Kameleon Inc. began offering Moso Licenses (meaning “Delusional Licenses”) on November 9.

The online service issues and sells the company’s Nanchatte Licenses (meaning “Fake Licenses") with your headshot, name and address printed on an original plastic card.

There are eight kinds of licenses in the lineup: the Giant Robot Operator License (In-Vehicle Operator), Giant Robot Operator License (Remote Operator), UFO Driver’s License, Irresponsibility License, Drunkard’s License, Macrocosmo Administration Bureau Identification Card, Napping & Dozing License and the License to Use Magic.

In pursuit of a realistic design, the licenses are made of plastic 0.8 millimeters thick, just like real credit cards.

One card is 700 yen. A minimum of three cards can be purchased at the product website.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Delusional Licenses (Japanese)

"Hogen CD" in the Moso Voice Series - 600 Recordings of Sweet and Harsh Expressions in Regional Dialects (Akiba Today)

This winter, “idol cafe” Akiba Tenkyu is being remodeled as Idol Station, managed by Zenryoku Agency.

Akiba Tenkyu is an idol cafe that opened in May of this year. The concept is for visitors to become the staff’s “producers” and to get a taste of the fun of helping the staff to develop.

The remodeling will see planned changes to the billing system and services provided, as well as Idol Auditions leading up to the reopening. Future idols will reportedly be recruited from the auditions to create a new and improved Idol Staff. The reopening is scheduled for December 19.

Applications for auditions are being accepted until November 27. The screening process will be followed by interviews and singing and costume auditions. The winner of the grand prize will be given a performing role in the commercial for the game Higurashi no Naku Goro ni Kizuna Episode 4: Kizuna.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

idol cafe (Japanese)

Hatsune Miku Live Show (Akiba Today)

In late October, Thanko Co., Ltd. began selling its USB Shortwave/AM/FM Radio.

According to Thanko, this product is the world’s first shortwave, AM and FM radio with a USB connection. You can listen to shortwave radio on your computer by installing the software and connecting the radio to a USB port, and you can also listen to and record FM and AM radio. Program the radio to record a show and save it as an MP3 or WAV file on your computer so you can transfer the recording to a music player or other device to enjoy the show when commuting to work or school.

The device is 9.6 cm x 11.1 cm x 4.1 cm and is priced at 4,980 yen. Check the product website for frequencies and other information.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

thanko (Japanese)

Small, Light MP3 Player with Integrated Headphones by Thanko Goes on Sale (Akiba Today)

NR Pro will release Hogen CD (meaning “Dialect CD”) on December 23.

The product is part of the company’s Moso Voice CD series that began in 2006. It has 600 voice recordings of voice actresses speaking in their local dialects from Hokkaido, Fukushima, Gunma, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Okayama, Tokushima, Nagasaki and Okinawa, with sweet (confessional) and harsh (admonishing) lines such as “I like you!” and “I hate you! I don’t want to see your face again!” The appeal of the CD is that it will allow listeners to “be able to get a girlfriend anywhere in Japan” with “confessionals and admonishments from girls across the country.”

A statement from NR Pro commented on the CD, stating, “Dialects are in a continuous state of flux, with subtle differences between individual municipalities even within one dialect’s area of use, so we’d like the classifications to be of convenient use. The dialects on this CD have expressions that are often used in and around each area, but we’d also like people to always think of some of them as the characters’ expressions.”

The CD is priced at 2,100 yen.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

NR PRO (Japanese)

What is better, Winning or Loosing? (Akiba Today)

On October 30, Eiken and Super Vision’s joint project team, Kaden Kung Fu Dojo, released the pilot episode of the Flash animation Kaden Kung Fu on its official site. (“Kaden” is Japanese for “consumer electronics.”)

©家電クンフー道場

Kaden Kung Fu is a consumer electronics version of Journey to the West (one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature) in which HiVi-chan, a high definition television character, trains in the Chinese hinterland and becomes a kung fu master due to terrestrial digitalization in 2011, and sets out on a journey to the Holy Land of Akihabara.

The team said the work is a “datsuryoku-kei (‘ennui-style’) anime that web surfers mainly in their twenties will get enjoyment from.”

The episode is three minutes long, and the release of the second episode is forthcoming.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Kaden Kung Fu(Japanese)

Chidejika Appears at Akihabara Entamatsuri Site - Spreads the Love and Promotes Terrestrial Digitalization (Akiba Today)

Sengoku Maid Café and Bar Mononopu, run by Parthenon Pro, Inc., will hold its Bakumatsu Event starting November 23. (Bakumatsu refers to the close of the Edo period, when the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate came to an end.)

The establishment opened in July of this year as a maid café and bar with a Sengoku Jidai (“Warring States Period”) theme. “Warrior maids” serve customers donning maid costume/kimono outfits with armor. In the three months since opening, foreign tourists, groups of female history buffs, couples and families have come to visit.

The business expects a “bakumatsu boom” with Ryomaden (meaning “The Legend of Ryoma”), the historical drama to air on NHK next year, so it put together the Bakumatsu Event to “draw a lot of Bakumatsu period enthusiasts.” At the event, the maids will serve customers in “cosplay reminiscent of the Bakumatsu period” and a special menu will be offered.

