Twentythree

Times are changing, and Japan’s younger generation now favors practicality over formality when it comes to work fashion.

In Japan, joining the workforce as a salaryman or office lady means donning business suits of very basic styles and colors. As crazy as it may sound, deviation from fashion norms established by countless generations of office workers wearing black and white can actually reduce your chances of landing jobs.

But even for a country that holds tradition in high regard, the winds of change have begun to blow, as shown by a comprehensive analysis of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey conducted by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. In 1991, the average Japanese household spent 25,000 yen (US$220) a year on business suits, which amounted to 0.5 percent of the national average annual income of 4.6 million yen.

▼ That expenditure rapidly dropped to a mere 6,959 yen per year in 2016,
more than a three-fold decrease.

This may have been attributed to a number of factors, including the proliferation of IT and venture companies where workers are often allowed to operate in casual work clothes. The government’s Cool Biz initiative to help reduce electricity consumption might have also played a huge role in the decline of suits, encouraging workers to ditch standard business suits in favor of short-sleeved shirts without jackets during the sweltering summer months.

Nevertheless, some Japanese companies still maintain strict dress code guidelines to this day even in the unbearable heat. Workers forced to wear suits during hot summers could often be drenched in sweat by they walked just from the train station to the office, which meant more trips to the dry cleaners.

▼ Some were driven to the point where they would transfer in a heartbeat
to a company that allowed casual wear.

What’s more, investing 40,000 yen or more on a set of suits for work might not be everyone’s cup of tea, not to mention the additional financial burden for fresh university graduates who have to repay student loans.

The decline in sales has caused stocks to plummet for business suit companies like Aoyama Trading and Aoki Holdings, two of the biggest brand names in the office attire industry. Even new classy fabrics and styles seem to have minimal effect on the market slump.

While it’s a stretch to say that we’ll be witnessing the death of business suits in Japan soon, the fact that more workers desire comfortable wear suggests that practicality has become a higher concern for them. Besides, no one wants to look at sweaty man-nipples through stark white shirts.

Source: Niconico News via My Game News Flash
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2)

Looks like someone was kind enough to rewind back to 20 years ago.

Considering what a technologically advanced and media-hungry country Japan is, people are often surprised to learn that the country still has a large number of video rental stores. I’ve got one in my neighborhood that’s clean and stocked with the latest releases, and it’s actually kind of nice for when I want to watch a movie without having to worry about my Internet connection, online region codes, or anything else that can make streaming services a hassle.

But Twitter user @ayukawaarisa recently stumbled across something that’s rare even in Japan: a video rental store where the entire stock is still on VHS.

vhsしかないビデオ屋発見 https://t.co/HRwq8KoBDo

—
鮎川亜里沙 (@ayukawaarisa) September 23, 2018

Sitting unassumingly along the side of a road in Mie Prefecture is video rental shop Joyful. The signs at the entrance to its dusty parking lot proudly tout that the shop is open every day all-year round, and that there’s no membership or sign-up fees. There’s even a special going on right now, which allows you to rent five tapes for a whole week for 1,000 yen (US$9), in case you’re catching up on your personal backlog of unseen ’80s action movies.

@ayukawaarisa あ！ダウンタウンのごっつええ感じだ！ https://t.co/0y9w9DF1vm

—
しょうたそ(ごぜんぜうな) (@inoue_shouta) September 24, 2018

Waiting inside are monolithic monuments to the magnetic tape era, as Joyful’s ownership apparently never saw any benefit in stocking those new-fangled DVDs all those kids who’re now in their 30s got so excited about. That, obviously, means that you won’t find any movies that were released anywhere close to recently, but if you’re completely committed to classic films on analog media, @ayukawaarisa says that Joyful is also offering tapes for sale for 1,000 yen each, if you’d rather have one movie forever than five for seven days.

Online reactions included:

“Wow. It’s like some place where time stopped in the ‘90s.”
“At first I thought he was tweeting an old photo from 30 years ago.”
“Such a nostalgic sight.”
“Even if I rented something from them, I don’t have a VCR anymore. It’s so tragic.”
“I bet some of the videos are cursed.”
“It’s like you discovered an ancient ruin.”

