Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
October, 2014 (Page 12)
Mashable recently put out a neat list called ‘The 20 Coolest Arcades in the World’, and Tokyo took more spots than any other place! Well, we wouldn’t expect anything less from the birthplace of the video game industry, really.
Turns out though, Japanese netizens were a bit baffled by Mashable’s choices: “That’s cool??” they spluttered into their keyboards. “That’s not even an arcade!”
“League of Legends” is one of the most popular e-sports games in the world right now, boasting a staggering 67 million active monthly players, according to a recent article in The New York Times.
The most important moment of the year for “LoL” fans is happening on Saturday: the finals of the “League of Legends” World Championships. It will be held in a stadium in Seoul that was built for the 2002 soccer World Cup.
The top prize is $1 million, a roughly 70-pound trophy called the Summoner’s Cup, and, of course, bragging rights.
Okay, Rocketeers, it’s time for another round of Cute or Creepy? Earlier this month we looked at some key chains made out of dried sea cucumbers that clearly fell into the latter category. The deck was kind of stacked against them, though, seeing as how most of us don’t really think of the spineless sea creatures as particularly cute to star with.
Today, we’re looking at something a little more visually appealing: Disney characters, and not just any old Disney characters, as Mickey and his pals are all dressed up for Halloween. What’s more, the whole gang is bear-shaped, thanks to a collaboration with toy line Bearbrick.
How could this be anything other than completely adorable? Allow us to show you.
Just what on earth will toy manufacturers think of next? Sure, we can understand the charm behind cat sushi figures, but really now, are swimsuit-wearing, anthropomorphized figurines of famous kaijū (monsters) designed to look like beautiful girls completely necessary?
Yet oddly, we find ourselves wanting to decorate our office with them…
The English-language study market in Japan is huge, and alongside the more serious stuff there are also some more oddball publications, which pride themselves on teaching everything from the correct usage of the F-word to the phrase “I just took a dump“.
From educational publisher Gakken, however, comes an awesome-looking product that, although it’s very much a movie tie-in, takes itself entirely seriously. This is the Star Wars English-Japanese Dictionary for Padawan Learners, and we can’t wait to get our hands on a copy! Ever wondered how to say “Vader wants us all dead” in Japanese? Well, now’s your chance.
A few days ago, we looked at a couple of cats that were mastering the art of pooping in the (people) toilet. When you stop and think about it, though, this is sort of a mixed bag for pet owners. Sure, on one hand, this frees you from the gross task of picking clumps out of the litter box. On the other hand, sharing a toilet with your cat means a lot of hair left on the seat where you put your bare butt.
If you really want an ideal cat pooping situation (and don’t we all?), you might instead want to go with this cool high-tech cat toilet that automatically sorts the litter for you after your cat does its business.
Salt fish hot dog! If you think a word (or two) needs dropping from that sentence, think again.
For a limited time only, a crisp, salty whole sweetfish – in a bun! – can be yours to enjoy at Kyoto Aquarium. Yep. At the aquarium. I don’t know about you, but after looking at aquatic creatures all day I’m not really in the mood for fish…
Not so our reporter Yuuichiro, who was so excited to hear about the fish dog that he headed down to the aquarium cafe and put together this photo review for us! This is his report, eyeballs and all.
If you’ve been to any recreational running events in your lifetime, you know that they’re a great place to show off your personal style, whether it’s tutus, turkey hats, crazy tights, or Santa outfits. For those who love KanColle, it can also be a good place to channel your inner Shimakaze.
This year’s Maizuru Kanko Half Marathon faced some bad weather, but it certainly didn’t deter one man from trying to set a personal best as his favorite destroyer. Known as Micchan, he frequently participates in running events and triathlons in cosplay.
Here are some photos and videos of Micchan as Shimakaze:
It’s raining in Yokohama right now. I’m about to go pick up lunch, though, which means that when I head out the door I’ll need to take my umbrella, which is a cheap collapsible model I bought for 500 yen (US$4.60).
But should I decide to upgrade, a team of engineers in China is developing an umbrella that shields you from the rain not with a sheet of flimsy nylon, but with blasts of air, in the form of the aptly named Air Umbrella.