Business hours are from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and the event will last until November 30.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Mononopu (Japanese)

Warrior Maids Serve Guests at Sengoku Style Cafe & Bar (Akiba Today)

On October 31, Kaiyodo Co., Ltd. put on Revoltech 2009 at the Tokyo Anime Center.

At the event, the company presented new action figures and families for its Revoltech series.

Also there was a lineup of figures taken from special effects and science fiction to be released next year in the new Tokusatsu (Special-effects photography/filming) Revoltech family, which includes figures from Alien, Booska, Gamera, Giant Robo, a dinosaur and characters from the fantasy genre. It was organized as a first chance to “see and touch” the figures.

Other new products and designs on display at the venue were the Revoltech Yamaguchi “Sengoku BASARA” scheduled to go on sale on November 15, as well as the Revoltech Yamaguchi-style Completely Transformed Valkyrie, New Three Eva Girls by the rebirth of Fraulein Revoltech. And Professor Layton and other new products, which are planned to be released soon by Revoltech Yamaguchi.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Kayodo (Japanese)

Revoltech's Fist of the North Star Revolution (Akiba Today)

On October 30, Mouse Computer began selling its Hello Kitty Music Player Crystal at the company’s online shops, the iRiver E-Store and the iRiver Direct Rakuten Ichiba Store.

©1976, 2009 SANRIO CO., LTD.APPROVAL No.S 502532

The product is a release under the new "demee” brand started up by Mouse Computer. The music players shaped like Hello Kitty’s face, which were released in September, are decorated with around 300 Crystallized Swarovski Elements. Since the music player set comes with Audio-Technica headphones that hang down from the neck, you can use them as a replacement for your necklace.

The player’s capacity is 2 gigabytes and is priced at 13,800 yen. Reservations will be accepted starting November 23.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

iRiver(Japanese)

Hello Kitty Enters the Nerd Market (Akiba Today)

Chidejika is a character created to promote the complete switch to terrestrial digitalization for terrestrial broadcasts starting in July 2011. According to the official site, it usually travels alone and rarely in a group. It has male and female “horns” (antennas) that produce a new Chidejika when they pierce a rooftop.

The event was supported by the Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting. In addition to the big raffle and the new Chidejika Festival this year, on the 24th there was a “Happy Across Japan Terrestrial Digital” on-stage event with “terrestrial digital celebrities” Tetsu and Tomo, “Happy Girl” Mari Murai and Chidejika. There was also a terrestrial digital reception consultation corner set up to promote terrestrial digitalization.

On the 25th, a person in a two-meter Chidejika costume came to Akiba, hung out around the consultation corner in Akiba Square, shared the love with passersby, shook hands and posed for free commemorative photos. Those participating in surveys were given Chidejika straps.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting

On October 21, Pony Canyon Inc. released a CD in music shops entitled “Navikano! – Omukae ni Kichatta!” (meaning “Navi Girl! – She came to greet you!”).

©2009　PONYCANYON

In January, the company released its “Navikare” (short for “Navigation Kareshi” [Japanese for ‘boyfriend’]) with a “boyfriend” who greets and navigates listeners on their way home from the Comic Market. This new CD was released with a mainly male target audience, the situation being that “[your] girlfriend greets you after an event at Tokyo Big Sight.” After meeting up, the CD has a “realistic” format that lasts for the roughly 22 minutes along 10 ten stations on the Yurikamome Line, from Kokusai Tenjijo Seimon Station to Shinbashi Station. The disc features conversation with your “girlfriend” about topics such as the view from the train window.

The lineup of “girlfriends” includes “the gentle, young Kanoko” and "the smart-alecky and energetic Kanomi, who has a direct manner of speaking.” The voice actors are Kana Asumi for Kanoko, and Kaori Mizuhashi for Kanomi.

The CD is priced at 2,100 yen.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Navikano!(Japanese)

Girls Use CD to Have Virtual Boyfriends Navigate them from the Comic Market (Akiba Today)

Licolita City Residents Group for Social Contributions in Akihabara (hereafter “Licolita”), an NPO, held an “Akiba rice harvesting ceremony” at the Akihabara Vegetable Garden on the roof of the five-story headquarters for the Japan Agricultural News on October 20.

This past June, the NPO partnered with the Japan Agricultural News headquartered in Akihabara and the Oedo Vegetable Society (an NPO) to start the Akihabara Vegetable Garden project to grow agricultural produce in Akihabara. As part of its support for NPO activities promoting local contributions to society, the Japan Agricultural News offered its headquarters’ rooftop as the first Akihabara Vegetable Garden, and now rice is being cultivated there. The cooperation of maid-related businesses was also obtained, such as Maid Beauty Salon Obu, Maid Beauty Salon Moesham, Jam Akihabara, Misty Heaven, Royal Milk and Shatzkiste, and their maid staff planted rice.

