Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Jessica Kozuka is a freelance writer and editor living in the exciting, interesting and sometimes perplexing city of Tokyo. Her work has appeared in Wine Spectator, CNN Travel, and The Japan Times, as well as numerous other print and online media outlets. She writes a column on NPO/NGOs and volunteer work for Metropolis, the largest English-language magazine in Japan, and specializes in EFL educational materials and travel writing. Kozuka is rarely to be found without a book or two within arm’s reach, though there's no telling if they will be serious literature or frivolous guilty pleasures, and she runs a monthly book club for other bibliophiles in the Tokyo area. She's also an enthusiastic if mediocre cook and daily laments the smallness of Japanese kitchens.
Posted by Jessica (Page 11)
Some people take fashion very seriously. They wouldn’t think of putting a foot outside the door without being perfectly made up, coiffed and dressed. This obsession isn’t restricted to homo sapiens, though. Cookie the Shiba Inu simply refuses to go for walkies in this indignity of a polka dot sweater.
Sometimes food is so beautifully prepared it seems like a shame to eat it. And yet, the beautiful preparation makes it that much more enticing. The Japanese are without a doubt the masters of this skill, ranging from the exquisite jewel-like arrangements of chic kaiseki-ryori to the saccharine adorableness of the average kid’s bento.
But we’ve discovered an almost-too-squee-inducing-to-eat treat that should appeal to adults and children alike: cream puffs shaped like Ghibli animation favorite Totoro.
Tokyo Disney Resort is approaching its 30th anniversary, and it wouldn’t be Disney if they didn’t have a whole slew of commemorative items in the works. Recently, they announced a partnership with Swiss luxury watchmaker Franck Muller to produce a set of men’s and women’s watches for the occasion. And you can make one yours if you have 2.2 million yen (about US$22,000) to blow.
Here in the northern hemisphere, winter is upon us. For those whose main transportation is a scooter, it’s an especially hard time of year. Having all that wind rushing by your body is cold, cold, COLD! Even a scooter with a windshield offers little protection, and wearing heavy-duty protective clothing is a real pain.
China thinks it has the answer for this cold conundrum, but your ego may not like it.
Gachagacha or gachapon are vending machines that spit out little toys or other small items in a plastic egg. For a few bucks, you get not only a new anime figure or phone strap but also the thrill of submitting to the luck of the gachapon. Where I come from, you might find a similar machine dispensing stickers or candy in the front of a big box store, but there wasn’t much choice and the appeal wears off sometime before junior high. Here in Japan though, gachapon have an endless and ever-changing variety of contents, along with enthusiastic collectors of all ages. Entire stores exist simply to house hundreds of gachapon, and with all that variety, there’s sure to be some serious weirdness in there. This is Japan, after all.
We’ve scoured the Net to find nine of the most bizarre for your viewing pleasure.
Much ink has been spilled about the supposed homogeneity of Japan and the dangerous idea of racial purity that goes along with it. Some expats have made entire careers writing — or ranting — about the problems of discrimination in Japan. And yet, the number of foreign residents has more than doubled in the last 20 years and international marriages in the country have been steadily rising, so it can’t be all that hostile either.
So how racist is Japan, really? Here’s my take—admittedly only one perspective—on where things stand.
Cats are always looking for a warm place to nap and they really don’t give a crap if it’s inconvenient for you or anyone else. That’s one of the things that’s awesome about them. A Twitter user recently captured one of these felines napping bold as brass in a shop window, giving not a thought to how much fur was getting in your lunch.
Around our house, making a mess at the table might have gotten you a harsh word at most. This feline Miss Manners is a bit stricter about table manners, though. Her dining companion drops a bit of food and is promptly punched in the face!
Ah, Japan. Just when I thought you couldn’t be any sillier, you throw me a gem like this. Apparently, Meiji University, a very well-known and well-respected educational institution is Japan, has announced that it will host a National Pokémon Summit next month.
Interesting media can make for especially interesting art, as the pencil-tip carvings, hairy apples and damaged banana art we’ve covered before should attest, but when you go carving up some perfectly good brand-name lipsticks to celebrate strong women and fashion icons, you are bound to cause your intended audience a little heartache.
In an earthquake-, typhoon- and Godzilla-prone country like Japan, you’ve got to think about disaster preparedness. Most people here have an emergency kit ready by the door and most offices conduct drills on responding to a disaster. The big problem is storage space. You need a lot of room when you are trying to provide food, water, first aid and physical protection to a number of people.
One company has come up with a new solution for the protection part of the equation: a simple chair that doubles as a hard hat with the simple twist of a dial.
You may have resisted the appeal of our future feline overlords so far, but if their internet popularity is any indication, total world domination can’t be far off. If you don’t want to be first against the wall with the dogs and dog-lovers, you may want to invest in these super-cute cat tights. As the ad copy says, put them on and you’ll “transform into a devil-may-care cat!” You’ll be able to blend right in…
I have cats. I also live next to a big park, so we do get some “wildlife” that wonders into the house now and then. I can attest to the fact that pretty much any creepy crawly that crosses our threshold ends up as a snack to one or the other of my furry friends. Usually, it’s a swift and brutal affair, but every now and then, a bug finds a place they can’t reach and drives them batty with its inaccessibility, causing them to yowl and tear around the house breaking furniture.
