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Michelle Lynn Dinh

Editor/ Writer

Michelle always seems to find her way back to Japan, having been there for vacation, study abroad, and work. During her time on the JET Programme, she lived on the island of Chiburi in Shimane, Japan’s “least popular prefecture.” In her heart, she will always be a member of that sleepy little fishing village she once called home. When she’s not swearing like a sailor while playing video games, Michelle enjoys playing soccer and “studying” Japanese.

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Posted by Michelle Lynn Dinh (Page 17)

Nagano farmers sell damaged “typhoon apples” online

Japan is no stranger to typhoons. Every year, the island nation is battered by howling winds and torrential rain. This year 28 typhoons have made their way to Japan, but it was the 26th that had a particularly disastrous impact on apple farmers in Nagano prefecture. With their crops partially destroyed and most of their fruit unable to be sold in stores due to scratches and imperfections, the clever farmers took to the internet. Their crops are now being sold at online retailer, Oisix, as “typhoon apples.” And believe it or not, many people are actually buying the flawed fruit.

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Stay out of Nagasaki if you want to go home on time: The most overworked prefectures in Japan

It’s well known around the world that many people in Japan are overworked. Long hours, overtime, working on the weekends; all of these less than ideal conditions can build up and create unhappy employees. But did you know that not all prefectures are equally overworked?

Japanese online job search site, Rikunavi Next, have ranked the 47 prefectures of Japan based on how many hours of overtime and how much compensation workers receive on average. How does your prefecture stack up?

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Enjoy earth-conscious treats and whimsical animal doughnuts at Japan’s “nature doughnut” shop

Floresta isn’t as well known as the big chain stores in Japan like Mister Donut or Krispy Kreme, but their “nature doughnuts” deserve all the attention they can get. As a company, Floresta strives to provide customers with healthy, yet satisfying snacks, using organic local ingredients with no additives or preservatives. They are also careful to reduce waste that can have a negative impact on the environment. You would think a healthy doughnut might taste like cardboard, but Floresta manages to serve up delicious rings of environmentally friendly goodness. They also make animal doughnuts that will make you want to buy out the store.

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10 crazy pizzas from Japan

Whether you love it or hate it, Japanese pizza exists. McDonald’s manages to provide homesick foreigners in Japan with a similar (and arguably better) product from back home, but somewhere along the line, chain pizza stores in Japan got it all wrong. We’re sure there are those who enjoy the typical Japanese-style pizza, but after reading through internet forums of hungry foreigners, those who joyfully eat a slice from Japan are in the minority.

Let’s take a look at 10 pizzas that can be purchased in Japan, some sprinkled with corn, others topped with seaweed and many of them drenched in mayonnaise, so much mayonnaise!

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It may look like a panda, but this baby at the Hangzhou Zoo is a wooly animal

Pandas by themselves are adorable, but when you find a different animal that resembles those black and white creatures, it’s cuteness overload! First, we found Pandagators, which may or may not be categorized as “cute” for some people, but we’d say they’re far less terrifying than the original and teetering towards the cuteness realm. But this next panda-like animal is undeniably delightful. Can you guess what it is?

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634 tiny eels in Tokyo aquarium to be broadcasted live online

Care to watch hundreds of wriggling creatures squirming around in an underwater sand pit? Definitely not as cute as the puppy cam, but still pretty cool, 634 spotted garden eels in the Sumida Aquarium at the Tokyo Skytree will be broadcasted live on video streaming site, Nico Nico Douga.

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Adorable miniature doughnuts from Mister Donut Japan!

Look at those little guys! They’re so small, you have to carry them all together in a bucket!

If you’re looking for a miniature treat, look no further than Mister Donut’s winter offering of bite-sized doughnuts. With six new flavors and three shareable container sizes, they’re perfect for snacking with friends and family while snuggling up under the kotatsu…or eat them all yourself, we won’t judge.

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Pokemon smartphones: Why Apple created the colorful iPhone 5c

We were all skeptical when Apple announced the low-cost iPhone 5c. Nothing from Apple had ever been relatively affordable and there had never been a cheaper version of any of their products; it was a totally new turn for the tech giant. But now we get it, these phones were made for Pokemon.

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Hot wheels: We find a wood-burning stove inside a food truck in Nagano

Food trucks are all the rage in the United States, but we doubt there’s one like this in any of the 50 states. We tracked down a mobile pizzeria in Nagano, Japan that has a wood-burning pizza oven. That’s right, an open-flame in the back of a van! We just had to try a pizza from such a bizarre place.

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10 beautiful packaging designs from Japan

When receiving a gift or even after buying a snack at the convenience store, it’s sometimes hard not to just rip open the package to get to the goodies inside. But if you find yourself in the possession of one of the following products, you might want to pause and take a few moments to admire the hard work and creativity that went in to designing the packaging. Here are 10 beautiful product packages from Japan, all of which have won at the Pentawards, a worldwide packaging design competition.