Regarding that last comment, Joyful is located in Ise, the same city as the Ise Shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shintoism. While Joyful’s historical significance isn’t quite as deep, it’s still a relic of a part of modern culture that within a generation will probably be as extinct as the general stores of the Old West or blacksmith shops of the medieval era. With Joyful offering its movies for sale, it probably won’t be long before it finally closes its doors for good, so it’s nice to have some photo to remember it by.

Shop information
Joyful / ジョイフル
Address: Mie-ken, Ise-shi, Sochi-cho, 2211-2
三重県伊勢市佐八町２２１１−２

Source: Twitter/@ayukawaarisa via Otakomu
Featured image: Twitter/@ayukawaarisa
Top image: Google

Constantly scowling penguin is incapable of service with a smile, but he looks adorably delicious anyway.

Lazy as Gudetama may be, Sanrio’s lovably lethargic character doesn’t really need any help running his restaurants. After all, as an anthropomorphized egg, Gudetama is already incredibly well-suited to serving as inspiration for all sorts of themed foods and drink items.

Nevertheless, another Sanrio star is coming to lend a hand at the Gudetama Cafe in Osaka, and it’s one who shares Gudetama’s aversion to the sugary sweetness radiated by so many of Sanrio’s other characters.

Bad Badtz-Maru, the surly penguin with the signature scowl, will be appearing at the cafe as part of a lineup of four collaborative items. Starting things off, Badtz-Maru crawls inside a warm blanket made out of his Sanrio brethren with the Badtz-Maru Taking a Break in a Gudetama Furon Hayashi Rice (1,150 yen [US$10.40]), with fluffy white rice covered in demi-glace sauce.

The pair get a little more personal space with the Gudetama and Badtz-Maru Mini Mini Burger Set (1,200 yen), though the Badtz-Maru burger seems to be stuffed with roast beef instead of any sort of patty.

Gudetama and Badtz-Maru team up for their third, and final, starchy dining option with the Gudetama and Badtz-Maru Tiramisu Pancake (1,150 yen), which, as is often the case with dessert pancakes in Japan, comes with a side of sliced fruit and berries.

And last, if you prefer your desserts Japanese style, there’s the Gudetama and Badtz-Maru Anmitsu Parfait (1,100 yen), featuring agar jelly and a skewer of sanshoku dango mochi dumplings.

All customers receive a Gudetama/Badtz-Maru placemat and sticker to take home with them, and, as is standard at Japanese themed cafes, each drink also gets you a coaster.

▼ The Gudeatama/Badtz-Maru placemat

Badtz-Maru clocks in for work on October 1, and the four crossover items will be available until November 30.

Cafe information
Gudetama Cafe / ぐでたまかふぇ
Address: Osaka-fu, Osaka-shi, Kita-ku, Kakuda-cho 5-15, Hep Five 7th floor
大阪府大阪市北区角田町5-15 HEP FIVE 7F
Open 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Website

Sources: @Press, IT Media
Images: @Press

Can Mr. Sato succeed where an entire team of sexy bar hostesses failed?

Our crack reporter Mr. Sato has seen a lot in his pursuit of journalistic excellence. He’s cast his gaze upon the deliciousness of a 10,000-yen beef bento, the horror of Japan’s cave of death, and the beauty of an entire room of gorgeous spokesmodels.

But Mr. Sato’s eyes have seen so much that he needs corrective lenses, and recently he’s found himself drawn to Japanese eyeglass manufacturer Hazuki’s Loupe line. As a matter of fact, he’s thrown himself into his research on the glasses by watching their most recent commercial several times a day, paying extra close attention to the part where a team of sexy bar hostesses sits on them.

Convinced by that persuasive sales pitch, Mr. Sato decided to pick up a Hazuki Loupe pair for himself. In addition to being sold online, the glasses are available at major electronics retailers, so Mr. Sato took a quick walk from SoraNews24 headquarters to Bic Camera’s Biqlo branch in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood.

There are actually a couple different Hazuki Loupe models to choose from, and Mr. Sato went with a pair of Hazuki Lopue Large, which are designed to be worn over your existing glasses. The glasses are primarily marketed to office workers or other people who spend a lot of time looking at a computer monitor, as they cut down 35 percent of the display’s blue light and also provide a magnification function.

Mr. Sato opted for a pair of red frames fitted with 1,32-times magnification, which set him back 10,980 yen (US99). After opening the box, he found the glasses nestled inside a plastic case.

“Oh, I’ve finaly got my very own pair of Hazuki Loupes, just like I saw in the commercial,” murmured Mr. Sato, proving that he hadn’t just been looking at the hostesses’ butts.

