Staff writer With the aid of a Razor, Ali Harada claims to have shaved at least 10 minutes off her daily 80-minute commute and around 2 kg from her midriff. While she attributes the latter to the effort needed to power the contraption, it's the Razor's easy handling and compactness that allow her precious extra minutes in bed, she says. "I can cut through crowded streets and don't need to waste time searching for a parking space," the 19-year-old said as she folded up her foot scooter and tucked it under her arm before boarding a train at Shinjuku Station. "It might be thought uncool, but it's really very handy." That her mode of transport is one more readily associated with preschoolers might account for Harada's reservation. Yet, the increasingly common sight of children and adults alike weaving skillfully along Tokyo sidewalks on foot scooters such as the Razor indicates Harada is, in fact, on the cutting edge. Often referred to here as "kick boards" or "skaters," designer scooters with shiny chrome frames and colorful in-line skate tires hit the domestic market last spring. By the end of the year, distributors were struggling to keep up with demand. An official at the Harajuku branch of board sports specialist Murasaki Sports said its last order of 75 Razor scooters was sold within a matter of hours. A store assistant at Mario Sports in Setagaya Ward said its previous stocks had sold out so fast that it was now asking shoppers to join an order list. Only a few places were left on Mario's next order of 200 units, he said. Meanwhile, Akiyoshi Suzuki of Minami Sports' merchandising division said the company had sold 5,000 Razor scooters since putting them on the shelves in early December. Sales of Kick Board, a scooter developed by German company K2 and the first to enter the Japanese market, had topped 300 per month since its introduction here in April, Suzuki added. The main attraction of the boards is their portability. Folded down, the Razor, made by American firm Viza Motors, measures a mere 57 cm long by 17 cm wide and weighs just 2.6 kg. And then there's the relative inexpensiveness. Although Kick Board rolls in at a cool 38,000 yen, the Razor is offered at Mario Sports for 15,800 yen. The major physical differences between the two is that while the Razor has two wheels and handle bars, the Kick Board is steered by a handle resembling a joystick and has three wheels. Kick Board owner Koichi Matsumoto, a 19-year-old hair stylist, said this three-wheel feature adds stability, making it more suitable for performing jumps and spins. But according to Murasaki Sports official Jin Murakami, the price difference, along with Kick Board manufacturers' inability to keep up with demand, has sent the Razor into the fast lane. Murakami added that scooter stocks at Murasaki, which has 45 outlets nationwide, are completely sold out. "They can't make them fast enough, so we're having to stick to a first-come first-serve policy," Murakami said, adding that the launch of a new, cheaper Razor in March will likely lead to another surge in orders. Although one Tokyo sports store owner said the majority of his customers are males in their late teens, scooter riders on the streets of the metropolis appear to represent a much wider age bracket. Yasunori Watanabe, 30, said it was three middle-age coworkers who influenced his recent investment. "My office is quite a hike from the nearest station, and many senior colleagues have invested in a kick board to cover the distance faster," Watanabe said as he skated along Omotesando, his wife and small child in tow. "But I also thought it would make up for my recent lack of exercise," he added. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Daiki Somiya's skater assists in a quick getaway from school to catch a train, meet his girlfriend and race home before dad returns from work. "It's usually a close shave, but I don't think he knows," Somiya said.
