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2014 (Page 155)

Enjoy a view of Mt Fuji from anywhere in the world with these new ice souvenirs

Oona McGee
Apr 21, 2014
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Ever since Mt Fuji earned World Heritage status in 2013, designers and artists have been marking the occasion with a flurry of creative merchandise featuring the famous landmark. The latest product to hit shelves shows the celebrations are continuing well into 2014, this time with moulded ice mountains that sit perfectly in your favourite drink! The attention to detail is particularly impressive, with the concentrated tip of ice perfectly resembling the famous snow-covered peak of Mt Fuji.

We take a look at the unique mould that makes them and see why this is one of Japan’s latest must-have souvenirs.

Miss Todai/weather forecaster Ayaka Sawada’s adorable drawings

Krista Rogers
Apr 21, 2014

Twenty-year-old Ayaka Sawada has a lot going for her. To begin with, she’s currently a junior in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tokyo (Todai for short), the most prestigious university in Japan. Secondly, she is the newly appointed weather forecaster on NTV’s Sunday morning program Shuichi. Thirdly, she’s drop-dead gorgeous, and was even crowned “Miss Todai 2013”! Is there anything this girl can’t do?

It’s also safe to cross art off that list, because it turns out that Ayaka’s also talented at drawing. Her profile lists drawing as one of her special skills, but we were still impressed by the following adorable sketches made by her!

Attack on Lotteria! Get your burger with a side of Levi and Eren

Preston Phro
Apr 21, 2014

Do you love burgers and enormous, skinless giants? How about sexy studs Eren and Levi from the super popular Attack on Titan? If you answered yes to any–or all–of those questions, then you better get to your nearest Lotteria this Friday, because supplies for the limited-edition mini-towel and plastic file are…uh…limited!

Also, we’d really like a milkshake while you’re there.

Japan Self-Defense Force’s elite Central Band performs Hatsune Miku song Senbonzakura

Master Blaster
Apr 21, 2014

There are a number of active bands in Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), but at the top of them is the Central Band. In existence longer the GSDF itself, they are the go-to band in situations where it’s unacceptable to screw up, such as welcoming foreign dignitaries and ceremonies of the highest order.

Then there’s “Senbonzakura”. This song was produced by WhiteFlame (aka Kurousa-P) and utilizes the artificial vocal talents of vocaloid Hatsune Miku. After its upload to video hosting site Niconico Douga in 2011, it became a modern classic of the vocaloid genre spawning several remixes and covers online and in karaoke rooms.

So what happens when the rigid discipline and tradition of the GSDF Central Band meets the wild pop of Senbonzakura? Let’s take a listen!

Japanese Twitter users and the tale of the broken battery

Preston Phro
Apr 21, 2014

One of the benefits of living in a modern society is letting other people worry about building all the stuff we use–like cars or blenders or cell phones. After all, do you really know what’s going on inside an internal combustion engine or how your juicer works? Well, okay, actually, you might know, but even so, it’s fair to say that the average person probably doesn’t have a very clear idea of how all their appliances–kitchen or otherwise–were actually put together.

And there’s nothing wrong with that! That’s the whole point of living in a society–DIYers and insane survivalists aside–specialization is what lets us have so much cool stuff. But sometimes our ignorance can lead to certain, um, embarrassing situations, as one Japanese Twitter user recently learned.

Here are the weirdest things you can buy on Alibaba’s English site

BUSINESS INSIDER
Apr 21, 2014

Alibaba, the enormous Chinese e-commerce company, is about to file for an IPO in the U.S.

The two most popular Alibaba websites — Taobao and Tmall — are Chinese marketplaces and rather inaccessible if you don’t know the language, but there’s also Alibaba.com, an English site for sales between importers and exporters in more than 240 countries.

Alibaba.com has been known to sell different types of well-disguised counterfeit goods. Not only that, but a lot of the stuff on the site is just straight up bizarre or oddly labeled (we found quite a few normal products that for some reason had the phrase “hot” or “girl” tacked onto them).

