Tokyo Stories tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2008-04-19://1 2010-01-01T18:07:24Z Why trivial things are the way they are - Fumiko Ichikawa Movable Type Pro 4.23-en Phone Number Implies tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2010://1.119 2010-01-01T17:45:06Z 2010-01-01T18:07:24Z An old theater house beautifully restored in Toyooka, Hyogo. Large panels placed on both sides of the theater hall are advertisements years ago. The word TEL and following telephone numbers show, that back in those days you only had three... Fumiko
A number of digits required in a phone number naturally implies complexity (different operators, systems), phone penetration, and the number of people with phone access. In this context, it was more the time and history I felt while I strolled around the beautifully kitsch posters of the hall.

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]]> Toilet + Try = Trylet tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2010://1.118 2010-01-01T17:31:12Z 2010-01-01T17:58:01Z At TOTO show room in Shinjuku. The famous shower toilets can actually be tried out at their toilet facility labeled as "Trylet". A subtle fun.... Fumiko
A subtle fun.
]]> A presence of Sticky Notes tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.117 2009-12-20T19:35:59Z 2009-12-20T20:02:55Z It is a known fact in Japan, that first-year employees go through many trainings. Take business cards for example. If you meet a client and exchange business cards, you should never present your business card in a higher position than... Fumiko you should never present your business card in a higher position than your client. Such small but essential tips for Japanese business are one of the few things people typically learn in the first year of their first company.

But recently I learned something interesting. Someone who works for an ad agency told me, that in his first year he learned how to use sticky notes. He was instructed that he should write neat letters because clients have to read them. He also told me that he learned that he should place post-it notes in a straight line, both vertically and horizontally. He didn't explain the reason why, but it could perhaps be to save space and make sure clients find them easy to read.

His explanation convinced me how important the group communication is increasingly important in business. And I heard from my fellow design researchers that they are now using mini post-its a lot for mobile or personal affinity wall/desk/note creation to make their brain work in the same way as in the workshop. Now these approximately 5 cm x 5 cm pads come in a recycled paper with a nice recycled carbon box, too.

I am practicing their tips and also doing the same for myself. It works really well when I am preparing for the interview to organize questions. I recommend that my fellow researchers to try this, too.

 


]]> A Reason for Leapfrogging tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.116 2009-11-01T07:27:49Z 2009-11-01T07:50:27Z Photo by: Benoist Sebire, all rights reserved.Back when I was in Beijing, I loved listening to stories from my friends about the old times when they were younger. One of my particular favorite was the story from my friend who... Fumiko Photo by: Benoist Sebire, all rights reserved.

Back when I was in Beijing, I loved listening to stories from my friends about the old times when they were younger. One of my particular favorite was the story from my friend who spent her childhood in XiAn.

One day when she was back from high school, she realized there were some strange things built on the street. With funny orange hoods and some sort of equipment underneath, it took her some time to realize they were what people call as phone-booths. She also told me that back in those days not many people actually realized what they are for, and found a few families ripping them off the streets, bringing them back home as a new piece for display.

What surprised me was that this story only took place 18 years ago. Since then, pagers appeared and very quickly, mobile phones came and penetrated the entire country. If we simply look at how vast the country is, and how much effort has to be made to complete the infrastructure, it is no surprise that mobile phones quickly swept over the landlines. But to those like me, who experienced these changes in much longer time span, it strikes almost as an agressive evolution.

And what is left behind, is a collection of bare cables tangled and hanging from houses. They may still work, who knows, I often saw amazing old antiquities work after a few strong slaps. But perhaps it is not the most serious issue any longer, as we now have mobile phones, which work perfectly without all these physical, tangible complexities.

Leapfrogging takes place for a reason. And the reasons would remain visible to our eyes.
]]> Japan Minimum Wage tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.115 2009-10-23T11:40:18Z 2009-10-23T11:57:12Z The Ministry of Welfare and Labor has been placing posters concerning the minimum wages in railway stations in Tokyo. According to the poster, the current minimum wage per hour is 791JPY (approximately 9USD). According to the United States of Labor,... Fumiko
According to the United States of Labor, The federal minimum wage is 7.25 USD per hour effective July 24, 2009. In UK, it's 5.8 British Pounds (about 9.6USD).

