Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Internet (Page 77)
Take a quick look at the picture above. Does it make you hungry? Or did you uncontrollably scream out “cuuute!”? One Twitter user has been gaining a lot of attention for getting a bit of a grumble in his stomach at the sight of this image. But we really can’t blame him…they look so delicious!
In 2012, at the age of 14, a Taliban gunman climbed onto a bus Malala Yousafzai was riding in and shot her in the head. Though she nearly died in the attack, Yousafzai recovered, and courageously returned to advocating on behalf of girls’ education rights. She has become internationally famous for her activism in favor of allowing women the same educational opportunities as men, both in her native Pakistan and abroad.
Unfortunately, the Indian mattress company Kurl-on decided to use the shooting incident as fodder for one of its latest print ads.
An enterprising engineer has tinkered with the Oculus Rift, a head-mounted virtual reality device, to make it possible to kiss Hatsune Miku… or at least, a CGI version of her. By attaching infrared sensors to each side of the device, the engineer made it possible to communicate with the Wii remote’s infrared sensor bar. Four infrared lights attached to each corner of the device track your head movements. Two servomoters beneath the device let Miku’s face move in tandem with yours. And as for her lips… those are approximated by a gummy replica between the motors.
Episode 6 of the Love Live! School idol project anime pulled off a parody of hard rock this weekend — catching the attention of a lead singer of a certain band:
Your Pokémon has taken you from the elusive Mewtew to the equally elusive and game-breaking Missing No. You think you know all there is to know about the Pokémon series, but unless you’re one of the elite few who have literally spent the last two decades learning all there is to know about the monster collecting series, we’re willing to bet there are at least a few facts about the beloved anime and video game behemoth you’re not familiar with.
Here, in no particular order, are the top 14 little-known facts about the Pokémon universe:
In one of the most obvious conclusions since that survey that found people tend to buy potato chips in grocery stores, a new Japanese poll found that 80% of women have been hit on by strangers on the street at least once.
It’s really not surprising given that most guys have tried the random on-the-street approach at least a few times in their lives, either because of peer pressure or through a fleeting, spur-of-the-moment impulse. It seems to us as long as you’re polite and not overly aggressive, it doesn’t hurt to try, but apparently Japanese women disagree, since the poll also found that 65% of women reject those proposals outright. Why? Well…
I’ll have a grande caramel macchiato and your cutest cat, to go. Whether your Monday is just beginning, or you’re already partway through and starting to flag, here’s a little pick-me-up for you!
While many Japanese people might not get “American jokes,” they do seem to be enjoying some certain English memes. For example, “The Little Test That Blows Your Mind,” which recently reappeared online, was translated and posted to a Japanese website, garnering over 1,500 comments.
If you’ve already taken the test, you’ll definitely want to see how your answer stacks up against these Japanese commenters. And if you haven’t taken the test yet, be sure to give it a try!
Who’s afraid of the big bad…flower?! Sure, we’ve seen the pitch-black Turkish rose that would harmonize perfectly with the home decor of any hardcore heavy metal fan…but we never thought that a flower could be downright terrifying! The following pictures posted by one Twitter user prove that Mother Nature has cooked up some pretty creepy recipes. You might even have nightmares after seeing what this certain kind of flower looks like after wilting. On the bright side, you can make a veritable Halloween bouquet!
A few months ago, BuzzFeed posted a video titled What Does the World Eat for Breakfast? The video’s representative morning meal for the United States – pancakes, eggs, and bacon – was an old-fashioned if not inaccurate choice, but we couldn’t say the same thing about the funky menu selected for Japan, which was unlike anything anyone on our team, Japanese natives included, had ever started their day with.
So when we heard the same crew was back with a new video about post-drinking foods from around the world, and that once again Japan was featured, we were both a little honored to be included, and a little worried about what would end up on the plate this time.
Fantastic octopus wiring!
My brother has been observing the slugs since he got divorced.
Let’s start from where we left off yesterday. Get down on all fours.
No, these aren’t the ramblings of a man with concussion; these are genuine excerpts from Twitter feed and study guide “Non-essential English Vocabulary: Words that will never come up in tests”, a language resource for Japanese students of English that presents entirely useless but infinitely memorable phrases.
With more than 40,000 Twitter followers so far, Twitter feed curator and author Nakayama-san (otherise known as @NISE_TOEIC)’s cheeky tweets are clearly resonating with English learners here in Japan, but why, when the rest of the nation is busy with earnest study, would someone take the time to create a Twitter account dedicated entirely to unusable English? Japanese website Excite Bit sat down with the Nakayama-san to pick up a few study tips and learn little more about the thinking behind the bizarre project.
