Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Master Blaster is the two-man translating team of Canada’s Steven Le Blanc and Japan’s Masami M, a pair who in addition to writing work are in English education and created the StudyNow app for Japanese students of English.
Together they have written somewhere around 1,500 articles for RocketNews24 covering such diverse topics as Chinese men selling sanitary napkins to each other and a Japanese guy dragging an ear of corn around the Tokyo train system. A few of these were actually good, but don’t take our word for it! Here’s what our beloved readers had to say:
“One isn't always in the mood for bold tastes. But when I'm in the mood for bold flavor I turn to you.”
“Stupid article. Who cares what the Japanese think it's cool. You don't call a monkey, "gorilla".”
“You know, this is about the most cogent explanation of how a turbocharger works that I have ever seen in the non-motorsports world.”
“Thanks for the article peter!”
“It's people like you who make exploitation possible.”
“It looks yummy and the story was great. Thank you for the smile.”
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Posted by Master Blaster (Page 164)
Hey, do you like animal butts? What am I saying, of course you do! Unfortunately, animals are wily and occasionally dangerous making it hard to get your hands on their rear ends.
That’s why (we guess) Tenyu has released Oppoppo, a collection of six animal butt simulation devices that are portable and can easily attach to your gym bag, key chain, or belt buckle!
On 28 November, Osaka Prefectural Police announced the arrest of 65-year-old Kiyomasa Shimabukuro for crimes including theft. According to police, the suspect confessed adding, “I never worked. I lived off stolen money.”
If you happened to have been around the West Exit of Shinjuku Station this week you might have seen this poster hanging around. In it we can clearly see a photo of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe done up to look like Charlie Chaplin in the film The Great Dictator. Around him are the words “Take back Japan” and “Prewar.”
Once upon a time in the magical kingdom of Japan there lived a young girl named Mami. Always she would ask her parents to read a children’s book by the name of Guri & Gura in which two field mice share good times together. Her most favorite story of all was the one in which Guri and Gura find a large egg and make a big fluffy cake out of it. However, as the years passed by and Mami grew into a woman, she gradually stopped reading the adventures of Guri and Gura and eventually went to work as a reporter for RocketNews24.
One day, her wicked step-editor called out, “Maaaaamiiii! Write me something about food! I’m hungry!” Checking the internet for something to write about, Mami learned of a famous café in Osaka. Other women wrote marvelous things about it saying, “It’s a real picture book world!” and “Everything about it is cute!” Thinking this was a nice place, Mami boarded a train for the land of Umeda not knowing what was waiting in store for her.
Every once in a while we report on the bustling mascot business in Japan, especially regarding the regional cute mascots known as yuru-kyara. Often these characters are chosen to represent a city, prefecture or even neighborhood by way of election.
This was also the case in Hokkaido’s Hokuto City as they took votes for their new representative character. Thousands of citizens cast their votes for whom they felt best represented Hokuto life and culture, ultimately choosing… that thing above.
Having read comics a lot as a kid I always dreamed of having a mutation. Having my genetic material altered so that I could fly or turn invisible would have been great. However, as I grew up I realized that mutations often lead to things like health problems and considered myself better off.
Now watching this video, I may have to reconsider. According to the person who posted it on YouTube it was taken in Russia. It appears to show a humanoid creature crawling across the exterior of an apartment building.
Our resident food writer Kuzo loves travelling the world in search of new and exotic McDonald’s food. However, he’s also been known to experiment with game consoles in between meals.
When the Nintendo Wii U came out he tested its online capability while riding nearly 300 km/h on the Shinkansen. Now with his newly acquired PS4, he’s going to attempt to upgrade the built-in hard disc drive (HDD) with a faster solid state drive (SSD). The following is his report.
What would you say if someone were to call you an otaku? These days, people’s responses would likely fall into one of two extremes: “Hell, yeah! I’m a huge [insert hobby here] otaku!” or “Screw you! I have a life!”
Some might argue that the latter response is more likely to come from a true otaku, but very rarely do you hear someone admit to being an otaku with the nonchalant cadence of someone saying, “I’m a claims adjuster.” There’s always at least hint of bias in their tone whether its pride or embarrassment.
