Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Casey Baseel spent his formative years staring in frustration at un-subtitled Japanese TV programming shown on Southern California’s international channel. Taking matters into his own hands, he moved to Tokyo to study the language, then found work in Yokohama a decade ago teaching, translating, and marketing hotels he can’t afford to stay in. When not participating in the eternal cycle of exercising to burn the calories form his love of Japanese food, Casey scours used comic and game shops for forgotten classics, drags his wife around the country in a quest to visit all its castles, sings karaoke not nearly as well as he thinks he does, and counts the days until the summertime bars open on Enoshima Beach.
Posted by Casey Baseel (Page 555)
While the typical itinerary for visitors to Japan is Tokyo, Kyoto, and then home, western Japan has a lot to offer. As a matter of fact, as I type this, I’m just about to leave for a few days of enjoying the beautiful sights and delicious food of Hiroshima Prefecture.
In order to maximize my time there, I’m hopping on an overnight bus. But while that’ll get me there bright and early, it’s not nearly as stylish as the new sleeper train that was just announced by Japan Railways.
In general, men have a very simple formula they use when determining how much female skin they like to see on display: the more, the better. This of course leads to the corollary, even more skin = even better.
One notable exception to this, however, is Japan’s love of knee-high socks, which leave a small patch of skin on display them and the hem of the skirt. Known as zettai ryouiki, or “absolute territory,” it’s become such a cultural phenomenon that it’s led to the creation of a smartphone game and not one, but two special days celebrating the look.
Now, one Twitter user in Japan claims to have discovered the male version of zettai ryouiki.
There’s a Japanese proverb, “Neko ni Koban,” that translates as “Giving a gold coin to a cat.” It’s a metaphor for offering something of worth that the recipient either doesn’t need or can’t understand the value of, but it’s also a telling example of how hard it is to win a cat’s favor. Cats have no use for our money, they’re not impressed by our fashion trends, and even if they appreciate our modern sense of humor they’re too proud to let it show by openly laughing.
With so few options, in an attempt to curry favor, some people offer stray cats food (although not, in fact, a bowl of curry). But might this be causing a problem to the residents of one of Japan’s famous cat islands?
We dispatched our Japanese-language correspondent, Meg, to find out (and also pet some kitties while she was at it).
Part of the reason smartphones have become so popular is the way in which they combine the functions of so many other devices people used to lug around instead. With the ability to browse the Internet, listen to music, play games, and take high-quality photos, it’s becoming increasingly harder to convince people they need to shell out the cash for a dedicated camera, handheld video game system, or music player.
But why is it that as more people buy smartphones, fewer of them are buying chewing gum?
Even though it’s pretty easy to make, there are times when you just can’t be bothered to whip up a regular batch of curry. While the individual steps might be simple, the total process of peeling, chopping, and boiling all those ingredients can take a long time, so often people who are busy, lazy, or bachelors take the easy way out and just microwave a pack of instant stuff.
Convenient as it may be, though, instant curry isn’t always the tastiest version of the dish. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of ways to spruce it up.
Japan’s desire to look at attractive women is more or less insatiable. Despite having sizable swimsuit modeling, adult video, and animated pornography industries, the country still finds itself with not enough eye candy.
So now, model maker Kotobukiya has gone looking for female beauty in the most unlikely of places, by turning the iconic villains of slasher movies franchises Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street into sexy girls.
Since its first performance 100 years ago, Japan’s Takarazuka Revue has been the country’s most respected theater company. While the troupe is known for its lavish costume and set designs, as well as its bombastic musical performances, its most distinctive characteristic is that the group is composed entirely of actresses, with women playing both male and female roles.
To their fans, Takarazuka actresses are the epitome of grace and poise. There are a lot of pitfalls that have to be avoided to maintain that pristine image, though, as shown by the company’s list of the 25 marks of ugly women.
Like a lot of sports anime, Haikyuu!! features a hot-blooded, unrefined but friendly protagonist. Likewise, the volleyball series, which premiered in April, doesn’t get any points for originality by pairing its lead up with a cocky, aloof partner.
A few years ago, the show’s commitment to character design that pleases female fans would have been unique, but shows about athletics with eye candy for the ladies have been done before with The Prince of Tennis, Kuroko’s Basketball, and not-immediately-evocative-of-its-featured-sport Free!, which focuses on high school swimming.
