Search Results for: loft

December 09

Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2016

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Yes, it’s that time of year again, when you comb your list of friends & family for those who truly deserve that rare and awe-inspiring gift from Japan… 10. If there’s nobody on your list who needs a MANEATING VAMPIRE PURSE, you need to make new friends.   9. CUTEST WASHCLOTHS OF ALL TIME! Who could fail to smile after ripping the […]

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May 21

The Gods Of Kawaii Anoint The Most Inexplicable Animal Yet

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  If there was a vote on which animal is least likely to be described as “fluffy, “winsome” and “cuddly,” I think tapirs would pretty much win the internet. So why are tapirs suddenly everywhere? Honestly, I’ve been trying to ignore this. How can tapirs be a THING? Of course, Japan has tasted the depths of cuteness desperation before, but this has to be a new low. • […]

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March 12

Get Your Very Own 3D Selfie

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The idea of being able to get a Barbie-sized clone of yourself has been an internet tease for so long that I almost walked past the studio displaying these super lifelike figures that had obviously been modeled on real people. Surely there would be the usual fine print: “GET A PERFECT PINT-SIZED REPLICA OF YOURSELF (for only $100,000,000,000)” or “NOW […]

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December 12

2015 Top Ten Crazy Gifts From Japan!

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It’s time for Only In Japan’s yearly holiday gift round-up, and it looks like 2015 is holding its own! I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be the only one to bestow one of these awesome gifts from Japan on your nearest and dearest… 10. Warm in winter, cool in summer, give this CREEPY CONSTRUCTION WORKER HEAD TOWEL, so they can enjoy displaying their brains as […]

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February 09

Forever Alone Appliances

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Used to be – if you were a Japanese man – you had it made. Food magically appeared on the table every mealtime and you never even had to learn how to push the button on the rice cooker or face the pots & pans that became mysteriously dirtied while keeping you alive. Mom did all that for you until you got married, […]

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December 11

Ten Best Stocking Stuffers From Japan!

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10. SUSHI SOCKS 9. DIY CROSS STITCH PHONE CASE 8. ANIMAL SKELETONS 7. DEVIL WAX 6. EYELID EXERCISER 5. EMOJI EYE MASK 4. DEODORANT CANDY 3. NINJA SNACK PICKS 2. THE STATUE OF TOO MUCH LIBERTY 1. PIGGY ZAPPER And of course, if there are any book lovers on your list, you can get your shopping done in a flash, because the Only In […]

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December 02

Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2014!

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10. What do you give the person who has everything? They’ve already got a one-shot coffee maker. And a one-shot tea machine. But I bet they don’t have a ONE-SHOT MISO SOUP MAKER! 9. Landing a blow for equal opportunity character pillows, the otaku girls on your list will love sleeping with the SINGING PRINCE DREAM CUSHION! 8. […]

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October 16

The Statue Of Too Much Liberty

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These have got to be the most awesome gacha-gacha vending machine snags of all time! These little plastic figures depict Lady Liberty morphing into “Too-Free Goddess” and assuming unseemly poses! But forget trying to blackmail her with threats to tweet her indiscretions far and wide – there are already stop-action videos up on YouTube… For even more weirdness, there are videos that go with […]

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May 12

Cross Stitch Yourself A Phone Case!

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“Home Sweet Home” samplers – sooo 17th century. Today’s Crafty Craftpern whips up a smartphone case instead. Today at Shibuya Loft I saw needle & thimble-ready cases in eight different colors, ready for you to beaver up your favorite design, from Hello Kitty to  Cuddly Raw Fish Boy. Or you can cheat, and buy yourself one that’s already crocheted! […]

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December 19

Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2013

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10. I bet the person on your list who has everything doesn’t have a THOUSAND DOLLAR RICE COOKER! 9. Surely you know someone whose garden wouldn’t be complete without a few GNOMES OF VICTORY 8. Give the gift of facial warmth and animal shenanigans with the BEARFACE MUFFLER 7. For that perfect head, the SONIC […]

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December 03

Leaf Season-O-Rama

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Forget those pesky cherry blossoms. Leaf season is the BEST! If you’d like to visit Arisugawa Park, Gokoku-ji temple, Gotoku-ji temple (they’re different!), the Nezu Shrine, Koraku-en garden, or any of the other best places to see autumn leaves in Tokyo, directions & maps to all the shrines & temples and gardens are on my website, […]

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July 15

What The Well-Dressed Suitcase Is Wearing This Season

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Now your bag doesn’t have to travel naked anymore, thanks to these fashionable luggage togs I saw recently at Shibuya Loft! Made of stretchy knits that zip up snugly around your suitcase, they not only prevent the contents from exploding all over some distant baggage claim in a case of Dreaded Latch Failure, they’ll also […]

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June 25

Today’s Beauty Quiz: Are You Young Enough To Have Gray Hair?

