Japanese watch purveyors Seahope have come up trumps with a Transformers clock which I’m hoping can actually transform into a watch. More »
What is your dog trying to say when he’s barking at bicyclists riding by your window? If only we spoke Japanese, we’d know. More »
Jump into your glittery spandex pants and crown you head with that leopard headband, because you are going to need them to follow the 100 million—yes, million—three-minute workouts of the Minutes Gym Digital Video Trainer.
If you need help reliving your childhood, Takara Tomy is re-releasing its classic Transformers watch. I don’t remember Transformers looking so drab though. Funny what a few years will do to your perspective.
Japanese kids and otaku need slightly more motivation than the rest of us to save money, and to that end, Takara Tomy has made a piggy bank with an RPG game built right on there. It’s called Bank Quest (was Final Bank Fantasy taken?) and you can buy weapons and armour for your dude from the savings you place inside. That reminds us of the RPG Toilet we saw in Japan one time that rewarded us for the size, weight and consistency of he deuce we dropped. Wait, that might not have happened. [Akihabara News via Boing Boing Gadgets]
For those of us not lucky enough to be at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, here’s a quick highlight video running through some of the more interesting products. Our favourite has to be the AeroSpider by Takara Tomy. It’s an R/C car that can burn donuts on 90-degree surfaces (like walls) and then top off the act by driving completely inverted on the ceiling. We’re sure that parents will just love it. [CScoutJapan via bbGadgets]
Soba lovers of the world rejoice, for you can now buy the Ie Soba from Takara Tomy, a machine that can make you Soba noodles at home. Traditionally rather a time-consuming process, all you need is buckwheat powder, wheat flour, water and 20 minutes. See it boxed up below. More »
Toy company Takara Tomy — they make the Transformers toys here, and were ballsy enough to hire the only foreigner working as a toy designer in Japan — but they have dabbled in other things, most recently with the super-slick Plus Minus Zero brand of stylish accessories, all by design superstar Naoto Fukasawa. Now, they’re heading into space with the Fuwarito lamp. The floating helium-filled LED lamps take the shape of the sun and the moon (they also do, huh, flying dolphins and jelly fish), each retailing for about 4000 yen (around US$33). Time to break out that Dark Side of the Moon album again, preferably in the latest digital format du jour. [Akihabara News] More »