Haikyuu!! does have something that currently no other anime does, however, and that’s talking posters.
When my brother and his family moved back to America, leaving my wife and I as the last Baseels in Japan, he graciously offered me his practically new iPhone. Sadly, despite the tempting opportunity of upgrading from my old-school flip phone, I had to turn down his generous offer.
Being happily married, this wasn’t because I needed the boost in attractiveness that comes from an outdated cell, but simply because my brother and I had different providers, and his iPhone was SIM locked, like all mobile phones in Japan have always been.
However, that might be changing soon.
Sometimes, a name that’s perfectly normal in one language can sound funny, or maybe even offensive in another. One day in college, for example, my friend Gary and I volunteered to show some visiting Japanese students around campus. We met them in the student union, and as soon as Gary introduced himself, one of them couldn’t suppress a tiny chuckle.
You see the name Gary sounds an awful lot like geri, which means “diarrhea” in Japanese. So when my classmate said “Watashi wa Gary desu,” they didn’t hear “I’m Gary;” they heard “I’ve got the runs.”
Of course, the same thing can happen in reverse, too. Just ask the students and faculty of one of Japan’s proudest institutions of higher learning, Kinki University.
Japan loves package tours. For many of them, you meet up with your tour guide and fellow travelers, hop on a bus for the countryside, then spend a few days relaxing in a hotel with some occasional shopping or sampling of local delicacies. It’s more or less the definition of safe and convenient, if not exactly exciting, travel.
If you’re looking for a trip with a little more adrenaline, though, there’s a tour next month that includes an activity set to get any anime fan’s pulse racing: helping to create the Attack on Titan live-action movie.
It’s becoming more and more common for idol singer units in Japan to pump up their sales numbers by offering some kind of special prize to fans who purchase multiple copies of the same CD. Each disc might come with a raffle ticket for a chance to shake hands with the group, and at least one band will let you straight up go on a date with the member of your choice if you buy enough copies.
By far the most coveted prizes are those handed out by Japan’s biggest musical act, AKB48. The loyalty of the supergroup’s fans is legendary, but even with their reputation proceeding them, we’re shocked at just how much cash the unit squeezed out of one ardent supporter.
Sailor Moon Crystal, the remake of anime’s most successful magical girl series ever, is set to premiere on July 5. Most people would say this is pretty soon, but for truly dedicated fans of the franchise it’s not nearly soon enough.
If you fall into the second camp, you can now make the waiting a little easier by catching up on the original Sailor Moon series, which you can watch right now for free on video streaming site Hulu.
Having grown up in Los Angeles, where celebrity drunk driving arrests are only slightly less common than rainy days, I’m generally not shocked when I hear about an entertainer being in trouble with the law. Things are very different in Japan, though, and whether it’s because those in the public eye are better behaved, more skilful at covering their tracks, or have a cozier relationship with the mass media, stories about major transgressions by performing artists are few and far between.
So when pop musician Aska was recently arrested, it sent shock waves through the country. Of course, if you’re not a fan of Japanese pop music from two decades ago, you probably think the 56-year-old singers legal problems are none of your own.
That’s not the case, though, if you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli anime.
A lot of people in Japan start to feel down in the dumps in May, as the excitement of the new jobs and school years they started in April gives way to a daily drudgery with the next public holiday months away. For us, though, May has suddenly become the happiest month of the year so far, with the return of McDonald’s Japan’s massive four-patty Mega Mac on May 19.
Here at RocketNews24, we try to stay one step ahead of the latest burger trends, however. Sure, everyone’s excited about having extra meat now, but what if the next big thing is less meat? Could we order our Mega Mac with no meat, or anything else, for that matter?
As it turned out, not only was McDonald’s willing to indulging us in our minimalistic burger experiment, they even got in on the process by offering us some advice.
Japan has an image as an expensive country, but with a little searching, you can find some pretty good deals. For example, the other day I went out and got a haircut, bought a shirt, and had a pretty good sushi lunch, and none of those three expenditures cost me more than a thousand yen (US $9.80).
Still, my bargain hunting skills can’t compete with those of our Japanese-language correspondent Go, who with 980 yen just bought himself a car.
