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KK Miller

Writer After falling in love with Totoro and always thinking how delicious Satsuki’s bento looked, KK Miller continued to study about Japan all the way through university. Frequent time was spent between learning about Japanese history and rereading Harry Potter for the bajillionth time. A year abroad in Japan only cemented her decision to live in Japan, so she moved here right after completing her degree. Dressing up as a Harry Potter character every Halloween since being in Japan, KK continues to spread the magic and her love of Totoro and Harry Potter to everyone around her. While Satsuki’s bento turned out to consist of all the Japanese foods she doesn’t like (umeboshi, dembu, and whole grilled fish), she continues to enjoy Japan through traveling, photography and writing.

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Posted by KK Miller (Page 39)

Smooth McGroove continues to show us how he makes music with his mouth!

Every gamer knows that good video game music can make or break a game. This is especially the case in RPGs where players spend a lot of time walking across the world; those light-hearted melodies accompany you as you perform the often tedious task of moving from town to town. Background music is also immensely important to platformers like Super Mario and Sonic. That music better be catchy because you are going to be hearing it again and again when you keep missing that third jump off the floating platform!

RocketNews24 has brought you the video game a-cappella styles of Smooth McGroove before. Well it’s been almost a year since then, what has he and his super chill cat been up to?! Among other things, turns out he’s been traveling through Kanto and the world of Pokémon!

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These repainted dolls look so good they’ll knock your miniature socks off! 【Photos】

In Japan it is not uncommon to be standing outside a restaurant, drooling over what you think are actual dishes made in the kitchen, when you remember that they’re just pieces of plastic. At times these plastic dishes look so real that you wonder whether the restaurant really did put plates of its food in the window, but more often than not it’s simply that the person who made them is genuinely skilled.

if you’ve never see this fake plastic food with your own eyes, it may be hard to imagine the uncanny feeling it can create. But you might get an idea of what it’s like when I tell you that the photo of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent up there is in fact a painted doll.

We tracked down the creator of this incredible work online and have a bunch of photos after the jump that you really have to see.

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Sailor Moon cover is sentimental by moonlight, winning fans by daylight【Video】

Do you know what we love at RocketNews24? Our favorite Saturday morning cartoon themes re-imagined in different musical styles! There’s nothing like kicking back and hitting the ol’ nostalgia button and listening to a song in a way you never imagined possible. Well, just in time for the new Sailor Moon reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal, we’ve got a version of the ever popular “Moonlight Legend” that is going to Marty McFly you back to the 90s!

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Japan’s new water slide has to be seen to be believed!

There is no better way to beat the heat of the summer than a day at a water park! Ice cream and cold drinks only cool-down your mouth, whereas at a water park, you can jump into a refreshing pool of water again, again and again! You can’t do that with ice cream. For those people that love roller coasters and are always on the lookout for brand new adrenaline pumping attractions, a new ride at a famous water park has “funneled” into our sights!

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Voice actress surprises the internet with her bento making skillz!【Photos】

Is this a masterpiece in culinary art? Of course not, but it surely captures the look and feel of a titan from the series Attack on Titan. Voice actress Yuki Takao has been making and sharing her bento creations on her blog, and her unique style is starting to get some attention. Everyone needs a hobby, even famous people, and with their busy schedules, we’re sure they really appreciate the chance to relax and enjoy their time off. Yuki seems to spend it making unique bento and with food art like this, you have to wonder, what other creations has she made???

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Smellogram! Reconnect with friends through limited-edition scented letters

Smells do funny things to our brains. They connect us to memories and moments in a way that something visual never could. Just as interestingly is the effect smells have on our moods. Have you noticed that smells like lavender and vanilla give you a calming effect while a smell like coffee or citrus will perk you right up?

Now, Japan has combined the excitement of receiving a letter with the power of different scents to create a world first in letter sending. This service is available for only a limited-time, so try it before the letters (and smells!) are gone with the wind.

