2014 (Page 210)
When McDonald’s Japan announced recently a rolling set of new menu items based on supposedly classic American recipes, the majority of the Internet – recalling how awesome the Big America series was – collectively foodgasmed in anticipation.
Unfortunately, now that the first items are finally here, consumer reviews have viciously skewered the new “Classic Fries with Cheese,” with comments ranging from, “This is unpleasant” to “This tastes like sloth pee.” Questions of how some Netizens know what sloth pee tastes like aside, it’s safe to conclude opinions are widely divided. So, of course, fast food connoisseurs that we are, we had to try the item for ourselves and throw our hat into the public debate ring.
That bad boy pictured above is the Yonshakudama (Four Shaku Ball) and it claims to be largest single firework in the world. At a pot-smoker pleasing weight of 420kg (926lbs) and with a diameter of 1.2m (4 feet), most people tend to take the maker’s word for it.
Fireworks of this immense size are launched during a show at the Katakai Festival in Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture and are said to have a beautiful blast radius of 800m (2,625 feet). But enough talk. Let’s kick the tires and light some fires watching them in action thanks to a video uploaded to YouTube by Temple Fireworks.
If you’ve ever found yourself lost in one of Asia’s complex subway systems, you’re not alone. Since underground rail is the preferred form of transportation in many of Asia’s sprawling cities with hundreds of stops, subway maps, even those printed on the back of your necktie, tend to look like the aftermath of an infant feeding itself a plate of spaghetti unsupervised, and can easily confound locals too.
So it’s good news that a newscaster in Guangdong Province, China – whose dresser apparently teleports all of her normal clothes to Narnia – has decided to help commuters navigate the area’s labyrinthine subway system on a strictly volunteer basis.
It’s only Wednesday, and already we’ve seen two brand new Rilakkuma products–clearly Japan’s favourite little bear is going to have a good year. Thankfully, this one won’t hurt your bank balance quite like the ear-toting Rilakkuma sofa we showed you yesterday. What you see before you are blocks of tofu designed especially for fans of the lethargic teddy, each featuring imprints of his face. Tofu may not be the most exciting foodstuff in the world, but we’re fairly sure this would help liven it up.
Whether you love it or won’t go near the stuff, there’s no denying that natto is an important part of the Japanese diet. The fermented soybeans are notorious for scaring foreigners away with their pungent odor and sticky strands. If you’re someone who’s not convinced that natto could ever taste good, then keep reading: Japanese corporation Takara Tomy Arts has recently announced a new product that guarantees the ultimate natto dining experience. Introducing the new Natto Flavor Enhancing Machine.
For better or worse, Japanese culture has made its way to the US and now sushi, cosplay, anime, and a number of other bizarre hybrids (sake bombs, anyone?) are fully integrated into American life. Now it seems maid cafes, those sickeningly sweet pink restaurants where waitresses act as servants, have made their way across the Pacific.
Located in New York City’s Chinatown, Maid Cafe NY brings a little bit of one of Japan’s strange subcultures to the United States. But will American patrons feel comfortable being greeted by cute maids in frilly outfits saying, “Welcome home my master and my princess”? Let’s take a closer look at Maid Cafe NY and find out.
Meet Shiro and Mimi, just two of the stars of Kago Neko, a blog all about one Japanese cat fan’s pets. Sadly, the pair were not, in fact, born with such luscious barnets, but their owner, perhaps sensing their inner glam rock star, provided them with a couple of rather fetching blonde wigs. We think you’ll agree that they look pretty rockin’.
Despite the thriving grey market that has existed since the ban was put in place 14 years ago, both gamers in China and console manufacturers outside the country will no doubt be excited to learn that China’s State Council yesterday lifted restrictions on the importation and sale of foreign video games consoles, albeit on a “temporary” basis. That’s right: China may soon became a legitimate market for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft once again.
Have you ever looked over while riding the Yamanote Line and saw the coolest guy you’ve ever seen? Sure he was probably wearing fashionable clothes and had great hair, but what was he doing? A poll conducted by Japanese mobile phone provider, NTT Docomo, reveals the top 10 things cool guys do on the train.
After a month or so of breathless preview coverage, the brand new Dark Souls Cafe, based on the award-winning, but notoriously difficult, From Software action game is finally open for business.
The new cafe channels the next game in the series, Dark Souls 2, which is slated for a March 13 release in Japan.
Rilakkuma, whose name is a combination of the words “relax” and “kuma” (meaning bear in Japanese), is one of Japan’s more deserving popular characters. Created back in 2003, the lazy little bear with a zip on his back became an instant hit with a series of picture books and cuddly toys, and continues to be adored almost 10 years on–a feat that few cute-for-the-sake-of-it mascots besides Hello Kitty could ever boast.
Now, a furniture maker in Japan is offering Rilakkuma fans the chance to purchase an original order-made sofa based on their favourite po-faced bear. But with a price tag of almost US$2,000, their bank balances will have to be just as healthy as their love of all things cute and cuddly to afford it.
Starting this year, the town of Mamurogawa in Yamagata Prefecture is offering up their mayor’s office for those generous enough to hand over one million yen (US$9,600) in furusato tax (hometown tax). It’s the latest move in an increasing trend of offering premiums for tax revenue in rural areas struggling with decreasing populations.
Offering something in exchange for taxes seems like an odd concept without knowing what furusato tax is, so let start with that. Don’t worry it’s simple.
Everyone, do you know where the world’s northernmost McDonald’s is? Here’s a hint: you can sometimes spot the aurora borealis from there. Our Japanese reporter recently headed up north to check it out and brought back some very cool photos that we wanted to share with you.
It’s no secret that the apartments and houses in Japan are incredibly small, especially in saturated areas such as Tokyo. But even Japan’s tiny homes are no match for this extremely narrow “paper building” in Shanghai, China! How do people even live in there?!
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We see a lot of weird stuff on the internet, but corn snacks made to taste – and fizz, no less – like the carbonated soft drink Mountain Dew are undoubtedly the oddest thing to happen since millions of adults across the globe simultaneously lied to their children about a bearded man sneaking into their home and leaving gifts for having refrained from murdering anyone or punching an otter since the previous December.
Nevertheless, as the internet chatter suggests, Mountain Dew corn snacks really do exist here in Japan, and so despite imagining that they’d taste about as good as minty orange juice, we tracked some down and, along with a can of actual Mountain Dew (or “Mtn Dew” as it’s now being branded in the US, because who has time fr vwls?) for comparison, conducted a little taste test of our own.
Full impressions after the jump.
There are lots of websites out there that invite artists to post their works for all to see. However, there are a great many artists out there, and over time a build-up of paintings, drawings, CGIs and photos can become too much for the average person to know where to begin, let alone anyone scouting for new talent.
On 6 January, a new website called Slash Temp (stylized “/temp”) was opened that lets illustrators freely post whatever creation they like on one condition: a ticking timer will be attached that deletes the image in 24 hours. This isn’t just some random image dump though. There is a way to preserve drawings that get a rise out of viewers for better or worse…
OK, we’ve all been there. Maybe it was the venti coffee this morning or maybe you’ve caught a bug, but one thing is certain: you need a bathroom right now or a change of pants is going to be in order. Most of us manage by hook or crook to find a toilet or at least a concealing clump of trees in this situation, but one guy decided that the middle of the road seemed like a nice place to drop a deuce and he wasn’t going to let anything – even an emergency vehicle – disturb him.