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Japan (Page 1117)

Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker, which allows you to design your own levels for the beloved video game hero, is really a game that could only be properly realized now, on the 30th anniversary of the franchise. Three decades as the platforming gold standard means there are multiple generations of gamers intimately familiar with the series’ building blocks, ensuring an ample supply of would-be creators and players who can really get the most from the system’s ins and outs.

Just as important is the modern digital infrastructure for sharing user-designed stages. Super Mario Maker would have been a flop on hardware that requires physical media, but in our modern Internet age once a completed course has been uploaded to Nintendo’s servers, anyone in the world can play it.

Well, anyone in the world can play it if it’s good. If it’s not, then Nintendo will just go ahead and delete your creation.

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Natsukashii! Japan’s Twitter users in their 30s share items from their youth, get all nostalgic

It’s weird being in your thirties (or thereabouts) in 2015. Kids today have no idea what a struggle it was for us growing up in the days before smartphone selfies, dumb internet trends, and myriad modern technological conveniences. Wait, what are we saying, it was absolutely awesome! For ours was a more innocent childhood, full of VHS tapes, talking on phones connected to the wall by a wire, and clunky dial-up internet that still felt like the greatest thing ever invented.

Japan’s 30s club is no different; they too are nostalgic for the relics of a simpler past. And in this article, we round up 22 nostalgic items that Japanese Twitter users say sum up their idyllic childhoods. But how many of them (if any) are the same as those we in the west enjoyed?

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Now bullet train geeks can ride the rare, top-secret “Doctor Yellow” train

It’s apparently a pretty rare sight, not unlike the majestic (read: ugly as sin) Northern Bald Ibis, the probably made-up Sasquatch, or the sober RocketNews24 writer, but on certain lengths of Shinkansen bullet train track, one can occasionally catch brief glimpses of a completely yellow bullet train as it whizzes past. Japan Rail (JR) doesn’t make the train’s schedule public, it doesn’t stop at stations, and it only runs a few times a month.

And, until a little later this year, no member of the public was ever allowed to ride. Learn how you can ride the special “Doctor Yellow” bullet train after the jump.

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We try unagi cola with genuine eel extract 【Taste Test】

Just last month we brought you news of its arrival and now it’s finally here! It’s the delicious/disgusting-sounding Eel Cola, made with real eel extract.

If the thought of drinking it makes you shudder, never fear: your intrepid RocketNews24 reporters have done the tasting for you. All the details after the break!

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“I was talking to my sister when…” Who did this manga artist mistake for her own sister?

In general, we expect people to be able to identify their family on sight, even if it’s just from the backs of their heads. After all, for better or worse, these are the people we grew up with, right? Who couldn’t pick their little sister out of a crowd based on nothing more than their profile or haircut?

Well, probably not many people, if we’re being honest. Hey, we may love our families, but we’re not spies. But it’s completely different when you mistake someone else for your sister when they’re not even the same species! Just ask this embarrassed manga artist, who had the sense of humor to post about her error on Twitter so we could all have a good laugh.

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“Coincidentally” named video game handhelds allow you to play 8, 16-bit Nintendo games on the go

In the realm of technology, it’s a fact that everything gets smaller and more powerful as time goes by. “Minicomputers,” for example, used to be as big as a refrigerator, but now the smartphone you have in your pocket has far more processing power, and even that slick piece of tech is only as big as it is to accommodate its display screen.

The same thing happens with video game hardware. When new systems launch, they’re sizeable boxes, but after a couple of console generations, suddenly they can be shrunk to handheld size, like what’s happened with these two portables that play Nintendo Famicom and Super Famicom cartridges.

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The top 10 drinking districts in Tokyo, as recommended by Japanese locals

The number of foreign visitors visiting Japan has increased recently, and with Tokyo set to host the 2020 Olympic Games that trend is likely to continue. Now is the perfect opportunity for the city to show off its offerings as a must-see destination.

In an effort to appeal to and satisfy more tourists, a recent survey of Japanese Tokyoites ranked the top 10 drinking districts that they think tourists to Japan should visit to see and experience the “real” Tokyo.

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Ramen Noodle Pizza and Natto Okonomiyaki Pizza now finally a reality!

We’ve seen some strange pizza toppings in the past. From Kit Kats to squid ink, Japan certainly knows how to deliver when it comes to thinking outside of the box.

Now, there are two new awesome pizzas on the menu: Ramen Noodle and Natto Okonomiyaki. And that’s not all – both items are being offered as part of a collaboration using local ingredients that hark back to the 1960s. Available from Aoki’s Pizza from September 10, this is an opportunity that’s not to be missed!

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Come home to a new wife at Ore no Yome, the cafe where maids pretend to be your spouse

You arrive home after a long day at the office to your beautiful wife, smiling as she greets you at the door. Inside, a delicious home-cooked meal is ready on the table…oh, and she’s wearing a bikini!

There’s a new cafe in Tokyo where you can have all this and more, because the staff there are ready and waiting to be your bikini-and-apron-clad new wife (or husband!).

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Nagasaki’s hundreds of beautiful islands get newspapers from boats, planes, 2,285 delivery people

Although Nagasaki is one of the most populous cities on the island of Kyushu, many neighborhoods are built on steep coastal hillsides that are inaccessible by car. Then there’s the rest of Nagasaki Prefecture, which is dotted with isolated communities on its hundreds of islands.

But with the prefecture’s unique beauty and culture, it’s not hard to see why many residents of Nagasaki are happy living where they do. And while there may be some inconveniences that come with living in such remote homes, they can at least be assured of receiving their newspapers every day, as this surprisingly moving video of the incredibly complex delivery process shows.

