Hiroko's Hitokoto

I'm back from the vacation this week, and thanks to all of your support, there were no major problems in the office! During my vacation, I found some very useful tools for having BBQs, while wandering through a mall in US. One is a big Serving Fork with a built-in Thermometer. The other is a spatula which tells you when to turn the hamburger. I saw a lot of people buying groceries for BBQs, but didn't see anyone buying these tools... It was not hard to imagine that a lot of fathers were planning BBQs during the weekend because the weather was great. Maybe I should've bought them for my father since he loves BBQs, too. Kawai-soo, I missed his Father's Day this year because I was on vacation.

17 years ago, Nintendo started selling Fami-con's (Family computers). I can recall the sensation it caused, because now you could play games at home instead of having to go to an arcade and slip in coins every time you wanted to kill off a few Space Invaders. It was impressive to see how in a few short months, Nintendo became very popular overseas, too. I read an article recently that says the young generation of Japan is now used to playing with computers (through games), by using thumb controlled mini joysticks, rather than keyboards or mice. Since DoCoMo was smart enough to include such a user interface device in the i-mode, this apparently is one major reason why the phones have been so much more successful than pen-operated devices. Compared to the games of today, the early games look so easy and simple. The new complexity is thanks to thousands of programmers and designers who make a living by playing games. But sometimes I wish that I could go back to the old days, especiall...

When I went shopping the other day, I found Rika-chan dolls with tanned, bleached hair, and in a high school uniform! Rika-chan is like Barbie here in Japan, and almost all girls of my age used to play with one. So you can imagine our surprise when we see her in a high school uniform with a short skirt, tanned face and pearl lips! The amazing thing is that these dolls come with the correct uniform of any high school in Japan. You can even order one from a "catholic high school in Kobe". I didn't have chance to see what kind of people buy these, but it looks like the most popular one is a Rika-chan complete with cowboy hat and short pink skirt. Maybe you've seen her on the street in Shibuya?