We dug around Alibaba.com, and here are some of the gems we found:

Better know a train nerd: 36 different classifications for Japan’s “densha otaku”

Jessica
Apr 21, 2014

You may already be aware that there is a subculture of train fanatics in Japan known as densha otaku, or train nerds. But did you know that there are loads of sub-subcultures within the densha otakus? From those obsessed with train noises to experts in train lunch boxes, we’ve got them all covered for you.

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Japanese women dish about being betrayed by their female friends

Krista Rogers
Apr 21, 2014

To all of our lovely women readers out there – have you ever felt betrayed by another female friend? Perhaps you were deceived and taken advantage of. Perhaps the coworker you trusted as your confidant was surreptitiously spreading scandalous rumors about you behind your back. Whatever the situation was, it was sure to have been an unpleasant experience.

A recent survey on popular Japanese site Mynavi Woman asked its female readers the same question as above. Dozens of women shed light about backstabbing friends and unbelievable scenes from the past. Have any of the following situations ever happened to you?

Healthy ice cream? Well, these new Häagen-Dazs vegetable flavors at least sound healthy!

Kay
Apr 21, 2014

Okay, we admit we have, shall we say, a certain amount of fondness for Häagen-Dazs ice cream (no, we’re not calling it an obsession, not yet). But that’s because the people at Häagen-Dazs keep giving us reasons to be obsessed about fond of their products, so it’s not really our fault, is it? And now, it looks like Häagen-Dazs might have done it again, with two new flavors, that despite seeming unconventional for ice cream, certainly sound good enough to plunge our spoons into!

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Poster for Ghibli’s new movie under fire … from the big guru himself!

Kay
Apr 21, 2014

Apparently, someone is unhappy at Studio Ghibli these days with one of the posters that are lining the studio’s walls. And who might that be? It’s none other than the studio’s co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki, and the poster he’s upset about happens to be the one for Ghibli’s upcoming release, When Marnie Was There. But what doesn’t Miyazaki like about this seemingly beautifully illustrated poster?

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“How many freakin’ CDs do I have to buy?” Fans displeased with idol group’s debut single

Master Blaster
Apr 20, 2014

On 16 April, idol group, Rev. from DVL, released their first major single through entertainment giant Yoshimoto Kogyo, thanks largely to the break-out success of member Kanna Hashimoto.

However, what was intended to be a celebration of the Fukuoka-based unit’s new-found fame ended up generating sad and bitter complaints from idol fans. At the center of the controversy was the inclusion of tickets to a “high-five party” bundled in with their single LOVE-arigatou-.

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Japan’s king of curry restaurants enters the instant noodle market, we taste the results

Casey Baseel
Apr 20, 2014

Ironically, two of Japan’s go-to choices for a hot, satisfying meal came from overseas. Ramen is Chinese in origin, and curry came to Japan from India via contact with the British Navy.

Deciding between the two dishes can be a difficult task, which is where curry ramen, noodles floating in a curry broth, comes in. Until now, though, trying to have the best of both worlds meant giving up on the chance to eat the offerings of Japan’s most popular curry chain, CoCo Ichi. But with a new team-up between the beloved chain and instant noodle maker Ace Cook, not only can you dine on CoCo Ichi curry ramen and udon, but you don’t even have to leave the house to do so.

We try McDonald’s Avocado Beef, see if it’s as lame as people on Twitter are suggesting

Master Blaster
Apr 20, 2014

Remember the other day when we announced the surprisingly fresh looking Avocado Burger Series from McDonald’s Japan? Many, including us couldn’t help but get drawn in to the heaps of vibrant green avocado bulging out of a firm ciabatta bun, even though deep down we knew it was too good to be true.

With their release date of 17 April here, many rushed to their nearest McDonald’s outlet to get a first crack at the uncharacteristically fresh and healthy looking sandwich. Unfortunately, what the first few customers reported was not pretty.

