If you’ve ever played Mario Kart and said “This would be super fun in real life, and even better in a Mario/Luigi/Bowser/Princess Peach costume,” then the good news is that someone in Japan made your dream a reality. The bad news: They didn’t get permission from Nintendo. [More]
tokyo
People Started Lining Up Outside Of Tokyo Apple Store On Sunday
By 9.8.14
You may have heard that there are new products emerging from the magical land of Cupertino tomorrow. People started camping out near the glass edifice of a Manhattan Apple Store last week, but they have sponsors. The campers in Tokyo’s fancy Ginza district set up on Sunday, and are supposedly there out of just fanatical devotion to Apple products. [More]
Without An Address, FedEx Still Tracks Me Down In Tokyo
By 5.9.13 — Updated: 1.9.14
Jeff is an American who currently lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo is a dense and baffling city, and his bank, USAA, created a huge problem when they sent him a check using FedEx but sort of forgot to include his street address. In a city of millions and in a neighborhood of 300,000, FedEx’s challenge was to find one foreign dude. They could have just sent the envelope back to USAA. Instead, they accepted the challenge and got the package to Jeff before the original delivery estimate was up. [More]
Japan Introduces Monkey Waiters; Blogger Scratches Another Business Plan Off His List
By 10.9.08
A Japanese sake house near Tokyo has stolen one of my ideas and employed monkeys as waiters—one brings hot towels to customers when they sit down, and another takes orders and delivers bottles of sake. They’re tipped in edamame, which U.S. waitstaff should seriously consider since you don’t have to report it, and since the dollar will soon be worth about the same anyway. Our favorite quote from the article: “‘The monkeys are actually better waiters than some really bad human ones,’ customer Takayoshi Soeno said.” Hold on to your hats, there’s video footage below!