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These days in Tokyo, the only people with black hair are those whose hair is actually gray, and the only people with gray hair are those whose hair is naturally black. To determine which group you should be in, take this handy quiz. Agree, or disagree? 1: “Sunscreen, who needs it? I mean, who cares […]

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December 22

Rude Gnomes

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As a sort of matter/anti-matter reaction to the See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil Gnomes, the same artist presents the F U Gnome. The Xmas-seasonal appearance of these, er, art objects suggests there has been continuing elf/dwarf/gnome cross-cultural confusion with regard to Santa and his workforce. I admit I’m quite curious about […]

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December 21

All I Want For Christmas Is A Magical Body

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And all I need to do to get one is stop by the Shibjuya Loft store and plonk down ¥6000! Magical Socks are apparently included, as an extra bonus. On the other hand, maybe it would be better to display my Christmas spirit by dressing as a Creamy Tonikai! And if I feel like kicking […]

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December 01

Veggie Boys vs. Carnivore Men

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I guess it was inevitable: the species of Japanese males who have come to be known as “grass-eating men” (sōshoku danshi) now have their own beauty brand: VegeBoy! Guys who obsess about every little facial imperfection can now chase pulchritude without furtively buying any pastel packaged products! The VegeBoy line includes everything from facial masks […]

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November 16

Your Very Own Brainwave-Controlled Cat Ears!

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Ever wish you could telegraph your feelings as easily as Mr. Bigglesworth? Well, now you can, with these furrific NecoMimi brainwave-controlled cat ears! Spot a gorgeous guy whose skin is too good to be true or a hot babe in a goth kimono? The ears perk up! Zoning out during Japanese class, while watching the […]

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October 11

Gnomes Of Enlightenment

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See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil… Does that include thinking uncharitable thoughts when you see a foreign blond guy trying to rock a Japanese 2-block haircut? Or hating on the person in the upstairs apartment who seems to be hard of hearing and really really really likes enka music? And what about […]

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October 02

Dwarf Engrish

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I think it would be safe to say that nobody else on your flight from Kathmandu (or anywhere else in the known world) will mistake your luggage for theirs if you apply this particularly impenetrable Engrish sticker from Loft in Shibuya… If you’d like to visit a Loft store the next time you’re in Tokyo, maps are […]

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May 25

Weapons For The Lunchbox Arms Race

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Aieeee! Is the mom who made this Anpan Man lunch a graduate of the Harvard School Of Lunchmaking? No, but she knows that in the bentō box cuteness wars, you have to stay on top of the latest technology! Today at the Shibuya Loft store I discovered a few of the secret weapons Japanese moms use to turn […]

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March 31

Chair Socks

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Today while I was waiting for my watch to be repaired at Seibu Loft, I spent some time browsing the ever-entertaining household product section. I saw these, and my first thought was, WTF,  *chair socks*? Little argyle chair socks? Apparently you put them on the bottoms of your chair legs so they slide easily on […]

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January 29

Politeness Battle Royale

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Yes, it’s a Japanese game show that pits teams of quick-witted experts against each other to see who can be more…HONORIFIC! If you’ve ever studied Japanese, you know this isn’t about tacking a piffling “sir” or “ma’am” onto an otherwise normal sentence. No, you must trowel on the correct grammar to acknowledge the loftiness of […]

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August 20

Winter In A Can

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Used to be that Japanese people kept cool in the summer by hanging little bells that rang in the barest breeze, gazing at goldfish in clear globes, and listening to ghost stories that sent shivers up their spines, but now technology has had its evil way with tradition. Behold…Ice Wear! It’s only one of many […]

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August 15

What’s this supposed to do? Shame you into shape?

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Picked up a flyer at Loft today for this revolutionary new slimming device, the Boneless Belt Series. Just looking at myself in the mirror while wearing this might make me lose my appetite. • Read a mystery set in Tokyo…  

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