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Rachel Tackett

Despite being born and raised in one of the more sparsely populated regions of the U.S, Rachel has found her true home in the bustling metropolis of Tokyo, where all of the narrow truths that she grew up with no longer apply, and she is free to experiment with a wealth of exciting new pastimes. Highly qualified as a “Dabbler in Many Things,” Rachel’s hobbies include reading, blogging, singing, cosplaying, attending theater productions, and drawing for her doujinshi circle, Amyused. She also does work translating and typesetting manga for a number of (legal, I swear) digital distribution sites and boosting their popularity through social networking management.

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Posted by Rachel Tackett (Page 8)

Tokyo Disneyland momentarily restricts park patrons from posting their pictures online

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of Tokyo Disney Resort. The affiliated hotels and theme parks are putting on an almost year-long celebration, complete with a special happiness themed parade and nightly fireworks spectacular, not to mention the reopening of the hit attraction, Star Tours. In light of all the extra excitement, management felt it necessary to add some extra rules and requests on the official Tokyo Disney site. While some of these new items were quite reasonable and occasionally intuitive, one line in particular set off warning bells for those wishing to visit the park.

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Warp to World 8-1 with these cool Super Mario fashion tights

More than just fleshy tones, solid colors, and basic patterns, Japan has found a major fad with women’s tights that look like tattoos featuring popular Disney characters and the like. You may have seen our article earlier this month regarding the onion tights on sale at this year’s Niconico Chokaigi. Now, tights are taking an even more nerdy turn with popular anime and game references. Just take a look at these leggy designs in the works! Read More

Some like it hot: We get a taste of R18 Curry

A new brand of curry has recently appeared in Japan that’s entirely inappropriate for minors, or at least that’s the way it’s being marketed–we haven’t seen this many mature content labels grouped together since we last sent a reporter to the adult video store. The otherwise nondescript packaging is absolutely covered with R18 warnings in print both large and small, and in case that isn’t enough to tempt frighten underage eaters, the curry’s makers have even slapped a sticker in the corner that reads “for adults only.” Naturally, we were wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so we called in our most adult-minded taste tester to try it out.

Don’t worry. While the contents of the curry are too hot for children, we’ve censored the summary so that it’s entirely safe for work.
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Synthetic web fibers more amazing than Spider-Man

Biotech company, Spiber Inc, based in Tsuruoka City in Yamagata Prefecture, recently established itself as the world’s first mass producer of synthetic spider thread. They made their announcement at a presentation in Tokyo, where they showcased a bright blue dress made entirely of synthetic web fibers. Read More

Japan Still Skeptical of PSY’s Popular Appeal

For one reason or another, PSY’s big bandwagon never really made it to Japan. In fact, the country is so fed up with the Korean pop star that they’ve convinced themselves his overseas popularity is a well maintained lie and his YouTube views come from hired hands hitting refresh. So, it’s unsurprising that they were equally unsurprised, and perhaps a bit vindicated, to hear that PSY’s appearance on American Idol corresponded with record low ratings for the show.
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Freeze the funk out of your shoes this summer

Summer, that time of the year where sweat is sadly inevitable and the strength of stinky body odors increases tenfold. Stinky feet can be a problem for boot wearers in winter, but in the summer, even the most breathable slip-ons can get stuck with the funk. For people in Japan, who are often required to remove their shoes at work and social functions, it’s a real cause for concern. Luckily, we’ve discovered a way to counteract the nasty foot smell without drowning everything in specialized deodorants. Thanks to instructions found on the how-to online resource, eHow, we know to just stick our stinky shoes in the freezer! Skeptical? See the full article to learn how it works. Read More

Satisfy a Royal Craving – We Try Ice Cream Fit for an Emperor

Even royalty can get a sweet tooth from time to time, and in the blistering heat of a Japanese summer, what could be a better way to satisfy the urge for sweets than a big bowl of ice cream? Of course, when dealing with the imperial family, not just any old brand of ice cream will suffice. That’s why in 1968 a special recipe for handmade ice cream was developed for their royal highnesses, the Emperor and Empress of Japan. It’s called Snow Royal and can still be purchased from Snowbrand-Parlor (雪印パーラー) in Hokkaido..

