Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Japan (Page 1096)
When we’re down in the dumps, there’s nothing like a cute animal to get us back in a good mood. While cats are the undisputed overlords of internet animal therapy, there’s one little bunny that’s bringing a smile to thousands of Twitter users in Japan with nothing but some adorable dancing skills and a pole.
Do you know what day October 21, 2015 is? It’s the day that Marty and Doc come to the future from 1985! But, sorry Marty, hover boards aren’t quite what they were supposed to be, and we barely made it to five Jaws movies, let alone Jaws 19. One of the only prophecies that may still come true is the Cubs winning the World Series, but even that seems doubtful.
Okay, so Marty might not be overly thrilled with this real version of 2015, but hey, at least he’ll get to go to the limited time “Back to the Future” Cafe if he stops by Hill Valley Ikebukuro in Tokyo.
Maybe Zooey Deschanel was on to something after all. Last year, pictures surfaced of the Hollywood actress wearing a randoseru, the type of Japanese backpack that for decades has been exclusively used by elementary school kids.
This had many in Japan chuckling, but when you think about it logically, the randoseru is a sturdy, practical, and elegant design. What’s more, ones that are made to quality standards can last for years, so this Japanese company has decided to release a line of randoseru for adults, which it says are sophisticated enough for formal business situations.
The creative team at Bibi Lab have been at it again. The inventive brand dedicated to bringing weird and wonderful items out into the world have delighted us with life-sized human-shaped pillows, mosquito net jumpsuits and even sailor-style schoolgirl uniforms for men.
Now there’s another item we’ll be adding to our growing collection of Bibi Lab products: the giant anime-style pigtails pillow.
Fans of hit anime Evangelion are used to having their patience tested. Almost three years after the Japanese theatrical release of the Evangelion 3.0 feature film, the movie still isn’t available on home video in North America. Meanwhile, the fourth, and reputedly final, chapter of the Rebuild of Evangelion film series remains without a release date.
But if there’s one thing Japan demands punctuality from, it’s the country’s trains. So with the Evangelion Shinkansen scheduled to go into service next month, the anime-themed bullet train is practically complete and recently made its public and video debut.
Video game developer and publisher Konami denied an earlier report by The New Yorker that Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima had left Konami. Konami stated that “Kojima is currently taking an extended vacation, and is currently still registered as an employee.”
The live-action Attack on Titan movies may have been a bit of a disappointment, but we’ll always have the glorious anime. And now the animated protagonists from the acclaimed series are bringing their world into ours and guiding us around it with an amazing new tablet and car navigation system.
Filled with special extras including the opportunity to “rank up” according to distances travelled, a choice between “return to the wall” or “Survey Corps outer expedition” route views, and an appearance from a Titan when we pass through convenience store checkpoints, it’s bound to make trips to the grocery store much more exciting!
Japanese commercials are known all over the world for being just as entertaining as the programs they interrupt. Whether they’re ridiculously cute, heartbreakingly sad, a little confusing, or nightmare-inducingly bizarre, most commercials have something special going on.
So what about this commercial? It looks so normal at first; it’s just a bunch of high school girls hanging out in a classroom, playing a guitar, reading, whatever. But then, right in the middle, something happens. Watch it for yourself and see if you can figure it out before the reveal!
It’s been one month since Nakazawa, who’s also a guitarist for two bands, joined the Japanese RocketNews24 team. On a recent day, our veteran reporter Mr. Sato told Nakazawa to follow him as he ventured into the outside world. When Nakazawa asked where they were going, Mr. Sato coolly replied: “To a good place. I’m going to make you happy.”
Not one to argue with a perpetual fan-favorite reporter, especially as a new recruit, Nakazawa obediently agreed.
Two short train rides later, our two adventurers finally arrived at their destination: a collection of bars and other late-night eateries near Tokyo’s Kita-Senju Station. Nakazawa followed Mr. Sato silently until the expert reporter suddenly stopped in his tracks. “We’re here,” Mr. Sato announced. Nakazawa looked up and was shocked to discover that they were standing in front of what looked like a hotel—and not just any hotel, but a LOVE hotel!
