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2014 (Page 147)

We try extra-unique souvenir sold by soon-to-be world heritage site — silkworm chocolate!

Kay
May 5, 2014
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One of the happier pieces of news to grace media headlines in Japan recently has been the announcement that the Tomioka Silk Mill, located in Gunma Prefecture, is expected to make the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites in June this year. With everyone excited about this historic building becoming the eighteenth recognized World Heritage site in Japan, the mill is sure to attract an enormous tourist crowd during the current Golden Week holidays which go on until next Tuesday, as well as the upcoming summer season.

But even before all this buzz, Tomioka Silk Mill had its very own brand of souvenir chocolates, and they have now been attracting quite a bit of attention in Japan — not just because of the silk mill’s soon-to-be expected World Heritage status, but because of the utterly unique (and some may even say grotesque) appearance of the chocolates. Yes, as you can see from the picture, they’re silkworm chocolates!

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Dole establishes Gokusen Day with 59 of their absolute finest serial numbered bananas

Master Blaster
May 5, 2014

Due to the nature of the Japanese language, it would seem that nearly every date can be somehow punned into a “holiday” from Tofu Day (Oct. 8) to Honey Day (Aug. 3). Of course these aren’t official public holidays but are often chances for companies to highlight their wares such as Pocky Day (Nov. 11) characterized by all the ones looking like Pocky sticks.

The newest on this long list is Gokusen Day (May 9) which celebrates the Gokusen Banana, the apex of Dole Japan’s years of banana growing technology. To celebrate Gokusen Day, Dole will be selling 59 of the very best of their already high-grade Gokusen Bananas.

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Google’s three most-searched Japanese foods in other countries surprises Japan

Master Blaster
May 5, 2014

Last December, while conducting a study on the number of characters input into Google’s search engine, the company compiled various statistics on people’s search habits between January and November, 2013. Among them were the most-searched Japanese foods outside of Japan.

We’ll get number one right out of the way because it’s not really a shocker: “sushi.” Number two, however, was a little more unexpected. Can you guess what it is?

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The awesome artwork hiding in the Japanese word processor: sakura, dragons, and sake

Casey Baseel
May 5, 2014

With over 1,800 commonly-used kanji characters, plus two different sets of 46 phonetic characters each, typing on a word processor in Japanese works a little differently than in English. Many words in Japanese have the same pronunciation but are written differently, so first you have to type the word phonetically, then select the proper rendering from a list that pops up.

The cool thing is that sometimes the selections aren’t just written characters, but drawings of the object in question. Poking around in a Japanese word processor is like a linguistic treasure hunt, and our searches turned up illustrations of mythical creatures, delicious food, and famous landmarks of Japan.

Green cherry blossoms blooming now across Japan

Oona McGee
May 5, 2014

If you’re kicking yourself for missing the hanami cherry blossom viewing season in Japan, we have some good news for you. There are still some sakura in full bloom right now and not only are they perfect for picnicking under, they’re a rare green variety that has even Japanese people gasping in delight.

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Are Japan’s Three Bs actually bad boyfriend material? We find out!

ロケットニュース24
May 4, 2014

Forget space or the deep seas, when it comes to human exploration, dating is the real final frontier. You never know where you might find that special someone–it could be in a club, at school, or even on the train. But conventional wisdom–in Japan at least–says that women should avoid dating these three types of men: Band members, bartenders, and hair stylists (biyoushi, in Japanese).

Now, it’s easy to imagine why so many might believe these Three Bs might be filled with the very baddest of bad boys–after all, what’s sexier than a guitarist who can mix a drink and do your hair? But how do Japanese men in these professions feel about their reputations? Find out below!

Baked Kit Kats and ice cream together? Don’t mind if we do

Casey Baseel
May 4, 2014

We make no effort to hide our love of Tokyo’s Kit Kat Chocolatory, the store that specializes in gourmet versions of the delicious chocolate wafers. After stopping by on opening day to grab a pack of sakura green tea flavor, we made a return trip to score some special bakeable Kit Kats.

