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May, 2014 (Page 4)

Nintendo tweets out ad for Sony’s PS Vita: jealous workers or inside job?

Despite having the full faith of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Nintendo has had some rough years recently with video game fans turning away from the company’s latest home console. So when Nintendo of Europe tweeted out a promo video for Sony’s handheld PS Vita last week, netizens wondered if this was just a mistake or part of a larger, more sinister plan for the video game industry.

Was the tweet promoting the PS Vita just a Freudian slip by a Nintendo employee or was it the result of some nefarious hacker’s work? Click below to read some fan theories about how this “Nintendon’t” made its way to the company’s official Twitter account!

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Nissin hopes to score a World Cup GOOOOAAAALLLL! with Brazilian flavored noodles

Japan loves limited time offers. There must be a department in every company in Japan with people whose purpose is to think of items they can sell for a limited time. Don’t believe us? Walk into a convenience store weekly and see the multitude of new drinks and new foods that appear and suddenly disappear when their time is up. The limited time offer, is nothing new, but it seems that Japan embraces the concept more than anyone else. It’s a handy way to get customers to continue to visit your store, or buy your products if every month or few months your products change.

With the World Cup just around the corner, companies in Japan are rolling out their limited time World Cup products and today we have a few that try to capture the flavor of Brazilian food.

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Tokyo University’s amazing Rock-Paper-Scissors robot is back, will kick your ass faster than ever

A couple of years ago we reported on a robot hand that could always win at the timeless hand game rock-paper-scissors or janken as it’s known here in Japan. After wrapping up, we confirmed that it would never lose, declared that the human race was doomed to sit in the back seats of our robot overlords, then called it a day.

Now we are surprised to learn that Tokyo University’s Ishikawa Watanabe Lab is back with an even better performing rock-paper-scissors robot, somewhat awkwardly dubbed the Janken Robot with 100% Winning Rate.

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Russian crocodile hospitalized after woman falls on it

It’s one of those tragic accidents that seems to replay itself far too often. Not a week goes by that I don’t open up the newspaper and hear yet again about how a crocodile has been injured by a woman not wearing her seatbelt.

Whelp, here we go again… On 20 May in Murmansk, Russia a two-meter-long crocodile named Fedya was treated for injures after a 120kg (265lbs) woman fell on it. This incident started off like they always do, with a minibus full of circus performers driving through the Arctic.

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Five places to get awesome limited-edition matcha sweets right now

For many in Japan, the bright green hues and bitter tones of powdered green tea partners perfectly with all things sweet, making for an irresistible dessert flavour. Now, as springtime brings the first tea of the new season, convenience stores and sweet purveyors are releasing limited-edition matcha, or powdered green tea, desserts. We take a look at five of the most popular finds that Twitter users in Japan can’t wait to get their hands on. Read More

Egypt complains over China’s fake Sphinx【TomoNews Video】

A full-sized replica of the Great Sphinx of Giza has appeared in a Chinese village near Shijiazhuang in China’s Hebei Province. The sphinx is open for tourist visits, angering officials in Egypt who say the appearance of the Chinese sphinx is detrimental to their tourism industry.

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Tokyo University and NHK on the verge of touch-o-vision: Television you can truly feel a part of

On 23 May, NHK announced that it has been working with Tokyo University to create a way to not only transmit images over long distances but to also send the sense of touch. Using this, viewers would also become able to actually feel whatever appeared on screen with their own hands.

This system makes use of Tokyo University’s newly developed device which can measure the dimensions and hardness of an object in three dimensions simultaneously. On the other end, NHK has been hard at work on a Touch/Force Display which would allow viewers to get tactile feedback from the images presented on screen.

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It’s official! The Sony PlayStation is coming to China

All the rumors are true! Sony has just announced a partnership with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group to produce and sell PlayStation consoles in China. There have been plenty of knock-offs floating around on the grey market, but this new partnership with Sony marks the first time in 14 years China will allow the sale of consoles.

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Drop the… iPhone? Dupstep remix of smartphone ringtone leaves us shaking our booties

There are a few things we at RocketNews24 love more than anything else in the world: Food, video games, anime, weirdness from Asia, and sending Mr. Sato out on adventures involving as many of the above as possible. We also love good music, so it goes without saying that we’re always ready for some new tunes to dance off all of our junk food calories, like maybe some sexy new dubstep remixes.

So, how about this live remix of the iPhone ring tone, complete with a drop dirty enough to make Skrillex blush? It’s guaranteed to get your body moving and confuse all your Apple-loving friends at the same time!

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Calling all reincarnated princesses! Sailor Moon’s “Princess Serenity dress” up for grabs

Have you always had a sneaking suspicion that you’re actually a reincarnated princess from the Moon Kingdom? If you’ve ever run into talking cats and a mysterious masked stranger in a tuxedo, or had the urge to punish your enemies “in the name of the moon” while wearing a sailor-type uniform, these could all be signs that you are indeed the 21st century reincarnation of Tsukino Usagi’s past life persona, Princess Serenity.

Once you’ve realized your true identity, feel free to indulge in your past-life princess by dressing the part while waiting for the upcoming Sailor Moon Crystal anime this summer. Princess Serenity’s gorgeous dress is now up for sale, and is perfect for anyone who wants to add a little royal sparkle to their wardrobe!

