Japan (Page 1134)

We eat Electrical Udon and Blue Curry while watching guys shoot each other with electricity

A little while back, we brought you news of Electrical Udon developed by Kurare of Arienai Rika (“Unbelievable Science”) for an event to be held in Osaka. Well, that event has come and gone, and we were fortunate enough to be there to get a taste of his technicolor noodles along with some other off-color foods like blue rice topped with even bluer curry and fried chicken with a secret green sauce.

We also got to see some of the DIY science that made Arienai Rika a cult hit with science and tech enthusiasts in Japan.

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Radiation fears as report shows Fukushima fir trees to be growing strangely

Following the events of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex, radiologists in Japan have been closely observing the area for potential changes. A new report by the National Institute of Radiological Sciences now suggests that the fir trees in Fukushima may be exhibiting strange growth patterns, with the radiation from the disaster being named as a possible factor.

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Clumsy canine can’t catch a break…or any of the treats being tossed to him 【Video】

Among the similar-sounding expressions that trip up foreigners trying to learn the Japanese language are kawaii, “cute,” and kawai sou, “I feel sorry for it.” This sometimes results in awkward moments when you see your friends’ cherub-like baby for the first time and animatedly declare, “Wow, that kid sure looks pathetic!”

But sometimes the line between kawaii and kawai sou gets a little blurred, like in the case of this comically klutzy canine.

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Hokkaido’s “White Shell Road” is gorgeous, makes us want to take a road trip! 【Photos】

In Hokkaido, there is an area of hilly countryside along the Souya Cape in Wakkanai, with peaks reaching from 20 to 400 metres above sea level. The area, known as Souyakyuuryou, features an idyllic backdrop of the Soya Strait, and with its wind farm and rolling hills it’s said to be reminiscent of the Netherlands. (It also reminds some people of the Ghibli classic Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind!)

But by far the coolest thing about the area is that it also has a country road that used to be a plain old dirt road until they decided to make it pretty – with crushed white shells!

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Japanese college has specialized anime song program, scholarships for international students

Even within the world of Japanese pop music, anime songs are their own special breed. Unabashedly sentimental, bombastically energetic, or sometimes both, not just anyone can grab a mike and belt out a performance that will capture the hearts of legions of otaku, which is why one Japanese music college has just announced a brand new course, aiming to provide students with the education and training they need to become anime vocalists.

Oh, and the school also offers a scholarship for international students.

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Japanese cosplayers share their “then vs now” photos, and the difference is eye-opening

Improvement and progress is something that gives us encouragement and motivation to keep doing something, be it at school, work, or leisure. Sitting for examinations or participating in competitions can give you a good gauge of your abilities, but if you’re just looking to enjoy a hobby with minimal stress, making video or photo records may be a good way of keep track of your progress.

Taking photographs may not be the most feasible method for every pastime, but a wide variety of hobbies can be documented with photographs, such as flower arrangement, baking, craft making, and of course, cosplay! Some Japanese cosplayers have been sharing their “then vs now” pictures on Twitter, and it’s amazing to see some of the changes they’ve made over time!

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Everything you wanted to know about girls’ school uniforms in Japan 

School uniforms bring back memories of our bitter-sweet childhood days. In Japan, however, they aren’t just clothes, they’re symbols of “seishun” (youth) and a big part of the country’s culture. Girls in Japan love their school uniforms, and there are fans of Japanese school uniforms all over the world.

We know you love these cute school uniforms too, but do you really know everything about them? Here’s everything you need to know to be an expert on Japanese school uniforms.

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We explore the evolution of the toilet at Kitakyushu’s newly opened TOTO Museum

What would modern life be like without the humble toilet? Actually, we’d rather not think about that.

Many of us around the world should direct our thanks to TOTO Ltd., the world’s largest manufacturer of toilets and the very company that invented the washlet. In fact, Friday, August 28 marked the grand opening of the new TOTO Museum in Fukuoka Prefecture, where the company was originally founded in 1917.

Takashi Harada, our Japanese reporter who proclaims that he couldn’t survive a day without a washlet, immediately made a bee line to the new sanctuary to give thanks to the toilet gods and to learn a bit about the historical evolution of the toilet.

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Japanese actress Yui Hatano has been big in Taiwan after her sexy role in the film Sashimi, which came out in January this year. As a result, she has been hard at work establishing her brand there by appearing on one of the nation’s most used train IC cards among other things.

In many ways her fame could be compared to that of Sola Aoi in mainland China. In fact she would be a good comparison because both women have made the often challenging crossover from adult video to more mainstream movies. Of course, when walking that line between acting careers it’s not surprising when one spills over into the other.

That’s what happened when one of the photos used for a series of IC cards featuring Hatano was found to have been lifted straight off the box of one of the actress’ more risqué works.

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Nagano Prefecture’s Mishaka Pond offers mirror-like waters, inspiration for art lovers

Mishaka-ike, or Mishaka Pond (御射鹿池), is a hidden natural jewel located in Chino City, Nagano Prefecture. The pond’s tranquil beauty inspired a famous painting several decades ago, and Japanese visitors have been increasingly traveling off the beaten path to view its waters for themselves, as it’s a place where the four seasons are distinctly and perfectly expressed.

Escape from the city for a relaxing moment with the following photographic collection of Mishaka-ike in the Japanese countryside.

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Love Livers spotted wearing biker-style coats at anime song festival, concertgoers not impressed

August in Japan is the month of summer concerts, from the internationally celebrated Summer Sonic series, to record label Avex Trax’s annual A-Nation festival. Of course, let’s not forget to mention the Animelo Summer Live series, known popularly as Anisama (an abbreviation of anime and the Japanese pronunciation of “summer”) by Japanese fans of anime songs.

