Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
February, 2015 (Page 5)
Last weekend it was time for Wonder Festival, the garage kit and model extravaganza held in Chiba Prefecture’s Makuhari Messe. But while the plastic and resin replicas of anime and video game icons may be the ostensible reason for the event, there’s also plenty of flesh and blood (and cloth) passion for the industries’ hottest franchises as cosplayers converge on the convention to show off their costumes and pose for the cameras.
One of those cameras happened to be ours.
Have you ever been unsure about whether or not you were happy? Maybe you thought, “Gee, it sure would be nice if I could wear a device around my neck that would tell me how happy I am.”
Well you’re in luck! Japanese technology company Hitachi has come up with a “happiness meter.” It’s a device that you wear around your neck, letting it pick up little signals that measure exactly how happy or unhappy you are. Best of all, it’s designed for use in companies, so that your boss will know exactly how happy you are all the time. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?
Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, which makes it a perfect opportunity for an elegant dinner out with your special someone. Of course, if you’re single, you may want to bypass a meal in a restaurant surrounded by couples making kissy faces at each other and just call Domino’s for a pizza instead.
But even if you’re not headed out, Domino’s understands that maybe you’re in the mood for both pizza and love. That’s why this Valentine’s Day the popular pizza providers are offering a deal that includes a cute heart-shaped pizza, and, if you’d like, a romantic kabe-don wall pound as part of the delivery service.
Drinking more water is one of those New Year’s resolutions that everyone seems to have, but always falls by the wayside. With a cool enough water cooler, though, that might just change things. After all, who wouldn’t want to visit sexy armchair Levi every hour for some more water?
Even in a country that adores its pets, none have captured the hearts of Japanese animal-lovers like Hachiko. The Akita dog touched the hearts of people across the nation by devotedly waiting every day for more than nine years in front of Tokyo’s Shibuya Station for his master to return from work, not knowing that he had died from a cerebral hemorrhage and wouldn’t be coming back.
Today, a statue of Hachiko stands in Shibuya, showing the dog patiently waiting. But while the bittersweet quality of the story made Hachiko famous, it overlooks the fact that before his master’s passing, the two would happily reunite every evening and walk home together. Now, it’s that moment’s turn to be immortalized, with a new statue showing Hachiko as he’s rarely been depicted before, bursting with joy upon seeing his owner.
With the invention of indoor plumbing and bathtubs (not really news to anyone, we’d hope), the traditional public bath houses and hot springs of Japan are now used for relaxing getaways more than actual hygienic necessity. Heck, even capybara soak in hot springs to relax!
Hot springs, known as onsen in Japanese, are also becoming popular with foreign visitors, at least those brave enough to bare it all in front of strangers. For health and safety reasons, there are quite a few rules to pay attention to when soaking in a public bath. A very nicely designed etiquette poster, which recently surfaced on TripAdvisor, is very thorough and is even teaching Japanese people a thing or two about the bathing experience!
As you may have noticed, Japan has pretty much mastered the art of sprucing up food. We’ve already seen a plethora of tools to create bear-shaped rice or smiley face sausages, but we’re particularly excited about a certain product we just discovered up north in Hokkaido. They’re called “message kombu” and the heartfelt messages made out of seaweed are sure to put a smile on anyone’s face.
Ohhh I can feel it. It’s that time again: time to piss experienced players of the Tekken franchise off by mashing buttons wildly and winning! This will be the seventh time I have done it, and I’ve become exceedingly efficient at it.
That’s right Tekken 7 is about to hit game centers across Japan and to get people into the fighting spirit Bandai Namco Games has uploaded the game’s opening movie to YouTube. Let’s watch!
Last week, we gave you a recipe for the tasty caffeinated treat called coffee jelly. This week, we’d like to introduce a coffee shop that is taking that quotidian treat to the next level of taste and presentation. Behold Coffee Suzuki, where the coffee jelly forms right before your very eyes!
Japan is known for a lot of things, such as its culture, its safety, and its traditional foods, but it is definitely not known for making delicious pizza. In fact, some of the pizza chains have come out with some really wacky creations over the years.
However, there are quite a few independent pizza places throughout Japan, which can, of course, be found in the cities, but sometimes can even be found in small towns or along mountain roads, yet they will still often be equipped with special pizza ovens. If you want good pizza in Japan, you should search for these places, it will be well worth the trouble!
