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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 29)

Doorless Fridge of the Future Looks Good Enough For Doc Brown

Great Scott!  This fridge looks like something straight out of Back to the Future.

“Impress” has turned a few heads thanks to it’s unique honeycomb design and doorless front which makes it more of a refrigeration wall than anything else.  When inserting an item into the fridge, the white hexagonal panels recede into the machine and conform to the shape of the inserted item.  Food and drinks are easily seen as they protrude out of the doorless refrigeration wall and only areas which contain an item are cooled, saving energy.

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Starbucks Espresso Journey in Harajuku Provides a Unique Coffee Experience at the World’s First Starbucks Pop-up Store

Starbucks Japan invites you to enjoy a “supreme espresso experience” at the chain’s first-ever pop-up store in Tokyo.  Created by designer Oki Sato, co-founder of design company Nendo, and nestled in the trendy Harajuku district of Tokyo, this unique Starbucks event is aimed at providing visitors with a memorable coffee drinking experience.  Visitors can enjoy back-to-basics coffee drinks which highlight the richness of Starbucks espresso and are even able to try their hand at making Starbucks coffee and sample Starbucks Via flavored coffee in the second floor’s “experience space.”

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While living in Japan and working as an assistant English teacher, I’ve lost track of how many times Japanese people have asked me why most people in Japan can’t speak English. Due to compulsory education requirements, every Japanese citizen must take 6 years of English language courses. What’s more, starting from the 2011 school year, elementary school fifth and sixth graders are also required to have an English class once a week. Some school districts even offer English classes for kindergarteners and elementary school students in grades first through fourth.

But even after spending half or more of their adolescent years studying the English language, many Japanese struggle to carry out an everyday conversation in English. This isn’t just a casual observation by Japanese citizens, either. Japanese students have among the lowest English TOEFL scores in Asia.

So when Japanese tourists want to take a trip abroad, many are unequipped with the practical language tools necessary to go about daily life in English.  The reality of this can be discouraging and even come as a shock to people who have spent years studying back home in Japan, especially when they realize phrases like “Is this a dog? No, It’s a pen.” don’t come up in conversation as much as their textbooks had suggested.

The following is a compilation of impressions of Japanese tourists who have limited English ability while traveling abroad.

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iPhone iOS6 Map Takes Our Reporter on a Quest for the Pachinko Gundam Train Station

Apple users from all over the world have been discovering new and exciting destinations and brand new locations of well known landmarks thanks to iPhone’s newest iOS 6 mapping service.  The Washington monument has been moved a few miles away and is now near the Potomac River, London is currently located in Ontario, and the birth place of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, no longer exists.  Also, Helsinki station is now a park and Airfield Garden, once a working farm in Ireland, has been transformed into an airport.

Japan, just like the rest of the world, is not immune to Apple’s amazing ability to destroy beloved landmarks and erect fabulous new destinations.

Checking out the iOS6 operating system’s new map, our reporter discovered a new station on Tokyo’s busiest train line, the Chuo Line.  Filled with excitement and curiosity, our reporter embarked on a quest in search of “Pachinko Gundam Station.”

Pachinko, Japan’s noisy silver ball-filled answer to the slot machine, and Gundam, kickass giant robot, have teamed up to create an epic train riding experience (or so we were led to believe by Apple). Read More

You, Me, And a Tanuki is a weekly featured blog run by Michelle, a Californian who is currently one of only two foreigners living in Chibu, a tiny fishing village on one of the Oki islands in Japan. Check back every Saturday for a new post or read more on her website here!

No peanuts, no cracker jacks, but a whole lot of other interesting food was available at the Hiroshima Carps baseball game in Hiroshima, Japan.

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Tokyo’s Irina Churns Out Some Amazingly Colorful Roll Cakes

Bright pink polka dots, zebra print, and purple stripes are printed on these oblong objects.  They look so showy and colorful, but what could they be?  A handkerchief?  A fancy sponge?