If that’s the chaos that can happen with just two cats, image what Twitter user @mugitoro1215 had to deal with when his seven cats all went after the same spider…
When you think booze and Japan, wine is probably the last thing that comes to mind, and not without good reason. This is a country where the average wine list can be summed up as “red or white?”, both of which will come probably from an ancient box in the back of the fridge and chilled to near-zero temps.
The country is not without its fans of wine culture, though. In fact, Japan even has a wine-producing region, home to 31 wineries and an original grape variety! Katsunuma, sometimes called the Napa Valley of Japan, is tucked into the mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture, just an hour and a half from Tokyo.
RocketNews24 went to check out this grapey paradise on the occasion of the Katsunuma Wine and Grape Festival, where rumor had it 500 yen would get you unlimited wine for the day.
We introduced our readers to the “dance-ish” performer Kenichi Ebina when he first appeared on the popular NBC performance program America’s Got Talent earlier this year and summarized The Matrix in a 90-second dance routine. We knew then that he was something special, but little did we know he would go on to take the top prize, becoming not only the first Japanese but also the first dancer to do so.
America throws the best linguistic hissy fits when political relationships sour. Remember when Congress tried to change French fries to “freedom fries” because France didn’t want to come along on the Iraq invasion? Or how about when sauerkraut became so unpopular during World War I that makers suggested changing the name to the less Germanic “liberty cabbage”? Good times.
Well, it may be that the Yanks aren’t the only ones who want suitably patriotic cabbage. In Korea, it looks like Chinese cabbage, the vegetable used to make the most common variety of kimchi, is now being referred to as “kimchi cabbage” or just “cabbage”.
Japanese seem to love giving their drinks an unexpected twist. They’ve tried hot ginger ale, orange juice that looks like soy sauce, and a milk drink with tomato and lemon flavoring. Compared to those wacky creations, Yakult’s popular probiotic dairy drinks seem positively pedestrian, but now they’ve upped their game.
Care for a hot, potable yogurt, anyone?
We recently talked about some changes the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism was making to street signs ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but it seems they are not content with superficial changes. They have apparently started looking into the plausibility of introducing signal-less roundabouts to Japan, something that could have drivers feeling very grumpy.
With its massive urban sprawl and busy streets, Tokyo doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of place you would find farmland, but Tokyoites are waking up to the fact that growing your food closer to home means more food security and less pollution from transport. The problem is finding the space in the city and cultivating–if you will excuse the pun–the expertise. But where there is a will, there is a way, and some Japanese have found truly ingenious ways to bring farming to the big city.
We recently reported on Japan’s recent trouble with traffic backups in otter pipes, but it seems the country is facing another animal menace: feathered anarchists interfering in the political process!
Japan Extreme Budget Travel! A trip from Tokyo to Izumo for just 30,000 yen [Part 1]
7-Eleven Japan’s sakura sweets season is underway right now!
Highest Starbucks in Japan set to open this spring in the Tokyo sky
Japan has only one airport named after a samurai, so let’s check out Kochi Ryoma【Photos】
Japanese drugstore sells onigiri at pre-stupid era prices, but how do they compare to 7-Eleven?
Dream gaming cabinet puts 119 consoles, 75 controllers at your fingertips
Find a red envelope on the ground? Here’s why you should never pick it up
Japan travel: Best things to see, eat and do in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture
How to use Japan’s new self-checkout supermarket carts
We followed Tokyo’s mystery walking map and ended up creating our own bar-hopping adventure
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Is Sapporio’s Snow Festival awesome enough to be worth visiting even if you hate the snow? [Pics]
Japan has trams that say “sorry” while they ride around town…but why?
Tokyo Skytree turns pink for the cherry blossom seasonHighest Starbucks in Japan set to open this spring in the Tokyo sky
Japan’s new “Cunte” contact lenses aren’t pronounced like you’re probably thinking they are
Shibuya Station’s Hachiko Gate and Yamanote Line stairway locations change next month
Yakuzen ramen restaurant in Tokyo is very different to a yakuza ramen restaurant
Starbucks Japan adds new sakura Frappuccino and cherry blossom drinks to the menu
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourismThe 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting the lines at a popular Tokyo gyukatsu restaurant?
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
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
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 homeJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
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
Dream gaming cabinet puts 119 consoles, 75 controllers at your fingertips
Find a red envelope on the ground? Here’s why you should never pick it up
Japan travel: Best things to see, eat and do in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture
How to use Japan’s new self-checkout supermarket carts
We followed Tokyo’s mystery walking map and ended up creating our own bar-hopping adventure
Saitama is home to the best strawberries in Japan that you’ve probably never even heard of
Number of foreign students in Japan hits record high, one country accounts for over 35 percent
10 beautiful packaging designs from Japan
Studio Ghibli releases The Boy and the Heron merchandise in Japan【Pics】
Look at this awesome vision of how beautiful a modern Pokémon Red and Blue remake could be【Video】
Japan’s cuddly kitty pouches will fill your heart with love as you fill them with other stuff
Tokyo’s beckoning cat temple asks foreign tourists to stop writing on the beckoning cats they buy
What to buy at Daiso’s new Standard Products store in Tokyo