Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
2014 (Page 136)
If you happen to be looking for directions around Mitaka Station in Musashino, Tokyo you might be in for an eerie surprise. As Google’s Street View camera strapped to a guy’s back passed through the quaint tree-lined path alongside the Tamagawa Aqueduct, it was momentarily surrounded by a group of people standing around wearing pigeon heads.
How many times have you been at a friend’s house, or eating out with someone and you see a really fantastic T-shirt but thought, “if only it was a little different?” You’re jealous, to say the least, because that’s the kind of T-shirt you’ve always wanted to own, with a few changes. The colors, the graphics, the way it looks like it was randomly splattered with other things, it all rocks. Of course, you could go to a T-shirt design shop and work with them to make your own, but it’s too time-consuming and let’s face it, you’re lazy.
Uniqlo, the store that seems to be expanding to more parts of the globe every day, has your back. And it’s really as simple as swiping your finger across the screen of your smart phone. Oh, and of course, shaking it.
Sometimes, a name that’s perfectly normal in one language can sound funny, or maybe even offensive in another. One day in college, for example, my friend Gary and I volunteered to show some visiting Japanese students around campus. We met them in the student union, and as soon as Gary introduced himself, one of them couldn’t suppress a tiny chuckle.
You see the name Gary sounds an awful lot like geri, which means “diarrhea” in Japanese. So when my classmate said “Watashi wa Gary desu,” they didn’t hear “I’m Gary;” they heard “I’ve got the runs.”
Of course, the same thing can happen in reverse, too. Just ask the students and faculty of one of Japan’s proudest institutions of higher learning, Kinki University.
On 20 May, Osaka Prefectural Police announced the arrest of four boys ages 14 and 15 on charges of assault and robbery. The victims were two other male students caught in the act of “bontan hunting” which is ganging up on and attacking someone to steal their particular style of puffy pants.
In addition to this heinous crime, as news hit the internet the rest of Japan came down hard on Osaka for having teens who wear fashion and engage in activities that have been out of style for decades.
Japan loves package tours. For many of them, you meet up with your tour guide and fellow travelers, hop on a bus for the countryside, then spend a few days relaxing in a hotel with some occasional shopping or sampling of local delicacies. It’s more or less the definition of safe and convenient, if not exactly exciting, travel.
If you’re looking for a trip with a little more adrenaline, though, there’s a tour next month that includes an activity set to get any anime fan’s pulse racing: helping to create the Attack on Titan live-action movie.
One of the golden rules of the road revolves around the right-of-way. Dig up memories from high school driver’s ed, and you’ll recall that the manual says something like, “the right-of-way is something you give, not take.” In Japan, a term often used to instill defensive-driving skills is yuzuri-ai no seishin, which can be translated as “the spirit of compromise/yielding”.
But we all know people who think that’s crap.
So today, we’re introducing you to a video of a vehicular standoff in Taiwan that is fast racking up hits online. There are no guns or flaming crashes here; rather, the scene is a quiet, humorous one, the like of which probably plays out across the globe on a daily basis.
The Boston Red Sox have consistently had Japanese players since 2007, when they signed Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. There’s one thing Japanese players bring to the team that’s been overlooked until now, though: delicious imported Japanese candy.
People around the world love Japanese candy, be it endless varieties of Kit Kat flavours, or do-it-yourself candy sushi. There are even companies that will mail it to you monthly for a small fee (or a hefty fee – choose wisely, readers!). And it seems that recently, Red Sox players and staff have been going crazy over Japan’s long-standing fruit chew top-sellers, Hi-Chew.
Meet Tally. She’s definitely a dog, and a very beautiful dog at that. And yet she’s often found in some suspiciously cat-like poses…
It’s becoming more and more common for idol singer units in Japan to pump up their sales numbers by offering some kind of special prize to fans who purchase multiple copies of the same CD. Each disc might come with a raffle ticket for a chance to shake hands with the group, and at least one band will let you straight up go on a date with the member of your choice if you buy enough copies.
By far the most coveted prizes are those handed out by Japan’s biggest musical act, AKB48. The loyalty of the supergroup’s fans is legendary, but even with their reputation proceeding them, we’re shocked at just how much cash the unit squeezed out of one ardent supporter.
Gundam Seed director Mitsuo Fukuda recently went on a bit of a rant regarding the nature of television in Japan these days via his Twitter account. What started off as an evaluation of the way the morning news is run eventually turned into a critique of what he thought was devaluation of the Japanese people’s interests and opinions. Fukuda remarked that he ended up eventually having to turn off the television, frustrated with what he called a nonsense spouting device.
