Posted by Robyn Lee, May 10, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Culinary Abortions from Japan is a hilarious blog written by a Canadian documenting the food failures of Japan—"failures" including off-putting flavors, poorly named items, excessive packaging, or all of the above.
While the wrongness of these foods may mostly be culturally relative, I can't argue against individually wrapped cashews joining the list. It's not like the cashew is a giant mutant worthy of its own bag; the description reads, "Aside from a light gown of salt, it rests naked within its deplorable womb of plastic."
I suppose it's good if you have a major portion-control problem, though.
Posted by Sarah Wolf, May 10, 2008 at 11:00 AM
If the idea of environmentally friendly lunches sounds a lot more appealing than sewing your own sandwich wrap, check out furoshiki, the Japanese "ecofriendly wrapping cloth." Traditionally used in Japan for wrapping gifts and money, furoshiki can easily be adapted for everyday use. In fact, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment offers suggestions on using them to carry books, bottles, or even a watermelon. They might not work so well for sandwiches, but they could easily replace a brown paper bag.
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 25, 2008 at 11:30 AM
If only the aisles of my local Shop Rite could be filled with such simple and appealing food packaging. Check out more designs from Swiss food retailer Migros at package design blog, TheDieLine.com
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 27, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Photograph from Allen Sandquist on Flickr
I had no idea that Doritos packaging ever looked as cute and simple as this one from the 1970s. Today's bag design looks a bit more...intense. Check out more great retro food packages in Roadsidepictures' Flickr set.
Previously
Photo of the Day: Skippy Peanut Butter Tin Can, 1930s
Potato-Chip Connoisseur
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 3, 2008 at 2:15 PM
How does a visually impaired person pick out a can of beer from other canned non-beer beverages? By feeling the braille on the top of the can—if you're in Japan, at least.
Beer manufacturers in Japan have started stamping braille on the top of cans that spells out "alcohol" or, if made by Kirin Brewery, "Kirin Beer." Whether this will increase the number of drunk blind people on the streets is not yet known.
Photograph from preetamrai on Flickr
Get rid of those plastic bags without feeling guilty. I can finally get rid of some plastic bags I've accumulated without feeling guilty. The New York City Council passed a bill yesterday that will make large stores in the Big Apple collect and recycle the bags they pack groceries and other goods in. There will be bins in stores where you can bring your plastic bags, which can be from any store, of course.
Posted by Jamie Forrest, November 26, 2007 at 2:25 PM
Photo from dslrninja on Flickr.com
When I order takeout from my local Thai restaurant, the amount of nonrecyclable plastic that is used to carry all that delicious food to me is absolutely out of hand. There are the thick, round plastic containers (which are no doubt a huge improvement in quality over their aluminum predecessors) as well as plasticware I simply don't need, plastic soup and rice containers, and, of course, the plastic bag that the whole thing was delivered in. And then when I think about the fact that all this plastic gets used only once, the real guilt begins to set in.
Continue reading »
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 9, 2007 at 10:46 AM
"Isn’t it wonderful to live in a country where drunken panda-seals lounge on peanut snack packages sniffing beer? Well, not all Japanese packaging is that weird, but see for yourself. Here is PingMag’s Best of Snack Characters. Enjoy!"
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 7, 2007 at 12:07 PM
MOS Burger is a fast food restaurant chain in Japan. In fact, it's the second biggest chain there after McDonald's, but look at how minimalist their packaging design is compared to the garishness you expect from McDonald's or other chains like Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut.
