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Four areas in which Japan needs to improve if it wants to attract more overseas travelers

Japan’s National Tourist Organization recently released its statistics on the number of overseas travelers who visited in the country in 2014, and we’re proud to say that 13,413,467 of you came to visit (though we’re also a little hurt that so few of you called us up to get ramen while you were here). That number represents almost a 30-percent increase from the number of foreign tourists Japan received in 2013, and a whopping 60-percent jump compared to 2012.

Still, Japan only ranks 27th globally in its ability to draw travelers from abroad, making it eighth in Asia, behind world-number 22 Korea and number four China.

So what’s holding Japan back from becoming an even more popular international travel destination? RocketNews24’s non-Japanese staff put our heads together, and after getting over the initial pain from our foreheads violently colliding, came up with the following list of areas Japan could do better in that foreign travelers would definitely appreciate.

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Sometimes, the Japanese language is a pain in the butt. Seriously, how is it that in the millennia over which it evolved, no one ever said, “Hey, guys, why don’t we come up separate words for ‘leg’ and ‘foot’?”, which are both ashi in Japanese?

But speaking Japanese isn’t all frustrating head-scratchers. As we’ve talked about before, it also has some handy, expressive terms and phrases that don’t have direct English equivalents. So today we’re dipping back into our Japanese dictionaries for another batch of words we’d love to import into English.

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Announcing the winners of our Anime Encyclopedia 3rd Revised Edition giveaway!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s finally time to announce the winners of our Anime Encyclopedia 3rd Revised Edition giveaway!

Click the link below to find out if you’re one of the four lucky people who won a copy of this gargantuan guide to all things anime!

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Super Mega Important Debate: Do you shower before work or before bed? 【Poll closed】

In Japan, the majority of people bathe at night before going to bed. Even if they don’t stick to the traditional routine of rinsing off before soaking in a hot bath, most Japanese find the idea of climbing into bed without having at least hopped in the shower first supremely icky – almost as icky as walking around your home while wearing your outdoor shoes.

In the west, however, many of us prefer to shower before leaving the house in the morning. No matter how well you slept the night before, the thought of not washing prior to putting on work clothes and heading out for the day seems pretty gross to most of us.

So for this week’s Super Mega Important Debate, we’re asking you to answer this one simple question: Do you bathe before bed or before work each morning?

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Head your way to freedom in curiously titled virtual reality game “Headmaster” 【Video】

Oculus, Sony, Valve, and even Samsung have been heralding virtual reality as the future of gaming and entertainment for what feels like an age now. The few glimpses we’ve seen of the fledgling technology have both impressed and intrigued us, but titles that resemble the kind of games we can expect to play when these companies finally launch their respective headsets are still few and far between.

The unusually named Headmaster, however, is a good example of what we can probably expect to play as the technology finds its feet.

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The joy of pancakes, and why they might kill you

Although hardly new, Japan has been undergoing something of a boom in pancake consumption in recent years. With several trendy new restaurants opening up around the country, there has also been a significant rise in the popularity of homemade pancakes as well. Yes, with its warm and fluffy texture and mildly sweet flavor it’s certainly hard to turn down a hotcake, isn’t it?

While everyone is having a good time with their pancakes, some researchers and medical professionals would like to remind us all that pancakes and similar flour based foods have the potential to not only make us very ill, but in some cases may lead to death.

But before you go cursing out these wet blankets of science for ruining yet another beloved food with their health warnings, there’s actually an incredibly easy way to not die from eating flapjacks as well.

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  • Jun 18, 2015

Disney meets classic Japan — see your favorite characters reborn as traditional Japanese crafts!

It’s no secret that Disney has been hugely successful in Japan. The Japanese anime industry may have cultivated a unique style over the years that’s quite different from that of the international entertainment giant, but the public here in Japan definitely seems to love all things Disney, from beautiful lingerie to adorable mini-cakes.

So we guess it’s not too surprising that Disney characters have now been recreated using traditional Japanese crafts, which is the concept behind the Disney Japan Classic Series of merchandise. Join us for a look at what delightful forms the familiar Disney characters have taken at the hands of traditional Japanese artisans!  Read More

What is this kitty trying to tell us? The online mystery of the cat and the cotton swabs

The internet’s full of weird stuff. Usually, it’s really out-there, kooky, insane, bizarre-o weird stuff, but every now and then something comes along which is weird in a baffling way. Take this video of a cat poking some cotton swabs around as if trying to arrange them in a particular way. It was favourited 1.5 thousand times on Twitter, yet nobody commented on it, possibly because no one knows what to make of it.

What is the purpose of the video? Is the cat some kind of feline savant? Is there some deep, philosophical meaning behind the placement of the cotton buds? See if you can work it out…

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Super Mario Maker gets an official release date, will be playable at Best Buy soon【E3 2015】

Nintendo has announced that Super Mario Maker, its extensive Mario-themed level creator software for Wii U, will go on sale from September 11 this year. A new Amiibo figure and level designer’s guide book are also scheduled for release.

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Sony is bringing back classic gamepads for its new game console

It may not look “modern” anymore, but the flat greys of Sony’s early PlayStation hardware brings wide smiles to those of us who grew up playing classics like Resident Evil and Final Fantasy.