One such independent place is Amici in Ibaraki Prefecture, where they serve pizza and the lesser known Italian pie, the pizza fritta, or deep-fried pizza. Our reporter visited Amici, but not just to try the delicious fried pizza pockets, he went to experience the cooking process too!
For Ghibli fans, the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo could be considered a holy Mecca of sorts, a place to make a pilgrimage to. The museum offers delightful entertainment filled with creative fun, which we guess is something you would expect from Ghibli, and it’s bound to be a hugely enjoyable place to visit, even if you’re not a die-hard Ghibli fan.
And one of the attractions at the museum has to be its gift shop, full of original Ghibli goods that can only be purchased there. In fact, we think that the shop alone could be reason enough to visit the museum, and we’ve even brought to you a previous article featuring 10 cools items from the shop that we thoroughly recommend. And now, we have another special item to share with you, also from the museum shop, that one of our Japanese reporters Yoshio found absolutely fascinating. It’s the Ghibli Museum original “Minituart”, a detailed miniature replica of the museum, and we just had to see for ourselves how exact a replica it was!
Workers in Japan are often perceived by the rest of the world as possessing an extremely strong work ethic, which drives them to daily acts of unpaid overtime, selfless sacrifice of rightfully accrued holiday time, and occasionally even to karoushi, or death by overwork. So pervasive is this perception that the image of the exhausted salaryman splayed out across train carriage floors after a hard day’s work has become a sort of unofficial symbol of Japanese working life.
But what people who have actually worked in Japanese offices will tell you is that, while simply existing in the strict hierarchical system of a Japanese workplace can be an exhausting feat in and of itself, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everybody’s getting loads of work done. In fact, Japanese workers may be just as lazy as the rest of us. So how come everybody still thinks they work so hard?
Every now and again, we stumble across a dessert recipe that’s so simple and tasty, it almost feels like we’ve discovered some sort of hidden secret that man wasn’t meant to know. Last year, we found out that instead of making pancakes one at a time, we could just make one huge one in a rice cooker, sprinkle in some green tea powder, and have a dessert that looks and tastes great with no fuss at all.
But what if you prefer chilled desserts to hotcakes? No problem. We recently tried a recipe for a frozen marshmallow dessert that may or may not technically be ice cream, but amazingly creates something that tastes even better from just two ingredients, and takes almost as few steps to make.
If you’re a Ghibli fan, the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo’s Mitaka is probably high on your bucket list of places to visit. Sadly, you won’t find any Ghibli-themed roller coasters there, but various attractions are housed in the museum, where you can also learn about how Ghibli animation is made, meet the giant robot from Castle in the Sky, and do much more. Adults can even enjoy unique “Valley of the Wind” beer, so it’s a place that visitors of all ages can enjoy.
One thing you’ll definitely want to do if you go to the museum is to check out the gift items and souvenirs sold at the museum shop MAMMA AIUTO. That’s exactly what one of our Japanese reporters Daiichiro Tashiro did, and he was quite impressed with what he saw — so impressed, in fact, that he’s come up with a list of 10 items only available at the Ghibli Museum shop that he would definitely recommend.
After the first part of our Mr. Sato-lead tour of Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market, we’re sure a lot of our readers are excited to see what else our resident gourmand had for us. And now the wait is over! Here are the last four sushi establishments as visited by Mr. Sato and his daring accomplice in raw fish consumption Nakano.
Whether you’re preparing for your first trip to Tokyo or just looking for some great places you might have missed, this is one article you’ll definitely want to read!
Previously on RocketNewsZ, tensions flared between our reporters Yuichiro Wasai and Mr. Sato after Wasai used Mr. Sato’s mankini and returned it without washing. The two were just beginning to levitate off the ground and fight when the chief editor told them to take it outside so as not to damage the office’s complete collection of sushi cat figurines.
Knowing who pays the bills around here, both complied and went down to Shibuya Parco in Tokyo where an event was being held inviting fighters such as these two to compete by hurling kamehameha energy blasts at each other. Will these two settle their differences before it’s too late? We’ll soon find out after they manage to flag down a cab.
When they aren’t filming commercials involving attacks by Titans or epic 60-hour-long miniature car model shoots, Japanese car manufacturer Subaru has proven to us that they’ve also got some commercials designed to hit you right in the feels.