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The Grave of Christ and Vampire Ice Cream – Japanese Town Solves Many of the World’s Mysteries

For being a country so heavily steeped in traditional culture, Japan sure does love to fiddle with an amalgamation of spiritual folklore. Just listen to the bizarre conglomerate of beliefs practiced in one particular “town of mystery” in Aomori Prefecture of the Tohoku Region. Shingou Town claims to be the true burial site of Jesus Christ, and if that’s not crazy enough, just wait until you hear about their connection to Dracula and the pyramids! Read More

Posters of Underwear-Clad Man Disappearing from Osaka

There’s just something about Japan and this strange obsession with stealing underwear. In the Naniwa District of Osaka, 20 types of posters are currently on display to promote a town renewal project for the area’s old shopping district, Shin Sekai Ichiba, or the “New Global Market.” Of those advertisements, one particular version has become the object of serial theft over the past 13 days. The poster contains the image of a man in a Japanese loincloth called a fundoshi. The Osaka Police Force’s Naniwa Station has released a damage report. Read More

Iranian Murderer Pardoned Seconds After Hanging

Last Wednesday in Mashhad, Iran, a man was sentenced to hang for the crime of murdering a police officer. However, just moments after the sentence was carried out, the bereaved family cried out their forgiveness, demanding that they put a stop to the execution. Read More

Free Boyfriend Rental in China: for Busy Career Women Trying to Prove They’re Not Gay

For young and middle-aged women in China who just want to live freely without being hounded by their parents to marry, renting a boyfriend for a day could be the perfect answer! Japanese news site, Nikkei, recently sat down with 27-year-old financial businessman and volunteer boyfriend, Wang Zhuo, for an interview regarding his 100 plus “girlfriends” over the past two years. Could it be that for whatever reason China’s women are becoming increasingly dependent on rental boyfriends? We’ve seen how it works for lonely ladies in Japan! What sort of insights has Wang gained into these Chinese women’s desires… Read More

Baby’s First Portrait: Get 3-D Holographic Print of your Unborn Child

Last year, Japanese electronics company, Pioneer, finished development on its small size full color hologram printer and has now decided to use this technology to create 3-D holographic prints of babies’ faces while they’re still in the womb. According to a YouTube video detailing this brand new service, “When expecting mothers receive ultrasounds during physical examinations, 3-D images of the unborn child are taken. We can translate that data into a physical form and create a commemorative photo for parents to keep, in anticipation of the upcoming birth.” Read More

Beware the Dangers of Free Wi-Fi

When away on travel for either business or pleasure, there is no greater treasure than a free Wi-Fi hot spot. However, be warned that in recent years there’s been an increasing number of cases wherein these blessed havens are used to steal people’s personal information! People traveling abroad are said to be at an even greater risk for damage caused by suspicious Wi-Fi providers. Read More

Run, Forest! Run to your Nearest Bubba Gump Shrimp for Seafood so Tasty Even Japan is Enamored 【3-D Photos】

How many of you are familiar with the restaurant Bubba Gump Shrimp, based on the 1994 Oscar-winning film Forest Gump? Speaking as a sweet ol’ Southern girl, raised in the Heart of Dixie, USA, I’m well acquainted with both the movie and the real-life restaurant that it inspired. Bubba Gump Shrimp, with its American Cajun-style cooking, has branches scattered all across the globe, including three within Japan. As the name would imply, the menu features an abundance of shrimp, making it an irresistible spot for seafood lovers. Read More

Man Sells the Spoils of his Six Year Gaming Career for Thousands of Dollars

The online role-playing game, Final Fantasy XI has garnered tremendous popularity within Japan, not to mention the rest of the world. Love of the game has grown steadily in the 11 years since its Japanese release in May of 2002.

