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
Media in Japan, us included, have been all over Taco Bell’s return to the country this week, but talk hasn’t been entirely of tacos. The Taco Bell Japan website was also making news when Japanese speakers noticed it had some pretty terrible and funny English-to-Japanese translations.
As RocketNews24 readers, you are probably a bit more savvy than most about what Japanese food is, but for many, the concept doesn’t extend far beyond sushi. Despite its recent elevation to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status and its potential for international popularity, washoku still lacks global recognition and understanding.
That’s about to change, however, if newly launched project Peace Kitchen has their way, and we might all be better off for it.
Look at that face. Just look at it. OK, now for the story.
This cutie is Pakuchi (Cilantro), a kitten adopted from Tokyo Cat Guardian by a foreign resident who noticed her Japanese cat had a very Japanese fondness for rice.
Ahh, the internet. It used to be that if you wanted snorgle-worthy pictures of baby animals, you had to go out and take them yourself, risking skinned knees, mozzie bites, and the occasional head cold to do so. Now, we can sit back in the comfort of our own beanbag chairs and have the cute come to us.
The latest digital goldmine to be discovered? The Twitter feed of the Hirakawa Zoo in Kyushu, where a pair of baby Asian small-clawed otters have been bringing the cute in a big way.
Nail art is pretty big in Japan. For a lot of women (and some men?), getting their nails not just colored, but decorated with gems, 3D flowers and mini-paintings is a monthly routine and fashion must. Usually it’s fairly subtle, but some nail art aficionados think bigger and bolder is better, no matter how hard it makes typing a mail or wiping your bum.
His Royal Roundness, Maru, is one of the most famous cats in Japan, a country with no shortage of beloved feline stars, in part because of his extensive oeuvre. We’ve seen his majestic jumping, his moving efforts to squeeze his girth into tiny boxes, his awe-inspiring agility, and even his benevolent patience with lesser beings. Now Maru has taken the fashion world by storm with an upcycled frock and some serious attitude.
Sometimes a story comes across your desk that is so wacko, you just sit and stare at it for ages trying to wrap your brain around it. That happened to me this morning when I saw that an unusual item at the built-to-order site Dwango.jp was selling fast. That item? Hand-blown panty-wearing drinking glasses at a whopping 8,640 yen (US$72.12) a pop.
McDonald’s Japan recently launched a limited time menu option called the teriyaki chicken and egg with Seto lemon sauce. The Seto Inland Sea is famous in Japan for its warm climate and top-notch citrus, so you would think a Seto lemon sauce would put the already popular teriyaki chicken and egg into stratospheric levels of demand.
That doesn’t seem to be the case, though, and the culprit may be McDonald’s own commercial, which viewers are calling “dirty” and “gross”.
Who doesn’t love a cute desk calendar? An adorable picture of a kitten or your favorite cartoon character can really brighten up the place. Plus, lots of companies in Japan give them away as free gifts to customers, so you don’t even need to buy one most of the time.
Of course, if you get it for free, you can’t really complain about the quality, as one net user discovered when he flipped to April earlier this week. Notice anything strange about the illustration of Pooh above?
Ah, the Japanese fan dance. In popular culture, its staid connections to Noh and Kabuki theater are put aside in favor of something more risque. Usually it’s a coy geisha slowly using her fans to seductively cover and reveal her face and body. But just as more businesses are capitalizing on male sex appeal these days, the modern Japanese fan dance has a hot, sweaty man version too.
It’s nice when something invisibly quotidian is tweaked in a way that grabs your full attention. Previously we’ve talked about slightly altered street signs and artistic renderings of subway maps, and now the humble cash machine gets an eye-grabbing makeover in the interest of LGBTQ inclusivity.
You wouldn’t think that bringing up the struggle of caring for a parent with severe dementia would be an effective sales technique, but sushi chain Gin no Sara has decided to go that route with this touching spot about what Alzheimer’s patients do remember.
I’m not sure if it will increase sushi sales, but boxes of tissues will definitely be flying off the shelves.
You generally don’t have to look too hard to find a business capitalizing on the appeal of scantily clad women, but recently there seem to be more and more places using half-naked dudes too. Hooray for gender equality, I guess?
Earlier this week, we told you about the upcoming Macho Cafe in Tokyo and the handsome dentist who cradles patients in his lap while doing a cleaning, but neither of those places have anything on this hair and nail salon in Da Nang, where your beauty comes with a side of beefcake.
After the March 11 earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan, Tokyo-based photographers Brian Scott Peterson and Yuko Yoshikawa were frustrated by the limited impact of volunteer options close to home, so they decided to head up to Tohoku with the vague idea that people in temporary housing might be interested in having family portraits taken.
Clearly, that tapped into an unmet need, because four years later that one-off trip has become Photohoku, a ballooning volunteer organization that takes monthly trips to Tohoku, has gifted over 10,000 instant family portraits, and has even inspired similar groups overseas.
Today, as we remember those who lost their lives in the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami four years ago, we take a brief look at how this truly inspired project continues to bring a little bit of extra sunshine into the lives of those who survived one of Japan’s greatest natural disasters.
We’ve spoken many times about the insanely good customer service here in Japan. The latest example comes to us from the branch of Toho Cinemas in Umeda, Osaka. If you visit their webpage right now, you are immediately greeted with an urgent message and fervent apology from the management regarding a terrible mistake: Some customers were given the wrong soda!
