Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
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.
Posted by Krista Rogers (Page 55)
An online retailer specializing in ancient Japanese armor, helmets, and horse harnesses has been getting a lot of clicks recently for their detailed, illustrated instructions about how to rapidly equip yourself (and your horse!) with armor in a pinch. Both novice and advanced warriors are sure to learn a thing or two from this handy step-by-step guide–take a look, and you’ll never be unprepared in the event of a stealthy ninja attack again!
Once upon a time, Tokyo was nowhere near the sprawling megalopolis that it is today. Long ago, it wasn’t a sure thing that the small fishing village known as Edo would someday become one of the most bustling cities in the world.
But let’s skip Tokyo’s early years and fast-forward to a slightly more recent age. Ever wondered what the city looked like half a century ago, before the towering skyscrapers and iconic neon lights? Today, we are proud to present a visual comparison of Tokyo, 50 years ago versus the modern day!
Think back to your high school days. Wouldn’t it have been nice if you could’ve easily disposed of all of your potential romantic rivals in the manner of your choice?
Now you can relive those school-day memories and channel all of your jealous rage into playing Yandere Simulator, a stealth indie game currently being developed by a single man under the moniker of “Yandere Developer.” While the concept behind his game is certainly one of the most unorthodox ideas we’ve ever seen, you’ve gotta hand it to him. It’s not easy trying to get inside the mind of a mentally-unhinged obsessive schoolgirl with murderous tendencies who still comes across as an innocent angel.
As people in different parts of the world change their calendars to April at this very moment, the class of recently graduated Japanese high school students are getting ready to embark on their next journeys in life. For many of them, this time marks a major turning point as they move away from home and head to even bigger cities for college or careers.
The recent graduates in at least one Japanese city can take comfort in knowing that their community will be waiting patiently for their return home at vacation. The staff at Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture recently left a heartfelt message inside the station wishing their local high school graduates the best of luck as they set out in life, and it seems that more than one passerby has teared up at the sight of it.
The answer to the question “What do you eat when you catch a cold?” is probably different depending on where you live in the world. For me, nursing a cold conjures up images of sitting in bed wrapped in blankets and sipping chicken noodle soup.
But we were curious to know which foods and other remedies are commonly consumed in Japan when someone gets sick, so we asked 11 of our colleagues over at the Japanese edition of RocketNews24 and our sister site Pouch to share what they eat when the sniffles start creeping up on them. Think you can guess how they answered? Some of their responses might surprise you!
Remember Takara Tomy A.R.T.S’ punnily-named product, the Sonic Hour (“hour” sounds similar to awa, or “bubbles” in Japanese) that we introduced you to two years ago? That device created a foamy head on a glass of beer in seconds, making it the perfect present for any beer lover in Japan.
Those same beer lovers now have cause to rejoice again because this time around, the Sonic Hour is back with a handy new portable version!
What’s that crumbly brown stuff on the rice pictured above?
If you guessed that it was some combination of spices, you’re (mostly) wrong. It’s actually the powdered form of a common cooking ingredient that you can find in any Japanese home. In fact, powdered foods in general have recently been drawing a lot of attention in Japan, so we wanted to share some interesting tidbits about them with you. And like the powder in the picture above, you might be surprised by what you find!
As I’m currently teaching at a high school, I already have plenty of teenagers trying to do things like change the due dates of their assignmentsmess in order to mess with my brain, thank you very much. The last thing I need is for my fruit to try to do the same…so imagine my frustration when I learned that there’s a place in Japan where you can buy strawberries pretending to be peaches (or is it the other way around!?)!
Wonder Festival is a semiannual Japanese convention dedicated to model and figure-building which attracts all manner of pros, amateurs, and cosplayers from across the country. Most recently, the Winter 2015 Wonder Festival was held at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Chiba City on February 8.
Our reporter Meg was busy checking out the show when she spotted a cute girl standing behind robotic company A-Lab’s booth. “Aww, she looks just like an idol from AKB48!” Meg thought. But when she got closer, she was shocked to realize that the girl was actually a hyperreal-looking android! In fact, many of the people attending the exhibition were equally stunned to learn that Asuna was an android, and not a living, breathing human girl. Would you have been tricked along with them?
When they aren’t filming commercials involving attacks by Titans or epic 60-hour-long miniature car model shoots, Japanese car manufacturer Subaru has proven to us that they’ve also got some commercials designed to hit you right in the feels.
Take this endearing new clip set in a snowy winter’s scene, for instance. It will surely warm your heart, despite the cold!
Our Japanese sister site Pouch would like to let our English-speaking readers in on a simple, time and effort-conserving way to cook a flavorful roast beef. This method also allows the meat to retain all of its natural juices, so you can impress your friends with an incredibly tender home-cooked meal.
But get ready for the best part of all–you get to let your rice cooker do all the hard work!
Hot off the heels of our previous announcement surrounding the upcoming release of Attack on Titan-themed plum wine (umeshu), we’ve got another lead on two limited edition sets of the hit manga/anime-inspired beverages. This time around, the sets will each contain three bottles of either plum wine or plum juice, all decorated with beautiful illustrations of the anime’s character designs.
But that’s not even the coolest part–the drinks were crafted using plums grown by the Attack on Titan author’s very own family!
While we don’t usually think about successful opera singers breaking into the rock music industry, there’s one man out there to prove that classically trained performers can, in fact, appreciate decidedly more “modern-sounding” music.
