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Krista Rogers

Starting with a love of J-Pop and J-dramas when she was 13, Krista Rogers has left her quiet New England hometown in the States both to study abroad in Tokyo and to work on the JET Program in beautiful Yamagata prefecture. She misses chatting in the local dialect and staging Kamehameha battles in the hallway with her students. Although she's currently working on her master's degree in Boston, she will without a doubt be back in Japan before long and buying way too much at Book-Off and Tower Records again. When she needs a break from schoolwork, Krista enjoys eating yakiniku, figure skating, finding cute cafes, watching Big Bang MVs, and continuing on her quest to catch 'em all.

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Posted by Krista Rogers (Page 42)

Odaiba exhibition features rare & vintage character toys from the 1960s onwards, photos A-OK!

Children all over the world idolize at least one TV or comic book character at some point while growing up. For everyone who gets a rush of excitement whenever they fondly recall their favorite childhood character toys, we’d like to introduce you to a must-see event that’s currently going on in Tokyo’s Odaiba district: the “Nostalgic Toy Great Exhibition” (懐かしのおもちゃ大博覧会)!

This event is a massive display of classic Japanese character toys that date from the Showa period (1926-1989) to the present day. Everything from ultra rare vintage tinplate toys from the 1960s to Sailor Moon figurines from the 2010s are on display, for a grand total of approximately 2,000 toys. On top of that, photography is permitted—it’s truly a toy lover’s paradise!

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New rum raisin-flavored chocolate Oreo bars to go on sale in Japan

Despite the popularity of goodies like Kit Kats and Oreos around the world, most countries sell only the original flavors of such snacks with perhaps one or two flavor variations on the side. This area, however, is where Japan goes totally nuts with novel and often downright bizarre marketing campaigns to introduce the latest flavors of ordinary snacks—just ask anyone who’s ever had the courage to try wasabi Kit Kats or strawberry chocolate-covered shrimp chips!

Case in point, confectionery and baked goods company Yamazaki Nabisco has unveiled its newest flavor of the popular Oreo cookie: rum raisin.

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Reminisce on over 30 years of Mario games with this sweet Evolution of Super Mario tribute【Video】

This month, the whole world is celebrating 30 years of Mario, only the most famous video game character of all time. It’s been a long time since the Italian plumber’s humble beginnings as Jumpman, and Nintendo is pulling out all the stops to make this anniversary year as special as possible for long-time gamers who got their start playing as starry-eyed kids back in the 8-bit era.

To continue the festivities, we’d like to share with you this nifty video tribute which tracks the evolution of Mario over the past three decades of video gaming history. Prepare yourselves for a nostalgic trip down memory lane!

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South Korean graphic designer pays tribute to Studio Ghibli films with minimalistic icons

We’ve seen many Studio Ghibli tributes from around the world–some in the form of still artwork, and others in even more ambitious video formats. Today, we’d like to share another fantastic tribute by a South Korean artist that’s sure to please anyone with an eye for some clean graphic design!

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Single “Hebel Haus” is the only structure to defy the flooding of Japan’s Angry Demon River

Last week, we discussed the possible etymology of Kinugawa (“Angry Demon River”), which has been the scene of intense flooding in eastern Japan this month. While the overflowing river has devastated the surrounding towns and landscapes in its wake, a single building in Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture has been gaining particular attention for being the only structure within sight to stand firmly in place in the face of a deluge of muddy water.

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Westerners discuss the hardest things about learning Chinese【Video】

The various related but often unintelligible Chinese language varieties collectively have 1.2 billion first-language speakers. Of those varieties, Mandarin, also known as Standard Chinese or Putonghua, has 848 million native speakers, which is higher than any other language on Earth. It’s no wonder that more and more people around the world are seeing the practicality of learning Chinese as a second language.

However, learning a second language takes time and effort, especially if the intrinsic features of your target language differ significantly from those of your native language. A recent YouTube video titled “Foreigners’ Difficulties of Learning Chinese” explores this exact scenario by asking four Westerners about their own experiences studying the language.

Whether you’ve already dabbled in Chinese yourself or are thinking about it, the short clip makes for an interesting watch for anyone looking to expand their linguistic horizons.

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Clip of Thai woman slapping her attacker inspires the internet to create diverse parodies【Videos】

A video of a female victim slapping the man who assaulted her has blown up over Thai social media, inspiring endlessly creative video parodies in its wake. From Star Wars to Doraemon-themed interpretations, Thai net users are having a field day giving the man a taste of his own medicine!

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Fisherman catches unreal-looking fish off the coast of Japan, turns out to be quite harmless

Yikes! What must have been going through the minds of a group of Japanese fishermen when they caught the shocking fish pictured above off the coast of Hokkaido? It’s a face that could keep anyone up at night with that gargantuan, gaping mouth.

Actually, on second thought, the big guy’s kind of growing on us…

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Evangelion theme song lyricist talks about her annual royalties, buying caves in Turkey

Neko Oikawa, who wrote the lyrics for Neon Genesis Evangelion’s theme song “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” recently revealed some details regarding the staggering amount of money that she makes in annual royalties off of the enduringly popular song–along with where 300 million yen (US$2.4 million)-worth of her savings has recently gone to.

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Many foreigners in Japan are shocked to see young Japanese schoolchildren walking to and from school by themselves, or even taking the trains or buses alone. While these sights would probably lead to more than a few concerned stares in many countries overseas, they’re perfectly typical scenes in Japan.

