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November, 2015 (Page 18)

Gintoki tranforms into absolutely adorable Ginko for limited-edition Gintama figure

The anime series Gintama has been having a great season, starting off with a hilarious parody in which main character Gintoki re-enacted shamed Japanese politician Ryutaro Nonomura’s very public bawling session from last year. Then, mid-way through this season, there were a couple of genderbent episodes in which members of the cast were suddenly transformed into the opposite sex, including the cool and masculine Gintoki who became the cute and busty Ginko!

To celebrate the fun of that mini-arc, Premium Bandai is selling 1,000 limited-edition figures of Ginko-chan and we can’t get over how adorable she is!

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  • Nov 4, 2015

It’s that time of year again… when we get to see giant rodents soak blissfully in a hot bath!

In Japan, as many of our readers will no doubt be aware, we love to soak in relaxing hot springs. What we also love to do is to see giant rodents taking a hot bath!

Yes, it’s that time of year again when the capybaras at the Izu Shaboten Park get to enjoy their very own hot spring onsen. It’s been a tradition at the park now for over 30 years, and as far as we can tell, the public hasn’t tired of seeing the rodents looking blissful and relaxed in the warm water.

This year, the bathing ritual of the furry creatures will once again be delighting park visitors as the “Original Capybara Outdoor Hot Bath (Ganso Capybara no Roten-buro)” season begins November 21. Read More

Need a date for Christmas Eve? VR headset lets you share cake with an anime voice actress

Last week we took a look at a new brand of instant curry on sale in Japan that includes a DVD of a sexy model who pretends to be your girlfriend as you eat it. Now, who’s ready for some dessert?

In Japan, it’s not a proper Christmas Eve without a romantic date and some cake, so unattached anime fans will be thrilled to know that one of the industry’s most popular voice actresses is available for a dessert date this year. The only catch?

The date takes place in virtual reality.

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“Is that the real Scarlett Johannson?” Japanese makeup goddess Zawachin amazes yet again

We’ve seen Twitter celebrity Zawachin work her makeup magic before to transform into pretty much any ethnicity or gender. She’s turned into AKB48 members, all the members of Japanese boy band Arashi, and love-them-or-love-to-hate-them British boy band One Direction.

And for Halloween, Zawachin has been blowing netizens’ minds with her pitch-perfect Avengers Black Widow costume. Some are claiming it’s the actual Scarlett Johansson in disguise, but we have the pictures to prove otherwise.

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Japanese netizen travels Japan, takes photos of the country’s many (many) awesome cats【Pics】

Though it may not seem like it, Japan is actually a fairly sizable country, with a lot of ground for sightseers to cover. It’s so big, in fact, we imagine it’d be difficult to a regular tourist to see all of it.

But what if you grew up in Japan and spent all your free time traveling around the country? Well, in that case, we bet you’d get to see a whole lot more of it, and for one Japanese Internet user, that exactly describes their life—but with one very cool addition. It turns out this anonymous traveler loves to take photos of cats at their various destinations.

Check out the awesome and adorable photo album below!

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New magazine features behind the scenes stories of manga stars’ careers, DVDs of them at work

Japanese publisher Shueisha puts out a number of manga anthologies, but by far the jewel in the publisher’s crown, and really the entire Japanese comics industry, is Weekly Shonen Jump. For decades, the magazine has been home to the biggest manga hits, whose creators achieve legendary status in the hearts of legions of fans.

As a matter of fact, so many of Japan’s best-loved manga writers and artists achieved fame through Weekly Shonen Jump that Shueisha is getting self-referential with a new magazine set to launch soon, in which each issue highlights a different manga artist and comes bundled with a DVD of the creator at work and tracing paper so you can try to duplicate the results.

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See a whole other side of Kyoto in this beautiful, quintessentially Japanese train, coming soon

With all the sights, sounds, and history Kyoto City has to offer, from the Golden Pavilion to the thousands of torii shrine gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine, most people forget that there is much more to Kyoto outside of the bustling capital city. Kyoto Prefecture actually reaches farther north, with its northernmost cities bordering the ocean on the Sea of Japan side, earning the area the nickname “Umi no Kyoto“, literally meaning “Kyoto of the Sea”.

For travelers looking to explore more than the usual tourist spots, there are trains departing from Kyoto Station which will take you for a scenic ride through the northern part of the prefecture to view other famous sites such as the beautiful Amanohashidate land bridge in Miyazu City. And now, Japan Railway (JR) has teamed up with a well-known designer to make the travel experience much more unique in this old-style Umi no Kyoto-themed train, set for departure soon!

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Robot Pepper rocks out with Asian Kung-Fu Generation

Two members of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto) recorded a practice session recently with an unusual musical guest: Pepper, a robot who can detect and interpret human emotions. It can also provide beats, and did so for Gotch (who plays guitar and prefers a rock tempo) and Tamaki Roy (who raps and prefers a hip-hop beat).

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Cute Levi imposter wins over Japanese Twitter

Attack on Titan fans who pre-ordered the new Levi figure by Good Smile were no doubt super-excited when orders started shipping last month. But one buyer, who goes by the username @Levi_Eren_Karin on Twitter, couldn’t help but tweet about her surprise when the contents inside weren’t quite what she had been expecting…

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Superdry: The “Japanese” fashion brand that most Japanese people have never even heard of

Recently, our Japanese writer P.K. Sanjun was visiting Australia on official RocketNews24 business when he noticed something odd. Every now and then, he would spot a person with a T-shirt or bag with incomprehensible Japanese written on it.

Originally thinking this was just the work of some bootleggers working a local flea market, P.K. was shocked to later learn that Superdry was a fashion brand that sells all over the world…all over except for Japan, that is.

