Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Preston Phro (or simply Phro as most know him) is a Coloradoan attempting to fit in in Tokyo. (Surely, he would succeed if not for his unruly hair.) He puts his master's in classical Japanese literature to good use by writing silly stories and articles for the Internet. Having lived in Nara, Osaka, and Yamaguchi before moving to the Kanto area, he's quite happy to finally have a place to call home! When not writing, he enjoys annoying his wife by plucking at his shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese instrument not entirely unlike a banjo) and pestering her with questions about Japanese history. He also occasionally attempts to remember all the stuff he's forgotten since university.
Posted by Preston Phro (Page 32)
The best and worst part about having siblings is the practical jokes. Or, to put it another way, the best thing about having siblings is getting revenge! Judging from the blurred picture above, can you guess what sort of fun an older brother had at his younger sibling’s expense?
What is with the kids these days? First, it was high school students committing gruesome murders and now it’s middle school students getting involved in telephone scams.
It’s enough to make you shout, “Are the kids alright??”
Apparently, there’s a bit of a problem with some Nintendo 3DS and 3DS LL consoles: Game cards are literally popping out of the portable devices without warning.
This can be a pretty serious problem, too. It can result in the loss of unsaved progress, or even the game card itself zooming off and going missing or being damaged. But fear not! Cyber Gadget has a solution.
Studio Ghibli announced on September 1 that Hayao Miyazaki is retiring. The director will hold a press conference on Friday to further explain the reasons for his retirement.
Raising children is always difficult, regardless of the country you live in. Whether it’s changing diapers or dealing with the “terrible twos,” it can sometimes seem like children exist solely to make their parents’ lives difficult.
But certain cultural and social factors can have a big impact on the whole process, as one Japanese mother explains after moving back to her home country after many years in the US.
When people think of Japanese alcohol, they almost inevitably think of sake, and with good reason! More accurately known as nihonshu, or “Japanese alcohol,” the rice-wine drink has played an essential role in Japanese culture for centuries.
But as delicious as some may find it, it’s not for everyone, even if drinking it would make you healthy, wealthy, and wise… or at least healthier. The taste can take a little getting used to, so it’s hardly surprising to find someone who’d rather just have a nice cold beer. But maybe they’re just drinking the wrong sake!
Life, as they say, is not fair. Sometimes it rains on your birthday. Sometimes your boss yells at your for jamming the printer when you haven’t used it in weeks. Sometimes your boyfriend/girlfriend decides your clothes would look better strewn across the front lawn. And, sometimes, you just have a sad face.
We’re not sure which of these problems is afflicting this poor emo kitty from Japan, but he clearly needs a hug.
So let’s say you spend all day staring at a screen–computer screen, TV screen, smartphone screen, Death Star targeting screen. It doesn’t really matter what screen, since they all emit a lot of blue light–which can be hard on your eyes. So, you want to protect your vision, but what do you do? You should get some eye drops!
Unfortunately, as you probably know, getting the eye drops from the bottle into your eyeballs is one of the most difficult tasks in the world. Almost as difficult as getting Comiket attendees to bathe. But have no fear! Omocoro, the Photoshop wizards, are here to save the day with a Pythagorean device!
This must be a summer for fake funerals. In July, Hatsune Miku found herself interred in Nico Nico Douga videos following a politician’s speculative remarks. And now a Lexus car is at the center of a new round of Internet amusement after some commenters noted that the company’s “car delivery ceremony” is oddly similar to a funeral.
As the proverb goes, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and nothing produces necessity like war. For better or for worse—mostly for worse—war and military conflict have played a large role in technological progress throughout the history of humankind. While we seem to finally be calming down a little bit as a species in some regards, it is obvious that war is not over and will probably be around for many years to come. And, of course, no one wants to be the country that got left behind in the arms race, right? Still, when you see some of the predictions about the future of aircraft carriers from this Chinese news site, you might wonder if they haven’t mistaken “possible future” with “science fiction TV show.”
Though Ted may be the most-well-known naughty teddy bear in the world, he is by no means the only one. We imagine that Monokuma, of the murder-mystery game/manga/anime Dangan Ronpa, may be a close Japanese second with its cackling and murderous tendencies. For fans of both of the animated characters, it might seem like a perfect match to have these black-humored bears on the screen together.
Alas, there’s probably no one mad enough to approve that combination, right?
We can almost, kind of, maybe a little bit, understand why some teachers get angry enough to hit their students. When thinking about high school, there are enough cringe-worthy moments of complete jerkery where one wouldn’t blame a teacher for reaching out and slapping certain students across the mouth.
That’s not to say that such behavior is acceptable, of course! Only that, in some cases, maybe we can kind of get how infuriating students can be.
This is not one of those cases.
While governmental agencies aren’t exactly known for their sense of humor, accidental or otherwise, we occasionally get a nice surprise, like the road sign above. It reads, simply enough, “Feeling sleepy while driving / When will you take a break? / How about now!”
“Hunh? What’s so funny about that,” you ask.
