Big in Japan: Cirque du Soleil set to open at Tokyo Disney

by Matthew Firestone on

On October 1, 2008, ZED will premier at the brand new Cirque du Soleil Theatre Tokyo at the Tokyo Disney Resort.

According to the official press release: “ZED is a living poem, a timeless evocation that draws on the Tarot and its arcana, an imaginary world that conjures the vitality of the human condition and holds up a mirror to our true selves. The central, larger-than-life character Zed represents all of humanity in all its guises, from wisdom to folly, from discovery to adventure.”

While Japan has previously hosted a number of Cirque du Soleil traveling shows, ZED is an original production that will have its world premier at Tokyo Disney. The show will also highlight the capabilities of the purpose-built Cirque du Soleil Theatre Tokyo, the first dedicated venue for Cirque du Soleil productions in Japan.

Tickets are currently on sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and range in price from ¥9,800 (US$90) for regular seats to ¥18,000 (US$160) for center stage floor seats. Keep reading for more info…

Despite its humble beginnings as a performing troupe in Montreal, Canada, Cirque du Soleil or the ‘Circus of the Sun’ is currently a global entertainment phenomenon that draws in crowds of theatergoers from New York to Sapporo. Of course, the stage troupe’s premier billings are mostly located in Las Vegas, which is home to multiple permanent venues that open up to almost 10,000 people every night.

After the opening of ZED on October 1st however, the Cirque du Soleil Theatre Tokyo will be able to give Sin City a run for its money. The purpose built auditorium, which is an architectural wonder in and of itself, will host an estimated 380 shows per year.

True to the Cirque du Soleil franchise, ZED will be characterized by its breathtaking stage antics, colorful costumes and orchestral performance, and will follow an abstract storyline incorporating both Western and Asian elements.

The show will focus on the title character of Zed, who turns to the world of the arcane for inspiration and connection. Throughout his magical journey, he comes across a cast of mythological characters from sphinxes to satyrs.

If you’re living and working in Japan, or you have plans to pass through Tokyo in the near future, don’t miss out on ZED.

Tokyo Disney Resort, which is actually located in Chiba city at Maihama station, is just a short ride from central Tokyo on the JR Keiyo Line. Come out for a dinner and a show, or grab a room at the adjacent Disney Ambassador Hotel and have yourself a holiday!

For ticketing information, you can contact the Cirque du Soleil Theatre Tokyo Information Desk between the hours of 10:00am and 5:00pm at 0570-02-8777, or check out their English-language website at http://www.zed.co.jp/home_en.php.

(Special thanks to my Mom and Dad for scoring me a pair of highly coveted ‘O’ tickets – looking forward to the show!!)

** Images are courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **

Big in Japan: Famous kissing robot comes to America

by Matthew Firestone on

Love is hard in any language, but you shouldn’t let your search for Mrs. Right get you down. After all, if you’re having problems finding someone of the same species who understands you completely and intimately, perhaps it’s time to start looking elsewhere…

A few months ago, Big in Japan reported about the latest and greatest robot in the Land of the Rising Sun, namely Eternal Maiden Actualization, or EMA, a 15 inch tall robotic girlfriend that kisses on command. Aimed at a target market of adult men, this robotic lover is very sweet, petite, stacked where it counts, and runs on 6 AA batteries.

But don’t take my word for it, just ask Minako Sakanoue, the Sega spokewoman behind Japan’s latest robot craze:

“Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that’s sweet and interactive. She’s very lovable and though she’s not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend.”

And, in case you’re in the market for a new emotional companion, you can now snag an EMA robot in North America for the low, low price of US$99.99.

Love was never so easy (^3^) ???????????

While the ‘Eternal Maiden Actualization’ or EMA robot can’t exactly engage you in deep and philosophical conversation, or even stand by your side for a night out on the town, she can love you nevertheless. Using state of the art infrared sensors, EMA can pucker up her lips and give kisses to her human masters. Just for the record, this is what EMA’s designers call her “love mode.”

But of course, the fun doesn’t stop there! On the contrary, EMA can also serve as your busty personal assistant. If you’re entertaining clients, she can hand out business cards, sing, dance and flirt with the best of them.

Seem ridiculous? Perhaps. However, Sega expects to sell more than ten thousand EMA robots in the first year alone, and that’s before Version 2.0 rolls off the assembly line in the not too distant future.

If you don’t have the time and money to get yourself to Japan, fret not as EMA is now available in North America, and is being marketed by the WowWee company under the very appropriate ‘Femisapien’ label. All you need to do is drop a quick and easy US$99.99 at Amazon.com , and in approximately 5-7 days, you’ll have yourself a brand new (or slightly used) robotic girlfriend.

On a more serious note, it’s worth pointing out that EMA is actually an incredible piece of technology. Displaying an incredible range of motion, as well as a revolutionary interactive interface, EMA is a great piece of electronic engineering, even if you already have a real girlfriend made of flesh and bone.

