Featured

January, 2015 (Page 2)

We try the new 1,500-yen Kobe beef burger from Lotteria 【Taste Test】

Japanese hamburger chain Lotteria‘s newest luxury burger has finally landed, and it features legendary Kobe beef made from special livestock reared on pure water and premium feed. Kobe beef is of such renown that there are even rumours that cattle from the area are allowed to sip on beer, listen to fine music and enjoy a good massage so that their meat tastes simply divine.

So what would the fast food version of this luxury beef taste like? We were so curious we had to swing by Lotteria to pick up one of the new Kobe beef burgers as soon as they were released. Check out all the delicious details after the jump!

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An early version of Samsung’s next Galaxy phone might have just leaked

We’ve been hearing for months that Samsung may be designing the Galaxy S6 “from scratch,” but now we might have a better idea of what that actually means. Blog Phone Arena published a photo that reportedly shows an early prototype of the Galaxy S6.

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Despite being centuries-old, the core traditions of Setsubun can seem as silly as its common English rendering, The Bean-Throwing Festival. Once a year in early February, households across Japan toss roasted soybeans outside their doors, with folklore saying the practice will ensure prosperity for the next 12 months by driving off the ogre-like creatures called oni.

Perhaps the oddest thing is the way the oni are depicted in illustrations and popular culture. Generally obese and clumsy, they seem to present little if any threat, and the fact that they can be undone by a scattering of legumes doesn’t do anything to help them win street cred, either.

But what if the oni improved their eating habits and started hitting the gym? Would that make them terrifying once again? Maybe, but it also just might make them dead sexy, as shown in this stylish Japanese ad.

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Move over, humanoid employees: Nagasaki theme park to open futuristic hotel staffed by robots

Once you’ve tired yourself out playing with your rideable 4-metre tall robot from Amazon Japan and experienced the neon assault to the senses that is Shinjuku’s Robot Restaurant show, you’ll also be able to visit a hotel in Japan with robot staff once the new Hen-na Hotel opens this summer.

As well as robot receptionists, porters, cleaners and waitresses, the aptly-named Hen-na Hotel (literally meaning “strange hotel”) in the Huis Ten Bosch theme park, Nagasaki, will also feature a whole host of futuristic technology aimed at reducing energy consumption and human staffing levels, therefore keeping room prices down.

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Field testing the magic, voice-operated pendant from Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky 【Video】

We’re sure many anime fans shared our excitement last May when the newest replica of the pendant from Studio Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky was announced. Sure, there had been chances to buy a necklace modeled after heroine Sheeta’s magical levistone accessory before, but this was the first time we’d be able to get our hands on one that actually reacts when you speak one of the film’s incantations into it.

Likewise, we’re sure many of the Ghibli faithful were as heartbroken as we were when the initial shipment of the special pendants sold out almost immediately. Still, the six months it took for a restock was a just a minor addition to the 20-plus years we’ve been waiting to try the pedant out since we first saw Laputa.

Now, finally, we’ve got the levistone pendant in our hands, and we’re ready to field test its ability to respond to our mystic commands.

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Which one’s your favourite Cid? The evolution of Final Fantasy’s constant character

What’s the first Final Fantasy game you played? I came somewhat late to the party, and my first experience of Final Fantasy was Final Fantasy VIII. After a childhood spent playing Sonic, suddenly finding myself in a semi-realistic world with massive potential for exploration really blew my tiny mind back then. In VIII, the headmaster of the military academy is a middle-aged, bespectacled dude with a paunch called Cid. But as Final Fantasy fans know, Cid is actually a character who appears in different forms in (pretty much) all of the Final Fantasy games. The dude’s been regenerated more times than the Doctor in Doctor Who! So we decided to take a look back at all of the Cids in chronological order to see how he’s changed over the years.