Believe it or not, these colorful circles are roll cakes (rolled sponge cake and cream filling), and yes, they are edible.  They’re so cute and tiny we could eat a hundred of them, but the sad realization that we can’t sit around all day snacking on these beautiful pastries without gaining some junk in the trunk has got us down.  At 271 yen (US $3.47) for one mini roll cake, these little guys will slim down your wallet while expanding your waist.

You can find these sweets at irina, a bakery that specializes in roll cakes.  Our reporter visited irina’s Ginza store to check out these amazing little pastries.

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Fashion Meets Cosplay, Outfits For Even the Most Conservative Cosplayer

If the cosplay typically seen at anime conventions is a little too extreme for you, take a look at these toned down cosplay alternates.  The clothing and style of beloved anime and cartoon characters from all over the world have been transformed into fashionable clothing for everyday wear.   Who knew Lisa Simpson’s orange paper bag dress could look sexy and that taking a fashion cue from Papa Smurf would result in a decent getup?

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Not Your Grandmother’s Birthday Cake, Torte Bakery in Gunma Churns Out Some Amazing Anime Cakes

At Torte in Takasaki city, Gunma prefecture, anime enthusiasts and otaku alike can order their favorite anime character on a cake.  Starting at 3,300 yen (US $42), Torte handcrafts strawberry whipped cream cakes topped with beautiful illustrations.

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The Cakes at Seoul’s Hello Kitty Cafe Are So Cute, You’ll Feel Bad Mutilating the Face of the World’s Most Beloved Cat

Just about everyone knows Hello Kitty.  The Japanese born cat of Sanrio, with her simple expression and cute little bow, has reached the far corners of the world.  Hello Kitty, known as Kitty-chan in Japan, has made appearances on lunch boxes, debit cards, $5,000 necklaces, electric guitars, and even airplanes.

The expressionless white cat’s overwhelming popularity has spread throughout the world, prompting the creation of the Hello Kitty Cafe franchise in South Korea with locations in Seoul, Incheon, and Sinchon.  One of our reporters, enamored by the cuteness that Japan’s most famous cat exudes, decided to pay a visit to Hello Kitty Cafe’s Seoul location.

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The grand opening of Aomori prefecture’s first Starbucks location in the Hachinohe area drew quite a crowd.  On September 14, 2012,  around 100 people waited in line on the first business day of Starbuck Coffee Hachinohe Tamukai.

The store’s interior is typical of most Starbucks locations: big windows let in natural light from outside, funky lamps hang from the ceiling, and wood grain paneling adorns the ceiling and counters.  The store is around 1,700 square feet with enough seating for 55 people inside and another 16 on the terrace.  There’s even a drive-thru for those who want coffee on the go.

But Starbucks-goers didn’t get all riled up over a mediocre cup of coffee.  Oh no, they had their eyes on something even better:  Read More

Stabbing Snails at the Bottom of the Sea 【You, Me, And A Tanuki】

You, Me, And a Tanuki is a weekly featured blog run by Michelle, a Californian who is currently one of only two foreigners living in Chibu, a tiny fishing village on one of the Oki islands in Japan. Check back every Saturday for a new post or read more on her website here!

The most shocking thing I ate when I first came to Chibu (other than salty fermented squid) was sazae.  In Japan, people go nuts over this delicacy.  In Tokyo, you have to shell out $3 for a single sazae.  In Chibu, they are not only free, they are everywhere you look.  Climbing up the side of the docks in the evening, hanging out on the ocean floor while you snorkel; there’s plenty to go around.  If you’re wondering what a sazae is, here’s a picture:

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Live Out Your Fast and Furious Fantasy: Night Drive in Tokyo Video

It’s okay, you can admit it.  The second you finished watching The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, you wish and hoped and prayed that some day you would be able to live in Tokyo and be a badass street racer.  For most of us (all of us?) that is just a mere fantasy.  Short of hopping a plane, foolishly challenging the local Drift King, destroying a Nissan Silvia S-15, drift practicing your ass off, watching your friend die in a fiery car crash, and eventually beating the Drift King himself…what’s a daydreamer to do?

