Big in Japan: Solar-powered bra can charge your iPod

by Matthew Firestone on

Unless you’re built like Naomi Campbell, you can go ahead and forget about Victoria’s Secret. After all, anybody with an eco-conscious knows that lingerie is about to go green…

This week here in Tokyo, the famous lingerie maker Triumph International Japan unveiled its environmentally friendly Solar Power Bra.

As demonstrated by the striking models of Triumph, the new bra features a solar panel worn around the stomach, which can produce enough electricity to charge your iPod. It is also made of high quality organic cotton that has met the international textile safety standard “Eco-Tex,” and comes in a lovely Earth-friendly shade of green.

Of course, the best part is that that the bra is equipped with two refillable pouches, which can store drinking water, and alleviate the need to carry around environmentally unfriendly plastic bags. And, if you’re feeling a bit insecure about the size of your bust, fret not as the pouches happen to be located right where you need them!

But, don’t take my word for it, but rather the testimony of the oh-so adorable model Yuko Ishida: “It is very comfortable and I can really feel involved in eco-friendly efforts as well.”

Saving the environment never felt so sexy (^_^)

The release of Triumph’s solar-powered bra couldn’t be timelier, especially since the Hokkaido Toyoko Summit is scheduled to take place from July 7-9 on the northernmost island of Japan. Dubbed the ‘environment summit,’ Hokkaido Toyoko will host the ministers from the Group of 8 developed nations, and will address environmental issues that were raised at their previous summit in Bali.

And, in a country where trends and fads can make or break a product, it’s encouraging to note that being eco-friendly is now the height of fashion in Japan. Indeed, Triumph has already released several other green-themed bits of lingerie including include a bra that turns into a reusable shopping bag, and a bra that uses removable metal chopsticks for under-wire.

Although it should go without saying, let’s be clear on one thing: like the concept cars that make the rounds at international auto shows, Triumph’s line of eco-bras is not actually available for purchase in stores. Quite simply, the problem with the Solar Power Bra is that “people usually cannot go outside without wearing clothes over it,” at least according to Triumph spokeswoman Yoshiko Masuda. She also added that you can’t wash the bra, or get it wet in the rain as it does have exposed circuitry.

But, the point is that the Solar Power Bra, regardless of how user-unfriendly it might be, can help reshape consumer demands for products that are more environmentally sound. It can also help launch a mainstream dialog over the importance of highlighting climate change at the individual level by demonstrating how we can all play a small role in protecting Mother Earth.

So ladies, what are you waiting for? Ditch those obsolete sports bras and get ready to go green!

(Special thanks to Emily Loos for uncovering this sultry little news item!)

** Photos taken by Katsumi Kasahara (AP), Junko Kimura (Getty Images) and Yoshikazu Tsuno (AFP/Getty Images) **

Bolshoi in Russia: Moscow museum night is free (hence popular with hipsters)

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from Moscow! Bolshoi in Russia is my variation on Big in Japan. (Bolshoi means “Big” in Russian. Get it?) Stay tuned for my live dispatches from Russia this week.

Moscow held their 11th annual Night of Museums (or Long Night of Museums) on Saturday, May 17. I haven’t seen as many people in one place since visiting China. I shouldn’t be surprised. It was, after all, a free event. The majority of life in Moscow is far from free.

Long Night of Museums, began in Berlin in 1997 as an attempt to bring more people into museums and art galleries, focusing on younger people who may not be regular museum-goers. Moscow, like 120 cities across Europe, now participates in Museum Night, holding free late-night museum and gallery open houses on the same day.

Saturday night was an interesting dichotomy for me. First, I went to the one of the galleries–Winzavod (ex-wine distillery turned into really hip industrial space, turned into gallery) and saw thousands of young hipsters roam around the galleries. You would never know whether you were in Moscow, New York or Paris. It dawned on me that hipsters are the most globalized group of people out there. Hipsters–through their attempt to differentiate themselves from the majority–look the same anywhere in the world.

After the Museum Night, I went to Opera, one of the most popular Russian clubs. It was like being in a completely different city. Moscow is like that. The “art people” never interact with the “club people”, who never interact with the Russian Orthodox “traditional” folks. It’s a different city depending on what clique you belong to. More so than in any other place I have seen.

From Russia, with love.

Have some sake with your friend Super Mario

by Jeremy Kressmann on

The Gadling crew has been spending a lot of hours in Japan recently. And as I discovered on my recent trip to Tokyo, the Japanese are completely obsessed with video games. The country that is home to Nintendo offers all manner of ways to get your gaming fix. In Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood, I discovered a store that sold nothing but vintage video game consoles, where systems like the Sega Game Gear to Neo Geo were available for purchase. Meanwhile, the gaudy neon-lit streets near Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station are lined with huge multi-story arcades, offering everything from head-to-head Tekken gaming stations to a video game where you can be a DJ with turntables.

