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Only in Japan, Real Men Go to a Hotel With Virtual Girlfriends
WSJ ^ | 8/31/2010 | DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI

Posted on 09/01/2010 3:51:49 AM PDT by markomalley

ATAMI, Japan—This resort town, once popular with honeymooners, is turning to a new breed of romance seekers—virtual sweethearts.

Since the marriage rate among Japan's shrinking population is falling and with many of the country's remaining lovebirds heading for Hawaii or Australia's Gold Coast, Atami had to do something. It is trying to attract single men—and their handheld devices.

In the first month of the city's promotional campaign launched July 10, more than 1,500 male fans of the Japanese dating-simulation game LovePlus+ have flocked to Atami for a romantic date with their videogame character girlfriends.

The men are real. The girls are cartoon characters on a screen. The trips are actual, can be expensive and aim to re-create the virtual weekend outing featured in the game, a product of Konami Corp. played on Nintendo Co.'s DS videogame system.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Japan
KEYWORDS: culturefailure; downfallofsociety; japan; sexualfrustration
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To: tlb

How about, “Wii-haa!”


21 posted on 09/01/2010 4:30:05 AM PDT by Eye of Unk ("In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act" G.Orwell)
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To: markomalley

Ths is really sort of pitiful.


22 posted on 09/01/2010 4:30:30 AM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, A Matter Of Fact, Not A Matter Of Opinion)
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To: All

if we ever have to go to war with the offspring, will we use erasers?


23 posted on 09/01/2010 4:32:24 AM PDT by SF_Redux
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To: mylife
Brilliant branding /s Good luck with that.

Well, I guess its better than "Virtual girlfriends! Complete with virtual herpes!"
24 posted on 09/01/2010 4:36:30 AM PDT by The_Sword_of_Groo (Counting the days until the US gets to apologize for Obama)
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To: DH

“I believe RONCO is going to do an infomercial to introduce their Jack-O-Matic 1500 there this fall.”

Fell asleep with the TV on one night and woke up at 3:00am to a home shopping type show with two women hawking dildos.


25 posted on 09/01/2010 4:40:16 AM PDT by Rebelbase (Political correctness in America today is a Rip Van Winkle acid trip.)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

I think it must say something about the Japanese women.


26 posted on 09/01/2010 4:43:43 AM PDT by seemoAR
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To: DH

” It will only cost 4 payments of $19.95. But wait! If you order 2, the next one is free. You only pay for the additional shipping and handling. “

If I pay extra, can I get extra handling?


27 posted on 09/01/2010 4:44:16 AM PDT by Humble Servant
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To: tlb

Introducing the new Sony Playsuction 3.


28 posted on 09/01/2010 4:46:44 AM PDT by Hugin (Remember the first rule of gunfighting...have a gun..-- Col. Jeff Cooper)
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To: seemoAR

It does. They want to be independent and have careers and do their own thing. There’ll be plenty of time after that to get married and have kids (only of course, time runs out very quickly).


29 posted on 09/01/2010 4:56:52 AM PDT by Vanders9
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To: markomalley

All your dates are belong to us.


30 posted on 09/01/2010 5:08:09 AM PDT by FateAmenableToChange
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To: FateAmenableToChange
Only in Japan, Real Men Go to a Hotel With Virtual Girlfriends

All your dates are belong to us.

Or, all your nuts are belong to us.
31 posted on 09/01/2010 5:15:53 AM PDT by aruanan
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To: HiTech RedNeck

You dont know the half of it...Dont try to find out the other half. It gets worse.

Somehow I think we might have beat them a little too hard in WW2, and given them permanent, multi-generation, brain damage.


32 posted on 09/01/2010 5:17:29 AM PDT by VanDeKoik (Iran doesnt have a 2nd admendment. Ya see how that turned out?)
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To: markomalley

I remember going to the love hotel with my REAL girlfriend (and now wife).

Japanese men, you might want to look into doing the same.


33 posted on 09/01/2010 5:39:36 AM PDT by struggle ((The struggle continues))
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To: bill1952

“Somebody has to stand against the extinction, planned or not, by negative genetic practices, such as homosexuality, abortion and birth control, of the great peoples of Western culture.”

I’m beginning to question just how great the peoples of the Western culture really are. I say this with great regret, and yes, I am also of European descent. Sure the West gave the world Beethoven, Bach, Shakespeare, automobiles, airplanes, air conditioning, the moon landing, and so many other wonderful things (BTW Al Gore, CO2 is not a pollutant), but if we (collectively, not including smart individuals such as yourself) are not smart enough to keep the culture going (both biologically via reproduction, but also culturally), then we’re just not as smart as we’d like to think.


34 posted on 09/01/2010 5:58:40 AM PDT by Texan Tory
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To: Vanders9
I went TDY to Kadena AFB, Okinawa in 1966. I wonder how much it has changed in the past 45 years.
35 posted on 09/01/2010 6:01:38 AM PDT by seemoAR
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To: SF_Redux

36 posted on 09/01/2010 6:01:58 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: Texan Tory

I have several volumes from an author who postulated somewhere around the near mid 20th century that all cultures follow a cyclic pattern that results in their own demise.
He predicted that Western Civ would fall and events are proving that he is pretty much on the mark, but we shall see.

I’ll look up his name when I get a chance.
Quite interesting - and depressing.


37 posted on 09/01/2010 6:15:23 AM PDT by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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To: markomalley
I actually feel sorry for these poor guys. Japan was one of the last bastions against feminism but when it fell, it collapsed completely. Japanese culture does not adapt easily or quickly to major social changes. Having been long accustomed to arranged marriages many Japanese men are not equipped with the social skills-or even the desire-to woo an "independent" woman. Hence they turn to substitutes.

To be frank, I understand their plight and I sympathize with them. Unless feminism is eradicated, birthrates will continue dropping and civilization will eventually fail.

38 posted on 09/01/2010 6:25:06 AM PDT by jboot (Let Christ be true and every man a liar.)
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To: Eye of Unk

“I get a weird image of a porno version of Wii.”

Is this what Obama meant about getting “Wii Wii’d Up?”


39 posted on 09/01/2010 6:41:07 AM PDT by wilco200 (11/4/08 - The Day America Jumped the Shark)
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To: kearnyirish2

>>What a bizarre society

On that note, how many excess males does China have as a result of decades of female infanticide? 25 or 30 million?

Perhaps places like this are part of the answer to that.


40 posted on 09/01/2010 6:55:46 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (No Representation without Taxation!)
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