Space (the universe) is still unknown. We know about it just a little bit. And also some Japanese products and people are still unknown for some people in the world.
The intent and purpose of Astro Shop Japan is to let people in the world know about the wonderful Japanese products and people. Hence the name of my blog.
I think people know about "Hello Kitty" already because some american celebs loves "Hello Kitty" like Lady Gaga. Hello Kitty collaborated with KISS (US hard rock band). It is a unique challenge of Hello Kitty that is synonymous with the presence of the Japanese "Kawaii (Cute)". Sanrio is a Japanese company that designs, licenses and produces products focusing on the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories that are sold worldwide and at specialty brand retail stores in Japan. Sanrio made Hello Kitty in 1974. Sanrio consents to use Hello Kitty for the apparel products suppliers from the few years ago. Sanrio get a royalty revenue from them. Alliance products are greatly increased. The suppliers were several hundredcompaniesabout five years ago, but now more than 2,000 now. Especially, the sales grew in North American market in 2011. Because a major distribution store, Wal-Mart started to sell Hello Kitty's apparel products. The collaboration with Kiss helped a lot for the sales in US. Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and Avril Lavigne who is a big celebrity loves Hello Kitty. It is emerging in the markets of Latin America now. Sanrio is trying to make a theme park in Zhejiang, China by licensing to local companies in 2014. Please find your favorite Hello Kitty from Amazon!
A Japanese unmanned spacecraft, Hayabusa (はやぶさ, literally "Peregrine
Falcon") came back to the earth with some samples of an asteroid which is called "Itokawa" from a long space journey (6 billion km) on Jun 13 2010. Sample of return to land on a solid surface of an asteroid outside the Earth gravity is a world's first. The missions were like below. Despite the many difficulties, Hayabusa achieved all missions. Operation of Ion Engines Operation of Ion Engines for more than 1000 hours Earth Gravity Assist with Ion Engines Rendezvous with Itokawa with Autonomous Navigation Scientific Observation of Itokawa Touch-down and Sample Collection Capsule Recovered Sample obtained for Analysis A noteworthy point is the staff of Hayabusa. They did not give up. There was a meeting in 1985. It is called "Asteroid sample return small study group." It would not be anexaggeration to say thatthis Hayabusa plan beganfrom there. The meeting wasdescribed by a film after Hayabusa accomplished a feat. The participantssay, "we can
notdo that." with one mouth. "Even if we get a sample, how do we get it back?" "We can't protect it like a space shuttle. It will just burn up." But a guy said, "Can we think about how we do it, not why we can't?" I think this phrase is just superb. We should not think about the negative things. We know we might not be able to do it now but we should talk how we can do it. It is a very positive phrase. I love this phrase. It is a really positive. And then, the people started to think and say like, "The shuttle uses ceramic shielding. Why don't we use carbon? That will stand higher temperatures.", "And we don't operate the probe from Earth. We make it operate itself.", "And not chemical propulsion. It won't carry enough. We will use electricity." The project leader of Hayabusa, Junichiro Kawaguchi announced that Japan will attempt sample return at Japan-US Joint Study Group planetary exploration in 1993. And then, they could achieve the Hayabusa mission because of the positive thinking. Japan is only able now to attempt such a difficult mission because of one man, Hideo Itokawa. He is known as the father of Japanese rocketry. His dream and his passion have brought Japanese space development this far. Dr. Itokawa said, "Failure is the key to progress in space research". But 'failure' is a word he would not use. He talked only about 'results'. "As long you have these results, you're making progress." JAXA is trying have another mission now. It is called "Hayabusa 2". Hayabusa 2 is the follow-on mission to the Hayabusa mission. The goal for Hayabusa 2 is to build upon the legacy of the original mission, by strengthening the shown weak points. As of January 2011, the target is asteroid (162173) 1999 JU3 with a proposed launch in July 2014. This mission will feature more durable ion engines, upgraded guidance and navigation technology, and new antennas and attitude control systems. Operations at the asteroid will be similar to those of the previous Hayabusa, but with an explosive device to dig the asteroid surface for fresh sample material. I think Hayabusa 2 will be able to achieve the mission too because they have very strong positive thinking. I can not to wait to see the launch of Hayabusa 2.
Sylvanian Families (森のゆかいな仲間たち シルバニアファミリー) were created and released in Japan by Epoch in 1985, which uses the concept of dollhouses and animal creatures. When I was a kid, my sister loved this toy because the quality is very high.
The dolls skin is made by like suede so it is so smooth and very tender. I think you would like to rub the dolls and keep it in your hand. The furniture in the dollhouse is made with attention to detail. For example, if you open the cabinet under the faucet, you can see the pipes.
These kind of things win the hearts and minds of the girls. You would get all bogged down in the world of Sylvanian Families. It is quite a popular toy in Russia now. In Canada and the USA, it lost the rights to the name Sylvanian Families. So Tomy who had been distributing the toys worldwide reintroduced the line under the new name "Calico Critters" in 1993.
The founder of Honda, Soichiro Honda was always dreaming to make the aircraft. Honda's genes began to study small sized business jets in the late 1980s. They went through a lot of difficulties, and then they succeed to make HondaJet. HondaJet has a unique design. They decided to go with an unusual over-the-wing podded engine configuration. It allows for more space in the cabin and reduces drag at high speeds and the noise, and increases fuel efficiency. In September 2012, they got the aircraft design award 2012 from The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). They are trying to make about 80 jets per year. The price is about $3.65 million US. We will be able to see this jet soon. I hope it can create a sensation in the aviation industry. The Specifications Performance Maximum Cruise Speed @ FL300 420KTAS Maximum Cruise Altitude FL430 Rate of Climb 3990 ft / min NBAA IFR Range (4 occupants) 1180 nm Takeoff distance <4000 ft Landing distance <3000 ft Engines Manufacturer / Model GE Honda / HF120 Output (Uninstalled Thrust) 2050 lbf each derated from 2095 each Bypass ratio 2.9 External Dimensions Height 14.90 ft [4.54 m] Wing Span 39.76 ft [12.12m] Length 42.62 ft [12.99m] Interior Cabin Dimensions Height 4.80 ft [1.46 m] Length 17.80 ft [5.43 m] Width 5.00 ft [1.52 m] External Baggage Space Total 66 cubic ft Within aft section 57 cubic ft Within nose section 9 cubic ft Configuration Typical configuration 1 crew + 5 pax (2 crew + 4 pax) Alternative configuration
This is a brand-new camera from Sony. The model name is DSCWX10. I saw this camera on the internet a while ago and I actually could touch it and took a look of this camera's feature at Sony of Canada Ltd yesterday! This camera can attach to your cell phone like iPhone or Xperia. First of all, DSCWX10 connects to a cell phone through NFC (Near Field Communication). Once connect to each other through NFC, it connects through Wi-Fi. You can press a button on DSCWX10 or tap a button on your cell phone's screen to take a picture. It has a CMOS image sensor like Cyber-Shot so you can get a very clear picture even if you take a picture in the dark. The picture quality is much much better than the cell phone picture. Actually, you don't have to connect to the cell phone, you can take a picture without the cell phone and save the data in a micro SD. The price is CAD 249.99. You will be able to see and buy this camera at Sony Store and Henry's (in Canada) in the end of this month. Sony still have an idea and a power to make something a great stuff like this camera. I hope they can keep making such a wonderful stuff for us. Thank you so much for reading!