It is hard to grasp the notion of this value, but I sincerely hope that people are paid for their work. Although the statistics show Japanese are working less than earlier, everyone who works in Japan knows that is a complete lie. Most people are working overtime with fake hour reports. Professions like doctors, they all write contracts that they will never sue their workplace regardless of how much they work. I hope that the renewed government is aware that to overcome the economy crisis, the current superficial work-life balance should change soon.
]]> A Geek Census? tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.114 2009-10-22T00:23:31Z 2009-10-24T14:09:15Z If you have wondered why there are so many adults flocking on the street with Nintendo DS in their hands, here is your answer: Dragon Quest 9. The new sequel was released early summer in Japan and its wireless feature... Fumiko
The feature is called Surechigai Tsushin, the passer-by transmission, and enables the players to exchange characters, maps, and items within the game. The transaction is taking place all over Japan, and we know this statistically: Square Enix, the company which produced the game, released the information they have collected as Population Census. Based on this there has been over 15 million characters exchanged in Tokyo prefecture. Even in one of the least populated and aging prefecture Shimane, they found 41,000 characters exchanged in past two and a half months.

DragonQuest_Map.jpgI visited the website, however, at moment I do not see too much data that seem to reveal more than the popularity of characters and killed monsters. I hope in future this could turn out to be something that would reveal something more fundamental about players' behaviors and motivations.

Dragon Quest IX Census, Square Enix: http://member.square-enix.com/jp/special/dq/dqix/census/
]]> One Of Few Effective Ways to Use QR Codes tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.113 2009-10-13T06:48:37Z 2009-10-13T06:52:15Z At Hakuhodo entrance. Visitors will receive entry cards with QR codes to be swiped at the office entrance. This is such a clever solution since the reception can issue as many cards one needs; and when visitors leave, they can... Fumiko
This is such a clever solution since the reception can issue as many cards one needs; and when visitors leave, they can just take the card with them, as codes would be only valid for the day.
]]> SAL player, connecting physically tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.112 2009-09-28T06:21:53Z 2009-09-28T06:59:10Z Japan may be a country of gadgets, but when it comes to recording videos and sharing them, it has been a disaster: Most operators have so far limiting the file sizes as 150KB, and local sharing is limited to Infrared... Fumiko
That does not mean that Japanese consumers have been uninterested in taking videos. To the contrary, we all know that Japanese tourists are inseparable with video cameras.

While in US we are increasingly inexpensive, portable camcorders like Flip, the design-driven electronics firm amadana has come up with its own solution: SAL.

Apart from the fancy colors, there is nothing remarkable to its spec. The device allows video captures up to 2GB, and the resolution is fixed to 640 x 480. But I have been intrigued as I heard from several sources that the device is popular among moms. Why? Could it be once again the appearance that is single-handedly driving the purchasing?

20090928_0058.jpgI do not have the definite answer but based on my experience, the local sharing can be one attractive factor. Amadana shops in Tokyo allow us to rent SAL, and as I tried, I found out that the local sharing can be done by using their two USB ports. By putting one SAL device on top of another and docking them via USB, you can copy movies you have created easily.

The trick is fairly simple, but learning to exchange files wirelessly and relatively painfully, there was something really assuring and fun about this interaction. The interaction is surely practical, but it also gave something pleasurable to watch as a third person observing the action.

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One disappointment, is that devices have to be placed on top of each other. If devices can be docked as two people hold the device towards each other, I believe that would have been more natural.

One minor drawback is that the device still asks you to select whether you are the host or the recipient. Since it is always the device on the top which transfer the files, I hope the developer will eventually remove this extra process in near future.

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A nice detail: Two USB ports come with small slides so there will be no ugly ports exposed.




]]> Security, The Motivation tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.111 2009-09-17T05:16:36Z 2009-09-17T05:34:46Z Photos from an year old super high-tech apartment building in a suburb of Tokyo. The photo above shows an elevator hall with a CCD monitor which captures the passengers inside the lift, making sure that there is nothing strange taking... Fumiko
The photo above shows an elevator hall with a CCD monitor which captures the passengers inside the lift, making sure that there is nothing strange taking place inside.