Japan loves cheering on its sports teams in international competitions, and with the World Cup just a few weeks away, soccer is set to dominate TV programming, advertising, and the national consciousness in general.
If you’re not personally a fan of the Beautiful Game, you might feel a little left out of the conversation for the next couple weeks. So since you won’t be using your mouth for talking, why not stuff it with some of the 14 new World Cup-themed menu items McDonald’s is rolling out in Japan?
With Japanese animation’s pantheon of teen protagonists, in physiques rending from slender to buff, your cosplaying options drop off considerably once you pass a certain age/body fat percentage. Many fans are just too old or out of shape to pull off wearing a school uniform or form-fitting martial artist’s outfit.
It can be a sad day when you look in the mirror and realize it’s time to retire your Son Goku costume. But as you’re dumping out the two-gallon bucket of hair gel you bought for this summer’s anime convention season, take heart, because even if you can’t dress up as the hero of Dragon Ball, with this shirt you can cosplay as his master.
As someone who grew up playing video games that let you throw fireballs, suplex trains, and slay dragons, I’m a little confused by the appeal of some of today’s simple, low-key smartphone games. In particular, any game where you run around having to harvest food baffles me, since I always assumed the best part of farming and agricultural distribution was actually getting to eat something when it was all done.
Thankfully, the makers of the upcoming title Gochipon seem to agree with me, and are rewarding the best players with honest-to-goodness fruit.
I was born a lefty, but apparently somewhere along the way I decided that there must be something to this right-handedness thing, since 90 percent of the world was doing it. I made the switch to using my right hand for most things around the time I started kindergarten, and ever since, the unusual transition has been my go to excuse for never excelling at sports that favor precise dexterity over running into people as hard as you can.
Had I stuck with the cards life had dealt me, though, my daily life might have been different in a number of ways, as shown by this list of troubles left-handed people in Japan run into.
Pizza Hut Japan’s hot lucky bags are perfect for a New Year’s pizza party
Green onion baths return to Japanese bathhouse to celebrate Labor Day
The 10 best day trips from downtown Tokyo【Survey】
Beautiful snow-white doughnuts from Mister Donuts Japan — can you guess what flavors they are?
9+3=12? Nope, that’s wrong, says Japanese kid’s elementary school, thanks to “cherry calculation”
The cheapest place to stay in Kyoto cost us just 1,800 yen for the night, and it was awesome
How to get your money’s worth at an all-you-can-eat crepe challenge in Japan
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
Pizza Hut’s limited-time “Secret Menu” puts hearty new twists on classic menu items
Totoro gamaguchi pouches will hold whatever you want them to, but already captured our heart
Starbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
Cyberpunk anime meets traditional culture in Ghost in the Shell gold leaf Japanese changing screens
7 great places to see Mt. Fuji from without having to climb it
Hello Kitty Choco Egg figures are an adorable trip through three periods of Japanese pop culture【Pics】
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
We found possibly the quietest Japanese-style hotel in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Sumo Sanrio! Hello Kitty and pals team up with Japan Sumo Association for new merch【Pics】
Can a dirty butthole make you filthy rich in Japan? We’re starting a New Year’s lottery experiment
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branchesStarbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
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
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’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】
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
Updated cherry blossom forecast shows extra-long sakura season for Japan this year
The cheapest place to stay in Kyoto cost us just 1,800 yen for the night, and it was awesome
How to get your money’s worth at an all-you-can-eat crepe challenge in Japan
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
Pizza Hut’s limited-time “Secret Menu” puts hearty new twists on classic menu items
Totoro gamaguchi pouches will hold whatever you want them to, but already captured our heart
Decorate your snail mail with cute, whimsical stamps to enhance your postage!
Harajuku’s new permanent Tamagotchi shop is filled with cuteness and a surprising lack of poop
20 things to buy at the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo store
Natural grown peace-sign-shaped potato in Japan is the good omen we all need right now
Kodansha’s K Manga app launches with 60 English simupubs among 400 titles
Sumo Sanrio! Hello Kitty and pals team up with Japan Sumo Association for new merch【Pics】
Why are there so many reincarnation and villainess anime and manga? Manga editor explains