What with desktops, laptops, all-in-ones and tablets, we now have an enormous amount of choice when it comes to buying a new computer. While many of us enjoy the raw power that giant desktops have to offer, others prefer the simplicity and convenience of tablets with their slim designs and fingerprint-absorbing touchscreens.
With the Kira L93, Japanese electronics giant Toshiba is clearly hoping to cover all of its bases and please even the most indecisive computer buyer. With a 13.3-inch touchscreen that can be rotated 360 degrees, stand, detachable keyboard and stylus, the latest entry in the Dynabook series can be used up to seven different ways, making it one of the most versatile machines on the market.
Sailor Moon Crystal, the remake of anime’s most successful magical girl series ever, is set to premiere on July 5. Most people would say this is pretty soon, but for truly dedicated fans of the franchise it’s not nearly soon enough.
If you fall into the second camp, you can now make the waiting a little easier by catching up on the original Sailor Moon series, which you can watch right now for free on video streaming site Hulu.
We’ve brought you sushi doughnuts from Thailand and even cat sushi, but take a look at this Nutella sushi from France. Our office was so intrigued by the sweet Japan-inspired concoction that we sent one of our Japanese reporters over to check it out.
Japan’s distinctive Lolita fashion is a subculture that is known worldwide. While some wearers of the lace petticoats, bonnets and parasols may treat it as a hobby, dressing more conventionally in their day-to-day life but wearing Lolita outfits at the weekend, for others, Lolita fashion is a full-on lifestyle with principles that they adhere to day in, day out.
So if you want to make your life as Lolita as possible, or just feel that your home needs more cutesy ruffles and buttons, check out these pictures of the new Lolita furniture and homeware range from Japanese online store Romantic Princess. Warning: things are about to get frilly.
An Indian friend once told me that India is a country where “third world” and “first world” meet. You’ve got places that can generally be described by Westerners as “everyday,” and places that are a little more, er… interesting.
In many rural and poor areas – just like in parts of the U.S. – India sees a lot more jury rigging, improvisation, and otherwise unorthodox sights that are reminiscent of one of those “In Russia, hamburger eat you,” memes.
So, in no particular order, here are twenty photos we picked up on the Interwebs that supposedly describe India in a nutshell. Certainly, there’s a lot of cherry picking going on here, so take these pics with a grain of salt. Not all of India is like this. But, to be fair, “20 photos of regular Indian people enjoying brunch” would probably make for a much less interesting compilation.
A very common scene in Asian dramas and movies is where the doting parent or significant other fetches an ear pick and starts poking away in the other person’s ears. This event is commonplace in Asian families for reasons ranging from “it’s a lover’s ritual” to simply “I need to get that earwax out of your ear” (BTW: The earwax of Europeans and Africans is apparently different to the earwax of Asians and Native Americans).
Typically, the person getting their ears cleaned has their head in the other person’s lap, their eyes closed, enjoying the ear pick getting to places a finger can never reach. And it turns out that our ever-curious furry feline friends have taken notice of this relaxing event and have decided that they too want their ears cleaned.
And what’s even stranger is, they seem to like it!
Having grown up in Los Angeles, where celebrity drunk driving arrests are only slightly less common than rainy days, I’m generally not shocked when I hear about an entertainer being in trouble with the law. Things are very different in Japan, though, and whether it’s because those in the public eye are better behaved, more skilful at covering their tracks, or have a cozier relationship with the mass media, stories about major transgressions by performing artists are few and far between.
So when pop musician Aska was recently arrested, it sent shock waves through the country. Of course, if you’re not a fan of Japanese pop music from two decades ago, you probably think the 56-year-old singers legal problems are none of your own.
That’s not the case, though, if you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli anime.
The Super Mario Bros. theme, also known as the “ground theme,” “overworld theme,” or perhaps just “da-da-da-dada-da-da!” is arguably the most well-known piece of video game music in the world. First recorded for the NES game in 1985 by Nintendo’s in-house musician Koji Kondo, the track was designed to fit the action and pacing of the platformer, and added a light, whimsical accompaniment to gameplay that might otherwise have felt entirely different without it.
Thousands of people have attempted to tweak and cover this iconic track over the years, tackling it with a variety of instruments. More often than not, the result is the same – a great track is a great track regardless of the person playing it, after all – but occasionally someone with real talent comes along and blow us all away with a rendition that we almost wish Nintendo would include in their next Mario adventure.
