Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
July, 2014 (Page 6)
Frozen has taken Japan and the world by storm, smashing through sales records and bringing a flurry of promotional items. One of the most iconic scenes in the film is Elsa singing Let it Go while giving rise to a beautiful ice castle. It’s too bad we can’t visit her frigid fortress in real life, but we can go to the next best thing: Hokkaido’s Snow Crystal Museum.
Being an island nation, there is no shortages of beaches in Japan–though if you live in Tokyo, there are times when the only thing resembling the ocean to be seen is a sea of people. After a weekday morning commute spent sloshing around in a packed train car, it’s easy to find yourself wishing for a more relaxed environment like the beach. And with summer in full swing, there are plenty of beaches we’d rather be lounging on than just about anything.
But it’s a busy world and who has time to sit on the beach and just relax? Well, we sure don’t! But for those of us always on the go, there are a few train stations that at least will give you a view of the ocean on your way to whatever business you may have. Think of it like a vacation that lasts as long as the train stops!
Well, it looks like train fans in Japan have something to be excited about — the real-life Thomas the Tank Engine, which has already attracted considerable attention on the Internet and media, is now in service! The Thomas steam locomotive, designed with a large face in the front to quite accurately recreate the well-known children’s character, started on its very first journey on July 12 with about 560 passengers on board. And since we knew this was a ride that would be sure to delight kids as well as adult train fans, one of the reporters from our Japanese site traveled to Shizuoka Prefecture in the center of Honshu, the main island, to see the “real Thomas” on his very first day in operation!
When people think of international travelers visiting an island in the Seto Inland Sea, they may think of Naoshima, where the International Art Festival is located, or perhaps Shiraishi Island, with its international villa for foreign guests. But French tourists are heading somewhere else–to a tiny island of just 230 people. Although the place is known as one of Japan’s cat islands, that’s not why French tourists go to this island. And even though Ken Watanabe, Masako Natsume and Hiromi Go have been there, the French go for a completely different reason than they did. Our floating reporter takes a ferry to the remote island to find out what makes it so popular with French tourists.
Bandai is getting cutesy with its new Sailor Moon gashapon toys, offering miniature Sailor Senshi that perch or lean happily on the rims of glasses, books, and other desktop items.
The toys are already stocked in capsule figure vending machines around Japan, and are selling for 300 yen (about US$2.96) each.
Japan is home to some of the strangest collaborative promotions you will ever find. There’s been everything from Mountain Dew combining powers with a chip company to convenience store teaming up with a menstruation website. Many times the promotions are endless and maybe even seem pointless! But the new collaboration between Docomo, the cell phone company, and Lotteria, the burger shop, is a month of blood clot-forming, salt-coma inducing greatness. This campaign is going to make people who like to talk on their phones and also people who like to stuff their face with French fries very, very happy!!!
Sony has just announced the release of two new PlayStation 4 consoles featuring designs from soon-to-be-released games Destiny and The Last of Us Remastered.
We’re not going to lie, they look pretty sweet.
The world of martial arts tends to be a serious one. Even though fights are bound by a set of rules, one wrong move can lead to serious injuries. For that reason alone fighters must take a highly disciplined approach to training both their bodies and minds.
Japan’s Pancrase mixed martial arts is one of the stages where these dangerous confrontations unfolds. However, at Pancrase 259 in Tokyo’s Differ Ariake Arena, a fight involving flyweight Takuya Eizumi took a turn for the surreal when his winning pose drew more attention that any fight that took place that evening.
If you’re the kind of person who appreciates traditional craftsmanship and doesn’t mind paying a little more to get it, we have a product for you today that you really have to see.
On sale from tomorrow, these stunning mini speakers are made by master craftsmen in Kyoto and use specially grown Japanese cedar, taking an incredible 30 years to go from planting to finished product.
As someone who never completely outgrew his love of animation and video games, I try to at least keep up with what’s popular with kids in Japan. I can identify Pikachu, Squirtle, and a handful more of the cute cockfighting stand-ins from Pokémon. If I visit my in-laws and my nieces are watching an episode of PreCure, I know that it’s about a team of friends who fight evil with their magical powers (even if I have no idea how one of the girls got stuck with “The bursting scent of lemons!” as her special ability).
Still, until recently I hadn’t heard a single thing about Yo-Kai Watch, Japan’s current megahit among the elementary school set. At first I thought this was weird, but as it turns out Yo-Kai Watch’s popularity isn’t in spite of people in my age group not knowing about it, but because of it.
Comic-Con International will finally be opening its doors on July 24 for four days of comic and entertainment madness. Thousands of people are already getting ready to flock to the San Diego convention site, with this year’s event set to attract more visitors than ever.
And this time, RocketNews24 is lucky enough to be in attendance! We can’t wait to get in there and bring you news, photos and video of all the coolest stuff on show as it happens! We know there’s nothing worse than news sites reporting on everything but the stuff you personally wanted to see, though, so if there’s something that you really, really want us to check out on your behalf at Comic-Con this year, leave us a note in the comments below.
You can also find us on Facebook or Twitter. We’ll be tweeting and Facebooking like crazy right the way through Comic-Con, so if you haven’t already be sure to follow us!
The quick action of a neighbor downstairs saved the life of one woman in Sichuan Province. Check out the footage and photos after the jump.
Aliens. We’ve always speculated on their existence. Do they already live among us or are they waiting in space to make their appearance suddenly and violently known to us? We recently believed that they might be real with their sudden attendance at a baseball game earlier this year, but those aliens were ejected from the stadium and locked away before we could get their story.