So are these customer reviews doing the avocado burgers justice, or is there still some truth in advertising left? We picked one up to see for ourselves.

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Five foods you should never feed to your cat

Krista Rogers
Apr 20, 2014

From Hello Kitty to the ubiquitous cat cafes, it’s no secret to our readers that Japan loves cats. Despite their tendency to view us humans as their own personal servants, we can’t seem to get enough of their fluffy cuteness and sometimes ridiculous antics. Whenever you need to smile, a silly cat video will usually do the trick.

So why not repay your cat by ensuring its healthy lifestyle? For starters, you can reevaluate your cat’s diet by checking out this list we’ve compiled of five at-a-glance foods that you should never feed to your pet. Maybe your kitty will thank you for your concern with even more purring and nuzzles (and no dead mice!).

Japan continues to invent items it thinks you want!

KK Miller
Apr 20, 2014

In the States, the only time you would normally see a moist towelette is if you are eating a plate of Buffalo wings or ribs. Everyone knows those napkins are a life saver when it comes to getting that sticky sauce off your fingers. But then there are those other times when you think, “WHY AREN’T THERE ANY WET NAPS?!?” Chips, Cheetos, fresh juicy fruit, spilled ice cream, baby messes, the list goes on and you need a wet nap NOW!

Wet napkins are much more common in Japan, and the CCP Co. Ltd. (a subsidiary of the Bandai Namco Group) has made it so you may never be more than an arm’s length away from a wet tissue!

Officials neither confirm nor deny rumor that Japanese support was denied for South Korean ferry disaster

Master Blaster
Apr 20, 2014

During a meeting in a gymnasium on Jindo Island in South Korea between Coast Guard officials and families of those on board the recently capsized ferry, one family member brought up a circulating rumor that the South Korean government had refused search and rescue support from neighboring Japan.

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The incredible isolation of North Korea — In one map

BUSINESS INSIDER
Apr 20, 2014

North Korea is often referred to as “The Hermit Kingdom” in the west — and one map demonstrates why.

The website MarineTraffic displays live data of cargo ships over 299 gross tonnage, and while South Korean ports of Incheon, Busan, and Ulsan are bustling with activity, shipboard cargo movement in the North barely registers, despite the country having eight major seaports.

Advice from Japanese women on dealing with your boyfriend’s anime girlfriend

Casey Baseel
Apr 19, 2014

Early on in a couple’s romantic relationship, there’s still a lot the two individuals don’t know about each other. Each date is another step in the gradual process of discovering things about your partner while at the same time revealing a little more of yourself.

Sometimes the surprises are happy ones. Your new boyfriend turns out to be a great cook, or have a wonderful sense of humor. Other times, though, the things you learn are much less pleasant. You notice he’s a heavy drinker. He mentions he blows half his paycheck on pachinko. You learn the bone-chilling reason all the turtles have gone missing from the park behind his apartment.

Or, maybe, that he has a crush on an anime girl.

Residents of Bangkok neighborhood don’t play by the railroad tracks, they live by them

Casey Baseel
Apr 19, 2014

Our recent meal in Bangkok of a five-and-a-half-pound hamburger may make Thailand seem like a wonderland of unparalleled decadence, but it’s only one facet of life in The Land of Smiles. Not everyone in the Thai capital spends their days chowing down on massive piles of beef, as we visited a neighborhood with a train line running right through the middle of it.

Japanese researcher develops glasses to replace eye contact, turn you into emotional cyborg

Jessica
Apr 19, 2014

In the physical and mental fields, technology is constantly evolving to assist humans, but what about in the emotional realm? Technology is often blamed for deteriorating social skills, but perhaps there is some way that it could be harnessed to improve our personal interactions. Dr. Hirotaka Osawa of the University of Tsukuba has developed a wearable device called AgencyGlass that may be the first step in assisting in “emotional labor.”

Just don’t think you are going to look cool using it.