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Japanese gadget vendor Thanko opens global online store

SCORE 1,651 Rick Martin Rick Martin
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If you like strange and wonderful gadgets from Japan, chances are you have probably already seen some of Thanko’s products. The USB necktie fan and the ridiculous smartphone self-shot extension stick are just a couple of the unusual devices that you can buy on Thanko’s website. But now the company has launched a new website aimed at bringing these items to fans the world over. RareMonoShop.jp went live this week, and if you reside outside Japan you can now order a wide array of useless junk awesome stuff from their website. While most of the items are pretty off-the-wall, I admit some of them actually look useful – I wouldn’t mind picking up a ‘lying-on-your-back desk’ for example. In its announcement, Thanko explains a little more about its expansion: Till now, we were operating within the domestic market due to distribution-related issues. But after working out the details of an overseas payment system based on “PayPal” and product delivery using EMS and international mail, we have now opened the new service for the global market. The new shop will offer a 10% discount on purchases over $50 dollars for the rest of July (coupon code SP10), so if there’s anything…

thanko-raremono

If you like strange and wonderful gadgets from Japan, chances are you have probably already seen some of Thanko’s products. The USB necktie fan and the ridiculous smartphone self-shot extension stick are just a couple of the unusual devices that you can buy on Thanko’s website.

But now the company has launched a new website aimed at bringing these items to fans the world over. RareMonoShop.jp went live this week, and if you reside outside Japan you can now order a wide array of useless junk awesome stuff from their website. While most of the items are pretty off-the-wall, I admit some of them actually look useful – I wouldn’t mind picking up a ‘lying-on-your-back desk’ for example.

In its announcement, Thanko explains a little more about its expansion:

Till now, we were operating within the domestic market due to distribution-related issues. But after working out the details of an overseas payment system based on “PayPal” and product delivery using EMS and international mail, we have now opened the new service for the global market.

The new shop will offer a 10% discount on purchases over $50 dollars for the rest of July (coupon code SP10), so if there’s anything on the site that you’d like to buy, now is the time to get it.

Thanko-bed-desk-for-laptop
Thanko’s lying-on-your-back desk

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Hand-powered personal fan promises to be big in Japan this summer

Yukari Mitsuhashi Yukari Mitsuhashi
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Summer in Japan can be very humid and uncomfortable. Paper fans and parasols are what people usually use to beat the heat, but there might be a better solution. This coming summer, people can try out a battery-free portable fan called Kuru-Kuru Eco Fan, developed by Takaratomy. The first version of this eco-fan was released in April of last year with over 120,000 items shipped. The original fan required the user to turn the handle, but this reworked version is powered when you squeeze the handle which then triggers the fan blade to turn (see picture above). With one squeeze, the fan turns more than 50 times. Suited for both adults and children, the fan’s handle is only 5.5 cm wide (in the open position), and weighs just 51 grams. The three fan blades are made of soft material making it safe for children to use. All it takes is a squeeze of the handle and you can enjoy a nice breeze. Your other hand is, of course, free to use your smartphone. Kuru-Kuru Eco Fan is priced at just 787 yen, or about $8. It comes with a strap to hold it around your neck, and extra design patterns…

kurukuru-eco-fan

Summer in Japan can be very humid and uncomfortable. Paper fans and parasols are what people usually use to beat the heat, but there might be a better solution. This coming summer, people can try out a battery-free portable fan called Kuru-Kuru Eco Fan, developed by Takaratomy.

The first version of this eco-fan was released in April of last year with over 120,000 items shipped. The original fan required the user to turn the handle, but this reworked version is powered when you squeeze the handle which then triggers the fan blade to turn (see picture above). With one squeeze, the fan turns more than 50 times.

Suited for both adults and children, the fan’s handle is only 5.5 cm wide (in the open position), and weighs just 51 grams. The three fan blades are made of soft material making it safe for children to use. All it takes is a squeeze of the handle and you can enjoy a nice breeze. Your other hand is, of course, free to use your smartphone.

Kuru-Kuru Eco Fan is priced at just 787 yen, or about $8. It comes with a strap to hold it around your neck, and extra design patterns which you can use to dress it up a bit. The fan is part of Takaratomy’s Eco Toy initiative, aimed to create toys that are friendly to the enviroment.

Speaking of summer, character goods merchandiser called Runat released a silicon ice cube tray called Manga Gori, or Manga Ice. The tray makes ice cubes that are shaped like onmatopoeic words often seen in manga. The clever ice cube tray is available on Amazon for 1029 yen, or about $10.

manga-ice

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Japanese gadget maker King Jim to sell 360° video meeting recorder

Rick Martin Rick Martin
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Japanese novelty gadget vendor King Jim has created a device for recording video of your company meetings. Intended to be a solution to taking meeting minutes, the aptly named ‘Meeting Recorder’ is equipped with four cameras and an omni directional microphone. The device can record both video and audio of all attendees, capturing a 360 degree view of the meeting room, which you can then play back later. The files are stored on an SD card, and can be easily transferred to your PC [1]. Meeting Recorder can also be used as a web camera for use in teleconferences, creating a four-person split screen view for the participants who join virtually. Normally, it’s hard to get a good view from a single webcam when you have multiple people in the meeting, so this is a handy solution. King Jim’s Meeting Recorder goes on sale on April 19th in Japan, and comes with a price tag of 34,650 yen (or about $350). A 4GB SD card is included, which is good for about two hours of video recording.  ↩

king-jim-meeting-recorder-wide

Japanese novelty gadget vendor King Jim has created a device for recording video of your company meetings. Intended to be a solution to taking meeting minutes, the aptly named ‘Meeting Recorder’ is equipped with four cameras and an omni directional microphone.

The device can record both video and audio of all attendees, capturing a 360 degree view of the meeting room, which you can then play back later. The files are stored on an SD card, and can be easily transferred to your PC [1].

Meeting Recorder can also be used as a web camera for use in teleconferences, creating a four-person split screen view for the participants who join virtually. Normally, it’s hard to get a good view from a single webcam when you have multiple people in the meeting, so this is a handy solution.

King Jim’s Meeting Recorder goes on sale on April 19th in Japan, and comes with a price tag of 34,650 yen (or about $350).

king-jim-meeting-recorder

  1. A 4GB SD card is included, which is good for about two hours of video recording.  ↩

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