Now, the Chocolatory is tempting us back again with a tantalizing new product: an ice cream and baked Kit Kat combo.

The man who has eaten at every Michelin 3-star restaurant says the ‘Jiro Dreams Of Sushi’ spot is not worth the hype

BUSINESS INSIDER
May 4, 2014

Last week, President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had dinner at Sukiyabashi Jiro, considered by many to be one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo, if not the world.

It’s certainly the most famous sushi spot on the planet thanks to the 2011 documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” The three-star Michelin restaurant is located in the basement of an office building near the Ginza station, with a modest wooden counter and only 10 tables in the entire establishment. 89-year-old master chef Jiro Ono serves a tasting menu of roughly 20 courses, for a total of 30,000 Japanese yen (just under $300).

But some people question if the experience is actually worth the money.

While there’s no question that diners are eating some of the freshest and most perfectly prepared fish available, the meal is often rushed. The Michelin Tokyo Guide warns “don’t be surprised to be finished within 30 minutes.” That’s the equivalent of spending 1,000 Japanese Yen — or $10 — per minute.

Your smartphone could kill you: Phone-related deaths on the rise in Japan

Cara Clegg
May 4, 2014

Look down any crowded train carriage or busy street in Japan and you’re guaranteed to find the majority of people with their heads bent over their mobile phones or other electronic devices. And while there’s no end of anthropologists twittering on about the damage all this constant stimulus is doing to the youth of today, there’s also a very physical risk that can come with cell phone addiction.

Kirby’s angry American version re-imported to Japan for the first time

Mike
May 4, 2014

Even as an American, it never occurred to me that the in-game cuteness of the iconic Kirby character doesn’t really carry over to the box art – where he’s typically portrayed as a Pokemon ripoff in need of anger management courses.

Don’t believe us? Take a look at this decade-old print ad for a new Kirby game in the U.S.:

Somewhere down the line, Nintendo America producers decided that Kirby should be portrayed as tough and menacing on American shores in order to appeal to U.S. audiences, who at the time were still in love with macho heroes from the ’80s action movie heydays. Even if the hero in question was a puffy pink ball of cute, Americans apparently craved sheer anger in their main characters – a far cry from the Japanese, who were raised on Kirby as an adorable, smiling murderer that ate his victims whole and gained their power like some fantasy world maniac.

It’s so green!: Matcha curry now on sale in Japan

Michelle Lynn Dinh
May 4, 2014

We’ve come across a fair amount of oddly colored curries in our gastronomic quests through Japan. From bright blue to jet black, we thought we’d seen them all until we cam across green. You’ve probably seen green curry from India before, but unlike saag paneer, this one isn’t filled with spinach. Believe it or not, the leafy hue of this savory dish comes from matcha green tea.

Can’t finish all your sake? Try bathing in it for healthy, younger-looking skin!

Casey Baseel
May 4, 2014

A few of Japan’s most popular pastimes aren’t exactly what some other societies would consider socially acceptable, or even comprehensible, as hobbies. It’s perfectly acceptable to say your hobby is “drinking” or “taking baths,” and while those are both common activities the world over, in other countries most people stop putting their enthusiasm for the first front and center after graduating from college, and the second is seen as more of a necessity than an entertainment option.

Japan’s love for alcohol and bathing, though, is immense, as evidenced by the thousands of bars, pubs, and hot spring resorts that cover the country. Now, some are claiming there are health benefits to combining the two by mixing a little booze into your bath.

Walking Bicycle Club looks to change the way we ride, angers internet with promotional video

Master Blaster
May 4, 2014

Not a whole lot has changed since the development of the bicycle around two centuries ago. Near the end of the 19th century we moved away from those bicycles with the absurdly large front wheel and that seemed to be enough.

Sure there have been massive strides in performance technology and certain novel variations such as the recumbent and tandem bikes, but the fundamentals were pretty much kept intact. Now, a Japanese group has come up with a revolutionary redesign of the bicycle which they hope brings joy to riders and all who are around them. Unfortunately many who saw the commercial for it felt the opposite.

