japan.

Newsweek International reports the machine recommended roast beef, Maribo and Samsoe cheese and pain de campagne to go with a Bordeaux. This digital sommelier is also available in Queen’s Isetan.
source: When The Sommelier’s A Machine

Track Your Meat

A computer terminal in many AEON supermarkets offers domestic meat traceability, and tells you the animal’s birthday, where it was born, its birth weight, what it grazed on, and maybe even its favorite TV program.

Too Technical

Let Asimo shop for you.

Write Novel Like Real Author

Pretend to be a writer and these inns will also have a lady bring a snack to your room and inquire about the progress of your manuscript. The Arima hot spring resort was a favorite place of inspiration for writers. Now, accommodation in the area is offering would-be authors three writing-stay plans.

Targeting baby-boomers, the writer plans are available at 26 hotels and ryokan at the resort. The cost of accommodation is additional.

Lodgers may request a writing desk, writing pad, and a tanzen jacket. And you can ask for the late-night visit from that female muse – she’ll encourage you and address you as “sensei”.

Rates:
3 days: learn how to write a story, 15,000 yen
5 days: write a digest version of a story, 15,000 yen
7 days: a story you’ve already written will be proofread and prepared for publication, 30,000 yen

Anime Voice of Toilet Information

Stations on the Yurikamome Line in Tokyo each use a different anime voice actor for all the electronic information kiosks in a given station. Map, fare adjustment, and toilet locator audio guides are provided.

The 16 voice actors and the stations they represent are profiled here.