Mickey Mouse's Magical Japanese Soap
Mickey Mouse's Magical Japanese Soap
Overview
In this lively live stream episode, John Daub showcases a rare and whimsical piece of Tokyo Disneyland merchandise: a hand soap dispenser attachment that shapes foam into Mickey Mouse. These items are notoriously difficult to obtain, often selling out within hours of release due to social media buzz and annual pass holders. John demonstrates the product at home, enlisting the help of a child (likely his son Leo, jokingly referred to as a "mysterious girl") to test its effectiveness at encouraging hand washing.
Beyond the fun demonstration, the video serves as a casual tech test for the newly released iPhone XS, which John submerges in water to prove its waterproof claims. He also delves into the mechanics of Japanese marketing, explaining why limited edition items create such fervor in Japan. The episode concludes with a Q&A session where John answers viewer questions about weather, product availability, and life in Japan.
Highlights
- 00:14 Rarity of the Item: John explains how quickly these Disney soap dispensers sell out due to social media hype.
- 03:04 Purpose: The device is designed to encourage children to wash their hands more frequently.
- 04:25 Child Lock Feature: Discovery of a child-proof lock to prevent soap waste.
- 07:12 iPhone XS Waterproof Test: John washes his phone while demonstrating the soap.
- 08:45 Price & Limits: Costs 1,200 yen (~$11) and is limited to three per person.
- 11:13 Japanese Marketing: Discussion on why everything in Japan seems to be "limited edition."
- 13:01 Disney Park Dispensers: Mention of fixed Mickey soap dispensers inside Tokyo Disneyland bathrooms.
- 15:57 Closing Advice: John advises viewers not to waste the soap and to take care of their families.
Timeline / Chapters
- 00:00 Intro & Screen Issue: John addresses technical glitches with the YouTube app.
- 00:14 Product Rarity: Explanation of the Disney soap dispenser scarcity.
- 03:04 Demonstration Setup: Preparing to test the soap with a child.
- 04:25 First Attempt: Struggles with the child lock and shape formation.
- 06:15 Reading Directions: John and the child consult the instructions for better results.
- 07:12 iPhone Waterproof Test: Washing the phone with the soap foam.
- 07:42 Sink POV: A chaotic point-of-view shot from the sink.
- 08:45 Product Details: Price, limits, and availability discussion.
- 10:31 Live Stream Q&A: Answering viewer questions about the phone and product.
- 11:13 Marketing Analysis: Why Japan loves limited edition goods.
- 13:54 Usage Tips: Only foam soap works; refillable bottle.
- 15:57 Outro: Final thoughts and sign-off.
Japan Travel Tips
- Availability: This specific Mickey Mouse soap dispenser is only available at Tokyo Disneyland (and occasionally Tokyo DisneySea). It is not sold regularly; it appears sporadically.
- Buying Strategy: Monitor social media (Instagram, Twitter) for announcements of restocks. Annual pass holders often buy them quickly.
- Purchase Limits: You are typically limited to three units per person.
- Cost: Expect to pay around 1,200 yen (approximately $11 USD at the time), which is higher than standard soap dispensers due to the Disney branding.
- Refills: The bottle is reusable, but you must use foam soap specifically. Thick liquid soap or shampoo will not work with the dispenser mechanism.
- In-Park Experience: There are fixed Mickey Mouse soap dispensers installed in some bathrooms inside Tokyo Disneyland (four locations mentioned by John).
Japanese Language & Culture Notes
- Limited Edition Culture: John highlights a key aspect of Japanese consumer culture: the "limited edition" (限定 gentei) strategy. Companies release items for a short time to generate social media buzz and urgency. Once the buzz fades, the product disappears (e.g., Clear Coca-Cola).
- Currency: The price is cited as 1,200 yen.
- Alcohol: John mentions having one glass of wine and references sake (Japanese rice wine) in response to a viewer question about intoxication.
- Omotenashi (Implicit): The design of the soap dispenser reflects a focus on making daily tasks (like hand washing) enjoyable and cute (kawaii), especially for children.
Food & Drink Guide
Note: This video features a hygiene product, not food. However, beverages are mentioned.
- Foam Hand Soap: The star of the show. Scent described as mostly floral. Must be foam type, not liquid.
- Wine: John mentions having one glass with dinner prior to the stream.
- Sake: Mentioned in response to a viewer asking if he was drunk.
People
- John Daub: Host and creator. He leads the demonstration, handles the camera/phone, and engages with the live chat.
- Leo Daub (Son): Appears as the "mysterious girl" (John jokes about the gender/identity). He helps demonstrate the soap dispenser, though he struggles to make the perfect Mickey shape.
- Kanae Daub (Wife): Mentioned indirectly when John advises viewers to "take care of your wife."
- Viewers (SS Darko, Alan, etc.): Participate via live chat comments, asking questions about the product and John's state.
Key Takeaways
- Marketing Genius: Japanese limited edition items rely on scarcity and social media sharing to drive sales quickly.
- Fun Factor: The soap dispenser is primarily a novelty item to make hand washing fun for kids, though adults enjoy it too.