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Limited edition triple-size Lotte pie snack is so popular, we’re unable to get our hands on them!

Kay
May 3, 2014

Major snack manufacturer Lotte’s “Pie no Mi” (literally, nuts from a pie tree) is a favorite, long-selling snack in Japan, available in any convenience store or super market. The standard version of the simple yet tasty treat is made from countless thin pastry layers filled with a smooth chocolate filling baked to a crisp, flaky consistency. And if that doesn’t already sound good enough, they’ve now come up with a special, extra-large version of the pies. But like so many other limited edition sweets, the “giant” pies are proving to be quite difficult to come by, something that our very own Mr. Sato from the Japanese RocketNews24 site has found out the hard way.

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What kind of otaku are you?

Cara Clegg
May 3, 2014

Fed up with the overly broad usage of the word ‘otaku’, one Japanese Twitterer decided to divide otaku up into six different categories with varying levels and types of obsession. From the humble fan to the god of nerds, where do you fit in?

Teenage rascals arrested following spate of drive-by eggings in Osaka

Philip Kendall
May 3, 2014

Japan is well-known for its low crime-rate. Only a select few are permitted to own firearms, theft is rare, and the country’s violent crime statistics are among the lowest in the world.

But while you’ll almost never hear of a drive-by shooting in Japan, it turns out that members of the public in one Osaka town have been living in fear recently after a band of rambunctious scallywags took to cruising the streets at night and pelting pedestrians with eggs from the window of a moving car, at one time even stocking up on as many as 50 eggs with which to launch their reign of tamago terror.

Rurouni Kenshin trailer has rocking theme, gorgeous sets, dudes trying to stab each other

Casey Baseel
May 3, 2014

Lupin III isn’t the only anime character coming to life on the big screen this summer. Building off the success of the first live-action adaptation of comic artist Nobuhiro Watasuki’s immensely popular tale of samurai redemption, the cast of Rurouni Kenshin returns for not one, but two sequels before the leaves change color in the fall.

Releasing two films in such rapid succession is a bold move, but if this newly released trailer is anything to judge by, the producers’ confidence isn’t misplaced.

Why do so many Japanese brides rent their wedding dresses?

Casey Baseel
May 3, 2014

While some couples in Japan opt for traditional Japanese-style wedding ceremonies, most choose to get married in the Western fashion. The nuptials are usually held in a secular wedding hall, but much of the décor and pageantry from Christian ceremonies carries over, such as statues of angels, readings from the Bible, and singing choirs.

Fittingly, most Japanese brides wear a wedding dress for their special day. One key difference, though, is that in Japan hardly anybody buys their dress.

Oishinbo manga’s depiction of Fukushima’s radiation effects criticized

Anime News Network
May 3, 2014

A chapter of Tetsu Kariya‘s Oishinbo manga series is garnering public outcry after being published in Shogakukan‘s Big Comic Spirits magazine on Monday. The manga chapter follows a group of newspaper journalists who are exposed to nuclear radiation within a plant in Fukushima. After the character’s exposure, they complain of nosebleeds and exhaustion, ailments that are reaffirmed by a character named Katsutaka Idogawa, based on a real-life former mayor of the town of Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture. The reporters also complain of censorship, an issue possibly inspired by Tokyo Electric Power Company’s real-life actions.

Nagoya NPO releases survival guide for hikikomori for when their parents are gone

Master Blaster
May 3, 2014

The social phenomenon of hikikomori, where people are compelled to remain confined in their own homes, is not new anymore. What is new, however, is the looming issue of what happens when a hikikomori’s parents become elderly or die.

Recently a scattering of cases has begun involving people who have filed for government support after their parents have died. And with estimates of the hikikomori population hovering around one million in Japan, experts are suggesting this is just the tip of the impending iceberg.

One group called Nadeshiko No Kai out of Nagoya is looking to take the bull by the horns and is nearly ready to issue a manual – the first of its kind – for hikikomori to aid them in becoming independent once their parents are no longer able to help.

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