Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
China (Page 35)
While looks may not kill, a woman in Dalian City, China found out last month that some guy’s ugly mug can scare you enough to make you to lose your balance and break four teeth. Although the beauty-deficient man said he was merely asking directions, the woman was apparently so frightened by his visage that after falling off her bike and hurting herself, she rushed to the police where she pressed charges.
Some of us like experimenting with hair colors and styling methods, while others prefer finding a look that suits them best and sticking with that signature style throughout. Whichever category you fall into, the traditional Dahuojia (fire-heated clamps) hairdressing method might be something you would want to put on your bucket list. The ancient hair styling technique involving red-hot metal clamps is a dying trade though, so don’t wait too long to get to it!
September 26 of this year marked the end of the series finale of the popular swimming anime, Free!, though fans of the series remain highly active on the Internet and at doujinshi (fan comic) events.
Recently, there’s been a real flurry of excitement within the Free! fandom on Asian blogs and online gossip columns over one fan’s genius idea to get the series’ token sweetheart to lie between her sheets. Because who wouldn’t want to sleep next to such beautiful 2-D biceps, right?
We here at RocketNews24 are no strangers to the lengths people will go to for the latest Apple product. And when we first heard about the new iPad Air, we knew we wanted to get our hands on one. But since merely buying the newest iPad was not enough of a challenge, we set out to buy an unlocked model that could be used on any wireless network in Japan.
Unfortunately, it seems like that is not an option in Japan, which led one of our reporters from RocketNews24 Japan, Takashi Harada, on a trip to Hong Kong to try to get one of the hottest devices of the season! It turned out to be quite the adventure.
Most of us go through life trying to avoid violence and confrontations, but sometimes for whatever reason the tension gets to be too much and fists start flying. Even those within eyeshot of a fight can’t help but watch the raw emotion expressed in acts of physical rage.
Thanks to the advent of phone cameras and the internet the truly surprising fights from around the world can now be witnesses from the comfort of our own homes. With that, we humbly share the video titled “Glorious fight on Shanghai Metro Line 2”, which features two men who should really know better going at it like a pair of angry idiots.
Interesting media can make for especially interesting art, as the pencil-tip carvings, hairy apples and damaged banana art we’ve covered before should attest, but when you go carving up some perfectly good brand-name lipsticks to celebrate strong women and fashion icons, you are bound to cause your intended audience a little heartache.
In one of the strangest stories we’ve come across so far this week – yes, stranger than exploding yogurt and ramen cake – reports are coming in of a number of Chinese-made irons that contain “mini microphones” and chips that can plant viruses in nearby computer equipment via home Wi-Fi networks.
We always knew ironing sucked, but this is ridiculous.
Everyone loves a good tongue twister, especially when getting to grips with a new language. I’ve had fun being challenged by Japanese coworkers at drinking parties to get my mouth around phrases like basu gasu bakuhatsu (“the bus gas explodes”) five times in a row, or aka-makigami ao-makigami ki-makigami (“red paper roll, blue paper roll, yellow paper roll”) on many occasions, but this Chinese tongue twister blows them all out of the water.
Pandas by themselves are adorable, but when you find a different animal that resembles those black and white creatures, it’s cuteness overload! First, we found Pandagators, which may or may not be categorized as “cute” for some people, but we’d say they’re far less terrifying than the original and teetering towards the cuteness realm. But this next panda-like animal is undeniably delightful. Can you guess what it is?
Without getting into our personal opinions of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel (ahem, Conan is better, ahem), he’s had a string of pretty successful viral videos featuring kids and their crazy antics.
So, sensing more comedy gold, Jimmy dressed a bunch of kids up like politicians and asked them their thoughts about US current events, hoping for some adorable responses. After some initial cuteness, Jimmy asked how the kids thought America should take care of its debt to China, which is where the fun stopped for most of us, because one kid blurted out a disturbing proposal for solving the problem: kill everyone in China.
Reports out of China have revealed that two restaurants in the Guangzhou area were found to be using ground up poppy seeds in some of their dishes. The reports allege that the businesses were “using the seeds of addictive poppies in an underhanded way to get repeat business.”
For many Westerners, particularly those from places like my own native UK, the thought of calling in emergency services to help with an infestation of bugs or rodents would seem quite absurd, but when faced with a nest of killer wasps that can grow to be up to two inches long, it’s not surprising that these country dwellers in China turned to the army.
Shared via YouTube, this clip from a Chinese news broadcast last year shows the country’s armed forces stepping in with none other than a giant flame thrower to take out a nest that had been built at the top of a tall tree, well out of reach of even the bravest armour-clad local.
The above question allegedly taken from a children’s test in Japan was posted on Chinese social networks recently. It’s a question that not only teaches us the proper way to use a scale but also a little something about the way we educate our youth.
