In Japan, smartphone is extremely popular and there is still expectation of usage grow within the next 5 years. Before the existence of smartphones was the era of garake- foldable mobiles. The garake was a global leading trend of mobile phones back in the 1990’s to 2000’s. They are one of the first mobile phones equipped with cameras, and exclusive to Japan, an antenna for TV signal. The youths during the golden era of garake have become adults in their 30’s to 40’s and we would like to see how they adapt to the switch from garake to smartphones.

Today we are lucky to have a chance to interview Ayu, a 31 years old office lady working in Marunouchi and we would like to know about her smartphone usage.
Office Lady Working in Marunouchi
FJ: Hi Ayu, can you tell us about yourself?
A: Sure! My name is Ayu and I am 31 years old. I am currently working as a secretary in Marunouchi.
FJ: Can you tell us more about your job?
A: My job mainly consist of managing my boss’s schedule and to make sure everything is prepared for her. Sometimes I need to take minutes during meetings but that’s pretty much all I need to do.
FJ: Sounds like your job is not as demanding, how do you spend your day at work then?
A: I love eating out with my colleagues and friends. Since Marunouchi is business district, there are many neat restaurant catering the needs of all these businessman. Traditional Japanese food, sushi, steak house, anything you can think of.
Recommended Photography App “Foodie”
FJ: Seems like you often eat out at high-end restaurants, do you often take pictures of the food? Or you do have a must-use application for that?
A: Absolutely! I love the photography app “Foodie”. It is an app that allows you to take photogenic food photos. I use it for pictures before I start eating myself. The app supports other language such as English, Indonesian and Thai so I guess members of Fun Japan community will have no problem using it.

App To Measure Walking Distance:“Walking”
FJ: That is a wonderful recommendation and I am sure that can use it during their trip here in Japan. What other applications do you want to introduce to our Fun Japan members?
A: Of course, since I eat out a lot, I am quite concerned about gaining weight from food. So I walk a lot hoping it can help me burning off calories. My to go app to measure my walking distance is the “Walking” app.
FJ: It has a cute Hello Kitty sign on it, does it mean that it is a themed application with the character?
A: Yes, I love Hello Kitty and this app is filled with Kitty-chan’s motif. It is also simple to use. All you have to do is to open the application and it will tell you how far you have walked today, how many calories you have burnt from walking and a food that matches that calorie amount. So it gives me an idea on how much more I need to work on.

FJ: Wow, was that you in the picture?
A: Yes, that was me and my husband for our pre-wedding photo shoot! We just got married 2 months ago!
Switching From Garake to Smartphone
FJ: That is wonderful! Congratulations Ayu! One last question: How do you feel switching from garake to smartphone and how does it affect you?
A: Switching from garake to a smartphone was definitely a big step for me. I have been using it throughout my 10’s to 20’s and a lot of my memories during my youth had a close relation to it. Texting with number pads is probably something youth nowadays can’t imagine doing. When I first got my smartphone 4 years ago, it was hard at the beginning for me to adapt to a completely new interface and system. The word application to me was like a new language at the beginning but once you get to learn more about it, the possibility is endless. Apps like “Walking” and “Foodie” will definitely not exist if I stay in garake and I am thankful for the change.
FJ: Thank you Ayu for your insights and recommendation today! I hope you will get more chance on using the “Foodie” app!
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