Despite being prosecutor general of a country more than eight thousand miles away and not, in fact, a scantily clad pop star desperately seeking fame, Crimea’s Natalia Poklonskaya has achieved near-celebrity status here in Japan. Since rocketing to fame in March this year, legions of admirers have dedicated hours to studying the young lawyer’s “angel-like” face, creating anime-style drawings of her and day-dreaming about being interrogated by her in a room with no windows.
Late last week, however, the formerly blonde Poklonskaya appeared at a State Council meeting with her hair tied back and noticeably darker. As you might imagine, this minor cosmetic change caused quite a stir here in Japan and quickly resulted in a debate over which look suited Poklonskaya best, with some online commenters seemingly confused not just about which of the two is her natural colour, but whether a natural blonde would ever go darker of their own volition.
Remember Gudetama, the apathetic anthropomorphized egg character from Sanrio with no desire whatsoever to do anything at all? Well, it seems the most unmotivated character we’ve ever seen from Sanrio has actually gotten down to business, if only for a limited time. That’s right, Gudetama now has his very own cafe at the Village Vanguard Diner at the Yokohama Lumine, and he appears in the menu as an edible ingredient, which we guess isn’t so improbable, since he is an egg, after all. And boy, does he look adorable as part of a dish — definitely good enough to eat!
We’re suckers for a good rice cooker recipe and get even more excited when all you have to do is plop a few ingredients into the machine. So we were really happy when we found this super easy rice cooker recipe for “potato chip rice” from successful Japanese chef, Masahiro Kasahara, in his self-titled book, Masahiro Kasahara’s 30-minute Japanese Meals. With only three ingredients (four if you count the water), we were equally parts intrigued and wary as we set out to recreate his bizarre dish.
So, usually when it comes to burgers in Japan, we prefer to let the talented burger artists at famous fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Burger King and especially Lotteria do their thing – because it usually results in crazy squid ink burgers, nine-patty monstrosities, and other 6th grade science experiment-esque monstrosities.
But McDonald’s has slowly been unveiling a tech- and customer-savvy new way of dealing burgers with its limited run of “Create a Burger” options at select stores.
Written Japanese uses three kinds of script. At the top of the difficulty curve, you’ve got kanji, the complex characters originally imported from China that can require over a dozen brush strokes to write, with each kanji representing a word or concept.
A little less challenging are hiragana, a set of 50 curving phonetic characters, but if English is your native language, odds are you’ll have the least trouble with angular katakana. Like hiragana, katakana is a phonetic system, so each character corresponds to a syllable. Even better, while often one kanji can have three or four possible readings, each katakana has just one possible pronunciation.
Of course, you still have to memorize how to pronounce all 50 katakana (85 if you’re being really technical) in the first place. One group of graphic designers are aiming to make that task a little easier, though, with a font that combines katakana with phonetics written in English.
I used to cut my own hair before becoming a big-shot RocketNews24 writer who can now go to the local value cuts for a 1,000 yen (US$9) cut every few months. I’m glad those days are behind me, though, because it was a royal pain.
Generally, I’m not a total klutz when it comes to working a pair of scissors. However, every time I got in front of the mirror and raised the blades to my hair, my coordination would suddenly devolve to that of a one-year-old who forgot which way up was.
I’m sure more experience working in a mirror would fix that, and with enough time I might even get as good as this guy from Kerala who is able to give himself a complete lightning-fast haircut. It’s all here in the video Kerala Got Talent; Indian Barbar Cutting His Own Hair recently posted on YouTube.
Living in Japan, we’ve been kind of spoiled by all the special Kit Kat flavors the country gets. We love a sweet snack as much as anyone, but when almost every region of Japan has its own version of the chocolate wafers, it takes something a little more unusual than matcha green tea Kit Kats to really grab our attention (not that those don’t taste delicious, of course).
So Nestlé Japan’s latest plan is to give us not just something to munch on, but a cool papercraft kit too, with this special Kit Kat bundle that also lets you build a model train.
When asked to think of addicting video games, a good chunk of people around the world are likely to recall Nintendo’s iconic Mario series, which is the best-selling game franchise of all time. But the task becomes much more difficult when faced with the dilemma of choosing the best Mario game series within the incredibly varied franchise. How could anyone possibly choose a favorite from the dozens of Mario games and spin-offs spanning all the way back to the NES?