Beloved by fans as it may be, the 1998 space cowboy anime Trigun isn’t completely beyond criticism. The pacing is uneven, and the production budget clearly isn’t large enough for the animators to effectively realize their artistic ambitions.
But Trigun hits its target dead center in creating two instantly memorable male leads: disarmingly happy-go-lucky gunslinger Vash the Stampede, and itinerant, heavily armed clergyman Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Both characters ooze coolness and presence from their heads to their toes, and now you can have some of that style for your own feet with two pairs of Trigun sneakers.
It seems like we’re constantly being bombarded with tips and tricks about how to make our lives better or how to improve our quality of life. We’re always being told to change the way we eat, the way we sleep, include some daily physical activity, and re-organize our lives. Everyone has something different to say, but one thing they seem to have in common is the positive spin they put on their life improvements.
That’s not strictly true for Japanese television though. One recent program seemed to be taking a cue from the fear-based strategies of American TV, and spent an entire segment talking about habits in your household that are likely to decrease your lifespan.
Find out the five habits you should be wary of, apparently, after the jump.
Michael Jackson‘s popularity remains strong world-wide despite his death six years ago, and that includes in Japan. There is no shortage of MJ fans in the country, and many still consider him one of their favorite artists. Of course, with a discography as massive as his, it’s nearly impossible to choose one “most famous” Michael Jackson song, but “Smooth Criminal” is certainly a strong contender. This has resulted in the tune being covered in nearly every genre imaginable, but there’s always room for one more. Especially when it’s played on shakuhachi and koto…even more so when it’s played this well!
The robot revolution is coming, and when it arrives, they’ll have an awful lot to be mad about, like making them dance for our amusement. But that’s still a long way off as far as we can tell, so we might as well get as much enjoyment out of our synthetic minions as possible now!
DMM is one of Japan’s most well-known technology companies, and considering everything they do, it’s easy to see why. From steaming video services to retail to friggin’ robots, they have a lot of thumbs in a lot of pies. But the pie that’s sure to infuriate our future roboverlords the most is probably DMM’s new Premaid AI—robot idols that will do dance whatever dance you want on the tabletop of your choosing.
Potato chips and matcha green tea seem like the opposite endpoints of the refreshment spectrum. Matcha is a refined, high-class drink meant to be sipped and savored in a quiet moment, whereas potato chips are often most enjoyable when scarfed down by the handful while watching sports or playing video games.
But sometimes the best way to find balance in life is with contrasting extremes, like the matcha potato chips that are about to go on sale in Japan.
It’s turning out to be an interesting post-season in Major League Baseball. In the American league we have the Toronto Blue Jays coming off a stellar late regular season and into their first real World Series attempt since the 90s. Meanwhile, over in the National League the Cubs are inching closer to a possible first World Series win in over a century, made even more eerie by its prediction in Back to the Future II (minus the Miami Gators).
As an added bonus, more games for Toronto means more interviews with infielder Munenori Kawasaki. Charged up by their victory over Texas in the AL Division series, Munerin was in rare form.
Different people have different concepts of Japanese automaker Subaru. For motorsports enthusiasts, the first image that comes to mind is the company’s all-wheel drive cars doing sick jumps on rally gravel stages. Technology buffs, meanwhile, may think of their EyeSight automatic braking safety system.
Japanese animation fans, though, may best know Subaru as the major sponsor of animation studio Gainax’s celestial-themed magical girl anime Wish Upon the Pleiades (known in Japanese as Hokago no Pleiades). And while the series’ TV run is over, that doesn’t mean Subaru’s love for the anime has expired, as the car manufacturer has created, and is selling, an official Wish Upon the Pleiades itasha covered with graphics of the show’s cast.
It’s widely known in Japan that idol singers are often contractually prohibited from engaging in romantic relationships. The reasoning goes that if word gets out that an idol singer has a boyfriend, her fans will feel betrayed that she isn’t solely devoted to her role as a musician and entertainer, and thus stop buying her CDs (there’s also the unspoken implication that openly dating someone will destroy the fantasies of individual fans that would like to date the singer themselves).
