Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
2014 (Page 207)
Japan gets a lot of press for its continued whaling operations, but it’s not the only country that still hunts whales. Iceland also fishes a couple hundred whales a year and is one of the last remaining commercial markets for whale meat.
In fact, during the upcoming winter festival of Þorrablót, the traditional nosh is pickled whale fat along with such delicacies as burned sheep heads and pickled sheep testicles. Now what’s a real Viking to wash all that down with? Why, whale beer of course!
It’s been a little more than a year since we reported on ttongsul, or Korean feces wine. And while many of our readers enjoyed sampling the beverage vicariously through the five victims brave young ladies we recruited for the taste test, others took us to task for not having our regular staff knock back a glass of dookie-liqueur.
In an attempt at penance, we traveled to Korea to snack on poo-shaped cakes.
Living in Japan has done a lot to broaden my palate. For example, over the last 10 years my take on tofu has gone from “jello’s boring cousin” to “actually pretty good, especially with a little bit of sesame or spicy sauce.”
That said, I’m still not sold on soy milk. While the idea of popping open a soybean pod and finding delicious morsels of beef sounds like some sort of wonderful dreamland, the potential magic of bovine/bean cross-over doesn’t do much for me in reverse, and in general I’ll happily pass on drinkable soy.
Hoping to change my mind are two upcoming additions to soy giant Kikkoman’s line of flavored soy beverages: pear and cola.
In a strange story out of Hyogo Prefecture, a man has been arrested for squirting an unwanted, creamy white liquid onto an unsuspecting high school girl. And while the substance in question isn’t as disgusting as it could have been, it’s still pretty gross.
For years now, Japan has been beset by cases of ore ore sagi (“hey-it’s-me” scam). This is where the scammer contacts a (usually elderly) person claiming to be or know their child or relative. They then explain that they need money for an emergency and provide an account for the victim to transfer their money to, which sadly they often do.
These perpetrators can be difficult to catch, but sometimes a person’s force of habit can help make the police’s job that much easier. Take the case of one suspect named Akio Kanazawa, for example.
Unlike numerous other animal rights groups, non-governmental organisation WildAid aims to combat the problem of illegal wildlife trade – most notably the killing of sharks for their fins, elephants and rhinos for their precious ivory, and tigers for their skins – by attacking the problem at its source: the people whose money encourages it. The group’s message is simple: “When the buying stops, the killing can too.”
With the help of numerous high-profile figures like footballer David Beckham and even Britain’s Prince William, WildAid puts pressure on the people providing the demand for these “luxury” items. This week, world-famous actress, animal rights campaigner and, in our opinion, full-time babe Maggie Q appeared in the group’s newest commercial, which aired in China. The ad, titled “Impress”, aims to dissuade wealthy Chinese from eating shark fin soup, with Maggie telling both her date and TV-watching China that although there are many ways to impress a woman, shark fin soup is definitely not one of them.
In our modern world of contact lenses and laser eye surgery, no one really needs to wear glasses. Nevertheless, there are some people who choose to do so, as well as another set of not entirely overlapping glasses fans who simply feel the object of their affection looks all the cuter with a set of corrective lenses.
Now, a new glasses stand from anime merchandise producer Funny Trick lets you instantly transform your favorite characters, even those with 20-20 vision, into bespectacled beauties.
Website Crank In!! posted six new images from the live-action film of Eiko Kadono‘s fantasy novel series Kiki’s Delivery Service (Majo no Takkyūbin) on January 4. The images feature Kiki (Fūka Koshiba) and various other characters, including Tombo (Ryōhei Hirota, above) and Osono (Machiko Ono, below).
Haven’t you always secretly wanted to know what a puny Caterpie would look like next to the legendary Lugia? And I bet you didn’t know just how much of a pipsqueak Pikachu actually is. Well, thanks to one artist on deviantART, now you can compare the sizes of all six generations of Pokémon in one picture! We were blown away by the amount of work it must have taken to research the dimensions of all 718 Pokémon and compile their silhouettes into one image. Can you guess which are the biggest and smallest Pokémon?
The Coming of Age Ceremony is the Japanese celebration that officially marks the passing into adulthood of all boys and girls that turned 20 the previous year. It’s normally steeped in tradition and – unlike some other countries’ coming of age rituals where kids put their hands in fire ant mounds or drink 15 beergaritas or whatever – it’s generally a pretty subdued affair until the youngsters-only after-party.