Japanese operatic tenor Ken Nishikiori (錦織 健) is one of the most prolific opera singers to come out of Japan. But recently the 55-year-old has been making waves on the net not for his sweeping operatic vocals, but for his astounding cover of British rock band Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody!”
This one goes out to all our readers in the Philippines–Charice is back, and she’s telling everyone to “Let it Go!”
We haven’t heard much about Charice for about a year, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the talented singer belting out the iconic song from Disney’s Frozen in a short YouTube karaoke clip. Also, we love that short new-ish ‘do she’s sporting!
Japanese animation studio Nippon Animation is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year by releasing a theatrical film titled Sinbad: The Flying Princess and the Mysterious Island (シンドバッド 空とぶ姫と秘密の島). The studio has recently confirmed a release date of July for the film at movie theaters across Japan.
Want to know more about the upcoming movie, which is being backed by a team of some of the most illustrious names in the Japanese animation industry? We’ve got all the inside info, right after the jump!
While adults visiting the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo may have fun reliving their childhood memories, there’s no doubt that the majority of the exhibits are geared towards the younger crowd. But did you know that the museum’s cafe offers a special something that only the grown-ups can enjoy?
We’ve got all the inside info about the cafe’s “Valley of the Wind” beer–a perfect treat for anyone who loves both beer and Ghibli!
Prolific Japanese actor Ken Watanabe may have achieved stardom both domestically and internationally, but to the residents of a small city in northern Japan, he’s also known for his heart of gold.
Kesennuma (気仙沼), Miyagi Prefecture is one of several coastal cities that was ravaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. In the aftermath of the disaster, Watanabe helped build (and now manages) a combined cafe-shop in Kesennuma in an effort to provide economic relief to the locals. Most inspiring, however, is his unwavering dedication to the venture–somehow, despite his busy filming and PR schedule in both Japan and Hollywood, he still finds the time to fax a handwritten letter to the cafe every single day!
Join our ace Japanese reporters Mr. Sato and Yoshio on their recent trip up north to visit this hidden gem of northern Japan.
Have you ever had the experience of pulling back your curtains, only to be met by a pair of luminous, unblinking eyes from the outside?
If you have, you’ll be able to sympathize with the following Japanese Twitter users who glanced up at their windows and happened to see one or more furry feline visitors staring back. Either way, you’re sure to enjoy this compilation of (the good kind of) peeping Toms!
GAINAX, the animation powerhouse which has spawned massive hits such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Nadia:The Secret of Blue Water, Kare Kano, FLCL, and Gurren Lagann among others, has confirmed plans to open a studio and in-house museum in the town of Miharu, Fukushima. Specifically, the company will move into a refurbished school building that was closed two years ago.
Keep reading after the jump to find out what motivated this latest development!
Let’s begin with a bit of linguistic trivia: How many of you know that Japanese has an expression for the area of exposed skin between the top of knee-high socks and the hemline of a skirt? No, this is not a joke, people–the actual term is 絶対領域 (zettai ryouiki), which literally means “absolute territory,” but I’m sure some of you already knew that.
If you didn’t, now is as good a time as ever to add that phrase to your mental lexicon, with LED light-emitting skirts about to enter the world of fashion and all!
Fading Tokyo – Searching for signs of the Showa era as local neighborhoods evolve[Photos]
Tokyo turns its phone booths into free Wi-Fi hotspots, and here’s how to use them
Three ways going to see cherry blossoms alone is better than seeing them with other people
Pokémon lacquerware series expands for Year of the Horse with new handcrafted design[Video]
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Studio Ghibli adds new My Neighbour Totoro 2026 Corn Gift to its anime store for Mother’s Day
New cafe in trendy Tokyo neighborhood is staffed by grannies and grandpas with average age of 73
Japan now has stricter requirements for foreigners applying for citizenship
The Almost All Lettuce Burger from Dom Dom Burger really lives up to its name
Nintendo’s Animal Crossing crosses over into Japanese convenience store cosmetics line[Photos]
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Totoro and Calcifer become little light-up lanterns for Ghibli-style excursions or at-home decor
Tokyo’s best museum for foreign travelers finally reopens after being closed for four yearsPokémon lacquerware series expands for Year of the Horse with new handcrafted design[Video]
Picturesque Tokyo park plays host to millions of flowers and soap bubbles this spring
Tokyo subway and almost all Tokyo train lines now accepting credit card tap payments
Fatal stabbing at Pokémon Center in Tokyo reignites concern over rising stalking cases in Japan
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime characterKrispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
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 home
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
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
Studio Ghibli adds new My Neighbour Totoro 2026 Corn Gift to its anime store for Mother’s Day
New cafe in trendy Tokyo neighborhood is staffed by grannies and grandpas with average age of 73
Japan now has stricter requirements for foreigners applying for citizenship
The Almost All Lettuce Burger from Dom Dom Burger really lives up to its name
Nintendo’s Animal Crossing crosses over into Japanese convenience store cosmetics line[Photos]
Totoro Fund line of beautiful artwork and apparel lets you help the real-world Totoro Forest
Should you warm up your convenience store onigiri rice balls in the microwave?【Taste test】
Why is Yoshinoya called Yoshinoya?
What does a kanji with 12 “kuchi” radicals mean? A look at weird, forgotten Japanese characters
Majority of Japanese women in survey regret marrying their husband, but that’s only half the story
New line of Kirby cosmetics make makeup fun with star-shaped palettes and pink lush lipsticks
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]