This year’s opening day of the concert series saw an unusual display of love for hit anime series Love Live! in the form of a group of guys dressing up like old-school Japanese biker gang delinquents, complete with long coats depicting their favorite characters. However, it looks like a number of Japanese Twitter users are ready for the Love Livers to tone their passion down a notch, as the online critics were decidedly unimpressed with the outfits.

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Our English writer rates 15 teas from Japanese conbini, is fully hydrated for the rest of summer

Walk in to any Japanese convenience store, and you’re bound to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices at your fingertips. Even taking a stroll through the drink aisle will leave you open-mouthed as you stare at the myriad interesting flavors and varieties to be tried.

Of course there’s green tea, barley tea, roasted tea and more, but how do Japan’s black and flavoured teas measure up? We decided we needed an expert’s opinion, so we turned to one of our English writers for help. With a sampling of 15 different teas, we put our parched taste-tester to work.

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Super Mega Important Debate – Japanese TV: is it just plain awful? 【Poll】

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Super Mega Important Debate is back! This weekend, we’re putting Japanese TV under the spotlight and asking you, our good-looking and never-shy-to-venture-an-opinion readers, whether you think the TV shows broadcast in Japan are wonderfully entertaining or a big bag of steaming horse poop.

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The Pokémon Company sues organizers of Pokémon-themed party for copyright infringement

The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) filed a lawsuit against two Seattle residents on Wednesday, claiming that the Pokémon-themed party they were organizing allegedly infringed upon TPCi’s copyright.

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Online shop’s anime character personal seals look awesome, can be used for legal paperwork

Even now, most legal documents in Japan don’t ask for your signature, but rather that you stamp your inkan, or personal seal, to show approval or confirmation. Also called a hanko, the stamp, customarily used with red ink, leaves behind just the bearer’s last name, at least in the case of ordinary inkan.

But if that’s just too solemnly boring for you, you can also spice things up with a personal seal made that’s decorated with characters from hit anime series such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Clannad, and Fate/stay night that not only lets you display your love for those franchises, but is also legally binding.

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Toyota ad about lonely father and dog has a twist ending, will tug at your heartstrings 【Video】

At this point it’s probably no exaggeration to say that Toyota Japan is the master of making automotive commercials. Their commercials thus far have been heartwarming, bizarre, even more bizarre, and are more like minute-long movies than advertisements.

And the same thing goes for the most recent Toyota commercial. It’s about a man whose daughter leaves to go to college, and suddenly feels a lot lonelier at home with only his pet dog. What’s the twist ending that has Japanese netizens talking? And how does this all tie back to making us want to buy a Toyota? Read on to find out!

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Metal Gear cardboard box wedding ad full of crazy, bittersweet belly laughs, just like the games

For months, there have been rumblings of discord between video game publisher Konami and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain director Hideo Kojima. First Kojima’s name, one of the most respected in the industry, was scrubbed from the game’s packaging, and now the popular opinion seems to be that once The Phantom Pain is a completely done deal, Kojima will pack up and leave the company where he’s worked for decades, meaning someone else would be tasked with carrying on the legacy of Metal Gear, a franchise so ground-breaking and successful it literally changed the industry.

But none of this drama seems to have adversely affected The Phantom Pain’s development, as advance reviews of the title have been glowing. And perhaps even more baffling is that even as this might be the end of an era, the series has in no way lost its sense of humor, as seen in this bizarre yet emotional Metal Gear Solid V TV commercial starring an about-to-be-wed bride and groom, dressed in their finest Metal Gear-style cardboard boxes.

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Cat wanted to join management team of Tokyo workspace

Once relegated to menial tasks like mousing or appearing in commercials, cats have been recently begun making huge inroads to other labor sectors such as service industries. Pioneer felines like Tama the station master and his successor Nitama along with Kuzya the assistant librarian cat at Novorossiysk Library in Russia.

Granted, those are only three, but those three cats alone amount to a staggering 7,560-percent increase in the employment rate for the species as a whole from the previous decade. And now one workspace in Tokyo is trying to get ahead of this trend by recruiting a cat for a management position. Humans need not apply.

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Fans are raving over this amazing Doraemon x Grand Theft Auto V crossover【Pics】

Many of Japan’s classic anime series have managed to engage young viewers from one generation to the next. Perhaps one of the most famous examples is Doraemon, which keeps gaining more viewers the longer it runs. Since its hit television adaptation in 1979, the series has slowly taken the world by storm, finally reaching English-speaking audiences last summer after a partnership with Disney.

That said, in over 30 years few changes have been made to the original series, with its characters never having to grow up like the rest of us. As viewers got older, many of them started wondering what kind of teenagers and adults the original cast would have become. Some of the franchise’s movies, along with a commercial series by Toyota featuring Jean Reno as Doraemon, have set out to answer a few of these questions, but what about fans who didn’t imagine a future quite so bright? It seems the only answer would require illustrating it on your own, which is exactly what one artist did when he decided to reinvent the main cast as characters from video game smash Grand Theft Auto.

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Japanese security company claims it’s discovered a new kind of train pervert: Lady sniffers

One of the most infamous aspects of Japanese society are chikan, the men who surreptitiously grope women on crowded trains. One Japanese security company, though, has tweeted about what it says is a new breed of chikan: men who encroach on a woman’s personal space to sniff her scent.

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