Glass blowing isn’t just an art, it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle for Tomoko Nangu, who specializes in the art of glass blowing. He focuses on crafting tonbo-damas (meaning “dragonfly ball”) for both traditional Japanese clothes and western clothes, alike. Tonbo-damas are glass beads with a hole in the center which were used in conjunction with the traditional clothing of Japan. ...

French design house Louis Vuitton has a reputation for ostentatious urban displays and Tokyo is a hotbed of over-the-top luxury consumption, so it should come as no surprise that Vuitton’s planned Tokyo flagship store is going to have an innovative design. Vuitton is being tight-lipped about when their Tokyo store will open and where in the city it will be ...

This one is blowing my mind, so see if you can follow along. Toyota today announced a “partner robot” that is supposed to help carry you around. Also known as a PTA (Personal Transportation Assistant), you could think of it as a Segway with AI. It’s called the Winglet and it will come in three different models: The “L”, “M” ...

In Japan, you can find a plethora of unique things that you simply won’t find anywhere else. From vending machines to robots, a lot of products are like ones you’ve never witnessed before. This time around, it’s a spa called Saltasia. As the name implies, this spa is heavily salt-based. Salt lines each room and is supposed to promote anti-aging ...

The main reason you bought a Playstation 3 was probably due to Killzone 2 or Playstation Home, Sony’s new online service that’s supposed to be something like Xbox Live meets Second Life. You and your friends can meet up with your avatars, talk, chat, shoot the shit and so on. Oh, and more importantly, you can play games together too. ...

What in the blue fuck is this thing? The strangest looking compact three wheel concept car we’ve ever seen, even stranger than the Cerva MC08. It’s called the Kassou, which means “glide” in Japanese and it’s from designer Britisher Dunderdale. It came in second place at the Car Design News Contest 2008, most likely due to it’s unique flexible rubber ...

Toilet paper isn’t exactly the most exciting thing in a household. I’d say it borders somewhere above Q-tips and below the dishtowel. Now you can spice up your bathroom with this $50 TP holder from Japan. It’s called the Airyusha Robotan Toilet Paper Holder and comes in either black, red, yellow or silver/metallic. Made from ceramic, the toilet paper is ...

Japanese mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo is experimenting with this mind boggling approach to mobile device control that’s sure to give anyone an eye headache worse than TV coming through your glasses. How does it work? Firstly, no hands are needed. Simply move your eyes up or down to raise volume, accordingly. To skip a track, look right twice. Currently, ...

When it comes to climbing, backpacks are an important part of your apparel. They carry all of your food, equipment and in some rare instances something beneficially misplaced. That’s where the O2 Bag comes in. The Japanese adventure supply company, Ymup has equipped this ordinary backpack with a battery-powered oxygen generator, making those ascents into thin-air environments all the more ...

The Japanese aren’t the only ones who are Star Wars crazy. The fans know the difference between an actual Millennium Falcon and one made out of batter. Japan held a Star Wars celebration for fans of the epic sci-fi saga to come show off their designs and art related to Star Wars, like that AT-AT from the streets. Bonnie Burton ...