Japan (Page 1122)

Enjoy afternoon tea like an anime star with the Sailor Moon cup and saucer set from Noritake

When it comes to celebrating their 20th anniversary, Sailor Moon girls don’t go out on the town, swigging from a cheap bottle of Brut, yelling “It’s my birf-daaaaay” to passers-by on the street.

This is a group of soldiers who choose to stay home instead, holding tea parties with their nearest and dearest, using only the finest Japanese tableware on the market, Noritake.

Now you can sip tea like a sailor warrior too, with this gorgeous new teacup and saucer set, which blends fine porcelain details with cute motifs from the hit series.

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Train line celebrates the life of Stationmaster Tama the cat with in-train photo exhibit

Those of you who’ve read RocketNews24 for a while will remember the great and legendary Stationmaster Tama, Japan’s cutest feline stationmaster. Sadly, Tama passed away in June this, just a few short months after celebrating her 16th birthday. Though her replacement, Stationmaster Nitama, has already been appointed, we’ll never forget Tama. And it looks like Wakayama Electric Railway won’t either! The train line recently unveiled its photo exhibit of the cat, available for viewing on the Tama Train.

Is it dusty in here or is it just us? For some reason our eyes are starting to water up…

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Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto join Sailor Moon in getting cool new anime pens

It’s easy to forget, but Sailor Moon and her fellow Sailor Senshi actually spend most of their day as students. When there aren’t any monsters around, the anime’s cast should ostensibly have notes to take, worksheets to fill out, and reports to write, and when it’s time to stop fighting and start studying, maybe they reach for one of these pens modeled after the magical equipment of Sailors Moon, Chibimoon, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

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“Welcome argument?” Mr Sato really, really wants to know where Lily-Rose Depp got her kanji shirt

Clothing with incorrect and funny English (so-called Engrish) is everywhere in Japan, and has given many foreign visitors a chuckle over the years.  So it’s always nice to see the tables turned, and Japan having the opportunity to marvel at clothing with odd Japanese writing on it.

That’s what happened this week when our reporter Mr. Sato got wind that actress and model Lily-Rose Depp had been spotted in New York wearing a particularly nonsensical T-shirt with Japanese kanji characters on it. He had only one question: “Where did she get it?”

…only one question, Mr. Sato? We’ve got a few more questions than that! So let’s take a look at the shirt in question, and crack the code behind its oddball message.

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We checked out the new Resident Evil games at Tokyo Game Show and didn’t become zombie chow

It’s a good time to be a fan of Resident Evil, both the classic survival-horror style AND the action style. In fact, this year at Tokyo Game Show, Capcom has more than enough zombie fun on offer to satiate the appetites of both types of fan, with playable versions of their two upcoming Resident Evil games Resident Evil Umbrella Corps (action) and Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster (classic survival horror).

We stopped by Capcom’s section to take a peek and ended up playing a little of Resident Evil 0 HD, somehow avoiding getting fatally leeched as we took on an entire train full of the rotting undead…

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Sailor Moon Crystal menu at Namja Town features adorable drinks, meals and desserts

Namja Town, an indoor theme park in Tokyo operated by Namco, is putting  out a special spread to celebrate Sailor Moon’s 20th anniversary year. With a selection of five beverages and a whopping fourteen types of cute meals and desserts to choose from, this is the most extensive list of Sailor Moon-themed edibles we’ve ever seen!

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Capcom announces another female character for Street Fighter V, Japanese Internet calls her ugly

Video game developer Capcom seems to have settled into a pretty comfortable pattern regarding the marketing of its upcoming Street Fighter V. About once a month, the company releases a new video highlighting another addition to the game’s cast. Fans watch the video over and over, looking for clues as to what they can expect in the game ahead of its release next spring.

And then come the complaints about the female characters being ugly.

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“So you like big guns, eh?” Japan’s TV ad for World of Tanks is surprisingly cheeky 【Video】

Here at RocketNews24 we’re pretty big fans of funny and unpredictable Japanese TV ads, whether they’re for Cup NoodleBatman dubs, or English schools.

And just by looking at the thumbnail for this Japanese ad for World of Tanks, the multiplayer online game that just announced that it’s coming to PlayStation 4 this year, we knew we were going to be in for a treat.

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Keisuke Honda’s award-winning fragrance leaves some wondering if his head is still in the game

It’s safe to say that the current main sports in Japan are baseball and soccer. The older of the two, Japanese baseball, can be defined by its players’ almost militaristic commitment to the game developed through the harsh training they undergo as youths.

However, with soccer, it’s not uncommon to see players with shaggy long hair or even dye jobs, and along with that a new attitude to playing professional sports in Japan. As a result, the nation may be witnessing its first true sports celebrity in Keisuke Honda: AC Milan and Japanese National Team forward and now an award-winning perfumer.

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When you get to be really famous, sometimes people will ask you some strange questions. If you’ve got even a passing interest in the Japanese entertainment or music industries, you’ve probably heard of evergreen male idol group SMAP and Takuya Kimura, its most popular member. Kimura hosts a weekly radio program, and in the most recent broadcast, he was asked by a listener for his thoughts on women’s panties that tie up on the sides with strings.

Rather than comment on their fashionableness, the star responded with his idea for the best way to remove said underwear, which got his many fans all in a flutter. Here at RocketNews24, though, we don’t have time for abstract panty theory. We’re all about practical life hacks, so today we’re testing Japan’s most-talked about way to remove lingerie.