No matter how great your job as a chocolate taster may be, there will eventually come a day when you wake up, roll over, and think, “Oh, gawd, I do not want to go to work today!”
Now, if you were a normal person, you might lounge in bed for a few minutes before sighing and forcing yourself up. Or, if you were really desperate, you might even call in with a fake cough or a miserable story about your Aunt Mildred who fell and broke her spleen and needs a spleen cast.
Then again, if you were this 20-something woman in Tokyo, you might come up with an altogether more, uh, unique plan.
We always suspected that the weatherman didn’t know what he was talking about, but this is just crazy.
It has recently come to light that the NHK Nagoya broadcasting office has been accidentally switching the weather reports for two prefectures. And you’ll never believe how long it took someone to notice.
So you’re a One Piece fan. You have the ice cream maker from KFC, you’ve stayed in the hotel room, and you never leave your house without your One Piece water cooler. But you still want more One Piece in your life! What’s a fan to do?
Well, why not slap your favorite character across your face and walk around like that all day??
In case no one told you, it’s obon this week in Japan! For many people this means a well-deserved long vacation and a trip home. It also means lots of fun cultural events. As you may know, obon is a Buddhist holiday all about the spirits of deceased ancestors coming back for a short visit. Tourou nagashi, literally “lanterns flowing,” is a special ceremony where, as the name implies, lanterns are set afloat, usually down a river. It’s a fun way to spend your evening and an incredible sight as well! This week, we headed to Azuma Bridge in Asakusa, Tokyo to check out the ceremony!
It looks like the world is facing a new pandemic, but we’re not talking about any viruses or diseases here. No, we’re talking about exploding smartphones. From Europe to the United States to China, more and more cases of phone batteries blowing themselves apart are surfacing, stirring up concern for many. No longer can we fling perturbed birds at their giggling pork nemeses without worrying that our phones will blow our faces off. While the safest option would probably be to simply avoid having one, what would we do without our smartphones on the train, at work when our boss isn’t looking, or in bed at 3 am? This deep, possibly unhealthy attachment to the devices has led to an interesting new product in China: explosion-proof membranes.
As you’re probably aware, Japan has quite the lengthy history, stretching back thousands of years. And, as with any civilization, ancient Japan had need of commerce, which lead to the establishment of some of the oldest companies in the world.
Today, we bring you a list of our 10 favorite ancient Japanese companies. From sake to mountain-side inns to Buddhist temple construction companies, there’s something here for everyone!
As we’ve previously mentioned, it’s Obon this week in Japan, and that means festivals, dancing, and ancestral spirits galore! Far from being the terrifying ghosts that you might find lurking in your closest in a horror film like Juon, however, these are spirits that Japanese people are happy to welcome into their houses. In addition to ohakamairi, or visiting graves, Japanese people also offer symbolic sacrifices at their home alters.
Some of the more interesting traditional sacrificial items are the cucumber horses (kyuri uma) and eggplant cows (nasu ushi) meant to carry the ancestors’ spirits to and from our earthly realm, but here’s one designer’s awesome, modern take on this ancient custom!
Starbucks Japan teams up with Traveler’s Company for new stationery and goods collection
Japanese convenience store Lawson now has stir-fried noodle-cooking robot chefs
Kochia calling: Right now is a great off-season season to visit this beautiful Japanese park
Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
Over 400 titles of free translated manga from publisher Shueisha available for a limited time
Beautiful Totoro bonsai figure needs no watering, makes soothing rain showers whenever you want
Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters
Resident Evil’s terrifying Licker becomes a bag in Japan that wants to feed you
Akita Kanto Festival, one of Japan’s most spectacular summer festivals, gets an anime twist this year
Starbucks Japan to open Shinkansen platform stores at Kyoto and Nagoya stations
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
Japanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever gacha capsule toys, featuring iconic menu items as plush coffee charms
7-Eleven Japan adds new chocolate fruit gummies to its sweets range, but are they worth the hype?
7-Eleven Japan now offering baked-in-store pizza by the slice with two very different topping sets
Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
Starbucks Japan opens new store inside historic seaside quarantine station near Tokyo
Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attractionAir-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in TokyoStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Beautiful Totoro bonsai figure needs no watering, makes soothing rain showers whenever you want
Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters
Resident Evil’s terrifying Licker becomes a bag in Japan that wants to feed you
Akita Kanto Festival, one of Japan’s most spectacular summer festivals, gets an anime twist this year
Starbucks Japan to open Shinkansen platform stores at Kyoto and Nagoya stations
Anime fan in Japan arrested for ordering and cancelling over 4.3 billion yen in anime merch
Japan’s largest online flea market reminds users that selling used school swimsuits is prohibited
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store drinks with new Grilled Corn Chilled Soup Smoothie
Coco’s Japan is very confident in their chilled ramen, but should they be? [Taste test]
Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store sandwiches with a wild new choc-mint variety
Yoshinoya gets into fancy fish, but is the cheap beef king reaching too far? [Taste test]
Aichi city throws year-long 20th birthday bash for giant beckoning cat statue, Hello Kitty invited
Japanese online flea market app bans the sale of ultrasound photos
