Nikodama (ニコダマ) is a new Japanese high-tech toy: a pair of two gazing eyeballs that you can put on practically any object or surface.

But that’s not all. The fun part: once both eyes are aligned on a surface, they send each other signals and start blinking simultaneously.

Nikodama will make any object come to life.

A pair of Nikodama eyeballs which measure 7.6 cm (3 inches) in diameter is powered by 6 AAA batteries. The package comes with a decoration sheet so you can make the eyes look even more fun which decorative tears, eyebrows, nose and such.

Watch Nikodama in action here:

Nikodama is made by Cube and you can buy it on Japanese Amazon for 3130 Yen (about $36).

Banana vending machine. (Source: http://www.shibukei.com/headline/6996/)

In Japan, you can find vending machines for drinks, ice cream, noodles, umbrellas (!), and many other things. But bananas?

Japan’s first banana vending machine by Dole, installed recently in Tokyo, has become a big hit, selling its entire stock on the first and subsequent days.

The cooled vending machine has been installed in Shibuya Station in an underground connection between the Tokyu Denentoshi Line and Hanzomon Line. In the future, the maker hopes to sell other fruits in vending machines directly inside offices and universities. Dole is apparently targeting people who live alone and don’t have much time to prepare or shop for food.

However, since eating in public is traditionally considered taboo in Japan, most people who buy the bananas take them home, to their office or school.

One banana from the vending machine costs 130 Yen (about $1.50) while a bunch of 5 or 6 bananas costs 390 Yen (about $4.50).

The Japanese bowling society strikes back at the summer heat! Asahi.com has a short report about a fun ice bowling event that was held yesterday as part of the local festival in front of Tokyo’s JR Shinbashi Station. During the event, they unveiled an oversized 2-meter tall ice bowling pin with a weight of 700 kg. Watch the report below.

You all know digital and analog clocks, sundials and probably some other kinds of clocks as well. But a water fountain clock? You can find one in front of the main entrance to the Kanazawa Station in Japan.

Clockmakers will be interested in a close-up view:

The adjustable valves can display not only digits but also short messages in Japanese and English. This stylish dot-matrix water fountain clock is part of a colossal public works project that renovated the Kanazawa Station during the years 1998 to 2005.

What will Tokyo look like in a post-apocalyptic world with no humans, no politicians and no corporations? Japanese artist who calls himself Tokyo Genso (Tokyo Fantasy) has a frightening vision.

Let’s begin with a teleport to Shibuya, the location of a once world’s busiest pedestrian crossing. The famous Shibuya 109 still stands in the middle, but there will be no more shopping…

In the first street on the right — Shibuya Center Gai — we see the ruins of the electronic retailer Sakuraya…

…where everything is soon taken over by vegetation.

At Nakano station we wait for the train that never comes…

…and so we walk further to Shinjuku which surprisingly wasn’t affected much by the destruction…

Akihabara, once a mecca for everything digital, has been flooded by rivers. Palm trees grow atop electronics giant Sofmap.

Time stands still at Yoyogi Station.

And what about airports? Seems like there will be no more flights at Haneda.

Want to see more? Tokyo Genso has a gallery on DeviantArt. What’s really neat about these illustrations — besides the obvious great skill — is that all locations are real, with beautifully detailed buildings that you can see in today’s Tokyo.