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  • Jan 29, 2015

First Kit Kat Chocolatery shop with cafe opens in Kyoto! New Chocolatery items released too

Chocolate lovers around Japan were understandably thrilled when the Kit Kat Chocolatery, the world’s first Kit Kat specialty store, opened in the Seibu Ikebukuro Department Store about a year ago. Of course, we were pretty excited too, and when we visited the shop on opening day, we could see from the crowd that plenty of people felt the same way.

After a year, it seems the Kit Kat Chocolatery has been a success so far, as they’ve just opened their fourth shop in Japan, this time in Kyoto. And what’s even better, this Kit Kat Chocolatery comes with a cafe attached! Plus, they’ve released some new Chocolatery products as well, so we thought we’d share the news with all our sweets-loving readers!

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Handy bath pillow doubles as a smartphone holder, might also be giving you a hug

After a long, hard day at work or school, there’s nothing like a nice, hot bath. But then again, a lot of people also like to unwind by kicking back and sending a few emails, watching a video or two, or perusing the Internet’s most profound sources of knowledge on their smartphone.

Rather than choose between the two options, some people opt to take their phone into the tub with them. But if you’re so tired you’re craving two indulgences at once, having to grip your phone in your hand while you soak can really put a damper on maximizing your rejuvenating/loafing time.

So instead of doing that job yourself, why not get one of these inflatable bath pillows that double as a smartphone holder to do it for you?

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“Can you help meow-t here?” Twitter user discovers why his bread clock was constantly wrong

Even in the era of having the sum of human knowledge to date in your pocket, there’s something to be said about using a sweet novelty clock. If you’re in Japan, you have lots of options. There’s Zelda clocks, beautiful-women clocks, clocks that come for free in magazines. But that’s just scraping the surface, because apparently there’s such a thing as bread clocks too.

One Twitter user recently posted that he’d been having problems with his bread clock constantly telling the wrong time – until he found out the reason why. And no, it’s not because the clock is a piece of bread – the real reason is far more adorable than that.

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World’s largest internet hub in Aomori?

Twitter user @rairacp_62 spotted this building in Aomori and something about it seemed very familiar…

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We’re struggling to find the Japan in Bose’s new “JAPAN CONCEPT MODEL” headphones

What’s that you say? Bose headphones in two brand new limited edition Japanese designs? Well, that sounds right up our street!

American audio specialists Bose continue to lead the noise-cancelling headphone market, but at US$250-$300, their QuietComfort 25 headphones are something of an investment. So what have the designers at Bose done with these new limited-edition “Japan Concept” headphones to warrant the bumped-up 43,200 yen ($366) price tag?

Why, they’ve made them in “Japanese colours” like black and gold, of course!

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Stay warm with a USB-powered, inflatable hug pillow heated to exactly human body temperature

The problem with traditional hug pillows is they just can’t mimic the warmth of a human body. But now, with a new USB-powered hug pillow from Thanko’s Raremono shop, you can enjoy the feeling of cozying up to a perfectly-heated, just-slightly-under-body-temperature 36 °C warm body. And, because it’s inflatable, it’s also very light (740 g [~1.6 lbs]), for all those times you need to roll it up for travel, or you want control over the firmness of your pillow.

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Web series’ anime arsenal expands with real-life version of Kill la Kill’s Scissor Blade【Video】

You really have to respect the skills of the team behind Man at Arms and its successor Man at Arms Reforged. It was impressive enough when the web series’ blacksmiths were taking on projects as iconic or massive as The Legend of Zelda’s Master Sword or Final Fantasy VII’s Masamune. The craftsmen have since moved on to even more complicated designs, such as the gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII and Fierce Deity Sword from Majora’s Mask.

Now, Man at Arms Reforged is back with what might be its most unique creation yet, the Scissor Blade from cult hit anime Kill la Kill, made from materials as unusual as the school supply inspiration of the weapon itself.

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Burger Decision 2015! Which crazy Lotteria sandwich will you vote for to make a comeback?