Unfortunately, as gamers grow older and become busy with real-life responsibilities, they sometimes must set aside their virtual buster swords and magical mage staffs and focus on the tangible things in life. Luckily, there’s always a circle of lazy gamers ready to take their places! These impatient players are wide-eyed and eager to buy your character’s levels and loot off of you. Read More

Across the globe there seems to be this stereotype that Japanese men are feminine and weak-willed. You can see it in the slang term for this new generation of young Japanese men, “herbivores,” implying that they have absolutely no craving for womanly flesh. A Chinese journalist even went so far as to say that the sex drive of a Japanese male is as underdeveloped as a third world country. Harsh words from a writer in a country full of virgins.

But is there any truth to this claim? And more importantly, does this mean that Japanese men are bad in bed?! Japanese media decided to get a better perspective on the matter by asking foreign women to dish about their Japanese boyfriends’ bedroom performance. Their responses spoke only of satisfaction and should serve to stroke a lot of Japanese male egos. Read More

Chocolate Stand Owner Claims ‘Product is Original’, Skillfully Dodges Questions About Pac-Man

This is slowly turning out to be quite a week for sightings of unlicensed use of videogame characters. Just yesterday we brought you news of a smartphone game whose lead character looked so much like Nintendo’s green dinosaur Yoshi that the company stepped in and demanded that changes be made, and now our overseas RocketNews24 representative brings us photos of a food vendor in the Philippines whose stand and wares are plastered with a name and character that bear an uncanny likeness to Japan’s beloved dot-munching arcade hero, Pac-Man!

This boxed chocolates vendor was spotted selling from a small booth in the middle of a shopping center in the Philippines’ capital city of Manila. Unless the vendor is somehow affiliated with Namco, this has got to be brand theft! Smelling a story among all of the tasty-looking sweets, our courageous reporter went forth and confronted the sales clerk. Read More

Japanese Comedian, Gonzo, Wows the World of YouTube with his Tambourine Performance

Whatever the reason, there’s something incredibly funny about watching an Asian man perform ridiculous dances with a deadly serious expression. We saw it not too long ago with the online explosion of Gangnam Style, and we’re seeing it now with an influx of foreign interest in Japanese comedian, Gonzo. This man is known for his choreographed tambourine dances, always performed without cracking so much as a smirk. If not for his crazy outfits, you might think that he was taking his performances just a bit too seriously! Read More

Take it From a Native! Recipe for Delicious Japanese Curry as Found at Coco Ichiban

Developed in India and then passed down through the hands of the British, curry has found a happy home with the Japanese and their cuisine. So much so that it’s known as one of Japan’s top three universally adored foods! Curry is served in schools, in homes, and in restaurants nationwide. There’s likely not a dining table in all of Japan that has never seen a plate of spicy rue pass across its surface. Japanese curry, filled with bits of meat and vegetables in sweet and spicy sauce and ladled over piping hot rice, is just superb! It’s the perfect comfort food, loved by kids and adults alike.

Tell me, is your mouth watering yet? We hope so, because today we’re bringing you a recipe for making curry just like the stuff you find at Curry House Coco Ichibanya, the Guinness World Record holder for largest curry restaurant chain. Often called simply “Coco Ichi” by Japanese locals, this popular chain has more than 1,300 restaurants world-wide!

Curry may be known for its complex balance of flavors, but even using store-bought rue, it’s easy to recreate the flavor of a top-class curry restaurant in your own home! Keep reading for the full recipe. Read More

Sunrise Over a Sea of Clouds at Nearly 10,000 Feet 【Photo Gallery】

The other day, a group of friends made an offer to one of our RocketNews24 reporters, inviting him to go mountain climbing with them in the Philippines. Worried about his physical ability to actually complete the journey, he tried to make excuses about needing to water his cactus. But, when told that there would be real-life girls present, he decided to take one for the team and accompany the group on their mountain trek. After all, it would have been bad form to leave a lady unattended!

That was before he found out that they would be climbing Mt. Pulag, the second highest peak in the Philippines. It measures in at just over 9,586 feet tall! On second thought, that cactus did look really thirsty…. Read More

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