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 3)
Korean barbecue, or yakiniku as it’s known here is Japan, is a popular among all diners, but particularly men seem drawn to the primal enjoyment of roasting gobs of raw meat over flames. Or maybe they just like meat. Either way, the customer base skews male.
However, this month a pop-up yakiniku restaurant in Tokyo’s Ebisu neighborhood seemed to be taking particular aim at the ladies. Let’s see if you can spot their unique approach.
Japan is a country that really values tradition, but that doesn’t mean that traditional culture is completely sacrosanct either. Giving something old and iconic a tongue-in-cheek modern twist is a popular approach in art and commerce, with results at once familiar and jarring enough to be eye catching.
Like these daruma, spotted at Tokyo Design Week, with outrageous paint jobs and wearing some rather tasty-looking headgear.
It’s almost Halloween, and even here in Japan, where the holiday is still but a shadow of the American take on the creep fest, an avalanche of orange and black gewgaws and processed sugar confections is pouring off retail shelves.
But if you’re looking for Halloween sweets with a little more culture and class, check out the awesome skulls made from wasanbon, a premium fine-grain sugar from Shikoku!
Anyone who has tried salty watermelon Pepsi, yogurt-flavored water or whitebait ice cream can tell you that the Japanese love weird flavors. If it’s new and outlandish, the Japanese market wants to get a taste.
I can only assume that’s what confectioner Lotte was banking on with their newest creation, because there surely couldn’t have been that many voices clamoring for hot cola chewing gum!
One of the great things about travel is that sometimes the best laid plans completely fall apart and then you discover something unexpected and even more amazing than the thing or place you originally intended to visit.
That was the case on a recent trip to Indonesia when our plans to go to the Banda Islands, some of the famed spice islands, fell through and instead we found ourselves sleeping above a coral reef, hanging out with sea turtles and stuffing ourselves silly on fish and spicy chollo chollo in the tiny town of Sawai.
With a public holiday coming up on Monday, it’s a three-day weekend here in Japan. As you might imagine, some of us—ahem—are having a little trouble applying our fidgety brains to the task of bringing you the latest Nippon news. There’s been a lot of interesting and important developments this week that we should cover, like the shuffling of Prime Minister Abe’s cabinet and two Nobel Prizes going to Japanese researchers and—OH LOOK, “10 CATS” HAS A NEW VIDEO!!!1!
Penjor were pretty much the first thing I noticed about Bali. As soon as we left the airport, they began towering over our car from both sides of the street: long-necked, graceful swoops of bamboo arching and bobbing over the road, their strips of paper and coconut leaves fluttering in the air.
But what were these charming decorations? What was their significance? That took a little longer to find out. And to be honest, I’m still not sure I know.
Human beings are endlessly inventive when it comes to food. From curried cicadas to snake soup to lemon and mint Pepsi, we never stop inventing new ways to follow the evolutionary imperative to stuff our faces with calories. And while I’m generally a cultural relativist when it comes to “weird” foods, sometimes there is a concept so out-there, you can’t help but say it’s bizarre.
Like kopi luwak, coffee made from beans that have been through the poop shoot of a tree cat. We’ve all heard of it, and it sounds revolting, but have any of us ever actually tried it? Why, yes, actually…
Some things are inseparable from a Japanese summer: fireworks festivals, face-melting heat and humidity, young men and women awkwardly courting in yukata, and of course the deafening roar of cicadas. Here, the vociferous critters just provide the soundtrack to summer, but did you know that in some places, they are on the summer menu too?
Our intrepid Japanese reporter Ponkotsu did and he sent off to the cicada-producing center of Lishui in China’s Zhejiang Province for a bag of bugs to taste test.
Late last week, we told you about an event being held by Tokuyama Zoo this summer: the Cockroach Fest. One of the attractions listed was the horrific sounding “cockroach encounter,” but we didn’t have any details about just what kind of encounter it was. Being a naturally curious bunch with a masochistic streak a mile wide, we decided to dispatch a reporter to find out.
The Tokuyama Zoo in Yamaguchi Prefecture has come up with a novel way to attract visitors this summer. And by novel, I mean probably insane. Would you buy tickets for a Cockroach Fest?
A team of researchers from Yamagata University in Japan announced this week that they have identified 24 new geoglyphs in Nazca, Peru, site of the UNESCO World Heritage Nazca lines.
The newly found geoglyphs are smaller than their famous peers, but estimated to be several centuries older.
Spend a while in Japan, and at some point you’ll no doubt encounter natto, sticky, stinky fermented soybeans that often get served over rice for breakfast. This polarizing food has its superfans and impassioned detractors among Japanese and foreigners alike, but if you happen to be in the former camp, you should know there is an all-you-can-eat premium natto pop-up bar in Tokyo’s Ginza this weekend.