But one Setagaya Ward Coming of Age Ceremony saw things get pretty rowdy this year when a gang of bikers – called bosozoku – decided to crash the party. Bosozoku (literally, “wild running clan”) are groups of teens and 20-somethings that share a love of impractically kitted-out motorcycles, breaking traffic laws and all-around crude behavior.
For all of the attention Japan gets for its culinary contributions such as sushi and tempura, precious little credit is given to the way the country is always willing to push the envelope of salty snacks. Walk into any convenience store in the country, and you’ll find shelf after shelf stuffed with rice crackers, assorted nuts, and most of all, potato chips.
Recently, snack maker Calbee unleashed its newest flavor: KFC Colonel’s Crispy Potato Chips, and despite having never been to Kentucky, I knew it was my solemn duty to eat them.
In a somewhat complicated story we’re not sure is heartwarming or kind of devastating, three middle-aged Tokyo fishermen have accomplished what experts thought was impossible by single (triple?)-handedly bringing an area fish species back from the brink of extinction by illegally catching them.
The three men, according to their accounts, caught the fish and, upon learning that they were on the endangered species list, contacted experts and aquariums for advice on breeding them – either for the sake of fishkind or for the sake of tons of delicious illicit fish meat.
Tuesday is known as New Bento Day at major convenience stores across Japan. As we’ve highlighted before, convenience stores in the country put a lot of effort into their ready-to-eat creations. What’s more is they cycle through new flavors on a weekly basis. This can be a double-edged sword as your favorite dish can disappear tragically fast, but you can also count on something equally good coming along as well.
As regular consumers of convenience store bento, the editorial department of RocketNews24 Japan has come together and ranked the top 5 new additions to 7-Eleven, Lawson, and Family Mart for the week of 14 January, 2014. Please refer to it for your own convenient dining pleasure.
If you’re a 90s kid, chances are you spent hours of your life glued to the monochrome screen of Nintendo’s original 8-bit Game Boy handheld console (feel the nostalgia?). In those days, we were content guiding a tiny Mario around and striving to collect all 50 Pokémon. But little did we know the unforseen capabilities of the Game Boy. Last week, Twitter user Kinako uploaded a picture of herself using Twitter on a Game Boy screen. What sorcery is this??
There’s already something pretty devotional about how often people check their smartphones, so why not take the next step to full-fledged worship? You never know what the gods of gadgetry might grant you. If you are using the new app called Internet Shrine, a prayer will get you free Wi-Fi.
Like many people who started playing video games in the 1980s, when titles were still put on cartridges, I often had to deal with faulty connections when playing with my Nintendo Entertainment System. And while every video game shop would sell you a fancy cleaning kit with solvents and swabs for 15 bucks and Nintendo would advise against doing so, any kid knew the best way to clean out dusty connection ports was to simply blow into the cartridge.
Recently, I heard the sobering theory that blowing into the cartridge didn’t really accomplish anything, and that simply reinserting it into the system is what dislodged the connection-blocking dirt. But with so many hours of my youth spent forcing air into 8-bit game packs, I can’t bring myself to accept that it was all meaningless. Surely, there must be something that can be accomplished by caressing Nintendo classics with a puff of breath?
It turns out there is, as with a little bit of engineering you can turn a classic game cartridge into a harmonica, complete with old school video game sounds.
The kotatsu, that low table heater that is often the only source of heat in a Japanese room, is sometimes just too big for one person…said absolutely no one in Japan. Who hasn’t enjoyed diving under the table, fluffy futon pulled up to your eyeballs while you think of warm sandy beaches…a volcano…anything to take you away from the ice cave that is your Japanese home. That’s why we were so upset to find this kotatsu for singles. Not only does it not allow you to completely immerse yourself in life-giving warmth, its tiny stature is like a little footnote in the middle of the room, whispering, “P.S. You’re still single.”
Among Japan’s bigger pop cultural head scratchers is the dating simulation. Whereas people around the globe can agree on the entertainment potential of video games that let you drive high performance cars (Gran Turismo), shoot people (Call of Duty) or some combination of the two (Grand Theft Auto), having a digital dating partner remains primarily a feature of the Japanese gaming landscape.
