The most famous dog in Japan, Hachiko, has a statue in his likeness at Shibuya Station in Tokyo. Legend has it that every evening Hachiko would go down to the station to meet his master getting off the train after work. Years and years went by, and the loyal dog would meet his master like clockwork every night. One day the master suddenly passed away after leaving for work. That evening, as usual, Hachiko went down to the station…and waited…and waited. He waited there for weeks and weeks, and eventually the station staff noticed the dog. They learned of Hachiko’s tragic story then passed it on to the media, and soon he was an icon all over Japan. Hachiko became a national symbol of unfailing loyalty and devotion, and so a statue was built to honor him. His statue still stands at the exit of the station, eternally waiting for his master.

If your dog is an icon of loyalty like Hachiko, show your love with pet grooming supplies from Yamahisa Co., Ltd. For more than 30 years, it has been creating products to care for your pets, like the Petio grooming comb that cleans the hair of dogs and longhaired cats. Like many pet owners, the company believes that a pet is just like a family member. Or, like my sweet Dad says, “Better than kids... at least the dog doesn’t complain”.

In the basement level of every department store is a colossal food emporium. There are dozens of vendors selling piles of boxed lunches, barrels full of pickled vegetables, sushi rolls as thick as your arm, seafood so fresh the crabs literally walk across the floor, gift sets of exquisite handmade chocolates, and enough pastries to send me straight into a diabetic coma.

The pastries are so exquisite that the berries on the tarts glisten, the croissants are perfectly buttery and flaky, and the whipped cream on the strawberry shortcake melts in your mouth. The sweets are so mouthwatering that one company, Prairie Dog Co., Ltd. created a line of hand towels, rolled up and packaged to look like real cakes. The “Le Patissier” brand of towels are rolled up, wrapped in a paper cupcake holder, and topped with strawberry and cherry shaped magnets to mimic the look of berry-topped shortcakes. They’re even individually wrapped in clear plastic and tied with a bow to look like irresistible confections. These petite towels are perfect for gifts and so cute, they can be displayed as charming interior ornaments. This is one case where you can indulge in the sweets…without risk to your waistline (or insulin level).

Public bathrooms are a fascinating, albeit sometimes gritty way to experience other cultures. A friend of mine lived in Vietnam and said the public toilets were simply a hole in the ground. Another person said the bidets in Europe were so high-pressured, they’d shoot you off the toilet, ejector-seat style. The Japanese-style toilet looks like a men’s urinal, but mounted in the floor. You squat over the thing and do your business, not exactly the most comfortable position to read the Sunday funnies. It’s smelly, hard to balance, and you stand a good chance of ruining your favorite shoes.

Strangely enough, in public bathrooms in Japan, it’s hard to find a way to dry your hands after washing them. Paper towels are practically nonexistent, and only some bathrooms have air-dryers. Most Japanese men simply use their handkerchief after washing their hands, and women keep a small hand-towel stashed in their purse.

If you ever visit Japan and don’t want to use the seat of your pants to dry your hands, I suggest you pack a dainty towel by Kinno Towel Co., Ltd. This Osaka-based company, in the towel production center in Japan, has a 70-year history of producing top-quality towels. They have advanced facilities with the world’s most advanced jacquard weaving looms which produce a fluffy and smooth towel with different textures on each side. The towels in the Nostalgic Memory series feature whimsical illustrations of popular fairytales by designer Shinzi Katoh. These towels are cheerful and cute, whether it’s a full-size towel hanging in your bathroom or a hand towel tucked in your purse. They’ll inject a little luxury into your life, and even make a Japanese-style toilet... well, almost tolerable.

Kinno Towels are on sale at the Felissimo Design House now through Saturday, November 4th.

The Japanese are justifiably famous for their politeness, reserve, and grace…that is, except for rush-hour train etiquette. The last train from Tokyo station to the suburbs leaves after 1 A.M., and unless you want to stay the night in a coffin-like capsule hotel, you’d better hustle. Hordes of people would line up on the platform, and when the empty train opened its doors, they’d run for the nearest seat, musical-chairs style. All their innate elegance would give way to the overwhelming desire to plunk their exhausted, overworked bottoms down and sit for the hour’s commute back home. Sure, there was “priority seating” for pregnant women, the handicapped and the elderly. However, on the last train, unless you’re about to have the baby right there on the train, missing both legs or were born last century, fatigue trumps social manners.

In order to kill time on the train, everyone--and I mean everyone--uses their cell phone to send text messages. Attached to those ubiquitous cell phones are strap-like ornaments called cell-phone charms. The idea originates from ancient times, when an ornamental clasp-like device (netsuke) was attached to fans and other small accessories. They were very popular amongst the Japanese people, so a modern-day interpretation exists as the cell phone charm. One of the most innovative designers of such charms is Accessory Marutaka Co., Ltd. An 83-year old company that originally designed hair sticks and sash clips for kimono, it now produces about 500 kinds of cell-phone charms per year, as well as custom-made charms made to order. Their designs are innovative and quirky, and will inject your daily life with a shot of elegance…even if you just snagged the last train seat from granny.

Unique cell phone straps from Accessory Marutaka are on sale at the Felissimo Design House until Saturday, October 4th.

For me, it was love at first utterance. Before I knew that kawaii (pronounced like Hawaii, ka-wa-ee) meant cute in Japanese, I was already smitten with its English counterpart. My penchant for exclaiming things “cute” was often derided by boyfriends who preferred a more masculine description of their visage or by my mother who didn’t appreciate when I declared that both she and a toothless old man were “cute” in the same breath. However, when I moved to Tokyo as a teenager it became quickly apparent that I was in my element. Japan was a country that valued cuteness.

When kawaii showed up on my weekly vocabulary list, I intrinsically understood it. Unlike like other words that I had furiously scribbled onto flashcards, I had the cadence and context of kawaii down immediately. I still wasn’t sure how deferential my verb tense should be when speaking with a store clerk versus a yoga instructor, but squealing a proclamation of, “kawaii,” felt completely natural.

I stopped worrying about conjugating verbs completely after realizing that the vernacular of high school girls in Japan is actually just kawaii spoken at different frequencies or modified with cho for emphasis. After this discernment, my life got a lot easier—though my grammar never improved. Without understanding a word of the lunchtime conversation I could still make a valuable contribution by declaring a classmate’s scarf, “cho kawaii!” My personality was conveyed. My tastes were articulated. And my love of kawaii became permanent.

Not sure if you love kawaii? Come to Felissimo this week and check out Japan C’s display of cuteness all its forms. From meticulously miniature food to embellished cell phone accessories, from dog brushes to all things Hello Kitty, I guarantee you will find a reason to love kawaii too.