Though years of play wore down the originals, Sony’s issuing original PlayStation-themed gamepads and headphones in honor of the orig nal console’s 20th anniversary. They look like this:

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It’s not the Grand Line, but One Piece has conquered a Guinness World Record

One of the biggest manga hits of the past 15 years is most certainly One Piece. You can talk about ninjas or titans, but the perennial favorite for top manga has been about those pirates of the Grand Line. Of the many treasures they have encountered during their journey, they have now uncovered something that is truly one of a kind, a Guinness World Record. The official One Piece website was happy to announce that author Eiichiro Oda and the manga One Piece are going in the record books as the comic book with the most issues published by a single author.

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There’s a reason why there are fewer green Lego bricks than any other color

Lego building blocks are a fantastic toy for growing kids and adults alike. These snap-together bricks allow you build pretty much anything, regardless of whether you follow the instructions included in the box or throw caution to the wind and build whatever pops into your head. With the success of The Lego Movie and a sequel and spin-off movies in the works, the outlook for this 65-year-old toy has never been better.

But there is an alleged little-known secret hidden in the core of Lego’s sensibility. If you take a random sampling of Lego bricks, you will notice that there are far fewer green ones than any other color. The reason why may surprise you.

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Our Japanese writer tries the “hold a coke with your boobs” challenge

If you spend a lot of time on the internet, like all of the RocketNews24 team does, then you can’t help but notice when a new “do this stupid thing” challenge starts going aroud. Whether it involves chugging cinnamon, blowing up your lips, or scarfing hot peppers, it’s all pretty silly stuff that normally we’re way too sophisticated to have a go at.

But something about the “hold a coke with your boobs” challenge captivated the attention of our Japanese writer P.K. So much, in fact, that he decided to have a go for himself! Warning, this post is potentially NSFW for everyone who doesn’t work in the RN24 office!

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Math-solving phone app is the quickest way to self-study, skip homework, and/or fail your tests

I think we can all agree that math is a pretty handy thing to understand, right? A basic concept of things like fractions and algebraic equivalents is what keeps us from getting taken advantage of by con men who make such tempting offers as trading two of their shiny monies (or even three!) for our one paper money when the latter is actually of greater value.

Still, basic math is all about following the proper procedures to arrive at the one true solution, which is why you don’t get partial credit for having the wrong answer on your math assignment just because you took a novel approach and wrote the numbers with nice penmanship. As such, you can program a machine to spit out the answer in a fraction of a second, and with a new smartphone app, all you have to do is snap a picture of the math problem, and let the app take over from there.

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Japan’s tax agency considers protected designation for Japanese sake

Okay, Rocketeers, time for a pop quiz: what is Japanese sake? Turns out the question is actually a little more complicated than it looks on the surface.

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No plans for the weekend? Free CG animation festival is going on in Tokyo 【Videos】

If you were just looking at the clock and smiling because you’ve reached the end of your workweek, but have since switched to frowning and looking at the Tokyo weather report (clouds or rain all week long), cheer up, because it just so happens there’s a great indoor event going on.

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2015 kicked off earlier this week, and until June 14 will be showcasing the works of talented short film makers from around the globe at venues in Tokyo and Yokohama. Best of all, admission is free, and today we’re taking a peek at some of the festival’s amazing computer animated shorts that are screening this weekend.

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As much as I sometimes wish I were young again, there’s no denying the fact that youth has its drawbacks. For example, just think of all the things someone under the age of 15 can’t do in Japan: they can’t enjoy a glass of elephant poop beer, vote for some naked, sword wielding guy standing in municipal elections, go to an Edo period erotic art show, or buy a carton of Marlboro and exquisite steak curry at the same place.

And if the muckety mucks in the Japan Basketball Association have their way, anyone under 15 may soon be prohibited from playing zone defense. However, the JBA would like to remind youths that it’s for their own good, and hurts the association more than it does them.

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Japanese people aren’t happy with their looks, ranked world’s lowest in self-confidence

One of the first things you notice when you come to Japan is how great everybody looks. The guys all know how to wear a suit, and the ladies dress conservatively and stylishly. In fact, it’s a well-known phenomenon that many foreigners who arrive in Japan for a prolonged stay will, within a few weeks, start smartening themselves up as a direct result of the example set by fashion and beauty-conscious Japanese.

But a shocking and kind of sad survey has revealed that in terms of being happy with their looks, the people of Japan are actually ranked bottom in the world…

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Announcing the winner of the RocketNews24 Japan Wish competition!

We know you’ve kept you waiting, but it’s finally time to announce the winner of the RocketNews24 competition!

Join us after the jump to find out who we’ll be flying over to Japan to fulfil their Japan dream experience!

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It’s huge!! Win a copy of The Anime Encyclopedia 3rd Revised Edition! 【Contest closed】

Calling all anime enthusiasts and obsessive collectors! Today we have a very special announcement that will put a big smile on your face and have you doing flappy hands like a sugar-rushing toddler in a toy shop. Thanks to the good people at Stone Bridge Press, we have one hardback and three electronic copies of the incredible The Anime Encyclopedia 3rd Revised Edition to give away!

Join us after the jump to find out how to make this book your own.

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