Japan Inc., which was once famous for more serious products like the Sony Walkman, Nikon cameras and Toyota cars is busy exporting the cute culture - Pokemon video games, bubble-headed Hello Kitty, Tamagotchi virtual pet, and the singing duo Puffy are just to name a few.  Japan’s global image is changing to cute-worshipping nation.  Cute is now cool in Japan. You can see mobile phones decorated with cartoon pictures, restaurant waitresses in cute looking frilly maid outfits, bows and ribbons decorating bags.

Japan Railways is also changing its image with this craze for cute things. To keep the people happy, you can find trains decorated with cute and colorful pictures of Japanese Anime and Manga characters like Doraimon,  Pokemon, Ultraman and Pikacho.  Surely my kids and wife are very happy when they commuite in such trains.

Even Japanese car makers like Suzuki and Nissan recently launched cute looking cars to attract the Japanese women.  Nissan’s Pino, a 660 cc mini car can be customized and decorated with stuffed animals, patterned seat covers with hearts and pink bear-shaped cushions, matching tissue covers, and handbags,  cd cases etc.

Technorati Tags: Japanese art, Japan, Cute, Kawaii, Anime, Manga, Japanese car, Nissan, Pino

This week is an important holiday for most businesses in Japan. Most used car dealers in our network as well as Japanese used car auction houses also observe holiday in the first week of the new year.

Japanese people typically welcome the New Year in tradional fashion. We clean our houses and offices before the new year begins, and have traditional new year decorations made from pine, bamboo and plum trees at the entrance of homes and shops.  On the new year eve, families will get together and welcome the new year by eating soba noodles which symbolize longevity.  A visit to a temple or shrine for offering prayers is a must for every Japanese in the new year holidays.

Daruma Dolls

Many Japanese people or even businesses will buy a Daruma doll at the new year.  Daruma doll is one of the most popular talismans of good luck in Japan.  A daruma doll as shown in the picture is a armless, legless and eyeles doll made from papier mache.  On the new year day, people will make a wish or resolution and paint one of the eyes of the daruma doll. At the end of the year, when their wish is fulfilled, they will paint the second eye and offer the doll at the temple.  May all your wishes in the new year come true !

Technorati Tags: Japan, New Year, Japanese, used car auction, holiday, Daruma doll

We cannot live without products from overseas, especially in Japan, since we do not have enough nature resource and cost to produce them here, so we have to outsource and buy them from foreign countries. While we depend on them, lots of Japan based companies moved their factories to Asian countries, for example China, Thailand, Indonesia and so on, hire locals with inexpensive salary than Japan, and lecture the method to work. Our country, Japan, was the same in our old days, we could be developing with assistance of foreign countries. Now our position has been changed, developing to developed. We have to teach them not only how to work but also importance of hygiene, sanitation and safe for food production, the reason why so is, no one allowed to threaten the others health.

In Best Trading, we have no staff who got having that bad food, we are very fine. I have no idea when and where poison was into the foods, and who…in fact, it’s doubtful of deliberate accident, according to some newspaper. It is uncertain at this moment, however, I am looking for the truth coming out and the time we can eat anything with no worries.

Technorati Tags: Japanese TV show, frozen food, Japan, poison victim, meat dumpling

“Happy New Year”
it become Greetingfor annual event.
How do you all spend New Year in your country?

it is important and traditional than Christmas, not only Japan but also any other far east countries.

we will introduce one of the traditional we normally do then.
named “Kagami-mochi”, means rice cake with Orange on the top.
it is said that Kagami-mochi was given to the God when Boys go for the war and Girls have good health for a gift long time ago.

since then, it is custom of New Year to pray health at the beginning year.
after New Year passed by, we will cut and eat them so that we can get good luck for 1 year, named “Kagami-Biraki”

we hope we introduce our custom of New Year annually 

Technorati Tags: Happy, New Year, Greeting, annual event, spend, traditional, far east countries, “Kagami-mochi”, custom

We are going to have New Years Holidays from 29th December 2007 to 6th January 2008.

I know you are wondering why Japanese people take such long holidays at the ending and beginning of the year, and also I know people living outside Japan do have holiday on 1st January, New Year’s Day.

We’re very sorry if we are delay to answer you about inquires between holidays, however, I’m sure we will reply to you on 7th January 2008.

I look forward to meeting many customers around the world and talk about something in 2008.

And…we hope you have a lovely New Year’s Day!!

Best Regards,
Kenji Yoshimoto
President
Best Trading Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan)

Technorati Tags: New Years Holidays, Japanese, Japan

(This is Shinjuku night, about 3 minutes by walk from our office)

We have 4 working days in 2007 and will waiting for your inquires about purchasing vehicles in 2008!!

Technorati Tags: Japan, Christmas

Me and my staff and family

We finished working till 4:30pm, went to there by Train, takes about 30 minutes to nearest Station, Named Maihama, because had to meet them till 6 pm to get into using After-6 passport that cheaper than whole-day one.