Russian guitarist Igor Presnyakov’s cover of the overworld theme is one such rendition.
Funny things, names. In Japan, I am lucky enough to share mine with a delicious kind of stick-chocolate treat, which not only means that I can introduce myself as such: “Fran – you know, like Pocky, but not as cheap”, but also means that I often get given chocolates with my name on the packet, which I can confirm is something of a win-win situation.
My family name, however, is a terrifying mix of Rs, Ls, Ys and Ws that tends to provoke confusion and mild panic here in Japan. I have a good stock line for accurately communicating its spelling and pronunciation in the UK (“Wrigley, like the chewing gum”), and another one for Americans and/or baseball fans (“like Wrigley Field”). I’ve never come up with a good line to use on Japanese people, though, except to awkwardly mutter “um… yeah, sorry, it’s kind of a difficult name. Don’t worry, people in England can’t pronounce it either.”
But what if your name means something embarrassing or just downright odd in another language? Today, we bring you five kinds of Japanese names that make English speakers do a double-take, or a little snort into their coffee.
Secret hot spring onsen in Japan is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered by tourists
A trip to see the breathtaking mountain beauty of Nagano’s Kamikochi【Part 1】
Japanese samurai randoseru backpack lets you carry the bushido spirit with you wherever you go
Does Starbucks Japan’s new holiday Frappuccino really taste like a cup of fallen snow?
Japanese Prime Minister once criticized deploying military to fight Godzilla
Japan Weak Men’s Center suddenly cancels men-only train event
Evangelion director calls Hayao Miyazaki “geezer” in anime commentary, says he broke his Walkman
What’s the most popular way to prepare Japan’s beloved breakfast dish, Tamago Kake Gohan?
McDonald’s Japan now sells pies in…Dalmatian dog boxes
Pokémon doughnuts appear at Mister Donut, with Diglett as the star!
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
American gun owner opens our eyes to a different way of life in Tokyo
Japanese communities giving their skylines a spring clean and saying goodbye to power lines
New Akita Inu and Hachiko marshmallows are the best and squishiest souvenirs from Japan
Burger King Japan creates Kyoto Whopper, its most Japanese burger ever, with Kyoto rice merchant
Starbucks Japan unveils new Holiday goods for 2024
Sip with Snorlax – Clever drinkware design creates Pokémon in your glass with every pour【Pics】
Totoro stamp collection lets you add adorable Ghibli touches to cards and letters【Photos】
Overwhelmed by modern social media? Japanese company is bringing back pagers with an emoji-twist
Discovered: An even better way to open Japanese convenience store rice balls【Video】
Studio Ghibli releases new insect whistle necklace from Nausicaä of the Valley of the WindNintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
Totoro sequel anime Mei and the Baby Catbus will screen at Ghibli Park this winter
Tokyo Disneyland loses top-attendance crown for Japanese theme parks for second year in a row
Starbucks Japan unveils Halloween Frappuccino for 2024, and it’s like drinking a magic spell
Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno returning to anime with new project for 50-year-old franchise
Studio Ghibli releases new Howl’s Moving Castle goods that capture the magic from the anime movie
Adult Jam Bread causes a stir at store in Tokyo
What’s the deal with akebi, the perfectly purple, alien-like fruit that’s in season now in Japan?
Kyoto becomes City of Yokai, with Night Parade of One Hundred Demons festival this autumn
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】
Japan Weak Men’s Center suddenly cancels men-only train event
Evangelion director calls Hayao Miyazaki “geezer” in anime commentary, says he broke his Walkman
What’s the most popular way to prepare Japan’s beloved breakfast dish, Tamago Kake Gohan?
McDonald’s Japan now sells pies in…Dalmatian dog boxes
Pokémon doughnuts appear at Mister Donut, with Diglett as the star!
Dark and edgy Jujustu Kaisen teams up with bright and cheery Sanrio for new merch line【Pics】
New heater-less pet kotatsu is a safe way to keep your furry friends warm this winter
The new Ranma 1/2 anime is here! So is it worth watching?【SoraReview】
Burger King Japan creates Kyoto Whopper, its most Japanese burger ever, with Kyoto rice merchant
Hello Kitty shows up at Baskin-Robins Japan for 50th birthday party with special sweets and merch
Discovered: An even better way to open Japanese convenience store rice balls【Video】
Pokémon’s official baby brand opens Monpoké Marché, its first long-term, physical store in Odaiba
“We wasted so much time in English class” — Japanese Twitter user points out major teaching flaw