Take this endearing new clip set in a snowy winter’s scene, for instance. It will surely warm your heart, despite the cold!
Our Japanese sister site Pouch would like to let our English-speaking readers in on a simple, time and effort-conserving way to cook a flavorful roast beef. This method also allows the meat to retain all of its natural juices, so you can impress your friends with an incredibly tender home-cooked meal.
But get ready for the best part of all–you get to let your rice cooker do all the hard work!
Leading up to Valentine’s Day in Japan, there’s one thing that’s impossible to escape – and it’s not swarthy, rose-touting Lotharios. It’s chocolate. In pretty packaging and delicious displays, store counters come alive with the sweet stuff at this time of year, and one of the more luxurious and decadent types is the rich, creamy nama choco (fresh chocolates).
The only problem with this type of chocolate is the fact that it blends an already creamy chocolate with even more cream and butter, making it heavy on the calories. Net users in Japan, though, have discovered an unusual way to cut out the extra fat – by replacing it with tofu! Using just three ingredients, we’ll let you in on the latest diet tip from Japan and show you how to make delicious, creamy nama choco with only half the calories.
Every February brings another amazing display of artful snow and ice carvings, and RocketNews24 loves to bring you the details for those who aren’t able to make the trip up to Hokkaido. While we weren’t able be there ourselves last year, we are pleased to bring you the firsthand account of the 66th annual Sapporo Snow Festival. Grab a cup of hot chocolate and join us for a photo tour!
Japanese avoiding domestic travel as foreign tourists increase, possibly creating vicious cycle
Street Fighter Hadouken Churros to be launched and eaten in Tokyo, Okami pudding on offer too
Japanese town suing resident for being a jerk
New Pokémon GU collaboration dresses all the family, including babies for the first time
Japan’s last two pandas leaving for China next month, Ueno Zoo announces final day for twins
We delight in the gastronomic treasures we found in the Hokkaido Umaimonokan lucky bag
Sleep next to the railroad tracks at the closest hotel to a train station platform in Japan
7-Eleven’s edible cat paw proves Japanese convenience store sweets are on a whole other level
7-Eleven now sells rice burgers in Japan, blurring the line between fast and convenience store food
Internet survey sheds light on how Japanese women deal with the hair ‘down there’
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
This hot springs town in Japan sets fire across a mountain every winter in a beautiful tradition
Gundam and Reebok team up for new GQuuuuuuX Pumps【Photos】
More Shinkansen trains being added to Japan’s “golden route” to meet traveler demand
Japanese man who didn’t know how banks work defrauded out of 21 million yen
Japanese woman sues man for 1.5 million yen for violating her “right to chastity”
U.S.A. now the fastest-growing market for Japan’s high-tech toilets, now selling quicker than ever
Kyoto samurai house wants to share its history of seppuku, torture and gold coins with visitors
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods and a rhinestone tumbler that costs 19,500 yen
Real-world Nausicaa Ghibli anime glider completes its final flight in Japan【Video】
Japanese train company is letting fans buy its actual ticket gates for their homes
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting tourist crowds in Tokyo’s Asakusa neighborhood?
The 10 best day trips from downtown Tokyo【Survey】Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in JapanTokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
A guide to visiting Sagamiko Illumination, one of the three biggest light-ups in Kanto
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answerJapan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
We delight in the gastronomic treasures we found in the Hokkaido Umaimonokan lucky bag
Sleep next to the railroad tracks at the closest hotel to a train station platform in Japan
7-Eleven’s edible cat paw proves Japanese convenience store sweets are on a whole other level
7-Eleven now sells rice burgers in Japan, blurring the line between fast and convenience store food
Internet survey sheds light on how Japanese women deal with the hair ‘down there’
10 Japanese expressions that sound delightfully strange and funny when translated
Final Fantasy and Shinkansen announce collaboration with in-train audio play, SD art and merch
TikTok releases its Year in Music 2025 – Japan’s Top 10 Songs ranking
Matsuya’s Gorogoro Chicken Curry now comes in retort form…but is it as good as the original?
Which Pokémon are you? Official quiz reveals your Poké-personality, and how to take it in English
Let’s visit a German castle… in Okinawa!