And while it’s tempting to write the genre off as appealing to only the sweatiest and smelliest of nerdy males, dating simulators have a whole sub-genre known as otome (maiden) games that let female players pick from among a stable of hunky love interests.
The creative team at Cybird, developers of the popular Ikemen series of dating simulators, recently shared the five characteristics of an ideal virtual beau.
If you’re a Pokémon fan, this “Let’s make Pikachu pancakes!” mould is sure to excite you. One Japanese fan recently tried to make her own Pika-licious snack, but her resulting creation went terribly wrong. We wanted to share these fail-blog worthy pictures with you.
We here at RocketNews24 occasionally get hit with accusations of having an anti-China or anti-Korea slant. And while we don’t think a story about a young Chinese man getting a seatless bicycle wedged in his butt is inherently anti-Chinese, we can see how it might be interpreted that way. We can also see how we get labeled as anti-other-Asian-countries since we largely get our information from Japanese sources, and it would be naive to say there aren’t anti-Chinese and anti-Korean forces at play within the Japanese media. You couldn’t hope for a better example than the following story that was said to have been posted by a Chinese person on a message board. The anecdote has a lot to say about how Chinese children are raised to view Japan. However, the reaction to the story itself is more revealing about what it’s like on the other side.
Starbucks releases an official green tea chai latte with special Japanese ingredients
Practical Zelda Tears of the Kingdom merch is here to be Hyrule-helpful in your daily life【Pics】
2nd line of Casio watch rings hits Japanese capsule machines and we got the secret one!
Pokémon color-coded cosmetic sunscreen set to protect skin this summer in Japan
Fried Pokémon: Tokyo restaurant serves up an unusual dish【Taste Test】
Yes, our new smartphone looks like at least two Studio Ghibli anime characters, Sharp says
McDonald’s Happy Meals in Japan now come with Shinkansen robots
New anime figure line boasts hyper-realistic skin, super-shapely butt on its debut release【Video】
Hachiko, Japan’s most loyal dog, finally reunited with owner in heartwarming new statue in Tokyo
Tokyo changes age limit for kids going into opposite sex’s bath at hot springs and sento2nd line of Casio watch rings hits Japanese capsule machines and we got the secret one!
Starbucks releases special matcha Frappuccino made with Japan’s first matcha leaves of the yearYes, our new smartphone looks like at least two Studio Ghibli anime characters, Sharp saysPractical Zelda Tears of the Kingdom merch is here to be Hyrule-helpful in your daily life【Pics】
Japanese man tells friend to wear suit to wedding party, so he comes as Mobile Suit Gundam
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Mt. Fuji-blocking screen installed as response to bad tourist manners to be in place by next weekStarbucks releases an official green tea chai latte with special Japanese ingredients
Cool capsule toys recreate how Japan navigated trains in pre-smartphone days【Photos】
Tokyo’s beckoning cat temple asks foreign tourists to stop writing on the beckoning cats they buy
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of societyLife-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsYes, our new smartphone looks like at least two Studio Ghibli anime characters, Sharp says
New Tokyo restaurant charges higher prices to foreign tourists than Japanese locals
“Mt. Fuji convenience store” issues apology for bad tourist manners, adds multilingual signs2nd line of Casio watch rings hits Japanese capsule machines and we got the secret one!
Tokyo’s famous Lost in Translation hotel is closed
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screensMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950sForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Yes, our new smartphone looks like at least two Studio Ghibli anime characters, Sharp says
McDonald’s Happy Meals in Japan now come with Shinkansen robots
New anime figure line boasts hyper-realistic skin, super-shapely butt on its debut release【Video】
Hachiko, Japan’s most loyal dog, finally reunited with owner in heartwarming new statue in Tokyo
Tokyo changes age limit for kids going into opposite sex’s bath at hot springs and sento
Say hello to the Big Bomb Onigiri, a beast of a Japanese rice ball
Japanese teacher gives secret love letter to junior high schoolgirl, gets his heart broken
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
Starbucks adds a matcha and pistachio milk tea latte to the menu in Japan for a limited time
Can you tell the difference between real beer and Japan’s happoshu quasi-beer?【Taste test】
Make Your Own Yoshinoya Beef Bowl at Home, Even Better Than the Original 【Recipe】