Bookshop Maps

What is the last place of business you would expect to see some clever technology?

How about a book shop?

Well, the all-pervasive march of cleverness has reached even this outpost of old-schoolery, with ....


... the mini-map showing you where to find the book you are looking for, printed out in seconds on a reciept-sized bit of paper.

And I'm sure this is very much like the market - I'm just trying to figure out how.

Urban Camping

In Osaka there is a part of town which the locals call "overseas". It is full of homeless people.

In fact, it is very full - the space available for them is running out.

Recently, the number of homeless people has been increasing, and the number of tents made of the blue tarps (remember the cherry-blossom viewing?) in parks has increased visibly.

Along the river there is now an almost continuous string of little blue plastic homes, all neatly-made and tidily-kept. Now that the space furthest away from the walking path is fairly full, there has appeared a tent bang in the middle of some grass separating two paths.

Here it is:



On the tent is written:

"I am in debt for 300 Million Yen. And I am homeless. My CV: I graduated from Harvard"
(Thats 3M USD of debt)

Reading this, I firstly thought that this was a joke. Then I saw the CV bit, and I thought that he may be looking for a job. But finally I decided that he is drawing attention to how far he has fallen, how he really shouldn't be here, and that he can't help but pitch his tent in this central piece of real estate - a long-winded way of saying "I am very sorry for getting in the way and drawing attention to myself", which is a very Japanese reaction to almost anything, I believe.

I am sure there are many, many lessons for the market participant in here, but I'm still trying to digest this finding. Please feel free to insert your copy into the comment box below.

Wasabeefu

Now, a recurring theme on this blog has been innovation.

Innovation is important for business. And I don't just mean in terms of lasers, ninja-stars and internet computers, but even in mundane things, across all part of the value-generation chain, whether it is sales, distribution, accounts, or...

...fried potato-based snacks.

Yes, here is a packet of Okonomiyaki-flavoured (Osaka leftovers fryup) potato-based snacks, attractively-shaped into marine-life shapes. And, even more innovatively, there is a whale on the front with a captains hat saying "steady, there!".

However, that is nothing compared to Wasabeefu - Yes, all the flavor of wasabi plus beef in a convenient packet, with a docile cow head on the front! The wasabi is suitably shoot-up-your-nose spicy, and you end up wondering why you've been paying for the real thing up till now.

And, of course, this is just like the market - innovation can come from many sources, but often it is where you don't expect it.

The Budget Haircut Indicator

Always on the lookout for alternative indicators for the local economy (and how to get a cheap haircut), it is high time for a visit to a budget barber, Japan-style. This place has been running for a while, and advertises snips for 1000Y ($10), and ten minutes.

The inside is fairly high-tech, as you would expect. A variety of space-age looking vacuum tubes leading to the ceiling - clearly we are in for a unique experience.


But what's this? Below the good Takahashi San's* hair cutting license is ...

...a ticket machine.

Yes. The game here is that you put in a 1000Yen note (don't worry almost all Japanese money is crisp, non-fake, and cooperates well with vending machines) into the machine, and get a ticket entitling you to ten minutes of hair-length reduction action. Notice the bowing character saying "thank you so much!".

Also, it's worth remembering, that for sanitary purposes, you shouldn't eat, smoke, drink, use your cell phone, use money other than a 1000Y note, use a toilet, or bring in a an alcoholic dog (especially not one that is a depressing drunk).

Now, you may say "Big Wow, vending machine to buy a ticket? Whatever - I can make that in a school project." Yes, wise words, and that may very well be so, but is your average hair dressing coupon dispenser :

...at the hub of a spiders web of integrated communication activity?

No, it isn't, is it? And now we know what the traffic light was at the front of the shop - a real-time indicator of waiting times. If only restaurants would catch on and use this (or bars).

Now, while there are many lessons to be learned from hair-dresser's traffic lights which are relevant to the market, there is something yet more important here.

While clearly this is a shop aimed at men, upon questioning, the senior hair cutter broke down and released the key information: yes, occasionally some women do come to the shop, and yes, their numbers have been increasing in line with the worsening of the economy.

And this, of course, is just like the market - good quality information will not hand itself to you on a plate - you need to go after it.

*I may have made his name up

Best of Both Worlds in the Hot Dog Universe?

Now, we saw last time that it is important to have a back up plan, such as a skateboarding monkey, when things get tough.

And this is applicable to many fields of life - the stockmarket, choosing between a ramen shop and a chicken restaurant for lunch, or...

... designing an innovative fusion hot dog.

Here we have the Kurokedogu (Kuroke + Hot Dog; a kuroke is a fried lump of potatoes, meat, or anything, really, that is lying around). $1.40. "Juicy egg salad and spicy sauce kuroke in a fluffy and soft bun".


Here's a close-up :

But if you want to be even more original, you need to go for the ...

