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 34)
In Japan, there are roughly 450 national highways wandering their way through the country, connecting the various cities and prefectures.
Their sizes and conditions obviously vary widely depending on location and usage, but for the most-part they all share one thing in common: cars can drive on them. But on 338.2 meters (about 425 yards) of National Highway 339 in Aomori Prefecture, not a single car, truck, scooter, or motorcycle is allowed.
Why? Because it’s actually a staircase!
We’re sure many of you readers are as sick of hearing about the Japan heat as we are suffering it, so let’s talk about some different weather! In specific: Rainy days and umbrellas!
Posting on Japanese news and community site My Navi News, a university student has asked the online community for its take on his somewhat unique predicament he found himself in after using everyone’s most hated insect to prevent his umbrella from being stolen.
A shocking murder case has come to light in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, involving at least two high school girls–one of whom was the victim–and the communication smartphone app Line.
The body of the 16-year-old high school girl was found in the mountains outside of Kure City on July 13, after an ex-classmate was taken by her family to the police to confess.
The smartphone is perhaps one of the neatest inventions we have. They allow unprecedented access and communicative abilities—until the #$%& battery dies! What good is a five-inch screen with a quadcore processor and more gigs of ram than my last laptop if the battery is dead by noon? This has led to numerous power-saving methods, external batteries, and, of course, apps claiming to extend battery life. Today, we discovered one app that does a little more than just extend your battery life, it also creeps you out and makes you feel like a terrible pervert! Yah!
The other day, I was trawling through YouTube looking for shamisen music videos when I came across an utterly unique video called “Tokyo Kendama Project vol.2 Utakata.”
It featured the traditional Okinawan sansen three-stringed instrument played by the mysterious Gosamaru and composed by Tomoaki Ogre, the beautiful dancing of Kumi Arikawa, and a pair of strangely hypnotic gentlemen spinning some… things through the air. I’d heard of kendama before, as I imagine most people with even a fleeting knowledge of Japan have, but I’d never seen the toy wielded with such incredible finesse.
Fascinated, I had to know more!
In any military, no matter how fancy your drones or how snappy your fighter jets, people are still the driving force. You’ll always need a few more good soldiers, which makes recruitment an essential and very important part of armed services.
The Japan Self-Defense Forces, or JSDF, are no different, and eagle-eyed people can spot posters pretty much anywhere. As you may expect, the JSDF in various prefectures also have Twitter accounts where they can post recruitment information and interact with potential service members.
Recently, the Miyagi area recruiter garnered Internet attention by crafting a tweet based on a scene from the school girl anime, Love Live!
If hell is other people, then the worst thing about driving is other drivers.
Have you ever noticed that? No matter what happened, I guarantee it’s the other drivers’ faults, not mine. If you don’t believe me, look at my driving record! Not a single ticket, citation, or even a traffic stop in Japan! (Okay, I admit, I’ve never actually driven here.)
But what bugs Japanese drivers the most?
Ah, election season in Japan! While for other countries this might mean a deluge of angry black-and-white TV commercials, in Japan it mostly means street-side speeches.
Last week, Prime Minister Abe swung by Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture to support local candidate Masako Mori, who’s the current minister of the Consumer Affairs Agency. And what did he talk about?
How great Fukushima-produced food is, of course!
Some of the smartest and cutest creatures to ever flip in and out of the sea, dolphins have long captured the imagination and hearts of us land-dwellers. Dolphin watching excursions seem to be as popular as whale watching excursions, and there’s hardly anyone who isn’t thrilled by these friendly mammals’ smiles and enthusiastic squeaks.
So, if you happen to be melting in the Japanese heat this summer, why not head out to Ishikawa Prefecture where you can cool off in the ocean—and have a 98-percent chance of seeing some dolphins!
While kendo is an inherently violent sport–after all it’s basically the Japanese version of fencing–the general perception is that it’s more about calm, carefully-coordinated attacks than all-out aggression. In fact, kendo very strictly adheres to etiquette and respect, with competitors generally expected to act with the utmost sportsmanship.
Unless you happen to be a cop.
Go to college, get a job, meet a guy or girl, and…don’t get married?
A recent survey suggests that almost one-third of Japanese people just can’t see the point in tying the knot and settling down. And after you see what some of them have to say about marriage, you might understand why!
Oh, dear heavens! What’s this?
Is Tokyo having freak, concentrated snowfall in the middle of summer? Have Mr. Freeze and Iceman been duking it out in Ginza? Is it a cotton candy terrorist attack??
The console war between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 was fairly vicious, with Sony just edging out Microsoft in terms of total global sales.
This time, though, Sony seems to have no intention of letting things run that close. In the United States, Sony has, as you probably know, set the PlayStation 4 price a full $100 lower than the Xbox One. Microsoft, of course, argues that the Kinect more than makes up for the difference, though that’s up to consumers to decide.
But in Mexico, the pricing war has gotten even fiercer. How much fiercer?
Since the early days of the Internet, online shopping has been fraught with deceit. And, despite the hard work of many companies, there’s still a lot of trepidation when bidding in Internet auctions. Inevitably, anyone is bound to wonder: “Will they really send the goods?” “Are the pictures accurate?” “Are these beautiful bicycles actually soon-to-be stolen items?”