Perhaps, we will now ascertain the truth! Five cousins of the aliens from Independence Day have crashed their brown, corrugated spaceship in Japan and finally we have the proof we’ve always longed for. More about why they’re here, how long they’ll be staying, and how we can learn more about them after the jump.
With the highly anticipated Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios Japan having just opened this week to great fanfare, owls seem to be the hot “animal of the hour” at the moment in Japan. (Plus, we think owls are pretty cool-looking birds to begin with even without the Harry Potter factor!) In that spirit, one of the reporters from our sister site Pouch recently visited a bird cafe in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, where you can interact with numerous species of owls, yes, but also parakeets and even some falcons as well! Since we’d already had such an awesome time at the owl cafe in Tsukishima, we knew we were going to thoroughly enjoy this visit too. And you can’t really blame us for wanting to share our photos of all the cute owls with you, can you? If you’ve ever been fascinated by owls, we think you’ll be impressed at how up-close and personal you can get with the birds once you’ve seen the pictures!
If there’s anybody in the world that loves a good non-scientifically supported personality or psychological measurement, it’s the Japanese. You’ve got the thoroughly debunked blood type indicator, Western-imported horoscopes, the “which way do you fold your arms?” test, the “how you like your meat cooked says a lot about you” test, and, of course, if you have sword-shaped fingernails, you’re a complete and utter psychopath.
Well, given Japan’s propensity for personality indicators as well as Japan’s affinity for adorable Disney princesses, it was only a matter of time before somebody mashed the two together to create a Frozen princess personality test. Jeez, why can’t they take all this superstition and just LET IT GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
For most of the year, the tiny town of Inakadate in Aomori Prefecture doesn’t get a lot of visitors. With only some 8,000 residents, most of whom make their living through agriculture, there’s not much to do there, unless you feel like staring at the farmers’ fields.
Every summer, though, droves of visitors come to do just that, as Inakadate’s rice paddies transform into gigantic works of art. And this year is no exception.
Toyota Motor Corporation’s sleek and compact vehicle shows off its moves in a new promotional video after successful public trials in Tokyo. Watch these cute and colorful little vehicles whizz past the city’s landmarks and glide around corners while leaning at an incredible angle.
Starting 19 July Fuji TV will be holding the “Odaiba Shintairiku” event featuring live performances from various artists along with other attractions.
Among these attractions is Izakaya Eguzairu, a bar and grill featuring dishes designed by the members of the top pop group Exile. While much of the menu is standard fare such as Hiro’s spaghetti or Aran Shirahama’s chicken and rice, it’s the dish dreamt up by vocalist Takahiro that has everyone saying “I want to eat Takahiro’s banana” online.
We sent our reporter Nakano-san in to get to the bottom of Takahiro’s Chocolate Banana.
Many visitors to Kyoto find themselves overcome with a sense of tranquility. Even for people who aren’t Buddhists themselves, there’s just something soothing about being around so many temples and their stoic monks.
You know what else a lot of people find relaxing? A nice cold beer! So when we recently found ourselves in Japan’s former capital and looking for a calming presence, we decided to make it a double by going to a bar run by a genuine monk.
After a long week at the office, our Japanese writer Yoshio was in dire need of a pick-me-up. After stretching and clicking his back, he stood up at his desk, tucked his wallet into his back pocket and announced in unusually glum tones that he was popping out to the convenience store to grab a few things.
A few minutes later, Yoshio walked back into office and placed his little white plastic bag down on his desk with a tired sigh. But then he stopped. Looking down at his purchases inside the bag, he suddenly began beaming with a level of happiness that we hadn’t seen in quite some time.
“Oo! Sugoi!” (“Oh! That’s awesome!”) he softly exclaimed.
More Than a Capsule Stay: Why Solo Travelers Choose “global cabin Yokohama Chinatown”
Cyberpunk anime meets traditional culture in Ghost in the Shell gold leaf Japanese changing screens
Black Thunder chocolate-bar-shaped fishing lures coming next year
New Japanese menstrual product seeks to help women spot unidentified iron deficiencies
Mr. Sato eats banana flower, still isn’t sure what it tastes like, loves it anyway【SoraKitchen】
What’s in a Family Mart lucky bag?
“Hey, Japanese taxi driver, take us to the best seafood joint in Otaru!”
Godzilla-shaped ice cream on sale in Tokyo near the sight his most adorable rampage
Pronto Pokémon cafe collab brings exclusive merch and a clever way to take photos of your food
Japanese police are not messing around, with Patlabor robot mecha out on display 【Video】
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Starbucks Japan releases new zodiac chilled cup drink for 2026
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgradeCyberpunk anime meets traditional culture in Ghost in the Shell gold leaf Japanese changing screens
Hello Kitty Choco Egg figures are an adorable trip through three periods of Japanese pop culture【Pics】
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Can a dirty butthole make you filthy rich in Japan? We’re starting a New Year’s lottery experiment
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branchesDisillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Stamina-destroying “Paralysis Noodles” are Tokyo’s newest over-the-top ramen innovation
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answerJapan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
What’s in a Family Mart lucky bag?
“Hey, Japanese taxi driver, take us to the best seafood joint in Otaru!”
Godzilla-shaped ice cream on sale in Tokyo near the sight his most adorable rampage
Pronto Pokémon cafe collab brings exclusive merch and a clever way to take photos of your food
Japanese police are not messing around, with Patlabor robot mecha out on display 【Video】
Japanese video 18-Year-Old Grandpa has important, moving message behind its silly-sounding title
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
What happens if you make instant noodles with Coca-Cola instead of water?
Large amount of supposed human organs left in Osaka marketplace
Burgers soaked in a plate of hot cheese served at American Diner Andra in Tokyo
Illustrations show how Japanese makeup trends changed in the last 25 years, and what’s coming next