Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
China (Page 34)
It’s no secret that the apartments and houses in Japan are incredibly small, especially in saturated areas such as Tokyo. But even Japan’s tiny homes are no match for this extremely narrow “paper building” in Shanghai, China! How do people even live in there?!
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OK, we’ve all been there. Maybe it was the venti coffee this morning or maybe you’ve caught a bug, but one thing is certain: you need a bathroom right now or a change of pants is going to be in order. Most of us manage by hook or crook to find a toilet or at least a concealing clump of trees in this situation, but one guy decided that the middle of the road seemed like a nice place to drop a deuce and he wasn’t going to let anything – even an emergency vehicle – disturb him.
Wal-Mart just recalled donkey meat in China because it contained meat from other animals, including fox.
Despite the recent scandal, the mega-retailer has become wildly popular in China. Wal-Mart plans to open 110 additional stores there in the next few years.
Shopping at a Chinese Wal-Mart is totally different from shopping in one in the U.S.
We highlighted some notable contrasts.
Wildlife conservation is never an easy task. Too many obstacles stand in the way, such as modernization, human activity, pollution, and climate changes, just to name a few.
A group of kind citizens bought 800 live carp, releasing them into the Yellow River in China in hopes of rejuvenating the dwindling numbers of the native species, but little did they expect the fish to flow straight into fishing nets of the greedy fellowmen waiting downstream.
Has internationalization taught us nothing? How strange it is that so many people can laugh unabashedly about the Orient’s attempts at “Engrish” and yet remain stubbornly ignorant of the meanings behind many Asian symbols, whether they’re printed on t-shirts or inked into their skin?!
Yes, the existence of tattoos with inappropriate meanings remains an epidemic. What’s perhaps the most surprising is that even in this day and age many people sporting these strange Asian symbols didn’t necessarily skimp on the research and just got suckered into something by their tattoo artists. Rather, many Western people don’t care enough to ask about the meanings at all!
Ah, young love. The furtive glances; the sheer ecstasy of receiving that very first text message; the tears and emo music marathons when it all goes pear-shaped… We’re sure this young man is far from the first – or last, for that matter – to have his romantic advances cruelly spurned, but it makes tremendously amusing viewing nonetheless.
In Japan, it is still considered “rude” to do things like talk on the phone or apply makeup on the train. Although the latter is becoming far more common as people come to realise that a girl touching up her war-paint in public is hardly the most scandalous act one can engage in, there are still many, mostly of the older generation, who believe that it should not be done in shared spaces and to be so openly “vain” is simply shameful.
We wonder, then, what the average older Japanese citizen would think if they saw a commuter like the young lady in the following video, who has thrown caution to the wind and slaps on a cleansing face mask during her travels.
Have you ever wondered how militaries transport their massive weapons and ordinances across countries or even continents? We always just pictured gigantic airplanes like in Operation Dumbo Drop, but apparently not. It turns that they just get trucks, latch the weapon on, and take off down the highway! Simple, if not just a little disappointing.
But for one Chinese army truck driver lugging an enormous gun, that operation turned out not to be quite so simple after all…
Air pollution in China is a serious problem, especially in urban areas in the east like Shanghai. Over the past week, the city has been dealing with a particularity nasty bout of smog that has far exceeded safe levels according to its own Air Quality Index. The smog has been heavy since around the beginning of the month, with one of the worst days on December 6 that saw pollution levels over ten times that of the air in neighboring countries.
Cormorant fishing on China’s Li River is all but dying out.
Fisherman set out with domesticated cormorants, a seabird, on bamboo rafts before sunrise and often in the early evening. These birds prey on fish. But the fishermen tie threads around the necks of the cormorants to prevent them from swallowing the fish they catch.
Displaying all the skill and grace of a two-year-old holding a cushion over their face and shouting “You can’t see me!”, a man in Beijing was recently captured on video lying beneath the seats of a subway train and stroking the legs of a female passenger as they appeared in front of him.
Prepare for your day to get that little bit creepier.
A man from China’s Jiangsu Province has reportedly leapt from a seventh-floor shopping mall balcony following a heated argument with his girlfriend during a five-hour Christmas shopping trip. When the young woman said that she wanted to visit one more store, the 38-year-old threw the bags he was carrying to the floor and jumped over the rail, horrifying shoppers.
It’s Monday again and you know what that means! Your Monday Kickstart video is here to get you going through another week.
If there’s a wall, you’re going to want to lean on it. If there’s a sofa, you’re going to want to sit on it. And if there’s a gigantic double bed in your hotel room, by George, you’re going to want to belly flop into it. And sometimes, your friends capitalize on this very notion, with some hilarious results.
We’ve all seen people on public transportation do gross things. My personal pet peeve is when people sneeze into their hand and then go right back to holding the strap with that hand. Don’t they realize they are leaving a sticky, contagious surprise for the next person?
Still, that example falls into the range of ordinary grossness: enough to make you curl your lip in disgust, but probably not gross enough to really shock anyone. The bizarre and gross behavior one Chinese bus passenger recently caught on film goes far, FAR beyond that.