The SPCA has taught me that dogs can technically drive. But that doesn’t mean we should be handing them the keys and making them designated driver for Katy’s hen do. I mean, besides the fact they don’t even have thumbs, lovably distractable dogs are likely to veer off the road in pursuit of squirrels, other dogs’ butts, a weird shadow and pretty much anything they can put in their mouths. They’re clearly a hazard to other drivers.
And that’s why the police in Hanoi are looking for a man filmed speeding down the road at night letting his dog steer the bike.
If you’re a driver, chances are at some point you’ve been behind a slow-moving truck or semi-trailer, trying to overtake but unable to see if there is traffic coming in the opposite direction. This can be frustrating, but it can also be deadly if you pull around at the wrong moment.
South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung may have found a solution to this problem with their prototype Safety Truck, however. It uses a wireless camera and outdoor screens to give drivers following the trucks a view around them.
I love socks. Not your boring old gym socks and stockings, though. I like ’em bright and patterned, the more obnoxiously the better. If it doesn’t look like something a child should be wearing, I’ll pass.
Two other things I love are Japan and cats, so you’ll understand why my squees of delight filled the aisles of popular bargain chain 3 Coins when I spotted this huge rack of cat socks with designs inspired by each of Japan’s 42 prefectures and regions.
Okay, Rocketeers, time for a pop quiz: what is Japanese sake? Turns out the question is actually a little more complicated than it looks on the surface.
Popular Taiwanese kakigori (shaved ice) chain Ice Monster opened on Omotesando, the main boulevard of Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku neighborhood, at the end of April to five-hour waits. Even now, waits regularly extend over an hour, but the scuttlebutt was that it was worth it for the mountains of delicious, delicious shaved ice.
We braved the lines and the brain freeze to find out the truth for you, dear readers.
One thing foreign visitors to Japan immediately notice is the ubiquitous vending machines. Particularly in big cities, you can’t swing a tanuki without hitting a machine selling something. Mostly it’s soft drinks, but there are also vending machines for beer, cigarettes, hamburgers, used panties, weird toys, curry, fresh eggs, and pretty much anything under the sun. Now you can even get a good deed done with your canned coffee purchase at this vending machine accepting charitable donations.
Temperatures are shooting up all around the archipelago and that means soft serve season has come to Japan! For some baffling reason, vanilla remains far and away the most popular flavor for Japanese, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get creative with their frozen treats too. Flavors like green tea and ume plum are easy to find (and delicious), but don’t stop there if you want to try some really out there local flavors.
Here are our choices for the 10 weirdest soft serve flavors Japan has to offer.
One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Flying dango: Unique tourist site where Japanese sweets are flown to you over a gorge
History’s highest sumo wrestling and geisha dance to take place at Tokyo Skytree observation deck
Mario Kart Happy Meal toys arrive at McDonald’s Japan, and SoraNews24 has the whole set!【Photos】
Turn clear files into works of art with cleverly designed Japanese scroll
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Domino’s Japan has all-you-can-eat pizza isn’t an Internet rumor, but it is hard to find
The Japan Poop Society is making movements to protect people’s health
Do bears strike first with their left paw when attacking people? Japan wants to know
Mickey Mouse in now a transforming robot created by the designer of Gundam【Photos】One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippersGhibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】Mario Kart Happy Meal toys arrive at McDonald’s Japan, and SoraNews24 has the whole set!【Photos】
New Ghibli papercraft kit gives you a little Princess Mononoke forest on your desk【Photos】
Beautiful Japanese garden green tea crepes waiting in Tokyo’s historical Asakusa neighborhood
Tokyo park’s sea of clouds, nighttime illumination, and cosplay days make now perfect time to visit
Samurai ritual suicide contest cancelled by organizer in west Japan
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
Tokyo Disneyland loses top-attendance crown for Japanese theme parks for second year in a rowOne of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Ghibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle themeGhibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in Japan
What’s the deal with akebi, the perfectly purple, alien-like fruit that’s in season now in Japan?Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve tooJapanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Domino’s Japan has all-you-can-eat pizza isn’t an Internet rumor, but it is hard to find
The Japan Poop Society is making movements to protect people’s health
Do bears strike first with their left paw when attacking people? Japan wants to know
Mickey Mouse in now a transforming robot created by the designer of Gundam【Photos】
One of Tokyo’s most famous meeting-spot landmarks is closing for good
The results are in! One Piece World Top 100 characters chosen in global poll
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Is Japanese language becoming less discriminatory towards women?【Women in Japan Series】
Japan’s super-cheap corn snacks apologize for second-ever price increase in 45 years
Japanese government wants to acquire original anime and manga art for creation of national archive
Cheeseburger rice bowls arrive at Japanese beef bowl chain Matsuya, and in our stomach【Taste test】