This fanaticism for all things video game also extends to Japan’s nightlife scene, which is how I stumbled upon Muteki Mario. Located in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood, Muteki Mario is small bar based around the theme of Nintendo’s most famous video game character, Super Mario. My friends and I went head-to-head on the bar’s Mario Kart Wii game, complete with wireless steering wheels, while imbibing a few of my new favorite cocktail, single-serving glass jars of sake (Japanese rice wine). The bar’s theme even extends to the decor, which includes all manner of Mario and Luigi figurines, power-up mushrooms and star pillows that play the game’s invincible music when you squeeze them.

Part of the fun is trying to find the place…the website isn’t particularly helpful unless you speak Japanese, but I will say that it’s in the neighborhood just northeast of Shinjuku Station. Check the rather plain website and see if your hotel concierge can assist. Whether you’re a video game fanatic or just a casual Mario fan, I promise a hilariously fun night out.

Study of penis, deformed babies, and other weird museums around the world

by Iva Skoch on

In case you are sick of what art museums have to offer (I am with you; there is only so much Monet one can take in a lifetime,) you should try one of the truly bizarre museum options out there.

Here are a few tips from the site Atypical Events:

  • Mütter Museum aka “Random body parts”, Philadelphia: museum of historical pathology containing about 20,000 fluid-preserved anatomical and pathological specimens, models, medical instruments, and memorabilia of famous scientists and physicians (the secret tumor of Grover Cleveland, the thorax of John Wilkes Booth and a really big 9-foot colon, for example)
  • Museum Vrolik aka “Dead babies in a jar”, Amsterdam: It contains more than 5,000 specimens of congenital anomalies, human and animal anatomy, embryology and pathology.
  • Phallological Museum aka “Penisland”, Húsavík, Iceland: museum completely devoted to the field of phallology, the supposed ancient study of the penis and its role in society and history. Home to 200 penises and penile parts.
  • Meguro Parasitological Museum aka “Parasites, warms and leeches”, Tokyo. Glass jars filled with formaldehyde preserve these pesky parasites, while terrifying photographs like that of a Japanese dude with elephantiasis of the scrotum depict the damage that they are capable of (see photo)
  • Museum of Menstruation and Women’s Health, Maryland. The museum walls were covered in tampon and pad advertisements, while female mannequin torsos dressed in rubberized panties and menstrual belts hung from the ceiling or sat on tables in a similar fashion.

Menstruation? Maybe Monet is not so bad, after all.

[via Eventective.com]

Five myths about traveling in Tokyo

by Grant Martin on

I’ve been wandering around Tokyo for the last week or so and its been an eye opening experience. The culture is rich, the city endless and terrifying and gray and intense. Every day I’m astonished by the differences between our societies and the way that the Japanese operate, horrified by the varieties of food that we eat and warmed by the hospitality around me.

It is an experience far from what I had predicted, I am pleased to say. Back in New York we had broad, naive expectations formed by our guidebook scouring, stories from friends and films we had seen at the theater. They’re beliefs held by many Americans, I feel, and I thought that sharing my experiences would help clear some of these ideas up. Take a look at the biggest five myths I’ve found about traveling in Tokyo:

  • You won’t be a tall monster in Tokyo. While the national height average is a little lower in Japan, tall people do exist here and are not uncommon. Unless you get on a particularly short subway car, you won’t be able to see end-to-end with your friends. Similarly, your feet shouldn’t hang off the bed by 6″ when you check into a hotel. Three out of three of my mattresses so far have been fine for me and I’m pretty tall.
  • Electronics aren’t crazy awesome and cheap. While Electric City does have a ton of electronics with a remarkable variety, much of it is the same as US equipment and the price is also on par. I was looking at an IBM x40 Thinkpad for about 250$ this week, which you can get on Ebay for about 270$. Factor in the Japanese keyboard and having to carry it all of the way back to the States, and it isn’t really worth it.
  • People won’t stop to ask for your pictures. I’ve been with two tall people (over 6’4″), a nerdy African-American lawyer and a blond girl from Long Island, and have yet to be stopped for a picture. Some schoolchildren did ask for a photo at a temple in Osaka, but it was part of their homework assignment.
  • Bowing is nice and polite, but not necessary. Japanese understand that you’re visiting and don’t necessarily subscribe to their culture so don’t expect you to bow at every transaction and conversation. This especially holds true for small things like asking for directions or buying street food.
  • You can get around with English. Subway and rail stations all have English directions so you can navigate without a guide or translator.
  • Matthew Firestone is not the genial Lonely Planet and Gadling writer that you think he is. He is a dangerous, dangerous drunk that will feed you cow intestines and steal your children.

As in any metropolis, culture steps away from the traditional, outlying areas and shifts towards a central, efficient system. Most Tokyo residents wear business suits around town, work hard and party hard into the early hours of the morning. Visit with an open mind and a warm heat and you’ll find it among the most amazing cities in the planet.