By October, 26 out of 50 buckets of cultivated Nipponbare rice have ripened, and the harvesting ceremony was held. Just under ten maid staff from the maid-related businesses participated in the project, cutting the rice stalks with scissors and showing off the dried plants.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Licolita(Japanese)

Maids Help Throw Water in Akiba (Akiba Today)

Karaoke studio operator Pasela is developing a collaborative project called "Nyan Koi! & Pasela."

©藤原里・フレックスコミックス／にゃんこい！製作委員会 画像はニャムサスパスタ

Nyan Koi! is based on the comic created by Sato Fujiwara, which has been made into an anime and broadcast on the TBS network starting in October. The story is about the main character, Junpei, a boy who absolutely hates cats and is allergic to them, but then one day is able to understand what they say. The romantic comedy's story develops with Junpei granting the wishes of cats who come to him. He develops "a bit of a good relationship" with Kaede, a cat owner who is a beautiful young girl and older than him, though his love for this natural beauty goes unnoticed by the target of his affection.

The collaborative project has been started in celebration of the anime's broadcast. An original menu of food is being offered with themes based on the series' characters such as Nyan Koi! Honey Toast (880 yen), Noroi wa Kakarimasen - Neko Jizo Cake (meaning "No Curse - Guardian Deity of Cats Cake; 680 yen) and Nyamsus Pasta (980 yen), as well as Yuenchi de Nondeita Love x2 Juice (meaning "Playing at the Amusement Park Love x2 Juice; 630 yen) and Love Love Takoyaki (380 yen). Customers ordering from the menu will get specially made Nyan Koi! pins.

Pasela locations in Akihabara, Shinjuku, Ueno, Ochanomizu and Ikebukuro Nishiguchi are offering the original foods until November 12.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Nyan Koi!(Japanese)

New Evangelion Event at Cure Maid (Akiba Today)

On October 14, the Institute of Creative Industries and Culture (ICIC) held the UDX Open College “Personal Mobility Segway Complete Research” event at the UDX Multispace.

That day Segway Japan President Hiroshi Otsuka was invited to give a presentation on his company’s future direction and to report on business in North America and Europe, as well as to conduct a vehicle demonstration.

In his talk, President Otsuka talked about the company’s current situation and outlook, saying, “The Segway cannot yet drive on the road in Japan under the Road Traffic Law. However, we have gotten positive responses from everyone when we’ve demonstrated it to at all sorts of events and facilities like golf courses. Also, we are beginning to see results for business use, such as more tourists in the Tokachi Millenium Forest and fewer cars broken into in Narita Airport’s parking garages. In the future, in Phase 2 and Phase 3, we hope to hold talks with local governments and public officials, and to popularize the Segway.”

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Segway Japan(Japanese)

Kaiteki = Bicycle Revolution? (Akiba Today)

Link-Up Co., Ltd., which manages the @Home Cafe, on October 10 started up a new business, the Akibahara Project, and opened the Akihabara Photo Studio near Suehirocho Crossing.

The Akibahara Project is directed by the company's second business division, which plans to construct a new business model and create a new market, while @Home Cafe and other projects are managed by its first business division. The company aims to give birth to a new "Akihabara culture."

Link-Up is establishing the Akihabara Photo Studio as the first part of the project. With a space of roughly 100 m2, the studio has a flat white floor and stairs, crimson velvet curtains, backdrops and wood paneling ordered from a television program art company. The studio can accommodate roughly five photo shoot setups. The target market for the space, which Link-Up describes as a "compact studio for commercial use," is a general one, and the company consulted with photographers and video camera operators to focus on improving the studio's ease of use.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

LiNK-UP(Japanese)

Art Maid Cafe Schatzkiste to Close Down in March (Akiba Today)

The audio guide series Tokyo Realtime began distribution of its Akihabara edition in mid-October.

Tokyo Realtime is an audio guide published by Japan-based White Rabbit Press to help non-Japanese sightseers on walking tours. The company has also released guides for Shinjuku and Kabukicho.

And now White Rabbit Press is featuring Akihabara, with Patrick W. Galbraith as your navigator, who is the administrator of Otaku2 (an otaku information website for non-Japanese) and who conducts tours of Akihabara dressed in a cosplay costume of Goku from Dragon Ball. Galbraith’s code name when serving as a tour conductor: Gaigokujin, a play on words that mixes the Japanese word for “foreigner” (“gaikokujin”) and the character name “Goku.” The Akihabara guide has recordings for visiting locales such as Radio Kaikan, maid cafes and Mandarake, as well as explanations of Akihabara’s history and of otaku (nerd) culture, like itasha (a car that has anime or game characters decorating the body). In addition, also included is commentary by Otaku USA editor-in-chief Patrick Macias and Danny Choo, the administrator of dannychoo.com, a Japan pop culture website with over 20 million monthly page views by 2 million visitors.

The audio content is currently on sale for download at White Rabbit Press’ website for $12. There are also future plans to sell a packaged edition with a set containing the audio guide CD, an Akihabara map and a photo collection.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

TOKYO REALTIME

Otaku Encyclopedia (Akiba Today)