Fortunately, Japanese portal site MyNavi Woman put out a survey in August to ask its readers to choose their favorite Mario games, so you don’t have to make the difficult decision yourself. But you can make a prediction–which five series do you think topped the list?
There’s so much to love about Japanese customer service. Whether you’re shopping at an expensive department store or perusing the shelves at the local supermarket, you can rest assured that everything has been thought through and tailored to meet your needs and desires.
The same attention to detail will be there for visitors to the upcoming National Treasures of Japan exhibition at the Tokyo National Art Museum in Ueno this month. Clearly aware that visitors will want to dig up a national treasure of their own after viewing the exhibition, the gift shop has some unusual souvenirs for customers to take home – including chocolate artefacts.
The pixellation magicians at CineFlix’s ‘8 Bit Cinema’ have given Frozen a retro video game makeover, retelling Disney’s phenomenally successful fairytale in three minutes of old-school graphics fun, complete with a glorious 8-bit soundtrack.
Yep, the video is cool, but it’s the awesome rendering of the movie’s songs as chiptunes that really impressed us the most.
The fact that the word kawaii has now been accepted into the Oxford English Dictionary says a lot about Japan’s obsession with all things cute. If there’s a manhole cover or a health and safety pamphlet that needs brightening up somehow, you can pretty much guarantee that someone will design a cutesy character or scene to adorn it. That’s just how Japan rolls.
Never, though, have we come across barricades made to look like kneeling kimono-clad princesses before.
Beautiful Japanese garden green tea crepes waiting in Tokyo’s historical Asakusa neighborhood
American jackass tourist arrested after carving name into gate at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine【Video】
After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
Drawing a school girl leaping over a man firing a gun? There’s a reference book for that!
Japanese department store rooftop is a secret oasis where you can escape the crowds in Tokyo
Our top 3 cafes in Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s newest and possibly swankiest shopping complex
Dragon Quest virtual reality attraction opens in Tokyo, and we join the adventure
New Ghibli papercraft kit gives you a little Princess Mononoke forest on your desk【Photos】
Japanese outdoor brand Foxfire teams up with Totoro for cool clothing and accessory line
Ghibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle theme
Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】
Tokyo restaurant isn’t kidding about the name of its overflowing rare wagyu-ju【Photos】New Ghibli papercraft kit gives you a little Princess Mononoke forest on your desk【Photos】
Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in Japan
Starbucks releases new Wicked tumblers in JapanJapanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
Off-the-beaten-tourist-track observatory tower in Tokyo has great views of the city…for free!After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
Japan’s Pokémon donuts are evolving as Diglett grows into Dugtrio churro!
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
Tokyo Disneyland loses top-attendance crown for Japanese theme parks for second year in a row
Adult Jam Bread causes a stir at store in TokyoGhibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle theme
What’s the deal with akebi, the perfectly purple, alien-like fruit that’s in season now in Japan?Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in JapanSanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】
Kyoto becomes City of Yokai, with Night Parade of One Hundred Demons festival this autumn
Totoro, Calcifer, other Ghibli stars returning as humidifiers ahead of Japan’s dry winter days【Pics】Tokyo restaurant isn’t kidding about the name of its overflowing rare wagyu-ju【Photos】
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[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
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Japanese department store rooftop is a secret oasis where you can escape the crowds in Tokyo
Our top 3 cafes in Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s newest and possibly swankiest shopping complex
Dragon Quest virtual reality attraction opens in Tokyo, and we join the adventure
New Ghibli papercraft kit gives you a little Princess Mononoke forest on your desk【Photos】
Japanese outdoor brand Foxfire teams up with Totoro for cool clothing and accessory line
McDonald’s adds new watermelon frappe and fruity macaron to its menu in Japan
The best booths and cosplayers from Summer Comiket 2024【Photos】
How to use Japan’s new self-checkout supermarket carts
We check out Films Wako, a “social apartment” building with a movie theater inside
Studio Ghibli producer makes bombshell anime revelations during online Q&A
The 5 best Iwate foods and drinks to buy at the prefecture’s antenna shop in Tokyo
Start your day with a wake up call from Re:Zero’s Emilia or Rem!
New Japanese body weight scale that also lets you play one of the best video games of all time