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Carbonated tomato juice makes a reappearance in stores across Japan

Hate tomato juice? Maybe you’ll like sparkling tomato juice.

Kagome, a Japanese manufacturer of fruit and vegetable juices, has just announced the sale of Tomash, a carbonated tomato beverage. The drink is made from a combination of tomato juice mixed with lemon and ginger ale, and believe it or not, it’s back by popular demand.

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Weird toothpaste mascot is a big hit with women in Japan

A recent appearance by a new mascot in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward saw young women flocking to take commemorative pictures. When our reporter encountered the mascot, officially named “Mr. T Stain,” women were following it around with squeals of delight, making the surrounding men extremely jealous. But why is Mr. T Stain, who could be in the running for weirdest mascot, so popular with the ladies? It has something to do with a toothpaste commercial featuring a very eccentric pop star.

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Disney’s Rapunzel as Sailor Moon is the best thing we’ve seen this week

Disney princesses get to have fun sometimes, right? When they’re not saving the day or being saved by their handsome prince, we’re sure they find time to kick back with their friends and celebrate holidays. The following is what a few of the most popular Disney princesses might wear on Halloween as envisioned by artist Isaiah K Stephens. And of course strong princesses like Pocahontas, Jasmine, and Merida would dress as their favorite female superhero or heroine.

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The giant straw sculptures of Japan 【Photos】

Many of you have probably heard about the massive snow sculptures of the Sapporo Snow Festival, adding a fun event to look forward to in the dead of the harsh winters of Japan’s northernmost prefecture. But what about the straw sculptures of the Wara Art Festival in Niigata Prefecture? To celebrate the end of the rice harvest and the abundance of straw that is produced as a result, the folks in Niigata put all that extra dried stuff to creative use, making huge straw sculptures that tower over the thousands of people who come to visit them.

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Japanese snack company gives us portable mashed potatoes with a soft inside, crunchy outside

Ah mashed potatoes. Hot and fluffy peaks of spuds; what a simple dish consisting of a bunch of potatoes all smashed together to create a bowl of dense, delicious goodness. But somewhere along the line, Calbee, a major Japanese snack food maker, made an awesome breakthrough in potato technology. The traditional western side dish has received a bizarre snack twist, being transformed into “Mashed Potato Consomme Punch” chips that are said to be the perfect balance of crunchy and fluffy.

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Living Wallet: The high-tech/creepy solution to your money spending problems

We understand it’s hard to save money. With so many cool Gundam theme cakes and Sailor Moon accessories around, who wouldn’t be trying to empty their coin purses and pocketbooks to exchange their hard earned cash for awesome novelty goods. Sometimes, our spending gets a little out of control and we have to save a little, employing various tactics to try and see an increase in the bank account.

But what if your wallet started inching away, undulating like some sort of deranged caterpillar in hopes you forgo your next splurge. And what if you ignored the weirdness of the movement, picked up said wallet, and it started screaming at you? No, we’re not making this up. One company in Japan hopes to curb your spending with a “living wallet.”

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Full Screen Mario allows you to play Super Mario Bros. on your computer, create new levels!

For those too young to have owned an NES or too old and lazy to dust yours off, Super Mario Bros. is now playable in your web browser thanks to Full Screen Mario, an open source (and completely free!) browser game created by Josh Goldberg. And not only can you squish Goombas and revisit your favorite place to get infinite 1-UPs, but you can even create your own custom levels.

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Weekly Shonen Sunday’s newest manga artist is a 16-year-old high school student

Said to be like “spending a pleasant Sunday,” Weekly Shonen Sunday is one of the top three manga publications in Japan. With a weekly circulation of one million copies, Weekly Shonen Sunday has featured many noted manga artists. But their newest contributor is relatively unknown in the manga community and surprisingly young.

Sabanoneko is in her first year of high school in Hiroshima Prefecture. Deemed a manga prodigy, she won Shonen Weekly Sunday’s Rookie of the Year award for the powerful expression of emotion in her work, Oni-Hime.

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Lego ninjas duke it out in this epic stop motion video

Legos are awesome. Ninja legos are even better. But a ninja lego stop motion video? Few things are cooler than that.

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A tiny capybara bathes in a piece of toast at karaoke parlors across Tokyo

Even if you can’t make it out to the Izu Shaboten Zoo in Shizuoka Prefecture, you can still see a capybara take a bath at karaoke joints across Tokyo thanks to Pasela, a chain of high-class karaoke parlors. When it comes down to it, their “Capybara-san Honey Toast” is basically just an entire loaf of bread with some sugary toppings, but that cute little capybara face might inspire you to get one for the shear cuteness of it all.

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