Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
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It’s a well-known fact that cats have been dominating the world lately. Memes, Facebook profiles, Monopoly game pieces – there seems to be no end to kitty domination. So what about the cats in Japan? Well it turns out that cat memes are pretty prolific here too. Only here they’re not playing keyboards or watching you from the ceiling. Instead, they’re showing off two of Japan’s most special talents: sleeping and apologizing. AT THE SAME TIME.
Ah, headphone joshi! We don’t know what it is about them, but we’re huge fans of girls with headphones here at RocketNews24. I mean they’re basically just head-mounted speakers, and I personally always look completely stupid with a pair resting on my bonce for some reason, but when placed on the head of a young Asian girl something magical happens.
This young lady, though, has something extra special about her. Any ideas?
In a video uploaded to YouTube yesterday, a young Japanese girl gives a harrowing speech on the streets of Tsuruhashi, Osaka, in which she openly expresses her hatred of Koreans. Amid cheers of support from members of her own group, the girl goes on to state her desire to kill the “piece of crap” Koreans living in the area, threatening a repeat of the Nanking Massacre in response to the Koreans’ “arrogance”.
The full, shocking video after the jump.
Walk into any amusement center with video game cabinets and you’re bound to run into a Taiko No Tatsujin machine, almost always with people young and old whacking away at it.
It’s a taiko (traditional Japanese drum) simulator rhythm game where you play J-Pop, classical or video game theme songs in the medium of taiko by hitting the drum in time with the various symbols that scroll by.
But for one guy playing at the Oni (demon) level of difficulty, it’s a brutal yet beautiful assault on the drums leaving spectators dazzled as they watched from a safe distance of about three meters.
Apparently Japan is under the impression that Mattel’s Fijit Friends toy is actually America’s favorite new diet tool.
The below video – which we pray to God, Buddha and Zombie Jesus is a misguided parody of some kind – shows Japanese women going nuts over the new “fijiet” trend.
You know your company has a bad reputation when the general public interprets an official announcement as something so improbable that it could only be an April Fools’ gag.
Japanese mobile provider SoftBank — perhaps most famous for its commercials featuring a talking shiba inu and his human family — announced via its website earlier today that it now officially has the best network coverage in Japan, enabling its users to connect with greater ease than any other mobile phone provider. Alas, the statement was immediately laughed off as a joke by many Japanese Internet users, with cries of “Oh, SoftBank, you guys have a great sense of humour!”
That’s right, kids, we’ve hit the big leagues. And it’s all thanks to you. Sure, we began in a tiny one-room office in Shinjuku, bickering with each other about elbow space, missing pencils and who had been using the communal coffee without putting a five yen coin in the jar beside it, but thanks to our wonderful readers and the attention of the Internet masses in general, we’re now a fully fledged news beast stationed in a swanky high-rise where we rub shoulders with some of Japan’s greatest innovators and creative geniuses.
To mark the occasion, we’ve just put the finishing touches to our new commercial, featuring none other than reporter extraordinaire Mr. Sato, and a tremendously catchy jingle. The full video — plus a special bonus version — after the jump!
We’ve all seen bank vaults in movies and on TV. But when you think about it, there aren’t many people in the world who have actually used or gone into the real thing.
As luck would have it a chance to rent your very own bank vault has popped up as a listing on the Real Tokyo Estate website.
As well as providing you with entertainment and up-to-the-minute news, we at RocketNews24 feel that it is also our responsibility to provide our readers with vital tips for physical well-being and emotional happiness. It’s for this reason that, on this fine Friday as we inch ever closer to the moment that we exchange our computer screens for a nice big plate of fried gyoza dumplings and an ice-cold beer, we bring you this video courtesy of our friends at Niconico.
Although the outcome is about as surprising as what happens when you tell your dog not to eat a birthday cake while you’re out of the room, this video serves as a reminder of the stupidity of our fellow man and that open wounds and citric acid do not go well together.
Google Japan has announced that it is now possible for Google Maps users to access street view images of Namie, a coastal town in Fukushima that was severely affected by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami before being completely evacuated when the nearby Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant went critical.
It’s a question that’s plagued people for generations: How do I get a three-ton load of bamboo off the back of my truck with minimal effort? Well, the Taiwanese truck driver in the following video has developed a rather efficient method for dropping off his deliveries.
