Japanese to save by walking
2010-02-09 16:32
Tokyo - Looking for extra motivation to walk away the kilos? A Japanese company is selling a pedometer that calculates how much money you save on taxi fares by walking as well as the calories you burn.
The meter on Happinet Toy's "Taxi Walker" starts at ¥710 ($7.90) - the same as the initial fare for most Tokyo taxis and which covers the first 2km.
Once the user has walked more than 2km, the pedometer tacks on ¥90 for each additional 280 metres covered.
The Taxi Walker is recommended for a range of people, from businessmen who often take taxis to budget-conscious housewives, said Kayoko Sakaba, who is in charge of advertising at Happinet's marketing division.
"Especially after going out for drinks people often go home by taxi, so they can use it in such situations," Sakaba said.
"It also shows the number of calories (burned), so as you're losing weight you also feel like you're saving money," she said.
The 4cm by 6cm pedometer is available in various colours, but Sakaba said the yellow version with checkerboard trim below the display screen is the most popular, because it looks like a typical cab.
The settings for initial fare and per-metre charges can be changed to correspond to fares in other regions of Japan, as well as for higher speeds and long-distance walking.
The pedometer, which sells for ¥2 079 ($23 20), is available only in Japan.