And yet such an emotionally charged label is still in debate with regards to its definition. To try to make sense of what an otaku is and whether it’s a good or bad thing, let’s start by looking at reasons people might say they aren’t an otaku. The following are four types of denial you might hear when calling someone an otaku as concocted by Japan’s Excite News.
It would appear in Japan a new species of teenager has emerged.
Once upon a time there were Yankees, a rough and tumble group of youths who flaunted convention, rocked mullets, smoked, and occasionally resorted to fisticuffs when it was called for. Sure, they were a little unrefined but you knew where they stood.
However, now it seems a new breed of young men and women have evolved from this who enjoy climbing into freezers and standing on subway tracks for fun. This new class is being named DQN (Dokyun) in Japan.
On 22 November a 35-year-old man who taught at an Otsu City elementary school resigned after it came to light that he unlawfully entered the women’s restroom of Shiga University. However, according to the scant details of this case it appears this might just be a case of being in the absolute worst place at the wrong time.
In most countries, walking around the streets wearing a white surgical mask would likely draw stares from those around you. People may even cross the street to avoid whatever plague they think you’re harboring. However, in urban Japan it’s hard to walk down the street without seeing someone in such medical-looking garb, especially during peak allergy seasons.
Despite this, there seems to be an unwritten rule that all face masks should be white. You might see an occasional designer mask with a logo or floral print, but by and large seeing anyone wearing a surgical mask other than white is kind of rare. However, a new brand of mask with the unfortunate name of B.M is challenging this social convention by being pitch black.
On 21 November, Japanese pharmaceutical company Rohto announced they will be releasing a line of eye drops which promise 60 percent the viscosity of regular drops. To retain the eyes tears and keep them moist longer, Rohto uses a combination of hyaluronic acid, chondroitin, and sesame oil.
That last ingredient in particular, which is generally used in Asian cooking for its notably bold taste, has caught the attention of netizens in Japan drawing comments such as “My eyes! My eyes!”
Sushi is without a doubt the most popular Japanese food in the world, and as such it’s found its way onto the menus of restaurants around the world. However, as we well know, different countries always like to add their own twists to imported cuisine. These countries sometimes have a special way of eating sushi beyond the imaginations of people in Japan. Our reporter Shogo, while out covering the situation in the Philippines following Super Typhoon Haiyan, had stumbled on some such sushi while visiting a Japanese restaurant there. Read More
Smartphones are great and all, but they require your hands, which can be a problem when doing work, sports or raising the occasional barn. Then, along came Google Glass, a brand of smart glasses with promises of a more hands-free future. Unfortunately, it’s hard to interact with people and not have them stare at your right eye the entire time.
There must be a way to combine the discreet practicality of a smartphone with the hands-free functionality of smart glasses. According to an invention filed with the U.S. Patent Office this year, Sony appears to be interested something that just might do that with the “Smart Wig.”
Clothing stores which quickly and cheaply offer fashions based on the latest trends such as H&M and Zara have been enjoying a high level of popularity, especially in the last decade. Shops following this model known as “fast fashion” can also be found in Japan with its largest by far being Uniqlo.
Recently we ran an article speculating why Japanese companies are slow to take risks, but that’s not always the case. In the highly competitive and globalized world of fast fashion sometimes you have to make big moves. That’s just what Uniqlo did, and they moved right into Bangladesh, which has been deemed a “least developed country” by the UN.
Here’s an elementary school math question for you all:
Apples are sold for 100 yen each. If you buy 5 what is the total amount?
If you said “5 × 100 = 500” then I’m sorry but you just flunked second grade math in Japan… if there were only one question all year.
The reason is an old teaching method that is employed in elementary and middle schools throughout the country. It’s also a method that many, such as a blogger by the name of Uncorrelated, want stopped as it leads to strange logic where six times seven does not always equal 42 and five times 100 might not equal 500.
The art of home furnishings is still struggling to keep up with the advent of smartphones and tablets. We’ve seen advances in upside-down racks but they can be large and unwieldy for everyday use. Enter Utsubusene Cushion (Face-down Sleep Cushion).
