Made In Japan: 

Using the highest precision technique

    
There is a porcelain enamel pot that makes you wait 9 months since it is so popular in Japan. And I may say it is unusual but it is made in Japan. Aichi Dobby, a Japanese company founded in 1936, is a company that makes products starting from casting till processing by machine and hand with 40 staff members.  This company like its'  name is located in Aichi, also known as a prefecture with famous companies such as Toyota.  

Measured the difference of flatness: Unbelievable 0.031

      What makes this pot special from others, numerously seen on the business news is that the company which usually is only making their own machinery parts is now using their highest techniques to a new field of products, a porcelain enamel pot.  The highest technique cannot be stolen since it is the workmen who has the ear and sense to enable to make this precise pot by the micron which also does make a huge difference when cooking.  This company has been able to make the top coating of their pan glittery which also cannot be found in other pot companies.

 Traditional way of making things:Castingand processing techniques still goes on developing new markets!

Marketing strategy trend in Japan:
Reprodution boom (1999-2010) 

     With lots of companies struggling to think of a way to sell more, there is a trend among different fields of industry in Japan this past 10 years.
     Reproducing the past hit products.
To aim the adults who were kids that remember and now have the freedom of using their own money.  This can be targeted to the Japanese baby boomers, the first(now retired) and the second(now working and have their own kids) baby boomers. People tend to remember and have flash backs of what it used to be when they were young by just looking at a very familiar candy package.  They were just kids and couldn't buy as many as they wanted then, but now, hey, "Buying it isn't such an expensive thing.", one realizes. Can even buy a dozen or collect them. The above picture is of a package from a famous/popular sweets in Japan produced by glico pronounced gu-li-ko(http://www.glico.co.jp/) . This particular one was such a hit since it comes with a toy as a giveaway(omake).

This giveaway toy had more than 20,000 kinds and sold over 5 billion.  Now, reselling this same package, they have renewed their toy to miniature wooden toys.  Attracting the used-to-be girls, now mothers of children making them remember their  childhood and also passing it on to their children. The company, Glico said not only the package but the quality and the good design has made this product  become a huge hit once again after so long.

     Another reproduction hit  are products with the reproduced package but renewed taste/flavor like the one on the left and right.  The one on the left are can sodas with Ultraman packaging ...and not only one but many!  The company notices this great sale increase is due to people buying a dozen or wanting to buy all of the Ultraman packaging cans.  

     Poloroid has done it too! 

They have made digital cameras with the "instant printing from the camera " available.  This is sort of funny when it is clear that digital cameras are taking the market share but yet, this easy printing system which is reminded by the name"polaroid" is still alive and well!  19,800yen for this renewed Polaroid Two, lets you get /give away pictures right away, right there for less than 40 yen per photo.   

Can be  popular to the elder baby boomers who doesn't want to struggle reading the manual to understand which cord to plug where between the computer and the printer, let alone  the process of uploading(although it is so easy and simple nowadays).    

     Now the movie industry is also under the process of reproduction.  Making films from famous comic books.  Some making it based on the comic, some making a different stage for the characters.   Now using real people, one can enjoy watching whether you have read the comic or not.   Uchusenkan Yamato: Space Battleship Yamato (http://yamato-movie.net/en/) , premiering in November, 2010 was a big hit in the late 1970s , Ashitano Jo:Tomorrow's Jo (http://www.ashitano-joe.com/) premiering in February, 2011, is older(40 years ago) than Uchusenkan Yamato.

     If we look around, there are more examples of reproduction such as games, toys, etc. 

      Even donuts too!   

Mister donut, a Japanese donut company sells(From Oct 1st, 2010) their past popular donuts again.

Girls want to look taller too... 
the No.2 best seller in the store today at 
PLAZA, IKSPIARI, Japan

Girls in Japan, they want to look taller and of course be taller too!
As you might know, the majority of Japanese women are petit.  
But with this, shown above, you can be 3.5 cm taller without undergoing pain.  Just slip it in your favorite boots and  the height of your knee will change, making your style much sophisticated and well-balanced.  This product has a nice cushion with dark colors which will not stand out in your shoe. (Japanese take their shoes off in their homes so when you visit someone, you will be taking off your shoes.  Check your socks, and shoes before you go.)

Sweet smell from the confectionery factory is harmful!?!!

A confectionery company sued for continuous smell and noise lost in court 3 days ago in Kyoto, Japan. 

The verdict was that the continuous sweet smell is harmful to the residents along with the noise.  There is no law for sweet smells in Japan.  Although 22 material are regulated by the current law for preventing awful smells which includes ammonia. The people who sued the confectionery company won and an amount 2,800,000yen(32987USdollor, Sept.22nd, 2010).  Resulted to 150,000 yen per family that joined the law suit. The verdict was not only due to the smell and noise but also because the factory built on a land which was restricted only for offices, storage places and houses.

