Some medical experts claim a glass of wine is good for your heart, others believe chocolate is an excellent alternative to Prozac, but something they all tend to agree on is that adequate exercise is vital to a healthy life. However, if your idea of working out is a spot of intensive window-shopping you might consider the latest exercise craze hitting Tokyo: dance.
First there was the film "Shall We Dance?" which had aspiring ballroom belles rushing to learn how to fox trot their way to romance. Then Konami took dance to the game arcades, and had Shibuya girls literally risking life and limb to stomp on the flashing lights of the Dance Dance Revolution platforms -- in their platform shoes.
Last week Namco tapped into the Para Para dance trend to launch "Ai no Para Para Daisakusen." For this arcade game, you don't have to tap buttons or stomp on lights, but simply memorize and repeat the dance sequence demonstrated by the animated character on the screen. The game's software can be programmed for different dance sequences, and themes such as aerobics and traditional Japanese dance are coming soon.