Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
June 27, 2014
Nissin Cup Noodles are outrageously popular in Japan and have a firm following worldwide. Now, to keep the love flowing throughout the hot summer months, they’ve released a new special version designed to be eaten icy cold. For the first time, the company will be releasing somen, the thinnest of traditional Japanese noodles, for a meal so light and tasty you’ll be wanting to eat them all year!
One of the essential items for getting through Japan’s hot and humid summer is an uchiwa, or paper fan. With its large surface area and long handle, you can work up more of a breeze with an uchiwa than a dainty folding fan.
Unfortunately, you might work up a bit of a sweat as you furiously fan yourself, which kind of negates the whole purpose of using a fan to begin with. Thankfully, there’s now a way to get around all that manual labor with a USB-powered uchiwa.
Godzilla wants to pour you his own variety of shochu alcohol to celebrate his latest film’s worldwide success. To date, Godzilla has brought in US$477.6 million at the box office worldwide. Japan’s Konishi Brewing Company is marking the occasion by re-releasing its Choujugura shochu in a special collector’s edition Godzilla porcelain bottle.
Those of you who don’t immediately catch fire the second you step outdoors may not yet have heard of PlayStation Now. Essentially the video game equivalent of Netflix, the service is due to be rolled out on July 31 and will, in theory, allow PlayStation 4 owners to pay to stream and play a selection of PlayStation 1, 2 and 3 games without having to download them first, with all the processing being done in the cloud.
But Sony is not content with going after just existing PlayStation owners, oh no. As promised at the beginning of the year, the company is now starting beta trials of the game rental service for certain high-end Sony TVs. That’s right, even if you don’t own an actual PlayStation console you’ll soon be able to play PlayStation games.
Last winter, we were all saddened to hear about the passing of Giant Isopod No.1, the most famous crustacean at the Toba Aquarium in Mie Prefecture. Life must go on, though, and perhaps it’s now finally time to turn the page at Toba, as the isopod era comes to an end and is replaced by something much cuter: the age of adorable napping otters.
Sexism and discrimination have been rather hot topics here in Japan following an unpleasant incident at a Tokyo political assembly on June 18, during which female politician Ayaka Shiomura was taunted and mocked by assembleymen while giving a speech about pregnant women and working mothers.
In response, world-famous Japanese artist Takashi Murakami has taken the unusual step of creating and hanging a series of portraits of the politician in his Tokyo cafe.
With the popularity of Saint Young Men, a story about Buddha and Jesus living together in Japan, readers have had the chance to imagine how a god would react to everyday life. Do they live up to their holy ideals? Or are they a little more human? Some avid readers have gone beyond those basics to imagining themselves dating one of these divine deities!
And why limit yourself to the Jesus or Buddha of Saint Young Men, when there is a directory full of other Buddhas to pursue?! We took to the streets of Nara and Kamakura, famous hot spots for Buddhist temples, and polled women on which Buddha they would want to date!
The good thing about being out in the woods when nature calls is that, short of letting rip on a nest of angry fire ants, nature usually doesn’t mind where you go.
It’s probably a good idea not to take a bathroom break while dressed like a creature from The Lord of the Rings, though, or chances are you’ll scare the life out of passing tourists and end up with photos of your peeing self all over the internet.
While the soccer-watching world has been keeping an eye on Uruguay forward Luis Suárez, whose hunger for victory has earned him a nine match, four month suspension, teammate Walter Gargano has been dazzling the otakusphere in other ways. Namely, the proud display of his Dragon Ball Z shinguards.
Midfielder Gargano posted a photo to his Instagram account two days ago, prompting a flurry of excited reactions to his equipment choice.
It’s over. With their 1-4 defeat against Colombia, Team Japan is officially out of the World Cup tournament after just three matches. The boys in blue put up a good fight, but arguably left a lot on the pitch in Group C, in what many say was Japan’s best chance to make a big impact on the world stage. But despite the disappointing losses (and one unbelievable tie), there were some truly great moments that came out of the tournament for Samurai Blue. So before we all move on and choose a different team to support, let us take a moment to look back at the matches, the players, and those crazy fans who came together to root on NIPPON!
Summer has a way of creeping up on us before we can shed those extra pounds in this, the season of skimpier clothing. As such many people take up diets including our own reporter, Hotaru. At one point during her weight management, Hotaru had decided to go to a vegan restaurant thinking it wouldn’t be as high in calories as other establishments.
