Hiroko's Hitokoto

Bunkyo-do, one of the major book chain store, and Doutor Coffee will open a book store that has a cafe -- just like North America. The cafe will occupy about 30% of the total floorspace, and customers will be able to enjoy their books while drinking espresso. The cafe is called "Excelsior Cafe" and it has a green and white logo with nice furniture. I'm sure that you are aware that this cafe looks similar to a famous coffee shop chain from Seattle... The purpose of combine cafe and book store together is to increase the time that customers spend at the cafe. The idea is good, and it is already successful in the USA. But, the Japanese system does have a difference: you can't bring books into the cafe if you haven't paid for them yet. This is different to North America, where you can read any books you want at the cafe in the book store. I guess this is a classic example of how concepts can translate differently.

Did you receive many Christmas cards last year? The season's hit product was cards which have a small ceramic piezo speaker that plays music when you open them. Well, now there's a new product called "Melody Bag", very creative name (NOT). It has a switch in the handle, and plays music when you open the bag. You can have music of your choosing, and they only cost JPY600 each for a minimum quantity of 5,000. If I was going to add a tune to a shopping bag, it would have to be the Beatles tune, that starts with "You never give me your money..."