Hamburger chain Lotteria has to walk a difficult tightrope. On the one hand, it’s got its reputation as the mad scientist of the Japanese fast food industry to uphold, meaning it needs a sizeable roster of unusual, outlandish, or just plain massive sandwiches on offer. On the other hand, in order to ensure each item has plenty of impact and novelty factor, the chain doesn’t want them hanging around on the menu so long that customers start to get bored with them or take them for granted.

As a result, most of Lotteria’s most interesting items are only available for a limited time, sometimes as short as a single day. But just in case you missed your chance to try one, Lotteria is bringing back just one of its special sandwiches from last year, and its letting fans decide which by tallying the number of Yahoo! searches for each of the candidates.

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  • Jan 29, 2015

Hello Kitty keeping as busy as ever — this time she collaborates with…money itself!

We all know that Hello Kitty is one busy and extremely capable, well, business…cat, shall we say? And yes, we love her for it, too. So, what new adorable form has she taken this time?

Well, it seems she’s now gotten close and personal with money — Japanese coins, to be exact. But not to worry, she hasn’t gotten involved in the counterfeiting business. She’s come up with magnets on which she appears attached to different Japanese coins, and as always, she manages to look cool and cute in the process!

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Espresso Patronum! Artist creates awesome artwork on Starbucks’ cardboard cup sleeves

The iconic Starbucks mermaid is an instantly recognisable commercial symbol, up there with McDonald’s golden arches or Nike’s tick. But don’t you get a little bored sometimes with the same old face peering back at your from the cardboard sleeve lovingly hugging your steamy cup of joe? One artist decided to jazz up the old mermaid design using black pen, featuring everyone from Dragon Ball‘s Goku to The Legend of Zelda‘s Link, and the results are kind of awesome!

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Japanese net users surprised to learn that painfully cute bento was in fact made by a teenage boy

What did you have for lunch today? If you’re anything like me, it was probably nothing special – just something to keep you going until the end of the day. Oh, how wonderful it would be to be blessed with the skills (or a skilled family member) to make outrageously accurate kyaraben, i.e. packed lunches intricately designed to look like various characters! Lunch could be so much more entertaining!

Since not all moms are adept at creating kyaraben, some kids have taken their decorative lunches into their own hands. And by kids, I don’t just mean girls…

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Don’t miss these painfully cute photos of lawless cats invading your privacy【Photos】

Your home is your sanctuary. It’s a place where you can relax and just be yourself without any distractions from the outside world. So, it should be a place that feels secure and private. But, when you own a pet, you quickly come to understand that the privacy you seek completely disappears. Even the most isolated room in the house, the bathroom, isn’t safe from your furry compatriot.

This is especially the case if you are a cat owner. As much as cats are independent animals and do things as they wish, they become really needy when their owners disappear to answer the call of nature. Find out how cats pierce the veil of privacy when their owners go to the bathroom after the jump.

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Cross-dressing talent Matsuko Deluxe: AKB opening the Tokyo Olympics “would embarrass Japan”

Larger-than-life columnist and talent Matsuko Deluxe is well-known for her sharp tongue, particularly where pretty ladies are concerned. This week the target of her ire is idol groups like AKB48.

On a radio show Monday, she slammed the idea of them performing for the Tokyo Olympics as “embarrassing.”

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Sailor Moon and team to get new adversaries in “Black Moon Clan”

Sailor Moon and team will be facing off against an all-new group of villains in the soon-to-air second season of Sailor Moon Crystal, the newest in the long-running anime and manga franchise, says Toei Animation.

The new threat for Japan’s most famous all-girl superhero team comes in the form of the sinister (we think?) Black Moon Clan, comprised of one female and three male antagonists. The team is primarily motivated by leader Prince Demande’s desire to obtain the “Silver Crystal” and Sailor Moon herself – although it’s unclear if he’s romantically interested or if he’s just following the guidelines of the Villain Trope Handbook.

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