This was the first ruling in history of Japan to judge the smell and the noise of  a confectionery company.  Former  to this verdict, there was a Yakitori (grilled chicken on a stick) restaurant sued, lost and paid 600000 yen.　.

Picture above is Yakitori.

What happens to your paper bags when it rains?!?

In Japan, it is very common to a people holding paper bags covered with thin clear plastic bags on rainy days. Stores will put a plastic cover without being told on paper bags like the one on right. (My bag today. Yes, it was rainy.)

I hear Japan can be said the service(in all kind of industries) is the best in the world. I agree. As a customer, passenger, guest at a hotel, etc., it is wonderful to live in Japan. (If not always thinking about the price of it! I say not always because even if you do think of the price, sometimes it does turn out to be reasonable in Japan.)

However, on the other side, it is a whole different story when you are the one to give the service...

Candy in Japan...impressive!?!



(Each candy has been printed the expire month/year)


So, in your country, when you open a bag of candy which is wrapped one by one, how can you tell the expire date?? From the original big bag?

Well, in Japan, what impressed me recently was each and every candy had the expire date on it. I remember looking at a small imported tomato ketchup and wondering when the expire date is in my refrigerator.

Well, kids, now Mom can look at a small candy and tell you if it is okay or not to eat a candy found under the bed or even in the corner of the living room!

Note: Not all the candy sold in Japan have expire dates printed on each wrap.

おまけ Omake 


This is one of the omake(Free gift, giveaway, throw-in) I got buying a bottle of pepsi for 79 yen. The free gift was something you can hang on your cell phone. A LE CREUSET minature accresory.

Yes, I saw women who don't usually drink pepsi buying a couple of bottles.  With the free gift, is the small paper inviting you to collect 10 points to get a real Le Creuset pot. And of course, you need to write your age, sex, etc for them to know who is starting to buy their product when you send your post card. The internet being such a powerful tool for everyone, we can not forget the URL, where to look on the web, written on the tiny paper as well.

As you know, this marketing strategy has been around since a long long time.  I remember digging in my cracker jacks to see what I got every time my mom bought it.  Asking my younger sister "What did you get?"

Well, with the slow economy, companies are seeking a way to boost the sales, Japanese companies are getting more and more aggressive as to how to use their omake.  Often consumers' decision making may rely on what the omake is.  The omake used to be something only cheap that you would throw away after a while.  Now the quality of free gifts are high and the big and popular, sometimes elite brands are interested to widen their consumer width, too.  

The publishing industry are competing with their free gifts too. Japanese love free gifts.  Omake bags did not have pockets nor zippers. And it was just a thin cloth that could get ruined so quickly.  But now, things have changed.  It's their marketing tool for the sensitive and sometimes picky Japanese consumers!  Japanese men/ladies magazines  have free gifts such as bags that are produced by the popular brands for the age group of their readers.

Yvs Saint Laurent has made lots of women carry their omake bags till people wondered why so many have this particular bag.  One of the reasons that made old and young women use thier omake bag with pride was that the bag was sturdy and black(easy to use in any occasions) with a pocket inside... and also not sold in Yves Saint Laurent stores.

Are Japanese lazy now?

Mikan(mandarine), citrus in English,  used to be a popular fruit to eat during the winter days with feet inside the warm Kotatsu :　炬燵.  But the sales of Mikan have decreased in Japan.  Not only due to the fact that import fruits are increasing and the number of children in one house hold have been decreasing, NHK News watch reported the young generation not eating Mikan because it makes their nails yellow!  The news showed mothers(their children watching next to them) peeling Mikan with tissue paper.  "Reluctant to peel"" Hands gets dirty" were some of the answers people gave to not buying Mikan.  The picture above is the product that has been on the market recently.  Mikan already peeled and frozen. Just like fast food, ready to be eaten.

By the way, this year's mikan are very sweet since Japan had dry weather from summer to autumn(2009) and made mikan sweeter than usual.  Also the mikan in stores now have been kept in storages since December to increase the suger content.

Seven spring herbs porridge
Nanakusagayu：七草粥

The set of seven herbs are in stores.  After new year goods are taken away, we start to see this herb set.  Japanese use these 7 herbs to make a rice porridge.  On January 7th, we eat this porridge to wish an year long health.  This is a traditional Japanese porridge with seven spring herbs.  This custom was introduced from China and then became a custom in Japan by the Heian Period ( 8^th century).  Generally, a  nanakugayu is cooked with salt and seaweed broth.  The spring seven herbs are suzushiro (radish), suzuna (turnip), seri (Japanese parsley), nazuna (shepherd’s-purse), gogyou, hakobera (chickweed), hotokenoza (henbit).  People believe these herbs would protect them against evils and invite good luck and longevity.　　 However, another thing that this porridge does is to heal your stomach after eating and drinking  too much in New years!  Happy New Year 2010