Australian TV channel SBS 2 recently shared a mini-documentary titled “Japan’s independent kids” on YouTube, which gives a brief look at the differences between one young Japanese girl’s commute to school versus that of a young Australian girl, while examining some of the societal factors that lead to differing expectations regarding independence for children in each country.

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Couple weds in a dreamy, Final Fantasy-themed wedding ceremony【Video】

Ever wondered what a wedding planned around your favorite video game franchise would look like? Newly married couple Grace and Chris have an answer to that question in the form of the following video taken at their stunning Final Fantasy-themed wedding ceremony filmed in Hawaii! 

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Service area in Shizuoka goes all out for the biggest and baddest Evangelion collaboration ever

Many Japanese service areas along major highways are well-stocked with (surprisingly) decent food courts and souvenir stands chock-full of local specialties. Some of them even take it to the next level and incorporate themes into their layouts, such as the Edo Period townscape service area in Saitama Prefecture.

One such stop, the EXPASA Ashigara Service Area located in Shizuoka Prefecture, is currently in the midst of a collaboration with the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise—and according to travelers who have already stopped by, they’ve spared no expense for this mind-blowing project.  
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Bus driver in Yokohama City announces warm message to the mother of a screaming child

We’ve all been in this situation at some point in our lives–trapped in a public place with a baby screaming its lungs out. While many people would react by repeating “Shut up!” over and over again inside their minds, one pro bus driver in Yokohama who experienced this exact situation on the bus he was driving took the high route by instead reassuring the mother that everything was okay.

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Stray kitten finds loving home, shortly thereafter takes over and becomes immersed in anime

When a stray kitten began following Japanese Twitter user @Kawasaki_Hina around like a little duckling, he decided to take her in and keep her for good. Within a short time, it became obvious the feline had made herself completely at home and had taken up a few of his ‘hooman’ hobbies to boot — including watching anime and playing the guitar.

Warning: Melt-in-your-seat adorable feline photos are coming up right after the jump!

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3-D character bread trending on Instagram is way cuter and cooler than sliced bread

Three-dimensional character bread, called chigiri-pan, is currently trending on Japanese Instagram under the tag #3Dちぎりパン. These upright, puffy loaves are handcrafted by artistic bakers with more than a pinch of creativity and dollops of love. We’ve already spied loaves in the shape of some popular Disney, Ghibli, San-X, and Moomin characters, among others. Perhaps one of the following creations will inspire you to try your hand at making some chigiri-pan for yourself!

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Kurand Sake Market opens Asakusa branch, Mr. Sato and Yoshio imbibe to their hearts’ content!

On September 2, Kurand Sake Market opened a new shop in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. This location is a sister branch to the original Kurand Sake Market which opened earlier this year in Ikebukuro, where sake lovers can sample 100 varieties of sake for 3,000 yen (US$24.64) per person with no time limit.

The Asakusa branch invited curious members of the media in for a sneak peek before its grand opening to the public, so we promptly sent our sake-loving reporters Mr. Sato, a veteran of the Ikebukuro shop, and Sailor Venus-cosplaying reporter extraordinaire Yoshio to check things out. But rather than write their opinions for each of the 30 individual brands they sampled, which would undoubtedly become tedious after a while, they decided to create a handy visual guide so that you can gauge their reactions to each cup with a picture, thus eliminating any language barriers in the process. Let the sake festivities begin!

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We explore the evolution of the toilet at Kitakyushu’s newly opened TOTO Museum

What would modern life be like without the humble toilet? Actually, we’d rather not think about that.

Many of us around the world should direct our thanks to TOTO Ltd., the world’s largest manufacturer of toilets and the very company that invented the washlet. In fact, Friday, August 28 marked the grand opening of the new TOTO Museum in Fukuoka Prefecture, where the company was originally founded in 1917.

Takashi Harada, our Japanese reporter who proclaims that he couldn’t survive a day without a washlet, immediately made a bee line to the new sanctuary to give thanks to the toilet gods and to learn a bit about the historical evolution of the toilet.

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Nagano Prefecture’s Mishaka Pond offers mirror-like waters, inspiration for art lovers

Mishaka-ike, or Mishaka Pond (御射鹿池), is a hidden natural jewel located in Chino City, Nagano Prefecture. The pond’s tranquil beauty inspired a famous painting several decades ago, and Japanese visitors have been increasingly traveling off the beaten path to view its waters for themselves, as it’s a place where the four seasons are distinctly and perfectly expressed.

Escape from the city for a relaxing moment with the following photographic collection of Mishaka-ike in the Japanese countryside.

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Love Livers spotted wearing biker-style coats at anime song festival, concertgoers not impressed

August in Japan is the month of summer concerts, from the internationally celebrated Summer Sonic series, to record label Avex Trax’s annual A-Nation festival. Of course, let’s not forget to mention the Animelo Summer Live series, known popularly as Anisama (an abbreviation of anime and the Japanese pronunciation of “summer”) by Japanese fans of anime songs.

This year’s opening day of the concert series saw an unusual display of love for hit anime series Love Live! in the form of a group of guys dressing up like old-school Japanese biker gang delinquents, complete with long coats depicting their favorite characters. However, it looks like a number of Japanese Twitter users are ready for the Love Livers to tone their passion down a notch, as the online critics were decidedly unimpressed with the outfits.

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Seven amazing things our Japanese reporter learned while visiting Cuba

RocketNews24’s Japanese-language reporter Yuichiro visited Cuba a few months ago and had an amazing time in the Caribbean nation. Although he’s already shared several of his travel adventures such as sampling sushi at a five-star hotel and getting a haircut in the popular local style, Wasai recently compiled a list of the top seven things that impressed or surprised him about Cuba.  

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