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Sea Squirt Ale: Beer made from marine invertebrates hits the market in Japan

The latest craft beer to hit the market in Japan is so unusual that its release has been limited to 3,000 bottles. Called Hoya Ale, the beer itself sounds innocent enough, but when you find out that Hoya is an edible marine animal commonly known as the sea squirt, you might actually need some liquid courage before guzzling it down.

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Burning Man getting too crowded? Head to Burning Japan instead!

Burning Man hardly needs an introduction—the annual festival has become so thoroughly ingrained in mass culture that even your boring elderly relatives are complaining about Jack Ü performing. Still, we’d stop short of calling it “mainstream,” even if there were around 70,000 participants this year.

But maybe 70,000 people is too much for you, or maybe you were stuck in boring old Japan while everyone else was having a blast with Skrillex “on the Playa.” If so, we have good news: There’s still time to plan your trip to Japan’s version of Burning Man, Burning Japan!

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Where have we heard Metal Gear Solid V’s iDroid voice before? When we last rode the Shinkansen!

The release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been met with as much excitement and frenzy as you might expect from the latest instalment of a legendary video game franchise. But while most players are preoccupied with riding D. Horse around, frolicking in cardboard boxes and puzzling over the intricate story, it’s a certain voiceover that’s had us scratching our heads. Where on earth have we heard iDroid‘s soothing tones before? Oh, that’s right – on the Shinkansen!

Voice actor and vocalist Donna Burke is a veteran of the video game industry, lending her vocal cords to multiple games including MGSV and Silent Hill, and she ALSO provided the English-language spoken announcement that’s broadcast on the bullet train to help foreign visitors navigate their way around Japan!

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Five things you’d never expect to buy at a convenience store, but are actually really popular

Convenience stories in Asia are known all over the world for actually living up to their name. Whether you need an emergency swimsuit, want to grab pretty much any drink ever made, or just have a hankering for some Evangelion donuts, a nearby conbini will suit your needs.

But sometimes there are items available in conbini that don’t seem to make any sense… and yet people still buy them. Japanese netizens shared their most confusing yet surprisingly useful convenience store finds online, and we have them here for you. Would you ever admit to buying some of these?

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Japanese police department publishes “driving horoscopes” to encourage road safety

Among the many superstitions that exist in Japan, fortune telling based on blood type still remains popular. Most profiles of anime and manga characters or celebrities include blood type, and it’s not uncommon for some Japanese to attempt to predict the behavior of others based what kind of blood is coursing through their veins.

But with only four personality types to choose from, that doesn’t leave very much room for variation. That may be one reason why over the years Japan has seen a boom in Western astrology, with many fashion magazines, books, and character items catering to those interested in finding out or showing off what their zodiac sign purportedly says about their personality. In fact, considering the recent release of driving horoscopes by one prefecture’s police department, it seems even government officials are now in on the craze.

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Manga materials website offers thousands of reference poses for budding artists to download

If you’re just starting out on the path to your goal of becoming a manga artist, it can be hard to properly visualize how your characters’ head, limbs, and torso should be positioned for a specific pose. Practicing by sketching with a human model is a time-tested way to hone your understanding of how to draw human anatomy and clothing, but it still poses a problem.

See, most art classes don’t feature models for such manga staples as, say, a girl in a sailor suit firing a pistol. An alternative would be to hire a model on your own, but that’s beyond the budget of many artists who’re still in the amateur stage of their artistic endeavors.

But as long as you can scrape together about 2,000 yen (US$16.26), there’s a new website that will supply you with thousands of reference photos to help kick-start your manga dreams.

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Kyoto store makes embroidered badges, tests our knowledge of traditional Japanese sweets

How well do you know your wagashi (Japanese sweets)? If you’re struggling to put a name to any of the traditional delectables pictured above, there’s a store in Kyoto that can help.

By creating decorative embroidered versions of some of Japan’s most popular confections, Kyoto-based Kyototo is giving us an education in the names and background of the hand-crafted treats that are often seasonal but always delicious. Come with us as we take a look at twelve of the most beautiful wagashi you can find in Japan.

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Prison School’s live-action cast appears in costume, looks the part of its anime inspiration

As tricky as the process of adapting a hit anime to live-action can be, in the case of the most popular series, it’s not hard to see why someone would want to try. Even if you can’t please everyone when making the transitions, in the case of something like Attack on Titan, having a huge, solidly cemented fanbase that’s hungry for more content is incredibly attractive to producers.

But not every anime-to-live-action project is based on such an established hit. While creator Akira Hiramoto’s Prison School manga was first published in 2011, its TV anime hasn’t even been on the air for two months yet. Nevertheless, there’s already a live-action television drama in the works, and the first pictures of the cast, in costume, have just been released.

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Has it come to this? Japanese company produces plastic cover to keep kitty off your keyboard

If you have a cat at home, there’s a good chance you’re well aware of the frustrations felines can introduce to owners, like walking all over keyboards or stealing your seat the second you get up. Sure, we forgive them, and we might even find it kind of cute, but eventually the “pranks” get old and we just want to be able to sit down and write the next great novel without having to delete our cats’ helpful additions of  “jmmmmmmmmmm;;;;;;;acccccieiei1” every few minutes.

But what’s to be done against the wiles of a determined cat?! Well, you could lock your cat out of the room, but that would just be depressing. Or you could turn to Bessed, a design and manufacturing company that provides consumers with some…unique products. The company recently announced the release of their Neko Pochi Keyboard Cover, which is a keyboard cover designed to hold the weight of a cat over your keyboard so you can type. Now you know what to get all the cat-owners on your holiday gift list!

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