... Yakisobadogu (Noodle Hot Dog):

Spicy noodles with two types of Oriba sauce in a bun, with mayo. Sounds appealing at first, but that pink stuff is ginger, and, bear in mind that you are going to probably eat it cold.

And this is, of course, just like the market. When you find a new product created from the fusion of well-known ingredients, it doesn't mean it offers the best of both worlds.

The Genius of Chimps

Now, we all know that when business is sluggish, and when you're running out of ideas for things to put on the TV, you need a back-up, such as...

...getting a professional skakeboarder (yes, this position exists) to team up with a chimpanzee!

The chimp is called Pan Kun, and greets the skateboarder very politely.

Now, with little more than a glimpse of how its done, Pan Kun is thrown in the deep end.

But look at that confidence:

On his second go, he is already standing up (sitting on the board was too easy)...

...but how will he deal with...

...a steep slope?

No problem!

Pan Kun also makes short work of the traffic cone slalom...

... the ducking down thingy...

...and, significantly, the all-important ramp:

But here is the best bit. After filming finished, Pan Kun took the board for a spin around the nearest public park without prompting. Here he is going around a corner at full speed. Perhaps some picnickers will be in for a surprise.

And this is very much like the market. Once the knowledge is out there, it is impossible to put the genie back in the bottle.

Greenery

Today's jinglish of the day comes from a garden shed at a german cake shop:


"To preserve rich greenery...
Keep gardening tools clean and fixed at all times.
Greenery is the important source of the life of the earth.
Greenery allows us human beings to find peace of mind."

Amen. (I don't think I need to explain why that is like the market).

"SACK"?!

A few additions for the Jinglish corpus.

Go into any cheap shop and the clothes are adorned with English of unknown origin, and unknown meaning.

I've been looking for a while now for a really good Jinglish T-shirt, one that a foreigner here could wear with pride, without looking like they shop in cheap shops, but have mostly come up short.

(Apart from a "Save the Ale" T-shirt. A good pun in a sea of wet fish. I deduce heightened sensitivity towards whale issues)

This lady though, or man, has found a winner.

We all thought Japan was a bit traditional, but not this traditional.

More whales, this time offering itself as a free tie-in (shouldn't the natural world get some royalties for all the advertising we use it for?) to promote the local "bonesetter's office" (osteopath).

And while the next is not strictly Jinglish, there should be a subcategory of Jinglish established just for it, as it is quite funny.

Ooooh. Someone likes raleighing perhaps? Look at that big blue wing thing. And they've stripped out all the back seats and nylon to make it lighter (then put in big white metal poles to make it heavier again). And that exhaust looks like it could disturb a residential area or two.

And look at that badge. That is some badge. Never seen that before. How, uncommon.

And this reminds me of the market. Make sure to know your UBS from your USB if you don't want to look like a twot.

Gulliver's Travels

Sometimes its good to change direction.

For instance - say you're going around a big lake checking out stuff like White Beard Temple:

...and discovering the biggest garlic know in Western Japan:

...when, suddenly, you come across:

Gulliver Village!

Gulliver's Travels (original title: Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of several Ships) is well-known in Japan, and on the way to the village, a hard-hat wearing electrician was very amused to see a large-proportioned foreigner going there.

Also on the way, well-labelled signs excite your curiosity - what extremely large and extremely small things could they possibly have come up with?

The map at the village gate isn't really helpful at all - there really isn't a big statue anywhere. Instead, there is...

... a room with some plastic and ceramic toys arranged in it. Here is Gulliver. Clearly, he is not Japanese, which is already slightly disappointing, but also the visitor does get the sneaky suspicion that he originally was used to sell ice cream or tea at a fun fair, and this is his point of retirement, with legs shortened.

Our suspicions deepen when we see this - a board explaining that this display was made for the 1990 EXPO flower exhibition, and moved here because they had nowhere to put it. They also had a display of dried butterflies - yes, I know they're small, but that's really quite a stretch from being connected to Guliver's Travels.

However, this statuette makes up for the disappointment somewhat, as her foot has broken off and she has the correct expression to match:

Now, I was willing to give the cafe-restaurant the benefit of the doubt. Even when I saw the look of it (not a single massive chair or tiny menu), I was still holding out to be served by a talking horse. Sadly, not only was the cafe in no way connected to the adventurous Gulliver, but also, they weren't even trying - by the till, as a toy mascot, they had a penguin!

After this seeing the rest of the place was clearly going to be a waste of time, even though the curry udon was passable - after all, how good can it be, given the lack of effort in the restaurant?

And this is very much like the market - when you find compelling evidence, you should make up your mind, and, if necessary, change direction.

Jinglish of the day

The Jinglish of the day comes from the bar in central Osaka:



"With delicious liquor and drink, I wait for you." - clearly a very tempting offer.

And this is just like the market. Waiting is an important skill. So best imagine something good will come at the end of it.

