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Aleisha Riboldi

Aleisha can't seem to escape Japan. Having lived in various parts of Japan from the inaka to the nation's capital, she has spent 10 years eating her way through Japan. A self-confessed gastronomad (foodie, traveler and photographer), she is on a mission to visit all 47 prefectures (with only about 7 left to do). Aleisha is a lover of puns, a chain tea drinker, and prefers being in the water than on land. She is an avid open water swimmer hailing from Down Under who likes to spend her holidays lazing by the beach, snorkeling, swimming and watching reality TV (but only the good stuff not the trashy ones). You can stalk her online by checking our her blog Memoirs of Aleisha.

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Posted by Aleisha Riboldi

Wouldn’t it be great to travel back in time to feudal Japan? Eh, probably not, reveals poll

We are pretty lucky to be living in the 21st century with all the mod-cons at our fingertips. Spare a thought for poor Saburo, a character in the TV drama series Nobunaga Concerto based on the manga by Ayumi Ishii, where he finds himself traveling back in time.

The series is a comical depiction of what happens when Saburo jumps from the present day to Japan’s feudal era, but if we all suddenly found ourselves without the modern conveniences we love, would we really be laughing? Probably not, as revealed by a poll of what viewers would hate if they found themselves sent back in time.

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The priceless faces of cats waiting to be fed as their owner oversleeps

Hell hath no fury like a hungry cat, as one Japanese pet-owner discovered the hard way. Enjoying a morning lie-in a little too much, he found himself oversleeping, and the delay in putting out cat food at breakfast time did not go unnoticed by his two felines. In a country where punctuality is revered, this was an absolute CATastrophe!

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“Hamster drill” is at least twice as cute as it sounds, Japanese pet-lovers teach us

You learn something new everyday. And today I learnt a new Japanese word, or at least an English-sourced bit of slang Japanese pet-lovers sometimes toss around.

You know that ferocious shaking of an animal’s head when they get wet and try to dry themselves off, or when they’re trying to shake out an itch? Well, sometimes in Japanese, people call it “doriru” (the Japanese corrupted pronunciation of “drill”) as it mimics the rapid rotational movement of an electric drill.

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Picture this: a collection of illustrations created from Nintendo’s Splatoon video game

Released only a week ago, Nintendo’s Wii U game Splatoon has definitely been leaving its mark. The hugely popular video game challenges players to a splatter turf war competition as they attempt to ink out their enemies paintball-style in a virtual world.

In a twist to the game’s premise, Splatoon has been drawing a following on Twitter as creative users are turning the tables and posting sketches created inside the game.

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Hands down, this is the most fun you can have at a video game arcade

This is hands down (or up, in this case), the most fun you can have at a games arcade in Japan.

The maimai music game cabinet by entertainment giant Sega may look like a front-loading washing machine, but rest assured it is actually way more entertaining. In a game that’s a cross between a whack-a-mole and Dance Dance Revolution, players follow a sequence of hand movements in time with a frantic beat.

Some, however, do it better than others…

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Cheese and seaweed treats are as tasty as they are visually appealing

At first glance these might look like some kind of plastic toy, building blocks or a pile of random puzzle pieces, but what you see before you are multi-layered nori (seaweed or laver sheets) and cheese slices, and they’re are making the rounds on Twitter.

According to beer nuts, these savoury little morsels are the perfect accompaniment to beer or wine.

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How to make the perfect cup of drip coffee

Coffee. It’s the morning drop that most of us like to wake up to. But there’s more to the beloved beverage than just beans and hot water, as there’s a science and art to making good drip coffee, and once you’ve mastered the proper brewing technique for the perfect cup, you’ll never be able to put up with a bad one again.

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The Fukushima badminton beauty causing a racket

Aya Ohori is an 18-year-old badminton player hailing from Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture who’s recently come into the spotlight, not for her athletic prowess but rather her beauty and flawless skin.

You would think that it would be a crime for athletes to be both physically talented as well as beautiful. We’re really not sure what all the fuss is about, but her appearance on a sports documentary has created quite the fan base and certainly got the media aflutter.

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Are you too chicken to eat a chicken comb?

Chicken legs, drumsticks, wings, breasts, feet, and now the comb? What will they think of next?

Letting no part go to waste, the latest food trend that people are crowing about is the chicken’s comb (cockscomb) or crest (the red mohawk-like fleshy part of a chicken’s forehead). But are you too chicken to try it?

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New custom-made Sony earphones come with a price tag so high you won’t believe your ears

The latest in Sony Engineering’s product innovation line in inner-ear monitor (IEM) earphones has just been released with pre-sale advance orders available from April 29 at the Tokyo Hearing Care Centre in Aoyama.

The designers at Sony Engineering have developed “Just ear” earphones which are uniquely engineered and custom-built earphones designed for optimal sound quality to enhance the consumer’s listening experience. And they come with a price tag so high that you won’t believe your ears.

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Possibly the most considerate pedestrian crossing button ever installed

Push-buttons at a pedestrian crossing are a pretty standard safety feature at most intersections.

But how long does a push button need to be? And we’re not talking about the length of time waiting once you press the push button, but the length of the actual push button…

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