▼ Said butts would now appear 1.32 times larger.

At just 18.3 grams (0.65 ounces) the glasses are extremely light, and surprisingly comfortable even when worn in conjunction with a pair of prescription glasses. Their open-at-the-temples design is supposed to make the frame more pliant, but Mr. Sato was going to put his Hazuki Loupes through the same rigorous durability testing as the commercial did.

Walking over to an uninhabited chair in the office, he removed his Hazuki Loupes and placed them on the seat.

Then he swiftly spun in place 180 degrees, and plopped himself down.

As his buttocks descended, he recalled how the product description said the Hazuki Loupes Large could withstand weight up to 70 kilograms (154 pounds). Since he weighs 65, Mr. Sato figured he should be OK, but his lightweight confidence disappeared when he let the weight of his backside settle into the seat…

…and heard a cracking sound that our Japanese coworkers reproduced as “baki!”

▼ Baki: The sound of Mr. Sato’s butt falling on eyeglasses, is a sound effect worthy of inclusion in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

So is Hazuki Loupe as tough as the company claims, or is this another embarrassing episode of Mr. Sato’s backside destroying a part of our physical world? Let’s go to the video.

As you can see, despite the troubling “Baki!” as Mr. Sato sat down, the frame was unbent and the lenses unscratched. We’re still not sure how they can be so unscathed after making such a disconcerting noise, but maybe that was just the glasses screaming in terror as Mr. Sato’s posterior enveloped them in darkness and fleshy cheeks, but in any case, we can now say for sure that Japan’s sturdiest eyeglasses are more powerful than Mr. Sato’s crazy butt.

Photos ©SoraNews24

The best at encouraging clients to spend money, he rakes in as much as US$375,000 per month. 

Host Clubs are places where women can have some no-strings-attached fun with some hot guys. We’re not talking sexual fun, usually; we’re talking flirtatious fun and good company. Drop a little money on some liquor, and your host will entertain you with great conversations and a good time.

Naturally, hosts pride themselves on being excellent companions, because the more they are liked, the more they can get their patrons to spend at the club, and the more money they can make. Every so often one particular host becomes far and away the best at his job, so popular among the ladies that he achieves the title of King of the Hosts. A few years ago it was the handsome Naoki, but right now, it’s the charming Roland.

At just 26 years old, Roland is said to be the most successful host of Kabukicho, the area of Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood with the highest concentration of host and hostess bars. He made his debut at the age of 18, and now manages one of the most popular host clubs in the area, Platina Club, where he has apparently doubled the annual earnings.

Roland is a master of seduction, and regularly gets his ladies to spend insane amounts of money without getting drunk himself. He only drinks the most expensive and the finest liquors, anyway, so anyone who wants to have his attentions must pay top dollar.

In fact, Roland holds the record for the most “sales” for a single day, month, and year. Apparently, on his birthday last year, patrons allegedly spent 10 million yen (more than US$88,000) on him in just three hours. Birthdays are, of course, when clients spend the most money on their favorite host, but Roland has also been able to rack up as much as 42 million yen in an ordinary month.

As such, Roland is said to be the highest-paid host in Kabukicho, and of course he uses that money to live a life of luxury. He apparently owns several expensive cars, including a Porsche, and wears only the most high-end clothes. He also lives out of hotels, not because he can’t afford a home, but because it ‘suits his lifestyle better’.

What makes him so successful? His charming personality and flirtatious behavior, of course, but as with many hosts his looks perhaps have the biggest effect on his popularity. He has naturally good looks and great style, and he spends hours at the gym every day to maintain his sexy physique.

He has also had cosmetic surgery, and he’s not ashamed to admit it. He’s spent around 10 million yen to make adjustments to his face, and says he spends about 200,000 yen ($1,800) to maintain it every month, and for good reason. His income apparently doubled after he got the procedures done!

His good looks have also earned him fame as well as fortune. He often appears on television and is featured in a regular segment on the YouTube channel Host TV. With his impeccable style and nice smile, it’s no surprise that he has been so successful.

I wonder how our own Mr. Sato and Go Hattori would compete with those numbers? Their pop-up Host Club Roketto for this year should be coming up soon, so we’ll have to wait and see!

Source: Oddity Central
Featured Image: Instagram/@roland_0fficial