- Tech Durability: The iPhone XS waterproofing was successfully tested during the stream.
- Exclusivity: This item is "Only in Japan" (specifically Tokyo Disney Resort), making it a coveted collectible for Disney fans.
Notable Quotes
- 00:14 "This is such a rare thing, almost like an artifact. It's one of those items when Disney has them, they're sold out in half a day or less."
- 04:25 "That's genius. I'm showing you. OK, OK, I'm not going to show your face."
- 07:42 "Now we're going to do a sink point of view for no apparent reason other than absolute insanity."
- 11:13 "Everything in Japan is kind of limited edition because it's smart when it's only limited. The social media goes crazy, everybody shares it, and then it's sold out."
- 15:57 "Take care of the soap and take care of your wife. Make sure everything's clean."
Related Topics
- Tokyo Disneyland Merchandise
- Japanese Limited Edition Products
- Family Life in Japan
- iPhone Waterproof Testing
- Live Stream Q&A Sessions
Search Tags
#only-in-japan-go #tokyo-disneyland #mickey-mouse #limited-edition #japanese-marketing #iphone-xs #live-stream #disney-merchandise #tokyo #family-vlog #hand-washing #kawaii
Full Transcript
00:14 John Daub: Sorry about the flipped screen—just the YouTube app does that. They used to be flipped the other way, but YouTube hasn't fixed it yet. This is such a rare thing, almost like an artifact. It's one of those items when Disney has them, they're sold out in half a day or less—a couple of hours. They don't have these every day. You can only get these at Tokyo Disneyland. It's very rare, and when they do have them, they're gone because the internet goes wild. Social media goes wild: "Oh, they got them in today." Then everybody with an annual pass to Tokyo Disneyland—and believe me, there are tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people in Tokyo with annual passes—they go in and buy tons of them. When you get your hands on one, it's kind of a special day.
03:04 John Daub: The reason this thing is pretty unique is it does what I think it's going to do, which is pretty cool. But more than that, it gets little kids who don't like to wash their hands to wash their hands. In fact, little kids who wash their hands with this wash their hands a lot more. That's what I'm going to figure out with this thing. So let's give it a try.
03:27 John Daub: Can I? You want to do it? Really? OK, hurry up. All right, she's ready. But I'm not going to show you. If you come, I promise. OK, I put it down. OK, hurry up. I shot it. OK, OK, sorry. All right, sorry. And if you look at the camera, it's going to... OK, I'm not going to show. All right. What? No, I'm not going to show you. OK, just do it. Just do it. OK, OK, OK, here we go. This is it. All right. Three, two, one.
04:25 John Daub: It's not working. Oh, wait, there's like a lock on it. It's childproof. Oh, OK. There's a child lock on it. So this stops kids from using too much soap. They don't go soap crazy. That's genius. I'm showing you. OK, OK, I'm not going to show your face. OK, just don't worry. Here we go. Ready? Three, two, one. Oh, wait. No, it's not supposed to do that. OK, let's see. Oh, that doesn't look like Mickey though. What is that? All right, wash your hands. Part two. Good job. Yeah, you're doing a good job. Let's do part two. You're properly washing your hands. That's crazy.
05:20 John Daub: You're going to have to do it again. All right, let's try it. This is for science. Are you going to do it by yourself? Oh, OK. Wait, wait, why don't you move your hands? OK, I'm going to have to. That's a very sick-looking Mickey. That doesn't look like Mickey. That looks more like Pluto. Not really. Where are you moving your hand? I can't. What are you doing? What, are you going to smash me in the face with it? Stop it. I'm going to show you Mickey. That's not Mickey. All right. We're going to do it again. We can try. All right, I'll try. Thank you for demonstrating, mysterious girl. She's not good at the Mickey Mouse. The mysterious girl washes her hands. Thank you. She doesn't want to be on it. She's been recruited. This is a little cringy.
06:15 John Daub: SS Darko writes, it is true, but this is for kids. OK, it's not for you. All right, hold on. Here we go. We have to do it. Oh, we... This is like Mickey with a Batman signal. Yeah. Oh, where's the box? Are you going to read the directions? Yeah, wait. I mean, are we that dumb where we can't figure out how to make a perfect Mickey? OK, now you never read the directions. All right. Yeah, it's like this. That's pretty good. Oh, look, Mickey's on my hand. Oh, this is pretty cool.
07:12 John Daub: The iPhone XS is waterproof. We're going to wash Mickey off your face. Yeah, because the iPhone XS is waterproof. All right. Good. Not only am I clean, but you are clean. You have experienced what it's like to have Mickey on your face.
