Photo of the day (02/11/08)

by Iva Skoch on

Granted, this photo doesn’t exactly scream “travel”, but who knows, the bride could have traveled from anywhere to get married at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. Plus, Valentine’s day is coming up, which gives us a little creative “travel/love” license.

It is an amazing moment the photographer, LeeLeFever, has captured here. The snow. The stunning bride, radiating happiness, surrounded by two people who clearly take the situation very seriously. The detail of their clothes. Did I mention the snow?

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr site and post it.***

Big in Japan: The $15,000 diamond martini and other choice bling

by Matthew Firestone on

Think you’ve got the hottest rims on the block? Can’t stop sporting your brand new Coach bag? Enamored by the diamond carrot ring on your pinky finger?

Trust me. Your hottest luxury items are already blasé in Japan…

Don’t believe me? Wait until you hear about the choicest bling from the Land of the Rising Sun.

For starters, anybody who is anybody knows that the best ride on the block is a custom-made Rolls-Royce.

Although your typical Rolls has a retail price of about US$390,000, in Japan you can choose a custom color combination for another US$20,000.

(Particularly popular in Japan is exotic light grey and tomato red combination!)

Or, how about fitting your ride with a refrigerator, wet bar, entertainment system and DJ booth for another US$140,000?

One client in Japan even went as far as putting his initials in the headrests using Gothic script – or, as he put it, ‘Harry Potter writing’ – for US$5,000!

Think Japanese bling is a bit extravagant? Wait until you hear about the US$15,000 diamond martini!

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In the West, Gucci or Louis Vuitton handbags ranging from US$600 to US$900 are highly coveted luxury items, though in Japan the super-rich have moved on.

On Omotesando Boulevard in Tokyo, somewhat akin to Beverly Hill’s Rodeo Drive or New York City’s 5th Avenue, Bottega Veneta handbags start at US$1,500, and can run as high as a small house in the suburbs.

And of course, if you’re sporting a luxury handbag, you should have an easy time forking over cash for the hottest and latest bling.

Last year, the rich and beautiful embraced a number of mind-blowing trends including:

– the $600 volcanic body scrub at a trendy spa in the Armani Tower in Tokyo

– the $130,000-a-night Christmas suite with jewel-studded tree in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo

– the $100 Swarovski crystal-studded box tissue box

And…

– the $15,000 martini with a diamond at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Tokyo

Absurd. Truly freakin’ absurd.

So why do the Japanese love spending ungodly sums of money on disposable goods?

According to one ultra-rich Tokyo elite, Japanese people love to hang around Ginza, Tokyo’s most status-conscious neighbourhood, and show off what they got.

“Those people hanging around Ginza, they are just showing off. If someone has it, other people want it. That’s Japanese. The group mentality.”

He continues:

“The process of getting it, or just before getting it, is interesting. Keeping it is not so interesting,” he concludes.

So you see, there is no shortage of bling in America, be it diamond-encrusted grills or chrome spinners, but clearly the Japanese are masters in their own right.

Although I can assure you that hyper-consumption in Japan is anything but the norm, Tokyo does remain one of the world’s greatest shopping cities.

(Assuming of course that you’ve got the cash to burn!)

On the that note, I’m going to see if I can convince my local watering hole to make a somewhat more affordable cubic zirconia martini…

(Special thanks to my roommate Tac for reminding me once again why we both like to steer clear of Ginza)

**Note that the content in this article was originally reported by the Asia division of Reuters **

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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!)

Big in Japan: Butt biting bugs are big in Japan

by Matthew Firestone on

. Here at Big in Japan, we’re dedicated to bringing you the latest fads – no matter how strange – from the Land of the Rising Sun.

With that said, I am proud to introduce you now to the latest Japanese fad that is sweeping across the country, namely the Oshiri Kajiri Mushi (?????????????????) or ‘Bottom Biting Insects.’

Seriously. Check out the video above if you don’t believe me.

Alright, now that your mind has no doubt been blown away by dancing insects who alternate biting butts and singing in two-part harmony, allow me to explain exactly what is going on here.

(Actually, I am not sure if I entirely know myself, though I will do my best!)

The Oshiri Kajiri Mushi song was originally created by the husband and wife duo Uruma Delvi (???????????), who wanted to encourage Japanese people living in big cities to spontaneously interact with each other.

Are you with me so far?

If so, keep reading as this where things start to get a bit weird…

According to the creative minds behind Oshiri Kajiri Mushi, the bottom biting insects are magical creatures that seek out lonely people.

By biting bottoms, the victim realizes how lonely their life is, and seeks out human companionship.

Of course, it’s not that easy for the Oshiri Kajiri Mushi as Tokyo butts taste bitter from all the loneliness that is stored within them.

