Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Japan (Page 1170)
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.
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!
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!).
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.
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.
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!
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!
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Back in 2003, the world was introduced to the first Siren, a survival horror video game which told the story of a mysterious secluded village caught between time and space. Like the best games of its genre, the setting played a pivotal role in captivating the player, sucking them into an eerie atmosphere made all the more scary by the tremendously creepy town.
It turns out that the fictional town of Hanuda is based on an actual town in Saitama Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. Life imitates game as a camera crew heads to the abandoned town, just like how a crew did in the third Siren game. Take a look at the footage they captured after the break. If you aren’t too afraid…
Ever wondered what a wedding planned around your favorite video game franchise would look like? Newly married couple Grace and Chris have an answer to that question in the form of the following video taken at their stunning Final Fantasy-themed wedding ceremony filmed in Hawaii!
There is no one “official” color that a table tennis table absolutely must be, according to the International Table Tennis Federation handbook. Nevertheless, there was apparently a time, not too long ago —let’s say, at least around the time Rocky was taking on Ivan Dragon—when more or less every table tennis table was an ugly, some might even say “gloomy” or “sinister,” dark green.
Well, that’s how one random Japanese comedian described the green tables in a throwaway comment he made in the late ’80s, which, rumor has it, is the reason most tables you see nowadays are a slightly more cheery blue.
Just about every community in Japan puts on a local festival in the summer, but few are as spectacular as Aomori City’s Nebuta Matsuri. For almost a solid week, gigantic floats topped by lanterns shaped like samurai and dragons are paraded through the streets, accompanied by dancers and musicians.
But while Aomori is one of the largest cities in the largely rural Tohoku region of Japan, its relatively remote location in the northeastern corner of the country’s main island of Honshu means not everyone can make it out to see the festivities in-person. As long as you’ve got an Internet connection, though, you can get a taste of the fun with Google’s awesome Nebuta Matsuri Street View that lets you see the amazing floats even closer-up than spectators standing on the sidewalks the towering works of art are carried by.
Japan is a land with many strange and oddly-shaped everyday items that can be a little hard to identify for Western visitors. But what happens when a travelling Japanese tourist takes along one of these curiosities in their luggage when they embark upon a little trip to Canada?
Well, according to one Twitter user’s ordeal, they might end up getting hauled out of the line at airport security into a side room to “explain” the nature of what Canadian officials took to be… a martial arts weapon?
With the iPhone 6s set to launch on September 9, the current model of iPhone will soon become old news. But if you’re one of those who doesn’t mind not having the newest, shiniest version on the market, you’re sure to be able to find a great deal, as stores try hard to get rid of back stock before herds of Appleheads flock to get their shiny new toy.
Take this au store in Japan, for instance, whose workers were out shaking things up with a special dance in an attempt to advertise their awesome iPhone 6 deals.
Berserk T-shirts coming to Uniqlo for launch of new Manga Curation line【Photos】
Starbucks Japan unveils second Holiday Frappuccino for 2024
Domino’s erupts with a 1kg Cheese Volcano in Japan
Looking for cinnamon rolls on “Japan’s closest street to America”【Taste test】
Mario Kart Happy Meal toys arrive at McDonald’s Japan, and SoraNews24 has the whole set!【Photos】
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Don’t miss the swords-on-fire performances and more at Asakusa Samuraive Show this week
This unstaffed Japanese train station is like a Ghibli anime come to life
Why reading their own language gives Mongolians a headache
Beautiful Japanese garden green tea crepes waiting in Tokyo’s historical Asakusa neighborhood
One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippersGhibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quitMario Kart Happy Meal toys arrive at McDonald’s Japan, and SoraNews24 has the whole set!【Photos】
Tokyo park’s sea of clouds, nighttime illumination, and cosplay days make now perfect time to visitBeautiful Japanese garden green tea crepes waiting in Tokyo’s historical Asakusa neighborhood
Samurai ritual suicide contest cancelled by organizer in west Japan
American jackass tourist arrested after carving name into gate at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine【Video】Berserk T-shirts coming to Uniqlo for launch of new Manga Curation line【Photos】
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Tokyo Disneyland loses top-attendance crown for Japanese theme parks for second year in a rowGhibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Ghibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle theme
Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in Japan
Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】
What’s the deal with akebi, the perfectly purple, alien-like fruit that’s in season now in Japan?Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quitAfter cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’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
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Don’t miss the swords-on-fire performances and more at Asakusa Samuraive Show this week
This unstaffed Japanese train station is like a Ghibli anime come to life
Why reading their own language gives Mongolians a headache
Beautiful Japanese garden green tea crepes waiting in Tokyo’s historical Asakusa neighborhood
Kamishibai — the precursor to manga and anime?
We start craving hotpot with the release of Japan’s 2024 National Nabe Opening Forecast map
The 20 best anime magical girls, as chosen by 10,000 Japanese fans
“Glossy green tea donuts” sound weird, look amazing in Mr. Donut team-up with Kyoto matcha master
Building the crazy-detailed PlayStation model is a surprisingly emotional trip down memory lane
Preview video released for third season of Sailor Moon Crystal 【Video】
Beautiful new luxury train for Ishikawa dazzles with gold leaf and lacquer interior