Christmas limited event was shown in the sea as soon as we entered the Fantastic world in Tokyo.Our New Russian Staff was the first time to visit to the Sea. She looks pretty excited and had been taking photo all the time! we are happy that she really enjoys to being there and with us.

one of Object in Disney sea.

What we do first, was a get some foods because so much hungry, had not been having any food since lanch today.
We had Donuts and rib chicken to make our tummy full.

Oh…too much people!
Crowed! we do not know why even weekdays so congested?
is Everybody cutting job?(What bout us??)

anyway, We were able to get on the ride without long waiting at the line.
normally have to wait 1-2 hours, however could do in 30 minutes even famous and popular one.we had a brilliant time yesterday with short stay, 4 hours.

Hello, Everyone!

from left: Yukari, Sasha and Rie

We hope we could go with you, all customers of us!

Technorati Tags: Tokyo Disney Sea, Best Trading, Maihama

There is a Sumo wrestler here from Mongol. He speaks Japanese very well like people born in Japan, and the strongest one so far. He used to be very strict for his daily exercises in order to be the top of the wrestler, then, finally he achieved to be “Yokozuna” that is position only eligible man could get. No one object it because everyone admits his power.
No one was being his rival for several years, however, suddenly, Japanese Sumo Association made him exhibit to participate in Sumo tour due to he had absent himself from the summer Sumo tour. The reason why he absent was his sickness…but, he did played soccer in his mother country. Knowing it, many people got angry about that and
thought he had told a lie to go to Mongol. Many people reproached him and deplore the decline of moral in Sumo wrestlers.
I watched many TV shows about this problem several months ago, he is in his country due to his depression caused this criticism, not decided when he would come back to Japan and participate Sumo games.

Another, about Japanese young Sumo wrestler, is related murder.
Although it has not completely proved that it is yet, people think so. A 17-years-old young Sumo wrestler died of many injuries on his whole body at his stable in this July. Police concluded that was die from sickness at first, however, they admitted that was their fault and the truth was death from shock of hits and kicks by his fellows.

How do you think about those problems?
Sumo is one of our best traditional things from Japan. I would like you not to disappeared on it from those problems caused recently, but you to know deep information that never reported abroad.
I think he, Yokozuna from Mongol, cannot be blamed so much because it was on him whether he would participate or not (of course, it was not good that he told a lie.) Rather than it, murder is more grave news for us.

Technorati Tags: Sumo, Sumo wrestler, Yokozuna, Japan

Japanese people used not to get their interest in Japanese culture now. Most of people do behave their lives like American even if we are born nature Japanese. It is not I want to say it is wrong, but, we should respect our culture more and get the way into our life.
Anyway, I love to know about different country’s culture, cultivate and cuisine. I’d like you to meet me at your country next time!!

We are going to meet one of our customer from Maldives next week. I’m looking forward to meeting him and having a good time.

Technorati Tags: Muslim, Eid Festival, Bangladesh, Bangladeshi

Then, do you know who the target of vehicle maker’s sales scheme is?
The answer, I suppose, is car maniacs in manhood. They are not young but can afford to buy car whatever they want. In their youth days, they liked to buy the “middle-grade” passenger car which has 5 or more seater for their family, but their children have been getting growing and independence from parents, finally, some of them have been about age of retirement.
They do not have to spend their earnings on education for children and can spend their money on their hobby!! If there are a lot of car maniacs among them, they are going to boost sales of new car.
Following object is one of reason why I think so, Nissan has already received rushing purchase offers of new GT-R (Official Website), launches on December 2007, unless they had announced all information of it yet. I heard its price would be at least 7,000,000Yen for standard model (actually, it would be possible to be about 8,000,000Yen!!). Who can buy such expensive car!? —Of course, rich person can. Moreover, car maniacs who addicted to old Skyline in the old days have been getting older and now are willing to buy new GT-R, always can’t take their eye’s off it!!

I’m feeling young car maniacs is getting decreasing and they are tend to buy non-expensive car in Japan these days. Vehicle makers attempt to make various car matching their interesting, however, it is not sure that have reached everyone’s mind…
And it is getting easier to buy high-quality used car now through appearing used car distribution like Japanese used car auctions which we buy cars for our customer when we export them.
But we should not forget that, we cannot buy used car without new car because used car was new car when it launched first. Decreasing of sales of new car is serious problem not only for car makers but also for us, used car dealer, in the future.

Toyota is still the best company in Japan. They succeeded to make strongest and loved car, finally, people all over the world love their car. But in Japan, no one take Toyota car considering as special one, needless to say, it is ordinary for everybody. How an ironic it is!!

I would like to expect  the future of Japanese auto industry and Japanese people to love Japanese car…

Technorati Tags: Landcruiser 200, Mark X Zio, GT-R, Toyota, Corolla, Rumion, Mitsubishi, Lancer Evolution X, high-grade car