LOVE: dog statue

Showing posts with label dog statue. Show all posts

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Snoring & Dreaming Japanese Dog - Good For a Laugh

Heck, it's a Friday! Yeah!

Here's a 1 minute video of a dog (Shiba) dreaming and snoring... It's good for a chuckle especially if you've ever owned a dog of your own.

From Unique Daily:

“A sleeping dog, named shibako (pseudonym) is snoring with a funny face!”

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

In Japan, a Dog's Life is Heaven - and the Wine Flows Freely!

Japanese people loves pets, especially dogs. While it is somewhat rare to see a person walking a large dog, like a St. Bernard, it is extremely common to see a housewife walking their minuscule tiny breeds that are everywhere in Japan.

Tokyo, especially, must be the tiny dog capital of the world. In my neighborhood alone I'd say that about 30% ~ 40% of the families have a small dog. Trust folks, when I say, "Small dog" I do mean a very small dog. Many of these dog breeds are smaller than cats.

Tiny Chihuahuas that look like mice (with brains no larger than a peanut) are quite common. People treat these dogs better than their own children. I've never seen such pampered pooches in my entire life! The Japanese go crazy over these dogs and their spending shows it.

The Japan Times Reports:

The average amount spent annually on pet-related expenses by households with at least two members rose 4.6 percent in 2009 from the previous year to ¥18,323, the highest figure since comparable data become available in 1990, according to a recent government survey. While family spending as a whole is on the decrease, there are no signs of recession in the pet industry, as high-priced pet food and stylish clothing are selling well, pet cosmetics, insurance and various other services are now available and medical costs for pets are rising as they live longer, according to the survey.

The article goes on to break down the money spent:

Since 2005, expenses have been growing for five consecutive years.

By generation, people in their 50s spent the most on their pets, at ¥28,951 (about $347 USD annually at 81 yen to the US dollar) on average in the reporting year, which was about 4.7 times the average of people under 30, showing that the middle-aged and above were the main group supporting the market, having finished raising children.

On the other hand, data on single-person households showed that women aged 35 to 59 spent the most on their pets, at ¥20,752 (about $249 USD annually at 81 yen to the US dollar)

The other thing that is common is that these owners (the dog's "moms") treat the dogs like babies. Many people put their dogs in sweaters and sports clothing when taking them out for a walk. Many ladies do not walk their dogs but put them in baby carriages and push the dogs around like they would a 2-year-old.

These dogs have a newer - and cooler - wardrobe than I do

You might think I am joking, but if you've ever been in Tokyo, you know I do not exaggerate about this.

Some of the ladies in my neighborhood will hug their dogs in their arms as they stand and chat for hours on end on the street corners... Sometimes there will be four or five of them all at once yapping away... The wives, I mean, not the dogs.

I think these dogs don't know that they are dogs. They think they are human.

I usually don't really care about dogs too much but just yesterday, I heard something related to dogs that just made me laugh and made me wonder, "Why didn't I think of that first?"

Recently, I have been working with a very popular online wine service in Japan called iwine.jp. iwine.jp is Japan's online wine superstore. You can order wine online and have it delivered anywhere in Japan. It is very simple to use.

Well, what does that have to do with dogs? Bear with me for a second. This gets funny.

Recently, iwine.jp made a deal with the #1 most popular and widely read women's magazine in Japan, "Josei Jishin." Josei Jishin is a gossip magazine for housewives. It is the oldest women's magazine in Japan and is read by over 1.5 million Japanese ladies a week! It is one of those magazines that you see at every beauty salon, nail salon, doctor's office waiting room, well, you get the picture.

There is not a girl in Japan over 18 who doesn't know Josei Jishin. Of course, there isn't a woman dog owner in this country who doesn't know that magazine too!

Josei Jishin

Anyway, Josei Jishin and iwine.jp have started a wine club together and it includes a fortune telling service. Besides dogs, the women in this country LOVE fortune telling. At the fortune telling part, women will be able to enter their birth date, etc., and get their fortune told by a very famous fortune teller and be recommended different wines to drink if they want, say, romance, beauty, luck, success.