The idea of such a chest-rest is not new. The makers, Thanko Co. Ltd. say that this kind of chair-thingy has been around since ancient times in Japan. However, Thanko is hoping this ultra old-school technology will be the savior of sleepy portable device users everywhere.
On 13 November, Google India posted a three-minute advertisement on YouTube titled Google Search: Reunion. In the span of only two days it reached nearly one and a half million views and as of this writing is swiftly approaching four million.
All along the way, it’s received overwhelmingly positive reviews such as “NOT just an ad”; “This little 3 minute video is better than all the movies I have seen this past year”; and “I am not from India, but I still appear to have something in my eye that is making it water.”
Convenience stores play an integral part of life in Japan. The various chains themselves appear to have a life and ecosystem of their own sprouting up and dying off all over the urban landscape in fierce competition. Regardless of which one you choose, be it Lawson, Family Mart, 7-Eleven, Mini-Stop or one of the other countless chains, you can always expect to find some high quality stuff.
No one knows this better than our food reporter Kuzo who has sampled every form of junk food the nation’s convenience stores have to offer. This time, however, he leaves the shores of Japan to test the wares of a remote branch of the famous Lawson Station chain in Hawaii.
As a proud resident of Osaka Prefecture it’s always nice to see the place excel at something. Even for something as nefarious as purse snatching, it seems that the Osaka way is to go big or go home.
So let’s all give Osaka a big round of applause for being number one in incidents of purse snatching for the third year in a row! Even though stats are only available up until October, so many cases of people grabbing women’s bags and running away – or riding away as is often the case – have occurred that we have officially clinched the standings for 2013.
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Pizza Hut Japan teams up with creator of one of the country’s best kinds of ramen for ramen pizza
Is Japan’s Crab-shaped Cup Ramen Timer worth the hype?
Starbucks Japan offers special sakura picnics at Reserve Roastery Tokyo beside Meguro River
Pikachu and Eevee become handmade Lladró porcelain sculptures to celebrate Pokémon’s 30th birthday
Tokyo bus line praised for handling of driver’s mental health
Starbucks Japan releases a new Cream Puff Frappuccino for a limited time
Japan has a cute Pokémon menu you probably don’t know about yet
New multi-use park facility in the heart of Shibuya set to open in June 2020
Pokémon GO melds with Tokyo’s traditional neighborhood for Asakusa Routes event, gets thumbs up from us
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Japanese government planning higher ticket prices for foreign tourists at Tokyo National Museum
Is Tokyo Station’s startlingly expensive wagyu bento boxed lunch worth its high price?[Taste test]
One Piece creator has hidden secret of anime treasure’s identity in chest at bottom of real-world oceanStarbucks Japan releases a new Cream Puff Frappuccino for a limited time
Silicone testicle covers banned from Japanese sauna following cups being left behind and on shelves
Studio Ghibli now sells Ursula’s backpack from Kiki’s Delivery Service at its anime shop in Japan
Live-action One Piece’s Luffy teaches Sesame Street’s Elmo a Japanese word for friendship[Video]
Mister Donut unveils new sakura doughnuts for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
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 homeJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
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
Tokyo bus line praised for handling of driver’s mental health
Starbucks Japan releases a new Cream Puff Frappuccino for a limited time
Japan has a cute Pokémon menu you probably don’t know about yet
New multi-use park facility in the heart of Shibuya set to open in June 2020
Pokémon GO melds with Tokyo’s traditional neighborhood for Asakusa Routes event, gets thumbs up from us
Super Budget Dining in Japan – What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen (US$6.70) at Saizeriya?
Korean Pokémon baked goods are so popular you can’t find them anywhere, but why?
We try the new Famichiki Burger from Family Mart
Is this Tokyo government office still one of the best places in the city for a curry rice lunch?
We got 17 pieces of sushi at just over 2,000 yen at this Fukuoka restaurant
Burgers soaked in a plate of hot cheese served at American Diner Andra in Tokyo
11 different ways to say “father” in Japanese
