Mooncakes from heaven: Hong Kong's sweet obsession

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 31

Artists work on a sandcastle at the Landschaftspark (lit. 'Landscape Park') in Duisburg, Germany, Thursday. Artists from Duisburg want to break the Guinness World Record for the tallest sandcastle in the world. The Guinness jury will examine the sandcastle. — AFP

Getting well-oiled: Booze in Japan's cutesy 'kei cars' hit rocky road the age of the robo-barman

s Tipsy methodically unfolds an ing experience. Italian Rino Armeni, presi- oko Kojima loves zipping around Tokyo in row," said 75-year-old Kojima, whose Tanto doubles With Japan's changing demographics and little arm to select a glass, retrieve ice dent of Robotic Innovations and owner of her Daihatsu Tanto with its tiny wheels and as a van for her part-time flower delivery business. chance of success overseas, except in emerging Aand mix a drink, it's all a far cry the bar in which Tipsy works, is conscious Ypint-sized engine, but Japan's beloved 'kei "It's really easy to drive-I adore it." markets, keis may never reclaim their peak. But from the flashy swagger of Tom Cruise in of the imperative to retain the human ele- cars' may have a rocky road ahead despite a legion some think the industry can put the brakes on "Cocktail." But then he doesn't have the ment of going for a drink. "The first thing of loyal fans. Sales of the cutesy box-shaped cars, a 'Nerdy image' falling sales. "They won't disappear from the land- twinkle in his eye of a fictional that I said to my staff when we opened, I staple of the world's number three vehicle market, Keis were born out of the ashes of World War II scape," said Asako Hoshino, a vice president at Hollywood bartender-or any eyes at all, said 'Look, remember one thing: these drove off a cliff after peaking at 2.27 million units in when the government of the fast-modernizing Nissan who oversees the company's domestic vehi- for that matter-because Tipsy is a robot. robots are entertainers, but people will 2014. The drop to 1.72 million vehicles sold last country was keen to get Japanese out of scooters cle market. Hoshino cites Nissan's acquisition of kei He won't be able to swap sporting ban- come back because of you,' he tells AFP. year was a response by cost-conscious drivers as or non-motorized transit and into economy- car specialist Mitsubishi last year as proof they still ter or offer relationship advice to "I don't want to go away from human the government-looking to pay down a massive priced cars. These days, the plucky little vehicles have value, while Toyota took back all of its stake in lovelorn paramours but he mixes a mean nature, the human rapport. That will nev- national debt-jacked up taxes on the popular are still restricted to a motor less than 660 cc, Daihatsu, which leads the mini-vehicle market Bloody Mary for his customers at his er change." Experts expect jobs to disap- made-in-Japan vehicles. about the same as your average motorbike. And alongside Suzuki. shopping mall bar in Las Vegas. pear as this latest front opens in the race It was a nasty shock for many kei drivers, the they can't be wider than 1.48 metres (4.8 feet), "Twenty years ago, cars were a symbol of suc- Tipsy is the logical conclusion of an for automation, but say there is little majority of whom are women and those in rural giving keis a comically narrow shape that makes cess, but that is not necessarily the case today," increasingly space-age service industry chance that the trendy, tattooed mixolo- areas where the little vehicles are indispensable for them look like they could tip over on a tight cor- Hoshino said. "The trend now is to reduce the that has already given us the mechanical gist will ever be a relic of the past. getting around on the cheap. "I don't see a bright ner. Keis cost less to produce than conventional size." Producers are trying to boost keis' appeal by cupcake dispenser and automated pizza "Consider the job of bartender," says future for kei cars," said Yoshiaki Kawano, analyst at cars and they sell for about $6,000 less than a con- putting more style and cutting-edge features restaurants. "Monsieur" and "Tended Bar" Michael Dyer, emeritus professor of com- IHS Markit consultancy, who added that a consump- ventional car. They also have cheaper insurance into what have long been bare-bones vehicles. "A are two brands among a new wave of puter science at UCLA. "The bartender tion tax rise planned for 2019 could also dent kei and, until recently, much lower taxes. decade ago, kei cars' functions were very limited- machines that can whip up cocktails at has numerous tasks: chat with the clients, sales. "It's an ageing society and rural areas are losing While