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Do you wanna drink a snowman? It doesn’t have to be a snowman

Frozen fans can’t get enough! Watching the movie over and over isn’t cutting it for them, because they have to live, breathe and DRINK Frozen! Well, someone high up in Disney must have been listening, because Tokyo Disney Resort has just unveiled their new Frozen themed drinks! And they are positively endearing!

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Bibbidi bobbidi boo, wonderful new Disney accessories for you!

Summer is here! The days are long, the evenings are muggy and we can’t wait for these hot and humid days to pass. But nothing helps get the weather off a girl’s mind more than stories of princesses. Escape to a fairy tale wonderland with the all new Disney Jewel Summer Collection!

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Brazilian guitarist covers game & anime themes, not getting the hits he deserves!【Videos】

Video game and anime theme covers are a dime a dozen, so how do you know which ones are worth your time? Your friendly, neighborhood RocketNews24 writers will tell you! And what we are telling you is, this YouTuber has put out a ton of videos covering classic video game themes and current hits, and he is criminally under-appreciated. Sit back, turn your dial to 11 and enjoy some covers brought to you on classical and acoustic guitars!

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Newly discovered plant might allow us to recover from devastating post-apocalyptic worlds

How many times have you heard the phrase “in a post-apocalyptic world…“? Movies, books, comics and games draw upon that all-too-common setting to dream up stories where man is pushed to the brink in order to survive in a unforgiving environment.

What makes a world post-apocalyptic though? There are plenty of ways to get there – nuclear apocalypse, asteroid strikes, zombies, giant robots, but one thing is pretty common: Food is scarce and people have to scavenge for it because the land is just too polluted to grow anything edible. But what if you could plant something in the ground that would allow other things to grow? What if nature already had its own answer to this problem? What if you could make that “every man for himself” world back into a “let’s work off the land together!” love-fest? Sounds to us like a billion dollar industry! Do they still have dollars in a post-apocalyptic world?!?!

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Date that deity! Japan picks the top 5 most dateable Buddhas

With the popularity of Saint Young Men, a story about Buddha and Jesus living together in Japan, readers have had the chance to imagine how a god would react to everyday life. Do they live up to their holy ideals? Or are they a little more human? Some avid readers have gone beyond those basics to imagining themselves dating one of these divine deities!

And why limit yourself to the Jesus or Buddha of Saint Young Men, when there is a directory full of other Buddhas to pursue?! We took to the streets of Nara and Kamakura, famous hot spots for Buddhist temples, and polled women on which Buddha they would want to date! 

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Guess what’s back, back again. Isopod case is back, tell your friends! Comes in gold…!

What’s popular in Japan? You probably wouldn’t be able to guess. Take Nameko for example. They are mushroom characters that are actually quite cute, but you end up not being able to look at real mushrooms the same again. There are also Mameshiba which are a series of bean characters meant to look like dogs. One of the biggest crazes sweeping the nation right now is Funassyi: a mascot character based on a pear that jumps, wiggles and screams. The Japanese love it!

So it’s really no surprise that a giant isopod cell phone case was made, completely sold out, gained a cult following and people demanded more of them. The prayers of those die-hard fans have been answered and the giant isopod iPhone case has returned and better yet, it now comes in a stunning gold color!

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Need a change of scenery? 3 Japanese cities now rank in list of world’s most livable cities

Everything has been coming up Tokyo lately. Recently ranked no. 1 on a Trip Advisor survey, Japan’s capital city has now come in at No. 2 on Monocle’s list of most livable cities for 2014. That’s two positions up from their ranking last year!

Cities across the world were ranked based on criteria such as economics, society, functionality, as well as ease of everyday living and happiness of people. But it’s not just Tokyo that’s feeling the love recently – two more Japanese cities made it onto the list of great places to live!

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Lucky #18! Japan gets another UNESCO World Heritage site

Japanese people love visiting UNESCO World Heritage sites. Good thing there are plenty of sites in Japan for people to pilgrimage to–17 before this week started. With the addition of Mt. Fuji in 2013, World Heritage site “completionists” finally had a new location to travel to after two years of waiting.

