Need a lap?

A little lonely this Christmas? Need a shoulder to cry on? A lap to rest your head? Japanese ingenuity to the rescue again!

Introducing the "Lap Pillow". Made of foam and selling for about 10,000 yen (US$85), this life-like woman's lap is just the thing to relieve the lonely Christmas blues.



As Mitsuo Takahashi of the manufacturer Trane KK, points out, the Hizamakura, or lap pillow, fulfills a primal need. "From the time people were kids, people have laid their heads on their mothers' laps to get their ears cleaned," he said.(!!)

But single ladies needing a snuggle needn't feel left out either. Introducing the "Boyfriend Arm Pillow". Guaranteed not to snore, drool or run of with a younger woman this friendly pillow with a price tag of 8000 yen (about US$76) consists of a stuffed headless torso and an arm to curl around the user.