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Eggshell in Your Cake Got You Down? Try Baking the Entire Cake in an Eggshell Instead!

There’s nothing worse than sitting down to enjoy a big slice of your favorite cake, only to feel the unpleasant crunch of an egg shell between your teeth.  Well, what if your entire cake was baked in an egg shell?

One of our reporters has cleverly devised a way to cook a cake inside an egg!  She’s got a cute idea, but I prefer my cake eggshell-free, no matter where the eggshell ends up.

If you’d like to try your hand at making an egg cake, have a look at her recipe and commentary:

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Bull Sumo in the Oki Islands 【You, Me, And A Tanuki】

Starting this week, RocketNews24 will feature blogs written by people living in Asia who we hope can offer a unique glimpse at the country they call home. The first of these is You, Me, And a Tanuki by one of our own writers, Michelle. Originally from California, Michille is currently one of only two foreigners living in a tiny fishing village on one of the Oki islands in Japan.  We’re still looking for more unique and interesting stories from Asia to share with the world, so drop us a line if you’d like to have your own blog featured on RocketNews24.

The Oki Islands, nestled in the Sea of Japan, have a tumultuous history.  Once used as a place of exile for fallen emperors, the islands have been shaped by its unique past and transformed into an area rich in traditional culture and events.  One such event is ushi-tsuki, or bull sumo.  Used as a form of entertainment for the exiled Emperor Gotoba and dating back to 1221, the tradition of bull sumo is still proudly preserved by the local people of Oki.       

Unlike the famous “man vs. beast” bull fighting of Spain, Oki’s bull fighting pits bull against bull in a fair battle of brute bovine strength.  The match is over when one bull gives up and runs away and neither bull is injured in the ring.  There are even weight classes and bulls of comparable weight fight against each other.  Humans are present in the ring, but only play a supporting role facilitating the fight. 

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Starbucks & ANA Bring You a Coffee Tumbler So Cute, You’ll Forget About the Price…Oh Wait, It’s 50 Bucks…

ANA (All Nippon Airlines), Japan’s largest airline, has teamed up with Starbucks to release a limited edition stainless steel coffee tumbler.

With it’s clean white color and charming little whale/rainbow combo, you can’t help but scream, “IT’S SO CUTE!!!”  One of our reporters was so enthralled with the cuteness of this limited edition tumbler, that she stopped an unsuspecting bystander and demanded to know where she procured such an adorable item.

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Elementary School Child’s Design Chosen For Japanese Commemorative Coin, “Unsophisticated” Drawing Shown No Mercy

Japan’s Ministry of Finance has just announced the chosen designs for coins commemorating the reconstruction efforts for the Great East Japan Earthquake that rocked the northern area of Tohoku on March 11, 2011. 

A premium gold coin with a face value of 10,000 yen (US $127) and a premium silver coin with a face value of 1,000 yen (US $12.75) are schedule to be produced in 2015.  Most are engraved with beautiful symbols of Japan, but does one of them look a little funny to you? Read More

Man Offers to Cover His Body in Advertisements, Rides Japan’s Busiest Train All Day

Would you buy a product that was advertised on a man’s crotch?

A few companies in Japan think you would.  Currently on Yahoo Japan’s auction site, a man is offering to ride the Yamanote line, one of Japan’s busiest train routes, decked out in advertisements for an entire day.  His unique service has already received 20 bids.

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Spain’s La Tomatina Festival is Coming to Tokyo This Weekend

Ever wondered what it would be like to be covered from head to toe in tomatoes?

Ever dreamed of smashing a tomato in someone’s face?

Ever wanted to see the streets run red…with tomato juice?

If so, you may think you have to head all the way over to Spain to partake in Valencia’s world famous La Tomatina festival.  However, those of you who live in Japan are in luck.  You only have to go as far as Tokyo.  That’s right, on September 9th, at the Tamagawa river in Tokyo, adventurers and pasta sauce enthusiasts alike can participate in a large-scale tomato fight just like the one in Spain.

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