Living in Japan you almost forget about all the wackiness, but then something smacks you in the face and reminds you where you are. Take for example this brilliant device, a timed lock box for your children's smart devices, can be used for snacks too.
While browsing in Don Quijote(Donki) over the holiday season I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this. It was actually the artwork that caught my attention. A crying child in prison stripes because his smart phone has been taken away and locked up in a see through canister, adding to the torture.
The packaging is amazing without getting into the merits of the see through lock box. This is the key to Japanese marketing, an amazing design will sell even if it's just the packaging. They make you want it without really thinking too deeply about it.
This made me think back to a toy I used to have. It was of a lesser known, regional "talent" named Yumiko Shaku from Shimane-ken. In this case Bandai had turned Yumiko into a toy bar hostess that would pour your beer for you and comfort you with 100 phrases about your hard work day, the Oshaku Paradise Shaku Oshaku. It was brilliant and useless and I had to have it. Watch this video and you too will desire to have one!
My wife actually got it for me as a joke and I miss it everyday.
Anyway, I sent my wife over a photo of the Smart Phone Lock Box and asked if we should get it for our kids. At first she laughed, then said, "Why the F would we need it? If the kids are in trouble we just take their devices away and put them(devices not kids) in our closet until they behave.". Shit, she was right. There was no use for this thing, unless of course you wanted them to see what they are missing out on via the clear case. The wife wins again..... then I saw the karaoke microphone with a built in speaker!!!! 📲Honey....
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I'm happy to know that amazing creativity mixed with uselessness and great marketing still exists on Earth. I will continue to bring this awesomeness to you as I find it in this strange land, welcome to my Wacky Japan series.
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That...definitely sounds like a very Japan thing. lol
There is so much stuff like this, but I usually don't pay attention because I'm not shopping. It makes me wonder if other Asian countries also have these types of things? We used to have a store in several malls in California called Spencer's and they had crazy things like this, but not anymore.
Haha. Japanese culture goes to great lengths to attract attention with all their products. It's hard for those things to go unnoticed.
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Thanks! You gotta love their creativity!