Visa problems? Maybe you should visit the Visa God

by Abha Malpani on

My fellow Indians have found a new way to secure visas to the West. Go to Hyderabad, take 11 rounds of the Chiklur Balaji Temple and voila, your visa will not be rejected.

A temple that has been around for about 100 years hardly drew anyone until recently, thanks to the reincarnation of Hindu Lord Vishnu into “Visa God”, it now draws 100,000 visitors a week. People go as early as 6am to avoid the rush.

Commerce graduate and ex-Unilever employee who is now head priest of the temple (his father’s), couldn’t have put his business knowledge to better use as he crafted this idea while Hyderabad worked towards developing into a key technology hub. The temple even has a website!

“Want it bad enough and you will get it”; “just believe in it enough and it will happen”, “Law of Attraction“; praying for what you want; all that I can understand and reason with; but turning a God into a “Visa God” and driving traffic under that excuse, is a bit hard to stomach. The fact that it has worked, leaves me amused and wondering. I suppose the idea sprouts from that of believing and faith, but it’s a bit far-fetched, no? Apparently, nobody who has greeted the Visa God has been disappointed.

From the article: Mr. Babu of Indus Entrepreneurs says the appeal of the Visa God boils down to the following: “Even if you’re not religious, you say, ‘Why not? I can just go and spend a few minutes and get a visa.”

My country, yet again, leaves me very, very confused.

Big in Japan: Hello Kitty goes macho

by Matthew Firestone on

Easily one of the Japan’s most recognizable cartoon characters, Harō Kiti (Hello Kitty, ハローキティ) is known and loved the world over.

Created in 1974 by Sanrio, the very first Hello Kitty product was a clear vinyl coin purse bearing the face of the smiling feline, which sold for 240 yen or approximately two dollars.

Originally, Hello Kitty was intended to be named ‘Kitty White’ after one of Alice’s cats in the Lewis Carroll classic ‘Through the Looking-Glass.’

At the time, British culture was the height of fashion amongst Japanese girls, and Hello Kitty was never intended to have any appeal beyond the pre-adolescent female market.

Of course, the designers at Sanrio failed to fully appreciate the Japanese obsession with all things cute.

More than thirty years later, graying salarymen think nothing of dangling a hot pint Hello Kitty strap from their cell phone, while middle-aged housewives swear that the Hello Kitty toaster is the best on the market.

(And, truth be told, I’ve been known to rock out some Hello Kitty chopsticks from time to time).

Of course, all of this is about to change as Hello Kitty is getting an image change and going macho.

This week, Sanrio announced that the face of Hello Kitty will soon be stamped on T-shirts, bags, watches and other products targeting young men.

According to a company spokesperson, “Young men these days grew up with character goods. That generation feels no embarrassment about wearing Hello Kitty.”

The for-men products will go on sale in Japan next month, and will likely be sold soon in the United States, Europe and other Asian nations assuming the new line is a success.

So what exactly will the new face of Hello Kitty look like?

The new line of man-focused Hello Kitty products will have a “rugged, cool look” to appeal to men in their teens and early twenties.

One of the first products will be the face of the famous feline on a black T-shirt with the words, “hello kitty”, instead of the usual dots for the eyes and nose.

But, no matter how much Hello Kitty changes over the coming years, one thing is for certain – she’s here to stay.

Today, Hello Kitty is a global trademark that is appeals to virtually all age groups and both sexes. According to estimates, Hello Kitty adorns over 22,000 products worldwide, and earns almost a billion dollars a year in revenue for the Sanrio Company of Japan.

Since 1983, she’s held the position as the US Children’s Ambassador for UNICEF, and has been sported by celebrities as diverse as Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz and Paris Hilton.

Sanrio stores can be found across the globe, and the face of Hello Kitty adorns everything from clothing and stationary to jewelry and electronics.

Despite her syrupy sweet image, Hello Kitty has even appeared on adult underwear, wedding dresses and even a signature line of sex toys.

Hello Kitty – she’s not just for little girls anymore.

Big in Japan: Japan’s maglev train will be the world’s fastest

by Matthew Firestone on

Quick question: what is the most iconic symbol of modern Japan?

If you guessed the shinkansen (??????) or bullet train, you’re sadly wrong!

Although for years these sleek and sexy high-speed trains have been smashing rail speed records, they’re only two decades or so away from being totally obsolete.

This week, the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) announced that it plans to construct the world’s fastest train, a second-generation maglev train that will run from Tokyo to central Japan.

With an estimated cost of 5.1 trillion yen (44.7 billion dollars), the project is expected to be completed by the 2025 financial year.

According to a company spokesperson: “It will be the fastest train ever – if it beats the one in Shanghai – with a velocity of about 500 kilometers (310 miles) per hour, travelling a distance of 290 kilometers (180 miles).”

Awesome.

The Shanghai maglev train, which was launched in 2002, is currently the fastest train in the world. Running from Pudong airport to the financial district, Shanghai’s maglev train travels at 430 kilometers (267 miles) per hour over a distance of 30.5 kilometers (18 miles).

So what exactly are maglev trains you ask? Good question.

A maglev, or magnetically levitating train, is a form of rail transportation that suspends, guides and propels carts using electromagnetic force.

