世論 What Japan Thinks

One of the first things you notice about Japanese mobile phones is that they are often very compact and light. The next thing you notice is that many, many people offset that compactness by loading, if not overloading, their phones with straps of all kinds, from Hello Kitty to Chanel-themed decorations via, well via just about everything under the sun. From young to old, vain pretty boys to sober-suited salarymen, grannies to gals, they all share a common bond of mobile phone straps.

I am no exception to this trend; here’s my phone:

What’s there: Miffy 50th Anniversary Special Edition strap; Kato-chan (some famous comedian, I hear) in a crab suit; Hello Kitty Kobe Airport airplane strap; Hello Kitty Kobe Weather-Cock House strap (her cock has long since fallen off, as it were, although Aeroplane Kitty’s cock is still intact); UK beefeater bear strap; Ghibili’s My Neighbour Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) family of Totoros, and the newest and fattest addition to my zoo, Monokuro Boo cubic piggie with built-in screen-cleaning bum. Notice also that my phone wallpaper is Rilakkuma, or Relax Bear, another cute beastie from the San-X (adult-oriented Sanrio) menagerie, and a creature I do want to buy as a cell phone strap sometime! Note that a lot of San-X character wallpaper and other PC-oriented media can be downloaded for free from their official site. You know you’ve been in Japan too long when you’re not just not embarrassed to have a multitude of mobile phone straps, you’re quite proud to flourish your danglies for all to see. Personally, the only drawback of this cute overload is that two straps have bells attached, so furtive phoning is out of the question!

When I was in Kansai Airport last month, as well as my wife purchasing a lovely kimono Hello Kitty strap, made from real kimono material, we spotted a series of the traditional terrors of life in the Kansai area of Japan, the Osaka Obasan (Grannie) strap collection! Sadly, I have no photos, but they were quite scary purple-haired leopard-print clothed monsters. I must ask Strapya if they can get them in stock.

In Japan there is, of course, no shortage of ways to obtain these cell phone straps; as well as the mobile phone shops, many other types of store carry them, and even drinks, both soft drinks and alcoholic ones, often give away a free mascot character strap with purchases of their product. In the West, however, the most convenient way to purchase is from online shops like the aforementioned Strapya, with whom I have had very satisfactory personal dealings. Even if your mobile phone doesn’t have a suitable strap mounting point, they can easily be hung from bags, etc using the loops in zips, for instance.

Strapya Top 10

Let’s look at what’s currently selling well at Strapya:

Rank	Picture	Description	Kawaii/Kakkoii (cute/cool) factor
1		Of course it would have to be Hello Kitty! What can I say of her that hasn’t been said before? Find her dangling in a myriad of disguises at Strapya.
2		Death Note - kimokawa as they say in Japan - Ugly-cute
3		Not a strap but instead air conditioning in a can!
4		What your phone needs more than anything else, a ghost detector.
5		It’s a poo. It’s golden. It’s lucky, apparently. But it’s still a poo. These crazy Japanese!
6		Your own personalized laser cut metal straps, so no mistaking your phone again!
7		Flashing T-Shirts! Another non-strap related item that pulses in time to the noise around you.
8		Gem stone stickers. A popular add-on in Japan, with many girls and women covering every inch of exposed surface with these jewels
9		Disney characters. Japan loves Disney and finds Pooh (not the poo above…) and friends even cuter than Hello Kitty.
10		I love the Monokuro Boo characters. Simple and clean design, masculine enough to be able to retain your dignity (perhaps) whilst making a personal statement.

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