That’s right, we said “soon-to-be-stolen,” not “stolen!”
Often overlooked in favor of Kyoto, Nara Prefecture is one of the most beautiful and significant places—culturally and historically—in Japan. If you happen to be traveling in the Kansai region, we cannot urge you enough to make the time to swing by!
In fact, there’s so much to see that we can’t possibly tell you about every amazing place in Nara, but here are a few of our favorites!
When sitting around drinking late at night, the conversation inevitably turns to superpowers and which one everyone wants.
Aside from a super healing factor and flight, one of the top picks is surely invisibility–though usually for some pretty diabolical reasons, like stealing your neighbor’s newspaper.
While we’re still not quite at the level of full-on invisibility cloaks, scientists have developed a way to make cells transparent! Invisible Woman this isn’t, but maybe it’s enough to sneak a midnight snack?
(Warning: some images may not be for the squeamish.)
In Japan, summer and winter mean bonus time, which is kind of like getting Christmas twice a year. Japanese workers often use the extra money to take a well-deserved vacation or to buy something big they’ve had their eyes on for a while.
R25, a website focused on business professionals and their lifestyle, conducted a survey with 300 businessmen to find out about last year’s bonuses. Let’s see what they discovered! Read More
In the world of sports, it’s not unusual to hear of players working through physical and mental maladies for the sake of the games they love. In fact, some might say that these kinds of amazing stories are a large part of what keeps fans interested.
But we’re not sure how many players can claim they’ve played a soccer game with a bullet in their brain pan!
It goes without saying that corporal punishment is unforgivable. At least that’s the mode of thinking these days (and boy are we glad for it), but it wasn’t always the case. In the Showa Period (1926 to 1989), it was incredibly common in elementary, middle, and high schools. In fact, it was so common that it seemed almost inconceivable for a school not to have corporal punishment.
Still, we wondered what it was really like, so the prestigious RocketNews24 Japan team took a survey to find out what sorts of punishments were common in the Showa Period. Read More
Station of despair: What to do if you get stuck at the end of Tokyo’s Chuo Rapid Line
Japanese train station vending machine has the best souvenirs for rail otaku
This downtown Tokyo cafe is like a time machine that takes you back 50 years into the past
Studio Ghibli showcases traditional craftsmanship with new wallet range
Police called out to investigate suspicious Santa in Wakayama
Shakey’s is back! All-you-can-eat pizza chain returns to downtown Tokyo’s Shinjuku
One of Japan’s rarest sweets is a sell-out hit that looks and tastes like frost
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Shimonoseki’s Koreantown isn’t like Tokyo’s or Osaka’s, but it has a retro atmosphere all its own
Haunted hospital near Mt Fuji re-opens after renovation at Fuji-Q Highland, and it’s terrifyingThis downtown Tokyo cafe is like a time machine that takes you back 50 years into the past
Japanese company develops classy heavy metal band frames for glassesStation of despair: What to do if you get stuck at the end of Tokyo’s Chuo Rapid LineStudio Ghibli showcases traditional craftsmanship with new wallet range
Major Japanese city is abolishing extracurricular activities at all of its middle schoolsOne of Japan’s rarest sweets is a sell-out hit that looks and tastes like frost
Japanese government will check and judge new baby name pronunciations, presents guidelines
Mysterious light-up rainy night-sound Totoro figure doesn’t actually show a scene from the animeShakey’s is back! All-you-can-eat pizza chain returns to downtown Tokyo’s Shinjuku
Starbucks Japan releases a new Frappuccino that looks and tastes like a floral bouquet
Possessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
Uniqlo announces first-ever collaboration with horror manga master Junji Ito【Photos】
J-pop mega star Ado reveals she’s been living in the U.S., may not understand language acquisition
Starbucks Japan is calling it quits with paper straws
Japan’s most popular castle raising ticket prices by up to 200 percent for non-local tourists
Furikake rice seasoning sales are soaring, which is bad news for Japan as a wholeJapanese company develops classy heavy metal band frames for glasses
Studio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fans
Studio Ghibli heroine cardigans give you warmth and strength to face everyday challenges
Eight unforgettable hot springs, as recommended by Japan’s “Professor Bath”
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengersPossessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Shakey’s is back! All-you-can-eat pizza chain returns to downtown Tokyo’s Shinjuku
One of Japan’s rarest sweets is a sell-out hit that looks and tastes like frost
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Shimonoseki’s Koreantown isn’t like Tokyo’s or Osaka’s, but it has a retro atmosphere all its own
Haunted hospital near Mt Fuji re-opens after renovation at Fuji-Q Highland, and it’s terrifying
Survey reveals Japan’s Generation Z dresses for social media, not for self-expression
Japanese government will check and judge new baby name pronunciations, presents guidelines
Starbucks Japan reveals new holiday goods for the 2024 festive season
Manga artist raises question online about false perspective in Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro
Awesome new Gundam manhole covers coming to Japanese prefecture for first time
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
The best booths and cosplayers from Summer Comiket 2024【Photos】
Tokyo’s most terrifying advertisement is hiding in plain sight in busiest part of the city【Video】