they're everywhere in Japan-as a second they had a nerdy image," said Abe Shuhei, who sports arenas, hotels and other venues for decide when to not serve them more residents-where kei cars are most popular," he added. family car, a farmer's pickup truck or even a police works in Daihatsu's sales planning division. "But, a fraction of the cost of a human server. drinks, make sure they don't reach over There's no doubt that keis-short for kei jidosha, or vehicle for neighborhood patrols-kei cars are a bit by bit, people are starting to buy them now The concept-essentially a vending the bar and steal bottles or drinks, collect light cars in Japanese-still have plenty of fans who tough sell overseas. Apart from their odd shape by choice because they're energy efficient, safe machine with a boozy kick-couldn't be payment and give back change." love their great fuel economy and modest price tag. and sometimes peculiar names, such as the and stylish." — AFP more straightforward: select your tipple They make up more than one-third of the domes- Suzuki Hustler and the Cappucino, most would from a digital menu and wait moments 'Huge challenge' tic market, with Honda releasing the newest version not comply with US or European crash standards. for that little slice of liquid gold to drop Androids can perform few of these of its top-selling N-Box kei car this week. "You can And their tiny engines would make any muscle into a plastic beaker. tasks to a human level of competence, he manoeuvre the car even if the streets are really nar- car enthusiast howl with laughter. The idea is not uniquely American- adds, so choosing whether or not to Parisian start-ups Realtime Robotics and automate will always be a simple ques- Kuantom have also produced bartend- tion of balancing the costs and benefits. ing automatons, while vending A machine may cost a one-off $100,000 machines for canned alcohol are com- to perform just one limited task while a mon on the streets of Tokyo. In the US, human barman might cost $30,000 a "self-service" venues such as L.I. Pour year but offer a much wider range of House Bar and Grill in Long Island have skills, he argues. While the bionic bar- embraced automation by allowing cus- man is already a reality, the robotic cor- tomers to pull their own pints and pay don bleu chef remains a distant dream, via a computer terminal. The boss there, says Richard Korf, another professor at Anthony Pallino, points to the need to UCLA. "You can automate what a barman economize at a time when the minimum does-there's a limited number of ingredi- wage is set to rise to $15. ents-but it might not work for a chef who uses a lot of ingredients, different skills, 'This is the future' different tools, cutting slicing, whipping, "If you needed five or six servers on a mixing," he argues. "That would be a normal night, now you need four," he huge challenge. This picture shows a kei (center), or light car in Japanese, in the Ginza says, estimating savings of thousands of "The other question is: would you shopping district in Tokyo. — AFP photos dollars a year with each electronic server. want that? A lot of the experience of Automation always brings with it con- going to bar is talking to the bartender. cerns over unemployment among They are often attractive and talk to increasingly obsolete humans, yet back in customers, you can tell them your prob- Las Vegas, customers seem to have taken lems et cetera." The ideal places for to Tipsy. "Robots and automation are defi- automated bartenders, he maintains, nitely a quicker and an easier way. The would be venues where the goal is not drinks are always the same. You can add a social interaction, such as concert halls. little extra if you want to for the "There will be situations where using machines, so it makes it really cool," says these robots will increase the quality of John Woodall, a tourist from Tennessee. service, in a busy, noisy environment, "This is the future," adds Las Vegas resi- for example," agrees Pamela Rutledge, dent Mauricio Letona-but not everyone is an expert in media psychology. But she sold on the technological advance. adds that being recognized and French tourist Antoine Ferrari thinks it acknowledged by the staff, especially at is "cooler to have a drink when there is the local neighborhood bar, "creates a someone behind the bar," although he kind of social connection, it makes you ackowledges Tipsy's unique selling point, feel like you belong." — AFP the novelty of a "slightly futuristic" drink- This picture shows a kei, or light car in Japanese, in the Ginza shopping This images show a 75-year-old flower shop owner Yoko Kojima (left) talk- district in Tokyo. ing with a salesman at the Daihatsu car dealer in Tokyo.