Well, the list just got a little bit longer, as another site has officially been added to bring Japan’s UNESCO sites to a total of 18. Pack your bags, we’re heading to Gunma!

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Step aside, Air Bud! Purin the Super Beagle is here to score some bea-goals!【Video】

There are two great things to look forward to in February in the US. The first is the Super Bowl; the second is definitely the “Puppy Bowl,” an American football game “played” exclusively by puppies. Who doesn’t like watching a bunch of extremely cute canines trying to move toys to their opponents’ end zone?

With over 13.5 million viewers in 2014, it only makes sense that the FIFA World Cup should have its own dog-based representation of the game. They could even call it the “Canine Cup”. If that ever does happen, countries will be scrambling to find their own representatives to put their country at number one! Lucky for Japan, they already have their own soccer-playing dog superstar who is ready to take the field!

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Gamers rejoice! 500XP towards laziness level with hands-free snacking device【Video】

Gamers know that gaming is serious business. Whether you are fragging your enemies in Halo or Call of Duty, working on your pro-rated 150 APM in Starcraft II, or slaying internet beasts in World of Warcraft, gamers know that their hands will be occupied. Ultimate pwnage requires a gamer’s full attention but a simple truth of life is, everyone needs to eat and drink!

Plenty of companies already know this. A ton of products are aimed directly at that lucrative gamer demographic, including gamer snacks and gamer energy drinks. The point that everyone seems to miss is that eating and drinking requires your hands, which is a precious commodity for the serious gamer! Beer hats and straws already work wonders for drinks, but what about hands-free food? Some industrious gamers have been working on a solution, and they have a hilarious prototype they want to show off!

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Rainy season blues, go away! Bring us summer (and beer) right away!

The rainy season has cometh! Spring was but a brief reprieve from the stinging cold of winter, and now Japan cowers beneath its umbrellas trying to escape the rain, knowing all too well that the humidity, however, cannot be escaped from.

It seems like the best way to chase away these rainy season blues is with a nice crisp beer, and RocketNews24 has a found a great place where you can do just that. It’s really close to our main offices in Tokyo, so sit back and plan your next happy hour, at Vector Beer!

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Mario AND Luigi team up for new infinite lives trick in Super Mario Bros. 【Video】

Super Mario Bros., the classic Nintendo game that spawned dozens of sequels and introduced millions of people to video games, has been around for some 29 years now. In that time, along with discovering every secret the game has to offer and performing dazzling speed runs, players the world over have hunted for increasingly creative and complex ways to rack up stacks of extra lives by “juggling” shelled enemies until the timer runs out.

There are a number of “infinite lives” secrets that we’re already aware of, but just last week a new video appeared online showing one that appears to be not just brand new, but one of the most complicated 1-up discoveries yet.

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Kanji fail — Japanese parents shocked to learn their baby girl’s name has inappropriate meaning

What’s in a name? New parents often look for a name that they hope will embody the spirit of their child or be something that their son or daughter can wear with pride throughout their life, but even the most heartfelt monicker can prove awkward when taken out of context, and can be more funny than beautiful when heard by speakers of other languages.

For Japanese parents, the meaning of kanji characters used for a child’s name are just as important as how it sounds. Recently, however, one young couple had the name they chose for their new baby daughter rejected when they attempted to register it at their local town hall. It was probably a good thing, though, since the characters they had chosen had an altogether different, rather unpleasant, meaning that the couple were completely unaware of.

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Authentic Thai food in Thailand found in the least expected place

Thai food is fantastic; the flavors of sweet and spicy excite the taste buds like little else. But in a country as diverse as Thailand, how do you know which restaurant to visit? There are so many local eateries, how can you decide which one will be the best? Well, RocketNews24 has a recommendation for you, and it doesn’t matter what part of Thailand you are in, you will probably be able to find it.

The restaurant we recommend for you to try some authentic Thai food is…McDonald’s!

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