Then the photo below shows a high-tech door bell, which automatically records a video clip of your visitor at the entrance (by the way that is me in the monitor screen). The monitor comes with a feature to play back the clips and record them onto a memory card if necessary.

While I was surprised how old houses are well kept and continues to provide great homes in Europe, I am equally surprised how Japanese housing industry keeps on adding features to what they provide. Security in a large apartment block is certainly an issue in Japan, but how quickly the technology is providing solutions to those problems, is something. If I were to be rather critical, I wonder how much are they used? Any negative impact other than positive ones? I hope the industry also have decent answers rather than mere solutions.

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]]> Setting the Default for the Environment, or Adjusting One tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.110 2009-09-17T02:31:13Z 2009-09-17T05:35:24Z For a long time, Japan has been suffering from the increasing energy consumption during the summer. The peak always took place in the early afternoon. The cause of the rise, was of course, the air conditioning system, the primary means... Fumiko
However, for a few years now, the peak has been decreasing. There are few explanations to this, like the government and the industry campaigns. But one of them is definitely the industry's initiative, to set the air conditioning system's default temperature to 28 degrees, which is relatively high for a cooling system here in Japan.
 
While it is interesting to find out that a small, non-technical solution can be found for a big problem, it is even more interesting that some behaviours that seem so irrelevant and harmless can cause a big problem. A video clip from BBC's Britain From Above tells me that it can as well be a television that defines the peak. Power surges called TV pickup, is caused by the boiling of a water for tea taking place at the endtime of a drama like Eastenders. The pickup, according to the video clip, is equivalent of one-and-a-half million kettles boiling at the same time.

Although these are completely two different things, both Japan and Britain's cases are about routines or unconscious habits and adjusting one. And what can be the solution? What happens if mobile TV becomes as popular as in Japan? Will people feel more comfortable to pour TV during the program? How about HDD recorders, will people start watching TV in a different hours? And it is just me to sense, that there I see another room for studying people's behaviours?

]]> Sharing your experience and some obvious consequences tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.109 2009-09-17T00:27:06Z 2009-09-17T05:35:56Z Video games, they aren't cheap. Popular titles like pokemon, unless you buy them in second hand stores, they can cost around 60 Euros. And this is particularly a fortune for their target audience who are often below 10 years old.So... Fumiko
So it is very natural that many kids spend a lot of time investigating what games they should buy. In most cases, they have two occasions they could get their games they want: birthday and Christmas. While birthdays differ by children, Christmas, always come at the same time of the year. And I believe, that is why many game titles start appearing this time of the year. For example, new Pokemon titles, called Heart Gold and Soul Silver, have just hit the shelf this month (and sold out). It is a perfect time for trendsetter kids to show off and for mainstream kids to convince their parents that the Christmas present should be Pokemon.

When we ask children how they decide what games they would buy, most kids raise their two fundamental source of information: TV ads and their friends. While advertisements they see between their favorite anime broadcasting is a conventional game, the word of little mouths are growing stronger. Why? Because friends, they not only tell you how the game is like, but they let you try out the actual game.

Game cards, they are often taken out from the original package and placed in a small plastic card case. The case is carried everywhere and whenever they go out and play. Naturally, your friends will know what games you have and discuss about their impression of the game. And if you are really interested, you might as well ask if you can borrow the game, typically, in an exchange for another game. Exchanging game cards let children explore and identify a potential game to buy. I expected the exchange duration to be no more than a week, but some say card exchanges could go up to a few months.

And when game sharing takes place between multiple people, children start to lose track of where cards are. Nearly everyone I spoke to had an experience of losing a game or two. Some even lost the entire card case. Considering how much they have invested on these cards, this must be a really painful experience. Or let me put this way: If I were their parents, I would be absolutely mad!
 
What surprised me more, was how little these children were prepared for the presumed possibility of losing these cards. The owner of this card holder in the photo at least  made an effort of writing his name on labels and placed small stickers as his identity. But these supposedly permanent inks, they wear out. And since these game cards go through card slots, putting stickers on the surface may not be the best idea.

I see there is a substantial space at the back of the card. How about creating a dedicated space, at least to put names? Or what is more, can't there be any digital solution, to safely identify the location of your card? After all, most kids, don't they give names to the characters in the games they play?