Are you still with me?

Really? That’s impressive considering that I’m not even sure if I understand myself at this point

Aimed at children and their parents, the song debuted earlier this year on Minna no Uta (みんなのうた) or Everyone’s Songs, a five minute NHK TV and radio program broadcasting several times daily since 1961.

Much like the Crazy Frog song that swept across Europe a few years back, the Oshiri Kajiri Mushi song broke into the top 10 singles charts, and has recently become something of a national pop culture obsession.

In fact, NHK TV recently announced that the butt biting insects will soon be getting their own TV show entitled Oshiri Kajiri Mushi to Odorou! (おしりかじり虫と踊ろう！), or ‘Let’s Dance with the Bottom Biting Insects.

Needless to say, the program will feature the Oshiri Kajiri Mushi dancing with children at kindergartens and nursery schools across the country.

The mayhem doesn’t stop there.

Mono Comme Ca, a Japanese apparel brand aimed at tweens, teens and twenty-somethings, has recently licensed the Oshiri Kajiri Mushi for their clothing.

This means that if you’re searching for the perfect X-mas gift for any of your Japanese friends, might I suggest an Oshiri Kajiri Mushi sweatshirt, which will help you stay warm this holiday season!

In case you’re wondering, the Mono Comme Ca shop is located right across the street from the Meiji Shrine exit of Harajuku Station in Tokyo.

** Special thanks to my future roommate Isaac, who is nothing short of a walking library of Japanese pop culture **

Big in Japan: Tokyo is world’s top food city

by Matthew Firestone on

Are you ready for today’s Big in Japan trivia question?

Q: According to the Michelin Guide, what is the world’s top city for good eating?
A: If you guessed Tokyo and not Paris, you are indeed correct!

Although for years Paris has won the coveted honor from the most highly respected food publication, this year Michelin Guide director Jean-Luc Naret decided to shake things up a bit.

According to Naret, himself a French man, “Tokyo is becoming the global city with the finest cuisine, the city in the world with the most stars.”

So how badly was Paris bested?

Restaurants in Tokyo were awarded a total of 191 stars, nearly twice the amount awarded to Paris and more than three times the amount awarded to New York.

Tokyo’s upstaging of Paris doesn’t stop there.

Eight of Tokyo’s restaurants won the maximum of three stars compared to six of Paris’s restaurants. And, 25 restaurants in Tokyo were awarded two stars while a whopping 117 were awarded one star.

Still don’t believe me that Tokyo has the best food in the world? Keep reading as the home of haute cuisine may no longer reside in France.

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The final nail in the coffin came when Michelin Guide announced that three of the top eight restaurants in Tokyo serve French food.

Boasting a long love affair with French culture dating back over a century, Tokyo can now rest on its laurels as the city in the world offering the finest in French cuisine.

In case you were wondering, three of the other top restaurants in Tokyo serve kaiseki ryōri (懐石料理), which is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner that is often compared to haute cuisine.

Kaiseki, which directly translates to “stone in the bosom,” is a throwback to an ancient Zen Buddhist practice whereby fasting monks would stave off hunger by putting warm stones in the folds of their robes.

The term was later applied to the light vegetarian meals that were traditionally served after a tea ceremony, and eventually was attributed to the highly refined set-course meal that is today considered to be the pinnacle of the Japanese culinary world.

The other two of the top restaurants in Tokyo are traditional sushi houses, which specialize in the highest possible quality of fish that is selected daily from nearby Tsukiji fish market. Both locales serve up the ocean’s equivalent of Kobe beef, though sushi of this quality and grade doesn’t come cheaply.

Since I’m a starving writer (quite literally!), I’m not in a position to review these restaurants. However, below is the complete list of Michelin three-star restaurants in Tokyo for anyone out there with more yen to burn than me!

Bon appétit! Or should I say – ittadakemasu!

Genyadana Hamadaya
Kaiseki
3-13-5 Nihonbashi Ningyo-cho Chuo-ku
03-3661-5940

Ginza Koju
Kaiseki
8-5-25 Ginza Chuo-ku
03-6215-9544

Joel Robuchon
French
Ebisu Garden Place 1-13-1 Mita Meguro-ku
03-5424-1347

Kanda
Kaiseki
3-6-34 Motoazabu Minato-ku, Tokyo
03-5786-0150

L’osier
French
7-5-5 Ginza Chuo-ku
03-3571-6050

Restaurant Quintessens
French
5-4-7 Shiroganedai Minato-ku

Sukiyabashi Jiro
Sushi
4-2-15 Ginza Chuo-ku

Sushi Mizutani
Sushi
8-2-10 Ginza Chuo-ku

Gettoing hungry? Check out the delicious food gallery below:

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