Planet Tokyo » Kassia

Tofu: The New Guacamole

Kassia — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:49:34 +0000

Just as tofu becomes mainstream in Oklahoma, we learn that it’s facing decreasing popularity in Japan. How can this be? Is it possible that a steady diet of fast food and crazy Western delicacies like pizza will destroy the tofu industry? Not if Takuji Yamato can help it.

Yamato, a tofu-maker from the old school isn’t going to let lousy eating habits destroy his business. If tastes change, then he’s going to change with them:

His best sellers include black sesame tofu, which tastes like peanut butter custard.

There are also grass green avocado, deep purple-flecked shiso leaf and whole grain millet tofus. They did the trick, and Yamato’s sales rebounded.

We’re not sure if this is natural evolution or a marketing gimmick destined to fall by the wayside (though we’re hoping for the latter). We do know, however, what we’ll be serving at our next Planet Tokyo party. (via f*cked gaijin)

Selling Tofu in the 21st Century

How To Avoid Over-Crowded Trains

Kassia — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:22:11 +0000

Until you’ve been squished from all sides riding the subway in Tokyo during morning rush hour, you cannot say that you’ve truly experienced a crowded train. New Yorkers might complain, but we’ve never seen a subway car there packed to capacity. Helpful white-gloved attendants packing people into cars might seem like a cliche, until you’ve been shoved into the empty space created by two people exhaling simultaneously. Physical contact with your fellow passengers is unavoidable — leading to a growing problem with groping.

Last year, train lines in Tokyo introduced women-only cars to reduce these groping incidents, perpetrated by chikan, the Japanese word for molesters. Groping complaints on trains tripled from 1996 to 2004, prompting train operators to take action. Granted, avoiding handsy fellow passengers isn’t the only benefit:

But the reasons women seek out these carriages are not always straightforward. “I don’t go out of my way to ride on them,” said Akane Kojima, a 30-year-old Tokyo office worker. “If I were to do so, it wouldn’t necessarily be to escape the perverts but to escape the various bodily odors that men emanate, particularly during the summer months.”

Other benefits include a respite from the often racy advertisements that fill the various train lines. The specially marked trains generally run during the super-crowded morning commute hours. A few befuddled men find themselves in the relatively uncrowded female-only cars, but are generally steered toward the crushed embrace of their fellow men.

Western travelers can identify the trains by the hot pink signs designating the cars as “Women Only”. Helpfully, the signs are printed in English as well as Japanese.

Is Japan Going to the Dogs?

Kassia — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:37:24 +0000

Birth rates in Japan might be declining, but dog ownership is rising. While Planet Tokyo maintains a feline-only environment, we can appreciate the benefits of dogs: they’re easier to attach to a leash and take to the park. And for the childless, dogs fill a powerful void.

I am not sure what it is like in your country recently, but here in Japan, dog culture has become big. Some people are spending over 1,000,000. yen a month on their dog, for everything from dog hairstylists to dog massages to even dog pedicures. The owners have gone crazy for their dogs, and compete between owners who can spoil their dog most. I have seen dogs eating at nice restaurants sitting on the table while the owner feeds them a steak they ordered for them. Even at Starbucks they have dog bowls available and they pour the dog milk to drink, while the owner feeds them butter croissant.

Okay, probably a butter croissant is a bad idea. A fat dog is an unhappy dog. There are better ways to spoil your dog. For example, a stay in a nice hotel. While not limited to dogs, a new hotel at Narita airport offers all the comforts of home — plus room service. While their owners travel around the world, their pets spend time in well-appointed rooms. Onsite grooming and vet care is available, and staff are on call for late night walks. High-class treatment for dogs isn’t limited to specialized hotels; pet owners who visit Tokyo Disneyland can leave their dogs in the care of the Pet Club.

Even cars are being geared toward the dog world. Where American dogs are happiest hanging their heads out of cars or joy-riding in the backs of pickups, Japanese dogs are enjoying automotive features designed especially for their comfort. Really. Gone are the days when the dog had to ride in the backseat like everyone else.

“We created this vehicle from the point of view of a dog, but it turned out to be a gentler vehicle for the elderly, children and other family members,” said Honda designer Katsuhito Nakamura.

Finally, ardent news-watchers have surely seen video of the infamous “Panda Dog”. Only a canine would sit still for a dye job — you’d never catch a cat sitting under a blow dryer!