What was big in 2007

SMBC consulting has released "What was big in 2007" ranking.　As usual, they use Sumo Banzuke format (East vs West).

No1. Nintendo DS & Wii (EAST) - PASMO (WEST)
I am using PASMO. Since the card is automatically charged , I don't need to line and buy train or bus ticket anymore. It's very convenient. ODAKYU railway will start a new service with PASMO. When a kid passes a train gate, a notice mail arrives at his family's cell phone. A family can know where their kid is. Good service. By the way, Nintendo DS and Wii got the Yokozuna last year too. Hmm, strong. Sometimes I feel we may turn everything about Japan over to Toyota and Nintendo. I really hate this guy actually.

No2. Premium products (EAST) - Billy's Boot Camp (WEST)
I wrote the Premium beer was trend. After a long recession, finally people started to open their wallets? Before summer, I expected we might enjoy a perfect good economy, but after the subprime crisis, economic recovery seems to be pausing or even back to worse again. I guess Billy will get Yokozuna (No.1) but I missed the tip again. Ha

No3. Eco Bag (EAST) - Design cafe (WEST)
Design cafe doesn't mean various types of fetish cafes , it means concept cafe like Train cafe, Temple cafe, Jazz café. I picked Koyasan cafe in Omotesando.

No4. Mega Mac (EAST) - KidZania (WEST)
Mega Mac led to a boom of Mega food, yesterday I wrote about the fuss on Yoshinoya .　I wish I had KidZania Tokyo when I was a kid. It seems a great place for children.

No5. Tokyo Mid Town (EAST) - Miyazaki brand (WEST)
I hardly wrote about both of them in my blog. Actually I have never been to Tokyo Mid Town. Looks boring for me.

No6. White Plan (EAST) - Josei no Hinkaku (WEST)
White Plan is a mobile cheaper price plan of SoftBank. SoftBank changed the Japanese broadband price already. I expected them to change things for the better on mobile too. I am a big fan of Softbank. Josei no Hinkaku means dignity of women. I didn't read it yet, maybe later. Here is a good article about the author and book.

No7. Sen no Kazeni Natte (EAST) - Frixion pens (WEST)
The original lyric of "Sen no..." is an American poem "Do not stand at my grave and weep." "Senno kaze ni natte" was titled "I am a thousand winds that blow" that is a line of the original poet. It was translated into Japanese and made into a song, and it was big hit since last year end. Frixion series are erasable color pens by the power of friction. Here is the sample video . Wow, great! Since I hardly use pens anymore, I didn't know about his products at all.

No8. MLB (DiceK, Ichiro) (EAST) - cell phone novel (WEST)
I hope Daisuke Matsunaga plays better next year. Some of the best seller books in 2007 were published on mobile phones first. One of them was made into the this movie "Koizora". Like that movie, the target of mobile novels would be young people. I have never read these novels. Oh well, I am not young.

No9. Awa no Chikara (Bubble power) (EAST) - Crocs (WEST)
Awa no Chikara is a bubble dish soap. Here is the TV ad. I didn't use it yet, but I will try. Crocs were big in Japan in good ways and bad ways too. They got to be very popular but also many kids had accidents on escalators , so they got a bad reputation later.

No10. An inconvenient Truth (EAST) - AXE (WEST)
Since An Inconvenient Truth was released in Japan this year, it was ranked in. I wonder why Al Gore doesn't run for president? It is good timing. Yeah, I picked the crazy web of AXE here and here.

What was big in 2006
What was big in 2005
What was big in 2004

Comments

[Mari]

my personal big news. I broke three note PCs.
orz...........

[Martin F]

I love the song, Sen no kaze ni natte... It is actually an old Navaho poem. I hope it can become famous all over the world.

[bshock]

Yahoo News had a story about one of the "design cafes" mentioned in the blog entry, I think.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071204/lf_nm_life/japan_cats_cafe_dc_1

"The 14 felines-in-residence at Tokyo's Cat Cafe Calico excel at their job of making customers purr with delight."

Cute idea.

[Sarah]

Al Gore DID run for president. He lost to Bush. :(