A signed contract isn’t always enough to keep young love and hormones in check, though. And when you consider that idols are almost always attractive, outgoing young women, it seems like it should be only a matter of time until they find a guy they fancy out of their swarms of would-be suitors. That’s why in addition to legal pledges not to date, the Japanese entertainment industry has a number of sneaky tactics up its sleeve to prevent its idols from falling in love or going on a single date.
There’s no denying McDonald’s Japan has had rough time these past few years, with incidents like the spoiled meat scandal contributing to declining sales. To complicate matters further, some of the fast food chain’s campaigns and initiatives, like the sudden removal of menus from its counters (which have since been reinstated), have been met with confusion if not outright anger from Japanese customers. Now, it seems McDonald’s has captured the Japanese Internet’s attention again with what could well be their strangest campaign ever.
McDonald’s Japan will be releasing a new line of “affordably priced” burgers on October 26. And while that’s all fine and well, it’s their special one-day promotion in which they’ll be giving away these new burgers for free that has been raising eyebrows due to its bizarre catch.
Japanese company Volks has been making Super Dollfie dolls for more than a decade. The ball-jointed doll-figures are designed to be fully customisable, with removable wigs, interchangeable appendages and resin parts that can even be sanded for reshaping.
One Super Dollfie fan has taken the concept of customisation to a whole new level by melding the cute doll parts with robot skeletons, which allows the dolls to dance, play violins, and take part in some awesome samurai-style katana swordplay.
We all know how much cats love to be the centre of attention. And when it comes to being the star at home, felines know their biggest competition comes in the form of computer and television screens—those strange boxes that their owners stare at for hours on end when they should be offering tummy rubs and relaxing head scratches.
Cats know the best way to wipe out these distractions is to sit in front of, or sprawl out on top of, said screens. And now there’s a way they can take control of our phone time too: by covering our hands when we go to use our cellphones in winter. In fact, it makes them so happy, they’ll wag their tails in approval every time we swipe the screen!
“Mt. Fuji convenience store” issues apology for bad tourist manners, adds multilingual signs
The best kebab in Tokyo? We find out if Moses in Shibuya lives up to the hype
Is the absolute closest conveyor belt sushi to Akihabara Station any good? Let’s find out!
Japanese hot spring inn lets you spend night for under US$1 if you do something special in return
Cheap Japanese ryokan at Kusatsu Onsen is hidden at the back of a traditional store
Studio Ghibli releases new mug and tumbler collection featuring Jiji and Totoro
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
Tokyo tortilla restaurant is worth visiting whether you love or hate traditional Mexican cuisine
Foreign shoppers in Akihabara tip us off to an awesome souvenir idea: DIY Paper Theater kit【Pics】
This is Japan’s, and the world’s, first capsule hotel, and you can still stay there
McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensationBad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
FUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name“Mt. Fuji convenience store” issues apology for bad tourist manners, adds multilingual signs
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
How to make a secret rice bowl at Ichiran ramen
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
Japan has nearly 4 million abandoned homes, but where and why?
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
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 screensMcDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
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 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
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
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
Studio Ghibli releases new mug and tumbler collection featuring Jiji and Totoro
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
Tokyo tortilla restaurant is worth visiting whether you love or hate traditional Mexican cuisine
Foreign shoppers in Akihabara tip us off to an awesome souvenir idea: DIY Paper Theater kit【Pics】
This is Japan’s, and the world’s, first capsule hotel, and you can still stay there
Enjoy the hydrangeas, birds, and more at Fuji Kachoen Garden Park in Shizuoka Prefecture
Starbucks Japan sells a paper tote bag that looks like a free bag…so should you buy it?
Hungry and on the go? Top 10 ranking of ekiben at Tokyo’s Shinagawa Station
A guide to riding the Shinkansen bullet train with a terrible-twos kid
Godzilla leather wallet will make you feel like the King of the Monsters and lord of fashion
Hey, Japanese taxi driver! Take us to your favorite restaurant in Tsuruga City!
No talking allowed, at all, at new Tokyo cafe, even when you’re ordering【Videos】
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
The best cosplayers from Day 1 of Summer Comiket 2023【Photos】