Tamagoras

With the new Transformers film now very popular, it should be remembered that the original transformers were invented in Japan - due to Japan's high technology and space-efficient packaging. However, the less celebrated aspect of the Transformers are their fantastic names - Optimus Prime, Cybertron (the name of the planet where they come from) etc.

So, what is the latest trend is in terms of space-efficient shape-morphing toys?

The answer is Tamagoras. Tamago is "egg" in Japanese, and these are slightly angry-looking creatures hidden inside eggs:

Available in Lion, Squirel, Dinosaur, and many kinds of bear. Helpfully, the egg says "BEAR" on it.

The lion is no more friendly, although he is saying "HELLO".

And we can get the same bear but in a polar bear version - this proves that polar bears are, in fact dangerous creatures, and not just cute zoo animals.


And this is very much like the market. There are many kinds of bears, but the net result is fairly similar.

*JTMIJ is moving to a 3-per-week schedule - sorry - I said there would be free and fair elections, but this is a military coup. Next installment Friday, then Mon-Weds-Fri.

How Fresh is Your Octopus?

Rationality is better in theory than in practice.

Take food, for instance. I occasionally find myself thinking along well-reasoned, rational lines, usually in the morning following a large dose of yakiniku (grilled meat - with a side dish of meat).

The argument goes something like this:


"Is it a good thing to always talk about food? It can hardly be healthy. It isn't even that interesting, actually - such a normal everyday activity, why not go on a diet, or do something useful, eh?."


However, it is not long before the textbook gets put back on the shelf, and normality ensues.

Why, you can't get away from eating food. So while you're at it, you may as well make it enjoyable.

So, having talked ourselves into it, let's head down to an Izakaya. In Japan, instead of going to the pub, people go to an Izakaya - slightly more civilized than a pub, it involves eating and drinking, and no standing. Like a gastropub, but without GBP7.00 beers and GBP25 for a plate of sausages. And without sausages. But with beers. Got it?

So, this being Japan, we basically have to start with some raw fish....

...just look at that freshness!

Let's follow up with some whale. Now, I was a little taken aback by my own lack of marine ecosystem awareness, having ordered the grilled meat of an endangered species, but as any Japanese person will tell you, whale can't possibly be endangered - how else can you buy a chunk of it in every other shop in Japan at affordable prices? But then - isn't it such a noble creature? Its a mammal, yet lives in the sea - and its really clever, isn't it? This is the kind of WWF-reasoning that has infiltrated Western people's thinking. Why don't we feel sorry for chickens or tuna? If the whale was such a genius, why couldn't he swim away from the noisy boat?

And, as I know you really want to try some, I have to tell you that it is, in fact, very meaty. Like fatty beef, and very good for you, according to Japanese scientists. They may or may not be affiliated with the whaling and wale-eating industry, but, the indisputable fact is that it is quite tasty.

This is very well complimented by a Japanese dish called Furaido Potaitou:

But this is the best bit - order some octopus, and the chef grabs an angry-looking one from a tank in the middle of the room, places it on a chopping board, and slice - there goes a leg. Octopus San doesn't bleed - he can grow more, apparently. He just looks even more cross when he's put back in the acqurium with the crab trying to bite him again.

Now - check out this freshness:

If you have fresher octopus than this, then I really do want to know about it.

I was so excited by this, that I had to stop recording - so here is the second part:



And all of this is very much like the market. Rationality is great in theory, but in practice you need to be ready to go with your gut.

Supermarket Sweep

As you know, almost everyone considers themselves contrarian. This is because almost everyone believes they are smarter than everyone else. However, this can't possibly be true, as we must explain the phenomenon of the widespread belief in UFOs, and long-dated government bonds.

And, deep inside, we know that we can't hold out against a tide of popular belief on all fronts, particularly when we see a crowd surrounding a traffic accident, or, if we are in a supermarket, and there is an uncommon interest rapidly developing around...

...a man cutting up a giant fish!

Now, you may say that the crowd was there just in order to buy the fresh fish, but there were plenty of packs available, and the pile of sample fish chunks on cocktail sticks was largely untouched.

Of course in 97% of cases store samples are they for getting some free food, pretending you are slightly interested, and continuing looking for salad dressing, however, the freshness was so overwhelming, that before I could even think about it, I already had a packet of deep red yellowfin flank in my hands.

Now, since we are in the Supa (supermarket), we should have a look around. In Japan, fruit is very special. It is peach season now, and oversized peaches are gingerly wrapped in a shock-resistant mesh, to protect the precious cargo. Why not buy a box for $55?


Or, for a hundred dollars, you can get a watermelon the size of a tractor wheel:

Or how about $84 for a bunch of grapes. They're very good, apparently.

Or an $88 honeymelon? Comes wrapped in a bow.


And all of this reminds me a little of the market - good quality will always find a bid.