Just got back from a great trip to Tokyo last week. We previously signed on a new supplier that will market and distribute the entire Penagain line of products. They kicked off the partnership at a tradeshow held at the “Tokyo Big Site” (picture above).  I was the “Featured Penagain Inventor” in the booth and was on hand to lend support to the launch of Penagain in Japan. It was kind of a surreal experience for me with a tinge of the movie “Lost in Translation”. I had an interpreter/guide that would introduce me as Mr. Colin San to VIP’s, media reps, wholesalers, and distributors as they came into the booth. I have to admit I had a great time being in a far off foreign land watching the reaction on peoples faces as they came into the booth. I think it was received very well and in the short time I have been back they have already received some large orders for distribution.  They had sold the Penagain into “Tokyu Hands” department store a few months ago for a test market, this is one of the largest retailers in Japan. They took me on a tour of the city and walked me into the store to see it displayed(above). It was cool to walk into this store and find the Penagain sitting on the shelves. I sat there for a few minutes and watched people check them out. Of course I could not resist helping demonstrate how it works with my “charades” like gestures. I think I even managed to sell a few. It was nostalgiac for me to see this little pens sitting on the shelf  on the other side of the world waiting for a new home. I sometimes reflect on that detention many years ago where “dread turned to boredom and boredom turned to daydreaming and daydreaming turned to this crazy idea for a pen”.  Our new Penagain Japan website can be found here http://penagain-japan-value.com/office.html   
 
On the last day I had some time to kill and went on the hunt to find a game of “Japanese Futsal”. This is a 5 vs.5 soccer game that is played on a much smaller field. It’s a fairly new game in Japan and seems to be growing in popularity. After what seemed like a 2 hour jog through many neigborhoods I found this “Futsal” center above. Lucky for me the receptionist spoke a little english and was able to ask one of the teams if it would be ok if I played a few games with them.  This team welcomed me with open arms and allowed me to play a number of games with them. I handed out the few Penagain’s I had and exhanged cards with the team leaders. The pictures of the team above speak a thousand words on how gracious the Japanese were to this California kid during my trip.
Arrigato
Colin San