However, when her curry arrived she noticed that there were little bits of what looked like cheese on top. They tasted kind of like cheese too. Confused by this non-vegan and diet-bending food, Hotaru asked the staff what it was. “Tofu pickles” they replied.
Hotaru also learned from them how to make this delectable topping and found it was actually incredibly easy. So easy, in fact, that she also developed her own “advanced tofu pickles” recipe. We’d now like to share these recipes with you so that you many enjoy some tofu pickles in your own home.
Your smartphone has a busy day, what with being called on to make phone calls, take pictures, play strange fashion-based touchscreen games, and surf the Internet in order to access mankind’s greatest font of knowledge. Doesn’t it deserve some rest? And we don’t mean a short little nap while you’re eating dinner, but a good night’s sleep, snug and comfy inside a Japanese futon.
Like the aroma of fresh-baked bread or the sweet fragrance of a flower shop, the stench of a toilet can be just as memorable, albeit not in as nice a way.
Despite Japan’s reputation for high-tech toilets and Washlets that do everything except brush your teeth (thank God), a surprising number of households in Japan still have the old-style “pit toilets.” These toilets have a porcelain bowl, but no running water to flush in or out. You just squat over the hole and drop your goods into a cement pit waiting at the bottom. It’s basically an in-house outhouse.
Almost all the houses are this style on the islands in the Seto Inland Sea as well as many dwellings in Japan’s countryside. Our toilet reporter takes an in-depth look at how these pit toilet systems work. We bet you’re just dying to know!
India is one of the world’s largest economies, and it has the second largest population. This means things in India tend to be fairly large-scaled — consider its network of roads, consumer spending, or its youth population. But it also experiences some problems on a large scale like suicides and road accidents. We pulled together some staggering statistics from the sub-continent.
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After being snatched up by scalpers, Sailor Moon chocolate returns in officially marked-up complete box
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Starbucks Japan releases cute new zodiac goods for Year of the Snake
Foreign resident of Japan sentenced to eight months in prison for vandalizing Tokyo shrine
Station of despair: What to do if you get stuck at the end of Tokyo’s Chuo Rapid Line
Studio Ghibli releases giant Totoro plushies in Japan
Japan’s new difficult-to-drink-from beer glass protects your liver, but it’s a brutal experience
Here’s what happens when you mix all 53 kinds of Muji curry into one crazy super curry【Taste test】
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Japanese train station vending machine has the best souvenirs for rail otaku
Japanese government will check and judge new baby name pronunciations, presents guidelines
Tokyo’s Super Mario Christmas decoration displays are super cool【Photos】
Japanese company develops classy heavy metal band frames for glasses
Totoro towels gently glow in the dark to set the Ghibli nighttime mood in your home【Photos】
Possessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
Uniqlo announces first-ever collaboration with horror manga master Junji Ito【Photos】
J-pop mega star Ado reveals she’s been living in the U.S., may not understand language acquisition
Starbucks Japan is calling it quits with paper straws
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Studio Ghibli heroine cardigans give you warmth and strength to face everyday challengesStation of despair: What to do if you get stuck at the end of Tokyo’s Chuo Rapid Line
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengersPossessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Foreign resident of Japan sentenced to eight months in prison for vandalizing Tokyo shrine
Station of despair: What to do if you get stuck at the end of Tokyo’s Chuo Rapid Line
Studio Ghibli releases giant Totoro plushies in Japan
Japan’s new difficult-to-drink-from beer glass protects your liver, but it’s a brutal experience
Here’s what happens when you mix all 53 kinds of Muji curry into one crazy super curry【Taste test】
This downtown Tokyo cafe is like a time machine that takes you back 50 years into the past
Super Budget Dining in Japan – What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen (US$6.70) at Saizeriya?
Russian Shop in Tokyo becomes target of vandalism after owner’s controversial remarks
Tokyo restaurant wins prized tuna at New Year auction for 114.2 million yen and serves it up to customers
Studio Ghibli fukubukuro lucky bag is a sell-out hit in Japan at New Year
Is there any point to holding your chopsticks the “correct” way? Let’s find out【Experiment】
Japan’s Kanji of the Year announced, shows the bright and dark spots of 2024【Video】
Dangly Totoro Japanese sweets charms are every bit as sweet and charming as you’d imagine【Photos】