It’s already Tuesday here in the Big J, but even though we’ve survived the day whose name shall not be spoken and which many of you are still enduring, the weekend still seems awfully far away. So for all you hardworking salarymen (and women!), here’s a super cute kitty cat to help you ease into the week. Watch him enjoy his prime heater-front real estate and dream of your own warm happy place.
Last week, we gave you a recipe for the tasty caffeinated treat called coffee jelly. This week, we’d like to introduce a coffee shop that is taking that quotidian treat to the next level of taste and presentation. Behold Coffee Suzuki, where the coffee jelly forms right before your very eyes!
On my first trip to Australia, I expected to have lots of new culinary experiences, but to be honest, I expected them to be along the lines of kangaroo sausage and lamingtons. I certainly didn’t expect to come all the way from Japan and discover a new kind of sushi roll, but in the food court of the Cairns airport, there they were: black rice sushi rolls.
Here in Japan, most shops will do gift wrapping for free. It’s a very thoughtful and convenient service, but although they usually do a very nice job of it, it lacks a certain personal touch.
Popular lifestyle goods shop Muji may have the answer: gift bags that you can customize with a set of free and easy-to-use stamps. And the fun doesn’t stop there. Let’s take a look!
Japan now has talking Evangelion ATMs
Woman asks for eight-hour taxi ride in Japan, arrested when she doesn’t pay gigantic fare
Casio’s Pikachu Baby-G is the perfect watch for Pokémon trainers
Let’s learn Japanese with Steven Seagal’s entire filmography!
We experience what a real Okinawan beach party is like with the help of a local
Four photos, five years – A father’s beautiful pictures of his daughter growing up at Nara temple
One of Japan’s best whiskies, Hakushu 12 Year, is returning after two years of being sold out
Half-dozen of manga’s greatest creators have at-home drinking party, make one-of-a-kind artwork
Anime song dance performance group Real Akiba Boys: combining the otaku life with street dancing
We cosy up to Starbucks Japan’s sexy new Frappuccino for Valentine’s Day
We try a rotating sushi restaurant in New Delhi, are surprised to find no rotating sushi
Genital manju sweets, with a dash of “pubic hair”, raise eyebrows in Japan
Japanese boy whom Ronaldo stood up for in 2014 becomes national soccer champion
Japanese media finds out if it’s cold enough to “fry” an egg on the street in Hokkaido
We taste the new Japanese KitKat, aged in whisky barrels in Islay, Scotland
English mistake on new Japanese beer leads to suspension of sales before its release
Pringles now comes in karaage flavour in Japan
NHK announces “substantial” fee reduction, Japanese Internet reacts with jeering
7-Eleven under fire in Japan for mysterious holes in their onigiri rice balls
Parents of bullied teenage girl who committed suicide commission portrait to “attend” Seijinshiki
McDonald’s releases Katsu Curry Chicken McNuggets, but do they taste Japanese?
McDonald’s releases an Oreo and Spam burger for a very limited time
Top 100 manga of all time chosen by survey of 150,000 Japanese people
Mt Fuji looks unusual, sparks fears of possible eruption
Here’s why Japanese supermarkets play “cheap” background music all day, according to TwitterEnglish mistake on new Japanese beer leads to suspension of sales before its releaseWe try a rotating sushi restaurant in New Delhi, are surprised to find no rotating sushi
Utada Hikaru sings, Eva fights Eva in jaw-dropping new trailer for final Evangelion movie【Video】Japanese media finds out if it’s cold enough to “fry” an egg on the street in Hokkaido
Burger King releases new Whopper to ward off evil in Japan
Nintendo puts out important notice for casual gamers who’ve bought a Switch during the pandemic
Jason calls off Friday the 13th activities due to coronavirus
Japan goes beyond rice cookers with new curry rice cooker, the kitchen gadget we need right now
Studio Ghibli releases 400 images from eight movies free to download online
A Pokémon glitch no one discovered in 18 years has been found…by a pet fish in Japan?!?【Videos】
Customers race to Uniqlo for new summer face masks, but are they really worth the hype?
Parasite movie releases free official wallpapers to download as backgrounds for video calls
Japanese students hold graduation ceremony in Minecraft amid school cancellation
Man sheds half his body weight, looks like a handsome model in just one year
Japan’s one-person bento box-sized rice cooker can give you freshly cooked rice at the office
Four photos, five years – A father’s beautiful pictures of his daughter growing up at Nara temple
One of Japan’s best whiskies, Hakushu 12 Year, is returning after two years of being sold out
Half-dozen of manga’s greatest creators have at-home drinking party, make one-of-a-kind artwork
Anime song dance performance group Real Akiba Boys: combining the otaku life with street dancing
We cosy up to Starbucks Japan’s sexy new Frappuccino for Valentine’s Day
Tokyo has a cafe lounge that’s for negative people only
Pokémon dress shirts progress into Gen 2 with 100 brand-new Johto region designs【Photos】
Manga materials website offers thousands of reference poses for budding artists to download
Top 10 anime women with biggest, most impactful breasts, voted by thousands of Japanese netizens
Bring your 2-D waifu to life with world’s first life-sized “emotional” robotic figurine 【Video】
Official Hololive clear files now available at FamilyMart convenience stores【Pics】
New Japanese reference book helps artists draw lazy characters