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Let’s play a little word association game. When I say “birthday,” what’s the next word that comes to mind?

For everyone who said “suit,” well, we’ve always suspected that at least a handful of people at any given moment are reading RocketNews24 while completely nude. Still, I’m guessing that far more of you thought of birthday parties and birthday cakes, which tend to go hand in hand. But what do you make the centerpiece of your birthday celebration edibles if sweets aren’t your thing?

Simple: you get a cake made of meat, like these carnivorous Japanese citizens.

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Temples, views and whiskey — TripAdvisor releases its Top 20 “Free Attractions in Japan” in 2015

Aren’t the words “free entry,” “costs nothing,” and “0 yen” exciting to hear? I think we can all agree that there’s nothing better than a good deal, especially when that deal happens to be completely, 100% free.

While attractions marked as free may set warning bells ringing for some people, Japan has plenty of high-quality, worthwhile places to visit that are such a blast, you actually wouldn’t mind paying money for admission—except that they really do cost absolutely nothing to enter!

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We pig out at Aizuya, the Michelin Guide-featured takoyaki shop

In Japan, takoyaki (somewhat unappealingly translated as “octopus balls”) is known as “B-Class Gourmet” food. Takoyaki is the domain of sometimes shady street vendors and national chains where there are literally no chairs whatsoever on the premises. They’re meant to be consumed while still blazing hot, fresh off the special cratered griddle used to make them, chewed and swallowed at lightning speed while you suck in air to make them just cool enough that they don’t burn a hole in your esophagus on the way down.

Therefore, takoyaki is not, one would think, within the purview of the Michelin tire company’s prestigious Michelin Guide for world-renowned restaurants. But, surprisingly, the 2016 Michelin Guide contains not just one but several restaurants specializing in takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and other “B-Class Gourmet” foods famous around Osaka and the Kansai area.

One of those featured restaurants, Aizuya, is, it turns out, actually rumored to be the restaurant that flat-out invented takoyaki. And since that sounds like a good premise for an article, and gives us an excuse to stuff our faces with this delicious local street food, we went to check it out.

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The cutest, must-have bento lunchboxes you can buy and eat on the train

Japanese often say that a good view makes a meal taste better, so it goes without saying that a cute-looking lunchbox would also enhance the contents inside. From meals served in Shinkansen-shaped containers or rabbit-faced boxes that can be reused as coin banks, to lunch boxes that play music or have collector’s items hidden inside, Japan’s ekiben take Japanese food to a whole new level.

Today we’d like to tell you about “Ekiben”, a little book by Aki Tomura which introduces the best and most unique train station lunch boxes in Japan. We’ve chosen just a few to highlight from this gorgeously photographed, pocket-size book. The word Ekiben is a combination of two Japanese words: eki (station) and bento (lunchbox), so make your next train trip a gourmet ride with these bento available at various JR stations—just waiting for you to buy, smile, and devour.

Let the fun begin!

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Love Japanese hot springs? At Nakadake Onsen in Hokkaido, you can dig your own!

Two of the best ways to experience the pleasures of rural Japan are a long hike and a leisurely dip in a hot spring, or onsen, as they’re called in Japanese. With the country’s chains of volcanic mountains, there are plenty of spots where you where you can do both in the same day, with onsen resorts often not too far from where mountain trails start or end.

But instead of booking a room in an inn with a hot spring, you can do something even better in this part of Hokkaido by digging your own onsen!

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Last weekend, it was like someone flipped a switch and put an end to the pleasantly mild weather Japan has been enjoying this fall. Since then, it’s been piercingly cold winds, gray skies, and as of this morning, a steady downpour on the Tokyo area.

To fight off the chill, many people fired up their halogen space heaters. Handy as they may be, though, they don’t warm the air so much as the body of whoever is sitting closest to the device. As such, everyone wants the prime spot right in front of the heater, including this cozy pet parrot.

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Yanmar reveals state-of-the-art tractor – You may never look at farm equipment the same

Chances are you’ve never looked at a tractor and thought, “Man, that’s cool!” But then, chaces are you haven’t seen one like Yanmar’s new limited edition tractor, currently on display at the Tokyo Motor Show. The tractor is stylish, functional, and looks like it might transform into a giant robot, should an enemy attack you.

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Japanese netizens unsure about Dhalism’s new look in Street Fighter V

Leading up to the much-anticipated release of Street Fighter V early next year, trailers showcasing the roster of characters have gradually been popping up online. The most recent of which revealed that Dhalsim, the stretchy yoga master with a penchant for fire, would be making a comeback, something which left some players feeling rather underwhelmed since he’s not exactly a crowd favorite in Japan or abroad.

But whether or you’re a fan of the character or not, few could deny that Dhalsim’s new look is a little bit confusing.

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Any proper itinerary for a trip across Japan should include stops in its three most famous Shinto shrines: Hiroshima’s Itsukushima Shrine, Kyoto’s Heian Shrine, and the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. Those, however, are just the tip of Japan’s iceberg of breathtaking sacred Shinto spots.

Even if you’ve got no pressing interest in Japan’s indigenous religion, its shrines are often sites of breathtaking natural and architectural beauty, and here are four that, while off the beaten path, are not to be missed.

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Japanese cat gets in on trick-or-treating fun without saying a word thanks to clever idea【Video】

As Halloween gets increasingly popular in Japan, “Trick or treat!” is becoming part of the country’s extensive lexicon of popular foreign phrases. After all, just saying the words instantly legitimizes your reason for cosplaying and gets you some free candy.

Of course, you don’t actually have to know the phrase to celebrate Halloween. This cute kitty, for example, is getting in on all the fun of dressing up and eating treats, even though it can’t say a single word, thanks to its clever owner.

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