Many of the toys are based on classic properties such as Gatchaman and tokusatsu shows, although Code Geass and Gundam 00 are also very popular. Another approach took a typical Japanese pastime and added robotics or gadgetry. An example of this is a sushi-rolling device called Futomaki no Makki which lets you make thick sushi rolls with hearts and faces in them (see the gallery for a picture). There were also battling beetle robots.
In some cases, they took two popular things and combined them -- like teacups and poodles.
Meet Teacup Poodle, on the right. It's a poodle. In a teacup.
The same booth had a game where you had to extract tiny toys from the plastic jaws of a drooling dog. It was one of the first things I saw and I watched kids picking red blocks from rubbery green slime with a kind of D: look on my face.
(Another similar attempt to mix two popular concepts is "Beauty Magazine Chocolate", already on sale. Every issue, you get beauty tips and a bar of chocolate.)
I also had a go at Hi-Kara, little knowing that it's currently one of the most talked-about new gadgets. There wasn't much queue to try it, mainly because it involved getting up on a small stage and singing in front of hundreds of people who were queuing for other stuff.
Well, you know I'm shameless. ;)
As I watched a few stray Japanese people try it, I noticed they weren't so hot on the kanji. Even simple ones caused them trouble. I was feeling pretty smug, knowing I could handle them all... until my turn came.
First of all, I couldn't hear any sound... because the earphones weren't in my ears. So, headphones go over the EARS. Got that. Having figured the basics, I tried to sing and suddenly understood why even native Japanese speakers were having problems. The screen is TINY and the kanji EVEN TINIER. I imagine they'll be selling the unit pretty cheaply (it's 3000-4000 yen) and making a fortune on song downloads, so the tech in the screen is kind of low. You need a much higher definition screen. Once I got the hang of it, I butchered "Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis" with almost the same level of proficiency I show in a karaoke booth. I was still missing a couple of kanji every two lines though.
Probably the only thing left to mention is the inevitable Indiana Jones merchandise drive. In the gallery, you can see a photo of an Ark of the Covenant business card holder from Hot Toys. That wasn't all -- there was a Holy Grail holder of paperclips and an idol for storing your pens. I couldn't help but notice that while all the Japanese folks were photographing the models from Alien and Pirates of the Caribbean, I was taking that picture. I guess we had different ideas of "Wow, wait till I show the people back home!" :)