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Double upside-down rainbow appears in Ishikawa Prefecture, makes everyone’s day fabulous

Some Japanese Twitter users posted photos of a spherical double rainbow spotted in Ishikawa Prefecture a few days ago, and thank God they weren’t high, because if outdated Internet meme “Double Rainbow Guy” is any indication, it would have literally destroyed their minds with its brilliance.

While Double Rainbow Guy seemed to think his double rainbow sighting was a sign that we aren’t alone in the universe or something, most Japanese Netizens who posted photos seemed to just take it as a sign of good luck, even though this double rainbow is way more awesome because it forms a circle around the sun as though Helios himself were gifting humanity with two giant cosmic frisbees.

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  • May 26, 2014

Doughnuts meet sandwiches — with both sweet and salty results! 【Taste Test】

If you’ve been visiting our site for any length of time, you’re probably aware by now that we love stories about unique snacks, and we’re particularly delighted when they’re treats we can actually go buy and try ourselves. So, when we heard that special “doughnut sandwiches“ were being sold at Tokyo Station, we naturally had to get our hands on them and see how they taste.

We’ve already told you about how croissant doughnuts were making their presence known here in Japan, but could these doughnut sandwiches be the next big thing? Well, there was only one way to find out!

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Attack on Titan fragrances return with expanded line-up, ready to make you smell like adventure

Just because you’re out fighting enormous monsters all day doesn’t mean you have to smell like you’ve been fighting enormous monsters all day. Slaying titans is stinky business. We can’t imagine anything that big and skinless has the scent of anything but “ewwwwwww,” so we imagine the heroes of Attack on Titan need a pretty healthy spray or 10 of deodorant each morning.

Well, fortunately, they’ll soon be able to splash on some specialty fragrances! Kodansha has announced the addition of four more scents to its line up of Attack on Titan fragrances, again based on characters from the franchise. Find out who made the sweet-smelling cut below!

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Attack of the clone choir: Stunning cover of Kiki’s Delivery Service theme song 【Video】

Ever find yourself alone in a situation where a cloned version of yourself would really help? Unfortunately, not all of us have access to Kim Jong Un-level technology, but one talented Japanese singer has found a way around that by duplicating himself on video to make a series of pretty creative covers.

Last week, his cover of “Wrapped in Kindness,” the end theme from Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service became a huge hit with Japanese netizens who couldn’t get enough of his great voice(s). Click below to see the video where one singer becomes a six-man band!

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After seeing this panda, men will finally understand why women wear so much makeup

The power of makeup is both awe-inspiring and downright terrifying. With the swipe of a single brush, people can transform themselves into completely different beings (just take a look at Ukraine’s real-life Barbie when she’s not wearing makeup). After you get used to someone wearing makeup all the time, it can even be a shock to see that person bare-faced.

Take this panda, for instance. On the left you see a typically adorable panda. On the right, well, we’ve got an image of what a panda would look like without any of its trademark “eye makeup.” And boy, what a difference it makes!

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West Japan’s new sleeper train looks more luxurious than most hotels

While the typical itinerary for visitors to Japan is Tokyo, Kyoto, and then home, western Japan has a lot to offer. As a matter of fact, as I type this, I’m just about to leave for a few days of enjoying the beautiful sights and delicious food of Hiroshima Prefecture.

In order to maximize my time there, I’m hopping on an overnight bus. But while that’ll get me there bright and early, it’s not nearly as stylish as the new sleeper train that was just announced by Japan Railways.

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Grumpy tweet receives backlash, Netizens discuss morality of sitting on floor

You never know what’s going to cause a mini Twitter storm in this day and age. One grumpy commuter caused fellow netizens to take sides on an issue that is surely one of the great debates of the modern era – should teachers be making their students sit on the floor of a train?!

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Newsflash: AKB48 members attacked by saw-wielding “fan” at handshake event【UPDATED】

At 4:55 p.m. today, the company behind many of Japan’s larger idol groups, AKS, released a statement regarding an attack on members of AKB48 and event staff during a handshake event in Iwate Prefecture this afternoon.

Members Rina Kawaei (19) and Anna Iriyama (18), as well as a male member of the venue staff, are said to have been injured, with a 24-year-old male taken into police custody.

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Duckling savior has 13 baby ducks following him around, We’re absolutely jealous 【Video】

It’s the weekend! Time to kick back, relax, and watch a few baby ducks chase after a full-grown man. A total of 13 little ducklings, to be exact!

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Bored with hotels? Abenomics bringing new lodging options for foreign tourists in Japan

With Japan’s population steadily decreasing, the country is finding itself with a bigger and bigger surplus of vacant houses—7.75 million of them, according to a 2008 survey. That makes more than 10% of all housing units in Japan unoccupied and that is set to increase to 30% by 2030.

But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic reforms, lovingly dubbed “Abenomics,” hopes to turn this vacancy problem into a cash cow for property owners by changing hotel laws and loosening restrictions on renting out your home to tourists planning their ultimate Japanese vacation. And to jumpstart the initiative, a Japanese real estate giant has teamed up with a home rental website to match up homeowners to prospective overseas tourists who want to experience a more authentic Japan.

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