Japanese JOBA(tm) vs RodeoBoy(tm)
Moving saddle without horse hot in Japan
TOKYO, Sept. 14 (UPI) …The Joba, the Japanese word for horseback riding, is manufactured by Matsushita, and sells for $700. Its popularity has grown so much, there is a 3-week backorder wait for the saddle, complete with stirrups…Recently, the Joba made its U.S. debut on the Panasonic Web site and through the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog. It is bigger [fat-ass version] than its Japanese counterpart …more...
Back in Novemeber of 2004, gadgets.3yen.com first reported about “Rodeo enters Japanese living-rooms” featuring the JOBA(tm) horseback riding machine by Matsushita/Panosonic.
The JOBA(tm) must be a hit because the RodeoBoy(tm) is being advertised 24/7 on my TV Direct network on the cable/satellite channels for only 29,800 Yen ($54 USD). On the righthand side of the webpage you can watch a video of RodeoBoy in action in their infommerial.
“Why?”
You might ask, Why?” would Matsushita want to market a $700 to $2,000 fitness machine that a rodeo style gallop when most Japanese whine all the time about having a “stiff neck” and lower back-pain. I suppose Matsushita is thinking of a fighting-fire-with-fire solution to get rid of this back discomfort, hee, hee. Then again, if you saw how terrible Japanese posture is, the lack of home furniture with any back support and how crappy Japanese workplace ergonomics is, you would understand. Also, this horseback-riding machine exercise is perfect for geezer market in Japan where the majority of peole are over forty years old (in my ritzy Denenchofu neighborhood it’s closer to sixty years old).
Finally, here are some lame videos of horseback riding machines in action.
- Giggling girl riding YouTube – joba at causewaybay
- Japanese TV show with guests riding on YouTube video: Shindoi(19march06)-riding” horse”
- A poor beast on a “diet” in the YouTube video: RodeoBoy french bulldog
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January 4th, 2007 at 3:26 am
I’m surprised that you don’t mention iGallop.
January 4th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Thanks for the reminder about the iGallop.
I didn’t mention the iGallop because it’s a Singapore company ( Osim International) and seems to be riding on the coattails of development of the market by Matsushita/National/Panasonic.
The idea for the riding machine is old—the device has existed since the 1920s, but it *seems* that Matsushita brought it to the mass market’s attention. It’s hard to tell whether Matsushita or Osim started selling this riding machine first, but Matsushita has been pushing it since 1999.
How long has the iGallop been on the market?