This sounds like a lot of fun and I hear it is the first time in Japan that this sort of thing will be launched.

What does this have to do with dogs? Well, besides wines for luck, fortune and love, women will also be able to find...are you ready for it?... Wines to drink with their dogs! I kid you not.

Laugh now, my friends, but I think Josei Jishin and iwine.jp have a wild but winning combination here...

And, when you realize that the pet industry in Japan is a $14.4 billion dollar industry you realize that people like iwine.jp and Josei Jishin know what women like.

I'll report more on this as this "pet" project gets going....

But, I must admit, I just can't imagine giving my pooch a $150 dollar a bottle Dom Perignon, but, I wouldn't put it past the lady next door.

See iwine.jp website here.

See Josei Jishin website here.

Thanks to News on Japan

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Shibuya Hachiko is Going to Move!

If you've ever been to Shibuya in Tokyo then you know what Hachiko is. Hachiko is the dog statue at Shibuya Station. It's been there since 1948. It is an extremely popular, probably the most popular, meeting spot in Tokyo.

The story of Hachiko is that he was born in Akita prefecture and is known as the "faithful dog Hachiko." He would come to the station everyday and patiently wait for his master to return from work. Legend has it that when his master died, Hachiko, still went to the station to wait.

From Wikipedia:

Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo took in Hachikō as a pet. During his owner's life Hachikō greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and died, never returning to the train station where his friend was waiting. Every day for the next nine years Hachikō waited at Shibuya station.

Hachikō was given away after his master's death, but he routinely escaped, returning again and again at his old home. Eventually, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for the return of his owner.

The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. They brought Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

This continued for nine years with Hachikō appearing precisely when the train was due at the station.

Picture of the real Hachiko

I think there is some truth in the legend but I also think there's some heavy romanticism in it too. The Japanese, while they do not want to admit it, are very romanticist people; and I think it is wonderful... But "everyday" for the next nine years!?

More on Hachiko from Wikipedia:

In April 1934, a bronze statue in his likeness was erected at Shibuya Station.... The statue was recycled for the war effort during World War II. In 1948 The Society for Recreating the Hachikō Statue commissioned Takeshi Ando, son of the original artist who had since died, to make a second statue. The new statue, which was erected in August 1948, still stands and is an extremely popular meeting spot. The station entrance near this statue is named "Hachikō-guchi", meaning "The Hachikō Exit", and is one of Shibuya Station's five exits.

Okay. I believe this part completely.

But I guess I can't complain too much because what I am about to tell you is something that I figured out today and it hasn't been officially announced, so let me be the first in the world to announce it: Hachiko is moving from its current location to a new one.

How do I know this? I figured it out. I have also figured out that Tokyu Department would want to keep this a big secret so that they can gain publicity and make a big announcement later on at some sort of ceremony to unveil to new "Shibuya Station."

Currently, Shibuya Station is under heavy renovation at the East side. I spoke to a Tokyu employee today who allowed me to take the photos (of photos) displayed below and this person also answered my questions about the renovation of Shibuya Station.

This employee told me that, in two years, after the renovation of Shibuya East side, the West side (where Hachiko is) will be renovated. This person then went into the history of Hachiko for me. It seems that, since 1948, Hachiko has moved twice. Each time there has been a major renovation at the station, Hachiko has been moved!

I remember when Hachiko was in a different location than it is today. That was about 20 years ago.

So, being good detectives, if Hachiko has been moved twice, and everytime has been after a renovation (about 20 ~ 25 years apart) then it stands to reason that, when the next renovation is done in two years, they will move Hachiko again, right?

I think so.

So, once again, let me be the first to announce that, if you come to Shibuya, you should take your picture next to Hachiko at its current location because by 2013 or so, Hachiko will be in a different place.

Look at the photos below. See how much Shibuya has changed. I think you'll agree with me; it is obvious that Hachiko is about to get a new home.

I can't think of another dog more deserving.