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Sushi is a classic Japanese food that has become popular all over the world. However, sushi served in restaurants outside of Japan can turn out a little strange. Sushi hybrid concoctions such as the California roll filled with avocado and crab, and the caterpillar roll, topped with avocado and made to resemble a live caterpillar, have been delighting foreign taste buds for years. But exactly what kind of sushi do the Japanese prefer? A survey asked 500 MyNavi News members (246 males, 254 females) to share their favorite sushi topping. Surprisingly, tuna is not the most popular.
Here at RocketNews24 we are no strangers to excessive consumption of ordinary foodstuffs. We even once constructed a bowl of gyudon with 10 raw eggs on top.
Still, we have to doff our caps to this gent who dreamed a dream and successfully cooked 50 egg yolks in a rice cooker. We say “successfully” because the end result actually looks pretty good – if not lethal.
Ordinarily, we wouldn’t even bother burning the calories required to click the link when presented with a video titled “Chinese Military Shovel” (especially when it means risking seeing that god-awful Gundam pachinko ad again). But after being recommended it by our Japanese sister site RocketNews24 Japan, we sat down to watch a demonstration of how China’s bravest men make the most of a tool that few of us would think of using for anything more than digging a hole in the ground or patting the tops of sandcastles flat with.
As it turns out, this is one handy little tool to have, with the Chinese military demonstrating some 24 different uses for it in this peculiar video. And we thought Swiss Army knives were versatile…
Kimchi is a fermented cabbage dish from Korea that is often referred to as “Korea’s national dish.” It’s so pungent that those who enjoy eating copious amounts of kimchi have been known to purchase a separate fridge dedicated to storing it. For decades, Korean mothers have sworn by the health benefits of adding kimchi to one’s diet, but now it seems scientists agree as well. New research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food suggests that eating even a small amount of kimchi every day may help lower cholesterol, LDL (“bad cholesterol”), and fasting blood glucose levels.
Just last week, after having sat through it for possibly the tenth time in just a couple of hours, I took a screen grab of an unskippable YouTube ad and shared it on my personal Facebook feed. Whether it’s the theme tune, the overly dramatic presenter’s way of speaking or the fact that I care nothing for pachinko, I don’t know, but this ad was slowly driving me mad. As it turns out, I wasn’t alone.
Crane games, claw machines, UFO catchers, whatever you want to call them can be found scattered all across East Asia taking in reams of cash with promises of prizes ranging from giant stuffed phallic mushrooms to game consoles.
Oh, how I look back fondly on lining up my plastic pincers precisely over a PSP only to have them go limp at the last minute. The nursing staff and I had many a chuckle as they stitched up my knuckles from punching repeatedly into the Plexiglas window.
Thanks to Netch and their remote web browser operated crane game, instead of getting charged with destruction of property I can get enraged in front of my own computer screen!
Japan has a way with customer service. From elevator ladies whose only job is to push the floor buttons to shop keepers who greet every patron with a hearty I rasshaimase (Welcome!), there’s no shortage of examples of great service. One such example has crept up from the depths of the subway to surprise and delight the people of the Internet: secret walls!
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McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Who wins in a battle of McDonald’s and Komeda Coffee’s chicken tatsuta burgers?【Taste test】
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
Spring Mos Burger x SpongeBob lucky bags bring us fun under the sun【Photos】
W.T.F. Japan: The top five “sora” references of all time! 【Weird Top Five】
Bear attacks car in Japan, breaks windshield with its paw【Video】Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of societyBad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screensMcDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy day
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotesOne of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese innMcDonald’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 thingsJapanese 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 lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social mediaMcDonald’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 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label designForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
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
Who wins in a battle of McDonald’s and Komeda Coffee’s chicken tatsuta burgers?【Taste test】
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
Spring Mos Burger x SpongeBob lucky bags bring us fun under the sun【Photos】
W.T.F. Japan: The top five “sora” references of all time! 【Weird Top Five】
Bear attacks car in Japan, breaks windshield with its paw【Video】
History’s largest force of Samurai Colonel Sanders deploying to KFC Japan branches
Amazing photos of off-the-beaten-path Japanese castles to add to your travel wish list【Photos】
Kyoto has had enough of rude tourists, created an infographic to show how to visit politely
Life-size Gundam statue in Japan can now move, and it looks incredible【Videos】
New Pantene commercial interviews Japanese trans individuals about difficulties of job hunting
A visit to the best UFO catcher arcade in the universe!
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Beautiful Starbucks in Kyoto blends into its traditional landscape in more ways than one
Fried sandwiches arrive in Tokyo, become hot topic on social media