** Special thanks to Robert Oschler over at www.robotsrule.com for alerting robot lovers about the availability of Femisapien in North America **

Big in Japan: Why 30 is the new 20

by Matthew Firestone on

Love it or hate it, the HBO series Sex and the City was a global phenomenon that redefined cultural stereotypes of single women in their 30s.

From 1998 to 2003, millions of viewers the world over tuned it for the latest exploits of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, who challenged the notion that single life for older women was anything other than fabulous and fun.

While American audiences needed a bit of persuasion to admit that 30 was perhaps the new 20, Japanese women were quick to embrace the notion of aging gracefully outside the restrictive confines of marriage.

Indeed, there’s even a new word to describe a fashionable and sophisticated single woman in her thirties, namely arasa (????????????), which is short for aranundo sati, the Japanese pronunciation for ‘around thirty.’

While Japanese government bureaucrats – the vast majority of whom are male – are scrambling to solve the problem of Japan’s declining birth rate and aging population, Japanese women are increasingly embracing the freedom of unmarried life.

In fact, they’re currently being targeted by some of Japan’s most prominent brand name stores and boutiques, which are slowly realizing that older women have much more purchasing power than fickle teeny-boppers.

If you happen to be ‘aranudo sati,’ keep on reading for more info…

It wasn’t too long ago in Japan that turning 25 was something of a death-sentence for unmarried women.

Believe it or not, unmarried women in their late 20s and early 30s were once commonly referred to as Christmas cakes (クリスマスケーキ, kurisumasukekki). Since you tend to throw away uneaten Christmas cakes after December 25th, the sick punch line is that unmarried women beyond the age of 25 have little value to society.

Wow. That’s harsh…

Of course, all of this is changing, especially since sexy older women are now gracing the covers of Japanese fashion magazines that were once reserved exclusively for teenage models. Stores and boutiques in fashionable neighborhoods such as Ginza and Ometesandou in Tokyo are increasingly shunning younger shoppers, preferring to market exclusively to the padded wallets of older, single women.

While Japanese men will certainly have to face the reality of declining marriage prospects, Japanese women seem to be embracing the personal and financial power and freedom that comes with being financially stable and single.

Arasa women have even coined their own word for mature sexiness, namely otona-gyaru (大人ギャル, grown-up gal), which signifies the transformation from Harajuku and Shibuya-themed youth fashion to the fabulous world of single adulthood.

Of course, not everyone is happy with the latest consumer trend sweeping across the country. On the contrary, Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population is a serious issue that is threatening to collapse one of the world’s most powerful economies.

However, while politicians in Tokyo’s Diet argue and bicker about the best course of action for convincing women to settle down, arasa are breaking with tradition, and flexing their growing consumer might.

Perhaps Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda had it right all along – 30 really is the new 20.

Big in Japan: Overheating iPods irk Japanese consumers

by Matthew Firestone on

Japanese consumers love their electronics, and they take incredible pride in being one of the world’s most technologically literate societies.

Indeed, the Japanese have traditionally been extremely loyal to their domestic brands, especially since companies like Sony, Nikon and Canon produce some of the finest electronic goods in the world. In recent years however, foreign products have started to make significant advances in the Japanese consumer market, particularly anything made by Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc.

In a society where image and fashion are paramount, Apple’s stylish products speak to Japanese consumers looking to distinguish themselves from the masses. Despite the fact that Sony invented the Walkman, the vast majority of Japanese consumers rely on iPods for all of their personal music needs.

However, Apple is currently in danger of losing a percentage of their market share, following reports that a couple of iPods in Tokyo overheated, igniting stacks of nearby papers. In a society where safety and harmony are also paramount, potentially dangerous consumer goods are quickly shunned, even if they actually pose a minute risk.

According to reports that are quickly circulating through the Japanese media, a small number of first generation iPod Nanos overheated this past week, resulting in nearby papers being scorched. While no one was hurt in any of these incidents, the issue was serious enough to draw the attention of Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry official Hiroyuki Yoshitsune, who immediately demanded that Apple investigate the defect.

Apple responded by stating that the overheating problem was the result of a defective lithium-ion battery that was being traced to a single supplier. However, they emphasized that the problem was extremely rare, occurring in approximately 0.001% of first generation devices sold between September 2005 and December 2006. They also stressed that no one had been harmed in any of the incidents, and that any customer worried about their device should contact customer services.

Unfortunately for Apple, this is not the first time that they have had to deal with the fall-out of spontaneously combusting personal electronics. In 2006, the company received quite a bit of negative press over the faulty lithium-ion batteries found in a number of its laptops. Following reports by various media outlets of small laptop fires breaking out, Apple quickly removed 1.8 million units from the global market.

With that said, it’s worth emphasizing that you don’t need to rush to the store to trade in your black MacBook and iPod Touch, especially since the Dell Inspiron and Microsoft Zune are (at least in my humble opinion!) somewhat inferior products. However, it will be interesting to see what the fallout is amongst fickle Japanese consumers, who are famous for seizing and abandoning products in a moment’s whim.

** All photos are courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project, and are trademarked images of Apple Inc products. They are are being displayed here on this website for the purpose of critical commentary. **