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Is this Japanese arcade’s UFO catcher the most diabolical ever? 【Video】

Look, arcade owners, UFO catchers are difficult enough already, okay? We’ve already worked out a precarious balance where you tempt us with stuffed animals, anime figures, and boxes of candy placed tantalizingly close to the drop slot, and we accept that almost always said item will slip out of the claw’s pitifully weak grip, leaving us empty-handed and the surrounding air resounding with frustrated cursing.

But still, it’s all worth it for the rare time everything goes just right. Once the player hits the button to drop the claw, the rest of the game is automatic. That means if you do manage to get a solid grip on the prize, you can sit back and savor your impending victory as the arm swings back into position over the slot and drops the prize in for you to claim.

Unless you’re at this heartless, diabolical Japanese arcade.

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Cross-dressing bride in Tokyo leaves Japanese Twitter users confused

Cross-dressing isn’t a mainstream concept in Japan. It’s still a topic that comes up somewhat often in the media, though, and over the past few years there’s been a rise in services that offer Japanese men the experience of getting in touch with their more feminine side.

That said, on any given day in Tokyo you’re still unlikely to encounter cross-dressing personalities like Sailor Suit Old Man and Ladybeard, let alone a man in a wedding dress walking the streets of Tokyo, which is why Japanese Twitter has been abuzz about the sighting of an older man cross-dressing as a bride in the Akasaka neighborhood.

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The Japanese town where cucumbers are forbidden

The cucumber is a magnificent vegetable. Apart from simply being eaten as part of a healthy diet, they can also be cute, made into art, brought to life, and even given as treats to helpful Shiba Inu. With so many uses, is there anyone out there who could possible hate cucumbers?

Apparently, yes. There’s one town in Japan where it is strictly forbidden to grow or eat cucumbers. Why do they hate the vegetable? And is their rule actually valid or are they all in a pickle over nothing?

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Bread lovers rejoice! Toasty bread backpacks, cushions, and footwear look good enough to eat

How much do you love bread? Would you cuddle with it? Wear it on your back? Use it to carry your books home from school?

Well now thanks to Village Vanguard, the popular Japanese supplier of crazy and unique items, you can do all of these things! They will be releasing a series of bread-themed items to help you get your balanced breakfast on your way to school or work.

Ready to be the toast of the town with an egg-cellent new backpack? Read on to find out how to get in on a slice of the action!

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Why do cats love this middle-aged man so much? We don’t know, but we want to be him!【Video】

Cats are peculiar creatures. Now, don’t get us wrong; we love them and their furry little faces, but they certainly do have some odd habits. From playing with showers to hogging your keyboard, they always seem to know just where to be to cause the maximum amount of inconvenience.

But no matter how inconveniencing your cat may be, we doubt you’ll have as much trouble as this guy who’s literally covered in cats! You might think drowning is cats is awesome, but…well, okay, you’re right. It totally is! But the real question here is: Why do these cats like this middle-aged man so much?!

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All You Can Eat salmon for 999 yen at IKEA’s Salmon Festival!

Fans of the famously delicious fish salmon in Japan should grab your bibs because the Salmon Festival is rolling into IKEA stores all over the country. On this joyous occasion we may dine on 16 different kinds of salmon dishes.

Of course it wouldn’t be a festival if it weren’t all-you-can-eat as well, so IKEA is making that happen for the attractive price of only 999 yen (US$8.30) for a limited time.

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No matter how much you love your kids, no matter how strongly you want to protect them and guide towards what you believe are the best decisions, at some point they’re going to grow up and lead their own lives. Past a certain age, you just have to face the reality that your while they’ll always be your children, they’re also now adults, and you have to accept them as the people they’ve chosen to become.

Or, alternatively, you could harbor resentment towards them, like the men polled for this survey of the top 10 ways Japanese fathers are disappointed in their daughters.

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Consider us teased! Upcoming Dragon Ball Z animation promises big things【Video】

DBZ Tribute is an upcoming animation that aims to pay tribute (the hint’s in the name) to the work of Akira Toriyama. A team of professional artists have come together to create a computer-generated animated sequence as a homage to the creator of Dragon Ball.

It’s not an official project, but if the production values in these teasers are anything to go on, it’s going to be a really high-quality “tribute”.

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Tired of cat cafes? It turns out Japan has reptile cafes too!

With cat, rabbit, and owl cafes, Japan has you pretty well-covered as far as furry, fluffy, or feathered companionship goes. But what if you prefer your animals with scales?

Then you’ll want to stop by the reptile cafe, where you can sip tea and nibble on sweets in the company of iguanas, snakes, and tortoises.

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Fists of Absinthe: Short film about samurai, ninja and drinking is just what your life’s missing!

Devoted readers will remember that we spoke with Japan’s first full-time foreign stuntman Chuck Johnson earlier this summer, visiting his stunt class and learning about the industry in Japan. At the time, we mentioned that Chuck was working a short film called Fists of Absinthe, which ended up being a collaboration between YouTube and Toei Studios.

We are happy to say that Fists of Absinthe is now available on YouTube for your viewing pleasure! We just sat down and watched it, and it was equal parts comedy and action—definitely a must-see for anyone who likes martial arts, samurai, ninja, or laughing their butts off. Check it out below!

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