Compared to traditional wheeled mass transit systems, maglev trains in theory have the potential to reach speeds upwards of 900 kilometers (600 miles) per hour, which is equivalent to jet aircraft.

To date, the only commercial maglev train in operation is the Shanghai line, though the Japanese have been experimentally testing maglev trains for years.

In 2003, a maglev train operated by JR Central reached speeds of 581 kilometers (361 miles) per hour, which is a smidgen faster than the French TGV, which is the fastest conventional train in the world.

At the time of the press release, JR Central did not actually confirm the exact extent of the new maglev line, though it’s likely to run from Tokyo to Nagoya, and perhaps as far as Osaka.

Although the Japanese are keen on reclaiming rail speed records from the French and Chinese, the pressure is on, especially since a series of other maglev projects are being planned around the world.

In the southern state of Bavaria in Germany, the government recently announced that it intends to build a maglev train line by 2014 that will connect Munich with its airport.

And in China, the government recently announced that it intends to extend their Shanghai maglev train to the city of Hangzhou, which is 170 kilometers (105 miles) away.

And even in the United States, the government has been considering a number of commercial maglev services to alleviate traffic congestion, such as a line between Washington and Baltimore.

Given the severity of the energy crisis and the increasing unliklihood that our days of driving SUVs are going to last forever, the future of maglev trains is indeed a promising one.

** All images sourced from the Wikipedia Commons project **

And now for the bad news…

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Soaring gas prices, a weak dollar, passport delays, hurricanes– these were just some of the hassles that travelers had to deal with in 2007. In the Chicago Tribune, James Gilden says all these problems– and more– will be back in 2008.

On gas prices: “With increased global demand, instability in the Middle East and hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, we might look back fondly on $3.03.”

On the weak dollar: “2008 may be the year to stick around the U.S. or visit a country with a more favorable exchange rate unless $5 for a cup of coffee in London doesn’t faze you.” My take: As long as you avoid the Euro and the pound, travel shouldn’t be prohibitively expensive. And perhaps U.S. travelers can take the poor exchange rate as an excuse to visit a part of the world they wouldn’t ordinarily– Asia, North Africa, Eastern Europe, South America– all of which remain relatively affordable.

On frequent flier programs: “Most major airlines this year adopted rules allowing frequent-flier miles to expire if there is no account activity, usually within a three-year (or shorter) period… Redeeming miles for seats is tougher than ever.”

Whole thing here.

Enough pessimism, Chicago Tribune! Now for the good news…

Flights are, generally speaking, getting cheaper every year. The world is more accessible to us than at any time in history. Traveling in most parts of Asia and South America is still ridiculously cheap, and I’ve got a year-long trip planned starting in July. Now that’s good news!

Big in Japan: How to rent an apartment in Tokyo

by Matthew Firestone on

It’s been a busy week for me here in Tokyo…

After all too many years of living in foreigner guest houses, I decided that it was finally time to get a real Japanese apartment.

Now, I know you’re probably thinking that this is a completely normal and respectable proposition. However, I can assure you that moving shop in Tokyo is anything but easy.

What exactly is involved in renting a real apartment in Tokyo? Good question!

For starters, Japanese use the phrase hikoshi-bimbo to describe someone who recently moved into a new apartment.

Literally translating as ‘moving poor,’ hikoshi-bimbo describes the state of having to fork over six months’ salary for the privelege of renting a new apartment.

That’s right folks – it costs an average of six months’ salary to rent an apartment, not including purchases of furniture, bedding, appliances and other “luxury items.”

Believe it or not, Japan still has a number of feudal laws on the books aimed at maintaining the gap between rich and poor.

Essentially, this means that you need a serious amount of cash on hand before you can even step foot into the realtor’s office.

Confused? So was I, though hopefully this post will help clear things up a bit.

My new apartment is a 2LDK, which means that it has two bedrooms, one bathroom and an all-purpose living room / dining room / kitchen. It is located in a high class part of Tokyo, though the rent is affordable since the building is fairly old.

Rent for one month is 170,000 yen (US$1500), which isn’t that terrible considering that I’m sharing the place with a good friend. However, before being handed the keys, we had to pay considerably more than this amount – in cash.

As a rule, all new renters also have to pay two month’s rent in advance, which is somewhat reasonable considering the percentage of defaulters in Japan.

On top of that, all new renters have to give another two month’s rent as a security deposit, which is refundable assuming there is no damage to the apartment.

Here is where things start to get a bit shocking…

On top of that, all new renters also have to give another two month’s rent as a gift to the landlord, which is not refundable under any circumstances. This money, which is known as reikin (礼金; key money) in Japanese, is a huge blow to the wallet.

On top of that, all new renters also have to give another month’s rent as a finder’s fee to the realtor, which is also not refundable under any circumstances. This money is considered to be a small price to pay given the competiveness of the Japanese real estate market.

To summarize, this means that my somewhat affordable apartment required an initial down payment of a whopping 1,190,000 yen or approximately US$10,000 in cash.

With that said, my apartment is amazing, especially if you’re a fan of traditional Japanese architecture. Although I’m certainly going to be hikoshi-bimbo for a little while, at least I’m doing it in style.

(If you don’t believe me, check out the pictures of my swinging pad!)