What’s better than a ripoff of a top-selling game? A ripoff of a top-selling game featuring characters ripped off a top-selling anime!
If you own a smartphone and occasionally (or heavily) dabble in mobile games, you should have come across Puzzle & Dragons, one of the top grossing puzzle games available on both iOS and Android platforms. The Japanese developed mobile game’s tremendous success worldwide has led to many envious game developers producing “inspired” games of a similar genre.
Now, it is almost common knowledge that the Chinese are geniuses at creating imitations of anything and everything, so everyone would have expected them to make a pirated version of the monster-battling puzzle game eventually, but they have yet again managed to exceed expectations, incorporating characters and themed events based on one of the year’s hottest anime, Shingeki no Kyojin: Attack on Titan.
It’s safe to say that no one you see at Starbucks is there because they want to stretch their java-buying budget. With locations in more than 60 countries (and seemingly every branch in the Tokyo area at maximum capacity every day between 3 and 7 p.m., the Seattle-based chain must be doing something right, but sometimes it’s hard not to feel a bit surprised at the prices they charge.
But the next time you’re sitting in a Starbucks in Japan or America, pretending to sip from an empty mug because you’re not quite ready to disconnect from the free wi-fi but don’t feel like laying out the cash for another cup, consider yourself lucky. You’d be paying a lot more for your latte if you were at a Starbucks in China.
So you hit the bottle a little too hard last night and have now awoken in a state of gut-rotting, head-pounding, agony. Standing before the fridge you pretend to be a doctor and judge which drink would be chemically most efficient to chug your way out of this stupor. Water? Coffee? Wheat tea?
Surprisingly, if you chose Sprite, you’d be correct. At least, that’s what a team of researchers at Zhongshan University decided after studying the effects of 57 different drinks against hangovers.
For many parents, one of the hardest things to accept is that their children are growing up. Every milestone on the path to adulthood seems like it comes too soon, whether it’s finishing school or moving out of the house. Perhaps there’s no greater shock than the day a doctor tells you your child is carrying a fetus. Especially if your child is two. And, especially, if your child is a boy, as was the case for one family in China.
Doraemon, that loveable robotic, time-travelling kitty, may have inadvertently inspired an early Qing Dynasty cult of Doraemon worship during his travels through the space-time continuum, if this bizarrely similar idol of a grinning cat discovered by a Chinese tourist is to be believed.
In China, the sight of mothers cradling their babies in a rush to get somewhere is not that uncommon. With the pressing demands of modern-day society, many mothers are juggling two or three things at once and it’s hard not to feel anything but admiration for them. But as with anything, there will always be someone who takes a given concept to the extreme.
As you can clearly see from the photo above, one woman thought she could redefine what it means to multitask by breastfeeding her child while riding a moped down a busy street. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before the news made its way onto YouTube and consequences arose.
So what’s the biggest gift-giving faux pas you’ve committed? Forgetting to take the receipt out of the bag before you hand it over? Re-gifting something to the same person who originally gave it to you?
Well, don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re still a shining example of etiquette compared to one young man who decided to steal some merchandise to give to his girlfriend’s parents. And that’s not even the worst part.
How to make a secret rice bowl at Ichiran ramen
Japan has nearly 4 million abandoned homes, but where and why?
Yakuza lieutenant arrested in Tokyo for stealing Pokémon cards
Beautiful set of 24 Ghibli anime memo pads returns, will have you wanting to take notes by hand
FUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name
We save money on crotchless jeans from Japanese brand Beams by making our own
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Japanese-style accommodation at the new Premium Dormy Inn hotel in Asakusa will blow your mind
Japanese men rank the top 10 complaints they hope to never hear from their wives
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensationOne of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keepTwo things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese innFUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
Starbucks at Shibuya Scramble Crossing reopens, but is it really bigger and better than before?Japanese-style accommodation at the new Premium Dormy Inn hotel in Asakusa will blow your mind
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky loungeBad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last monthMcDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutionsMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950sForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
We save money on crotchless jeans from Japanese brand Beams by making our own
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Japanese-style accommodation at the new Premium Dormy Inn hotel in Asakusa will blow your mind
Japanese men rank the top 10 complaints they hope to never hear from their wives
Daiso can help you beat the heat this summer with DIY fruity Suika and Melon Bars【Taste test】
Father and son dissect a gachapon capsule toy machine to show us its magical insides【Video】
Booth babes and cosplayers come out to play at world’s first-ever Tokyo Comic-Con 【Pics】
Plastic surgery clinic in Seoul makes art out of patients’ jaw bones
Should married couples in Japan be allowed to have different family names? Survey investigates
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Fights break out at Japanese fight festival
Is Japan’s massive Shizuoka steak sandwich really as delicious as it looks in promo photos?
No more miniskirts? Changes happening in Japanese schoolgirl uniform fashion trends