A Taiwanese film production group has released their short film Attack on Railgun, which merges two popular anime series into an incredibly well made and high quality homage. The short combines the worlds and characters from Attack on Titan and A Certain Scientific Railgun to create an exciting new story in the live action movie. Japanese fans of the anime series have been impressed with the CGI, the plot line and especially the fact that all of the actors speak Japanese in the short film!
For many of the world’s greatest cuisines, there is a fine line separating a stellar example of a particular dish from a loathsome, gag-inducing failure. In the case of the humble french fry, that fine line is a few extra minutes from fryer to your eager food hole; let the fries sit for just a little too long and they transform before your eyes from hot, crunchy guilty pleasure to disgusting, squishy, limp waste of calories.
Apparently deeply affected by a soggy fry incident, the folks at China’s Beyondte Electronics Co., Ltd. set out to perfect a french fry vending machine that would produce hot, crunchy fries on the spot whenever you got a craving, eliminating the need to order them at your favorite fast food joint and carry them home and – a happy side effect – also eliminating the need to actually speak to another human being to get your fry fix.
How long do you spend doing the dishes? It would probably take a good 10 to 15 minutes to wash up after dinner for a regular-sized family. Or perhaps you have a fancy dishwasher that takes care of the job for you. But can your shiny machine clean 50 plates in 10 seconds? This man can! Witness his crazy skills after the break!
Regular RocketNews24 readers will know how much we love capsule hotels – and tiny spaces in general, for that matter – to the point that we were genuinely saddened when one of the country’s premier locations announced last month that it was to close its doors. So when we caught a glimpse of the new Pengheng Space Capsules Hotel in Shenzhen, China, which combines minimalist hotel accommodation with a futuristic vibe similar to that of the Evangelion hotel rooms we’ve drooled over for so long, we could barely contain our excitement.
Join us after the jump for a photo tour of this awesome new capsule hotel!
A video uploaded to YouTube earlier this week has been causing quite a stir amongst web users in Japan today. In it, we see what appears to be a homeless man in China’s capital city asking for money from passersby on the street.
Rather than simply holding a cardboard sign asking for spare change or sitting on the ground with a paper cup like, sadly, so many are forced to, this man has a rather neat trick for generating a little extra cash: he has trained a small bird to fly into the hand of those donating their yuan and bring the coins back to him one by one!
New Mt. Fuji overnight bus takes travelers from downtown Tokyo straight to the most popular hiking trail
7-Eleven Japan now has Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, but how do they taste?[Taste test]
A visit to Sri Lanka’s knockoff knockoff Uniqlo (no, we didn’t stutter) to see its rare “Pikachus”
Tokyo revises accommodation tax amidst tourism boom, Airbnb rentals now included
Yoshinoya and Dragon Quest slaying scalpers with shift to made-to-order collaboration merch
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan moves to enforce language requirements for foreign nationals seeking permanent residency
7-Eleven Japan releases chocolate cookies that taste like freshly baked melon bread
Famous sweets store in Ameyoko fills a bag with sweets and a show, but is it still worth it?
Japan to get new high-speed train connecting Haneda and Narita airports, ease overtourismSalomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave countryA visit to Sri Lanka’s knockoff knockoff Uniqlo (no, we didn’t stutter) to see its rare “Pikachus”
Japanese overnight sightseeing train returns for summer with ramen stops and ocean views
Sanrio Character Poll announces winners, Hello Kitty absent from top 10 in many countries
Starbucks Japan teams up with Converse Tokyo for a new limited-edition collection in honour of Tanabata
Don’t judge this Kiki’s Delivery Service book by its cover, because it’s not actually a book!New Mt. Fuji overnight bus takes travelers from downtown Tokyo straight to the most popular hiking trail7-Eleven Japan releases chocolate cookies that taste like freshly baked melon bread
The quest for Dragon Quest Yoshinoya figure sets: Worth taking for fans, tricky for scalpers[Pics]
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroadSalomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel styleJapan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
Forget Tokyo go-karts – there’s a new way to sightsee on four wheels in JapanSanrio Character Poll announces winners, Hello Kitty absent from top 10 in many countriesJapan 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 Tokyo
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]Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan moves to enforce language requirements for foreign nationals seeking permanent residency
7-Eleven Japan releases chocolate cookies that taste like freshly baked melon bread
Famous sweets store in Ameyoko fills a bag with sweets and a show, but is it still worth it?
Japan to get new high-speed train connecting Haneda and Narita airports, ease overtourism
Foreign tourists injured in Nissan GT-R crash near Tokyo’s Shibuya Scramble Crossing
Potato-Chip-Flavored Dressing coming to stores in Japan
Climbing season officially opens for Japan’s Mt. Hiyoriyama, the shortest mountain in the country
Tochigi man shares his family’s process for creating 16 years worth of rice paddy art
Don’t judge this Kiki’s Delivery Service book by its cover, because it’s not actually a book!
Starbucks Japan teams up with Converse Tokyo for a new limited-edition collection in honour of Tanabata
Japan announces plans for twenty-fold increase in permanent residency fees, alongside higher visa costs
Tokyo’s giant Pokémon Stamp Rally is back for 2026 with exclusive prizes up for grabs
Studio Ghibli brings Totoro Soot Sprites out of the anime shadows for a new bag and pouch collection