There are few things better than curling up with a good book, but one of them is doing so with a nice glass of wine or beer. There’s something about spending an entire afternoon reading that is so much more forgivable than losing the best part of a day to video games or sitting in a darkened room watching movies, and so even the addition of a cheeky alcoholic accompaniment – so long as you put a stopper in it before the words start to swim about on the page – barely registers as a sin.
A man who knows the pleasure of getting lost in literature is Shunsuke Mori. Since his junior high school days, he has dreamed of having his own private library and being surrounded by books. Now an adult, his vision has grown with him, and he has decided to open up a special “night library” in trendy Shibuya for grown-ups only to enjoy with, of course, a tipple or two to help them unwind. And thanks to like-minded netizens, his dream will soon be a reality.
Arina Tanemura (Full Moon O Sagashite, Kamikaze Kaitō Jeanne) is on a roll recently, showcasing her impressive fanart for Sailor Moon, Mars and Mercury, and most of the others. It seems she’s finally completed the cast with Sailor Saturn.
The internet has completely changed the way we work and live, but for those of us having children it can be hard to understand how different life has become for them as information technology natives.
Having some shoes that could be pumped full of air was the deciding factor of our social status in school at one time, but what are kids thinking about today? Kakurega Komyo is an IT worker in Japan who caught a glimpse of this life while setting up the internet in someone’s house.
Last December, while conducting a study on the number of characters input into Google’s search engine, the company compiled various statistics on people’s search habits between January and November, 2013. Among them were the most-searched Japanese foods outside of Japan.
We’ll get number one right out of the way because it’s not really a shocker: “sushi.” Number two, however, was a little more unexpected. Can you guess what it is?
Pets are pretty great: they are cute, funny and occasionally do crazy things. It doesn’t hurt that they just love us so much (probably more than we deserve, most of the time). You’ve probably heard of helicopter parents, but what about helicopter pets? If you don’t believe me, check out this video. This dog is so sweetly over-protective that it’s bound to inject some happy into your day.
YouTube isn’t all cat videos and aspiring singers, you know; it’s actually filled with genuinely creative and talented folks. As proof, we present to you a Japanese guy’s channel dedicated to brushing his teeth with guns.
It’s an indisputable fact that the Internet loves cats. But does the Internet love fat cats too? The answer is yes! Japanese netizens have been amazed and smitten by Kintoki, possibly the biggest house cat we’ve ever seen on Twitter. Check out this larger-than-life kitty!
Never has something been the focus of so much simultaneous nerd love and outrage than the venerable flux capacitor from the equally venerable film series that popularized time travel, Back to the Future. After all, it was the defining technology for time travel in the films that made screeching about time travel paradoxes all the rage in geek communities.
And now, it can be yours in all its ’80s glory with this official DeLorean Motors Company-licensed hardware that you can actually install in your real DeLorean – or presumably (and much more likely) – the crappy Pinto you’re currently borrowing from your grandpa.
So, now that we’re one month in, how’s everyone enjoying the latest sales tax increase to 8 percent? Pretty awesome isn’t it? I’ve been getting a lot more use out of those one yen coins recently.
Not everyone is as lukewarmly amused as myself, however. A consortium of Japan’s online businesses, including ebook sellers and advertisers, met on 10 April to hash out some demands for the government before they get taxed right out of the competition since business such as segments of Apple and Google aren’t necessarily subjected to Japanese sales tax rules.
Seaside scenery, history, and so many desserts on Yokohama’s Akai Kutsu【Japan Loop Buses】
Mikado Coffee is a 76-year-old coffee chain with a major celebrity connection
Sandwiches fit for a sumo served up in Osaka【Taste Test】
Do Hi-Chew-flavor Hi-Chews have a reason to exist?【Taste test】
Japan’s summertime towelket pillowcases are even better with the addition of Ghibli stars【Photos】
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Should you add tartar sauce to Japanese curry rice? CoCo Ichi makes diners an unusual offer
All-you-can-eat sashimi from Tokyo’s fish market, convenient location make this budget hotel great
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour TotoroForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of societyMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping center
Beautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy dayMcDonald’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
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
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 TokyoMcDonald’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 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
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Should you add tartar sauce to Japanese curry rice? CoCo Ichi makes diners an unusual offer
All-you-can-eat sashimi from Tokyo’s fish market, convenient location make this budget hotel great
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour Totoro
McDonald’s Japan has free smiles on its delivery menu, but does asking for one make a difference?
Japan’s massive matcha parfait weighs 6 kilos, contains hidden surprises for anyone who eats it
Haku is…Chihiro’s dead brother? Studio Ghibli fans blown away by Spirited Away theory
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Mr. Sato tried an unbranded lunchbox meal courtesy of Muji, found it to be just plain delicious
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches
Designer’s tweets during first trip to Japan perfectly show why it’s such a great place to visit