07:42 John Daub: Now we're going to do a sink point of view for no apparent reason other than absolute insanity. It's just crazy. All right, this one is for all you Disney fans or all of you going to Japan to buy one of these contraptions. Basically, it's just an attachment. Do you see this? It's just an attachment that makes it fun. They added this shield so you can get the perfect Mickey, of course, because you don't want to get too close, you don't want your hand too close. Yeah, we're going to do this for the last minute. I'm going to do a question and answer for a couple minutes after this if you have questions. This is only available at Tokyo Disneyland at certain times. You can't go there today and expect it to be there. It just kind of magically appears, which is why it's magical. Then it magically disappears because everybody buys it. You're limited to three. It costs 1,200 yen, or about eleven dollars. That's kind of expensive for a piece of plastic. Typically these bottles of soap are about three dollars fifty cents. But when you put Disney on it, it becomes eleven or twelve dollars.
09:00 John Daub: All right, let's do this from the point of view. This is so wrong. It's so wrong. It's so right. Hey, kids, have you been washing your hands today? Have some Mickey soap. It's just a blob. Let's try this again. All right. This is what it looks like from your hands' point of view. Don't do it. Someone's right, don't do it. I'm totally going to do it. Three, two, one. That actually looks like Mickey. You have a little bit of Mickey. This is the cleanest iPhone in the history of iPhones. Yeah, it's not going to work. Oh, you got to put the right part with the phone. Sorry. All right. I'm going to wash. Nobody's ever done a live stream where you put the iPhone in the water. But you know, iPhone says these things are waterproof to a depth of two meters or something. And it proved right there.
10:31 John Daub: This is the iPhone XS. This is the first live stream with the iPhone XS. One of the reasons I got this phone was because it's waterproof, and it just proved today. So that's all I have for this live stream. If you have questions, I will answer them. Yeah, this is a little bit cringy. Yeah, this is an unusual live stream. But hey, when you have something interesting like this, you kind of share it. And it is only in Japan. It's only available in Japan. Seriously. So if you have questions, go ahead and ask. You have 30 seconds. I will answer them.
11:13 John Daub: The waterproof thing loses its luster after a while. Yeah, I think it did a little bit. The iPhone looks fine though. Here's the back of it. It's foaming hand wash made in Japan. That's about it. And it's only available at Tokyo Disney Resort. Anything else? Questions? Is there a reason for the limited edition? Everything in Japan is kind of limited edition because it's smart when it's only limited. The social media goes crazy, everybody shares it, and then it's sold out. That's almost the perfect thing to do. Clear Coca-Cola came out a few months ago and now it's completely off the market because the buzz is over. Japan just does stuff for the buzz, and after the buzz is gone, they stop. But this hand soap has not been... How much sake did you have tonight? I had one glass of wine with dinner.
12:17 John Daub: The hand soap though is not actually... the mic is crappy at the moment. We have a clean screen, but we don't have a very good mic. I'm sorry, maybe because of the water. Yeah, it is a marketing ploy. One last thing: the soap dispensers at Disney—there are four points at Tokyo Disneyland. There are four points in the bathrooms where you go like this with your hands and it dispenses Mickey Mouse soap. There are four places inside Tokyo Disneyland. Don't ask me where they are—I didn't buy this thing, but I did a little research. Japanese marketing is very interesting.
13:01 John Daub: The iPhone XS is now waterproof like the Sony flagship from 2000. Yeah, iPhone is late to the game, but it works now. So that's why I got it. Do it again. What? No, Alan, I'm not drunk. How to destroy an iPhone XS? No, this is how you clean an iPhone XS. So you clean an iPhone XS. That's all I have for you. If you do want to buy this, the best thing is to go on Instagram and wait for it to be sold, then go buy it. You know, it's up to you. I think it's pretty fun.
13:54 John Daub: English dub is horrible. I'm reading the comments. How cold is it going to be in Japan during January? This has nothing to do with this. Actually, it'll be about five degrees Celsius, or about 45 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit. The last thing: this bottle is good forever. You can keep putting in foam soap, but you cannot use hand soap like the thick kind. You can't use shampoo. You cannot use anything except foam soap. And if you have the foam soap, it works out pretty good. So let's try this one more time to end the live stream. Thanks. Yeah, that's right. Good night, people. I'm sure there are people selling this on eBay. That's cheating.
14:46 John Daub: All right, here we go. No, no, it's OK. I got it. The other fragrance. Let me give it a smell. Now it's mostly floral. Oh, that doesn't work. Um, yeah, I need some help. It doesn't work. It doesn't work without somebody else—you need two hands. I'm not going to put ketchup in it. Somebody put ketchup in it. Can you give me your hand? Actually, that would be really cool. All right. Do it. OK, three, two, one. That looks like Pikachu. That looked like Pikachu. Sorry, I guess it doesn't always come out good. That looked like Pikachu.
15:57 John Daub: Thanks everybody for joining this live stream. Just a short, fun live stream that I wanted to do. This is what we do in the middle of the night here. Don't waste it. That's right. Alan from My Life Japan: do not waste it. Take care of the soap and take care of your wife. Make sure everything's clean. This is just a little bit of something that if you're there, it's fun for kids and fun for adults too. I can tell you something: if you're a Disney fan, it's one of those things you must have because it's simply only in Japan. All right, everybody, have a good night wherever you are in the world. I'll see you next time. Bye bye. From Mickey Soapland.