]]> Objects with History, My Observation tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.108 2009-09-04T02:17:34Z 2009-09-17T05:36:33Z Inspired by Jan's blog post about objects showing layers of history.If you have ever visited a Japanese home, you might have perhaps come across with one of these: plastic drawers. Plastic drawers are particularly found useful because they are inexpensive,... Fumiko Jan's blog post about objects showing layers of history.

If you have ever visited a Japanese home, you might have perhaps come across with one of these: plastic drawers. Plastic drawers are particularly found useful because they are inexpensive, stackable and provides an additional storage space in Japanese homes. And because they are made out of tasteless and plain plastics, they also make a perfect target for customization. In fact, I saw dozens of these drawers turned into canvas for children of the house. 

Stickers show their present and previous interest in certain animation characters, monsters, and action heros. In some cases, they are football or baseball players. No matter what those stickers describe, they are often placed in multiple layers, showing their interests change over time. Or perhaps, the idea of collecting and placing stickers become too childish for one, and their brothers or sisters have taken over the control. It is, precisely, layers of history.

What is that they communicate to you? An abundance of anime in Japan? An obsession to stickers? Or another communication tactics, through typical freebies people get from cereal boxes or furikake, the rice toppings? Whatever the interest is, this will be another checkpoint for me as a researcher for sure.

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]]> Observing Children's Precious tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.106 2009-08-20T18:07:40Z 2009-09-17T05:37:01Z One observation after visiting homes of children between 10 and 14. The above photo shows a 13-year-old boy's collection of football cards. With so many professional football players moving from one team to another, his collection is required to be... Fumiko
The above photo shows a 13-year-old boy's collection of football cards. With so many professional football players moving from one team to another, his collection is required to be updated every year. Naturally, the deck easily contained a few hundreds.

He was obviously sakkaa-otaku, a football fanatic; he plays football almost everyday, and his favorite game was Winning Eleven 2008; he hardly reads, except the football magazine. It was very obvious why he decided the theme of his collection. Although this theme, or the a target of collection may differ, it is nevertheless a gem of information which tells researchers about the boy or the girl's interest and its intensity.

During the interview, it appeared that some children were frustrated as they could not find the right word to express themselves. There may be some individual differences, but in general, I believe this is the case as they are in a middle of a transition before adulthood. But once we ask them to show such collectables, their facial expression brightens and the conversation starts to flow again. There is even a glimpse of pride as they were provided with an opportunity to show an ignorant adult, what their world is like and what they have accomplished.

Collectables, are definitely not to miss.

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]]> Public Charging tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.105 2009-07-27T07:49:07Z 2009-07-27T07:52:49Z Fumiko Another Election Time tag:www.tokyo-stories.com,2009://1.102 2009-07-08T01:20:10Z 2009-07-08T01:46:55Z Tokyo assembly election has officially started last Friday, and we started to see candidates placing posters since then. The election outcome is considered very significant as it would most likely determine the timing of the national election which many presume... Fumiko
Apart from manifestos and parties each candidate belong to, I could not help noticing that many only had a simple URL: QR barcodes, which occupied a corner of every poster in earlier elections, were not used. For instance, out of eight candidates for the Shinjuku district, there was only one with that familiar black and white square.

TokyoAssemblyElectionThis is only my assumption, but there has been some discussions about the QR code for some time. Reading QR code with a camera phone is easy and accurate, but apart from saving the effort from typing URLs, it did not substantially change the experience.

In addition, in elections' case, URLs with candidates names on, is good enough. The Japanese voting system is very basic, and each voter has to write down the candidate's name on a piece of paper. Voters should at least be aware of candidate's names, which in most cases match with the URLs they are using to promote themselves.

Ultimately Suica and other touch experience really hightens the expectation for easy, accurate, and quick user interactions, and perhaps QR code has already been considered too clumsy. It would be interesting to see, perhaps in a next election, what technologies we would see around these posters.

The election will take place on July 12th. Meanwhile, as I would be away from Tokyo during the time, have already cast my vote. I just brought the voter's card they sent at home (image below), the election staff read the barcode from the card and that was it. Again, I was amazed to see the amount of trust the system puts on home address. 

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