Half man, half billboard
Hange.jp, a mobile phone gaming site that’s been running some pretty cool ads on trains lately, seems to have a pretty cool ad up in Shibuya:
People walk past a half-body statue in Shibuya, Tokyo’s main shopping area, on August 22. Online Game Company NHN Japan has set up a series of these statues to promote the mobile game site hange.jp. When people touch the statue’s arm with their mobile phone, the application site will automatically open and a lucky winner will be rewarded 10,000 U.S. Dollars.
[via Foreign Policy]
Categories: Odd / Strange
JAL’s Tsurumaru logo makes its last flight
Japan Airlines has been gradually replacing the crane logo on its planes since a 2002, with yesterday marking the last flight of a plane bearing the logo. Here is a video report from NTV showing the plane landing at Haneda Airport:
Called Tsurumaru, the crane logo was created in 1959.
Before that, the logo consisted of the letters JAL stretched out to form wings. But when the airline moved from prop planes to jets, company officials decided a change was in order.
At first they wanted a logo with a modern design that expressed a sense of speed. However, in the end, a decision was reached to emphasize Japanese qualities.
The crane logo first appeared on a JAL jet in 1960. The first jet, dubbed Fuji, was a DC-8. On that aircraft, the crane symbol was placed on the fuselage slightly behind the cockpit. On the tail was a copy of the Japanese flag.
Many retired JAL employees are sorry to see the symbol go.
Shigeru Yoshida joined JAL when the company was established in 1951. At first, Yoshida, now 82, was posted at Haneda Airport cleaning aircraft and handling luggage.
“I felt a real sense of purpose working to put a plane in the sky at a time when the nation was still reeling from defeat in World War II,” Yoshida said. “I thought the crane logo was a symbol not only for JAL, but for a Japan that was taking off.”
Categories: General Japan
Police mascot shot by gunman
On a T-shirt. And the police were not happy about it, as this news report shows:
Three men have been charged with trademark infringement for printing and selling the t-shirts back in 2006. The men had failed to obtain permission from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police before using an illustration of their mascot, Pipo-kun.
Although the shirts has originally been sold for 3,150 yen apiece at a store in Shinjuku, but sales were poor and after several price decreases the men actually ended up giving away some of the unsold shirts for free.
Do you support the decision to charge the t-shirt's creators?
Categories: General Japan
NTT DoCoMo’s New Logo
NTT DoCoMo has a new Web 2.0 logo:
The new logo’s color is red, which symbolizes the company’s energy and dynamism. The logo, along with other branding elements, embodies DoCoMo’s commitment to achieve customer satisfaction by understanding the needs of customers and building stronger relationships with them, and to maximize the creativity of the company’s workforce and remain a leading innovator in the mobile communications industry.
Which do you prefer:
[via Japan Economy News]
Categories: General Japan
Nara’s New Mascot
Nara, a city of famous historic Buddhist temples and tame deer, recently unveiled a new mascot character to commemorate the 1300th Anniversary of Nara Heijo-kyo Capital:
Its creators believe that the character matches well with the city of Nara, but many have been criticizing the mascot for being un-cute. It was originally thought that this new character could rival the ultra-cute mascot of Hikone Castle, but maybe that was wishful thinking…
Your reaction to this mascot:
[Hat tip to KokuRyu]
Update: Nara might want to consider one of these alternative mascot designs.
Categories: Odd / Strange
Beautifying Ugly Walls
A recent episode of TV Champion challenged some craftsmen to transform ugly concrete housing boundary walls into eye-pleasing works of art. Below are clips of the walls created by the three finalists:
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Entry #1: Dream Flower
Cost: 450,000 yen [about 4,170 U.S. dollars]
Description: Flower designs on the wall & pillars altered to appear as if they were made of stone.
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Entry #2: Spring Wind
Cost: 145,000 yen [about 1,340 U.S. dollars]
Description: This wall design is supposed to show cherry blossom pedals fluttering in a spring wind, with the gate pillars meant to be cherry trees.
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Entry #3: Dragon & Mt. Fuji
Cost: 360,000 yen [about 3,340 U.S. dollars]
Description: The wall is used a canvas for a painting/sculpture of a dragon flying through the air and some traditional Japanese scenery.
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Your favorite wall:
Categories: Japanese TV