Featured

Japan (Page 1182)

Full cast revealed for the third Black Butler musical – did the butler do it again?

You know something is popular when it starts getting adapted into anime, drama CDs, movies and games. But maybe one of the biggest and strangest adaptations is the musical. Oddly enough, staged musicals are popular enough in Japan that plenty of series get live-action singing and dancing versions performed for ecstatic fans in packed theaters. If you’re not convinced that a musical means a popular title has hit the big time, how about a third musical?

That’s right, Black Butler is set for its third musical and the final cast photos have been released!

Read More

Regionally themed cat socks are insanely cute, great souvenirs, even educational

I love socks. Not your boring old gym socks and stockings, though. I like ’em bright and patterned, the more obnoxiously the better. If it doesn’t look like something a child should be wearing, I’ll pass.

Two other things I love are Japan and cats, so you’ll understand why my squees of delight filled the aisles of popular bargain chain 3 Coins when I spotted this huge rack of cat socks with designs inspired by each of Japan’s 42 prefectures and regions. 

Read More


  • Jun 21, 2015

Toy or cake? These mochi-like seal and bird figures are so soft and cute, you’ll want to eat them

Mochi rice cakes, made from glutinous rice, come in all shapes and sizes. They’re soft and filling, and they can be enjoyed as a dessert or a meal, depending on how they’re prepared. What’s not to like, right?

And now it looks like someone’s created these insanely adorable animal-shaped cakes out of mochi…but wait, is that what they really are? Would you believe us if we told you these are actually soft toy figures that look and feel like mochi? Well, whatever they are, these little critters are sure to elicit delighted squeals of “kawaii!”

Read More

Samurai Toothpicks with bite-sized language lessons will help you look and sound like a swordsman

If you watch a lot of samurai movies or TV shows, you might have noticed that a toothpick is about as common a costume accessory as a set of paired swords. The reason isn’t because samurai were particularly fastidious about dental hygiene, though. Many fictional samurai stories re set in the Edo period, when the end of Japan’s centuries of civil war caused the warrior class’ power and prestige to begin slowly but surely eroding.

The samurai were a prideful bunch, though, and were loath to admit the new societal reality that swordsman had suddenly become a far less lucrative profession. So even if they couldn’t afford to regularly fill their stomachs, many would still lodge a toothpick between their teeth to give the impression that they’d just polished off a lavish meal fit for a man of high rank.

Of course, it takes more than just a toothpick to transform yourself into a samurai. You’ll also need to talk the talk, which is why these traditionally made Japanese toothpicks come individually wrapped with period-correct samurai phrases, and even helpful English translations and pronunciation guides.

Read More

Teacher rejects student’s declarations of love through comments on class worksheets

I’m sure we all harboured a secret crush on a school teacher at least once during our formative years. The operative word here being ‘secret’, mind you.

Spare a thought for this poor Japanese teacher who was faced with open declarations of love, and even a marriage proposal, from one of her students, but who responded to them all with real aplomb.

Read More

RocketNews24 Japan writer gets haircut in Cuba, gets more than he bargained for

What do you like to do when you travel? Eat local cuisine? Visit famous landmarks?

Sure, those are all fine. But for me, one thing I always look forward to doing whenever I travel somewhere new is getting a haircut there. I know it sounds crazy, but each place really does have its own distinct style, different atmosphere, and unique way of getting your hair from head to floor.

Wasai, one of our Japanese writers, is a man after my own heart. He recently went on a trip to Cuba, and while he was there, one of the top items on his to-do list was to get a haircut. Did it end up as a failure or fabulous? Read on to find out!

Read More

Super Mega Important Debate: Do you shower before work or before bed? 【Poll closed】

In Japan, the majority of people bathe at night before going to bed. Even if they don’t stick to the traditional routine of rinsing off before soaking in a hot bath, most Japanese find the idea of climbing into bed without having at least hopped in the shower first supremely icky – almost as icky as walking around your home while wearing your outdoor shoes.

In the west, however, many of us prefer to shower before leaving the house in the morning. No matter how well you slept the night before, the thought of not washing prior to putting on work clothes and heading out for the day seems pretty gross to most of us.

So for this week’s Super Mega Important Debate, we’re asking you to answer this one simple question: Do you bathe before bed or before work each morning?

Read More

Natto Boys want to take their smelly beans to Africa, but they need your help

Natto Boys (Natto Danshi) are a group whose sole purpose is to share the ancient and traditional Japanese food natto with the world. However, with its acrid smell and texture of an alien autopsy subject, those are some high hopes.

Already in about half a year, the Natto Boys have established a website featuring over 100 serving suggestions for the fermented soy beans to help promote the food at home. Now, they want to take the next step into the world’s second largest continent, Africa, and to do this they have turned to us for help via crowdfunding.

Read More

Clever bathroom graffiti explains why smoking in the boys’ room is grossly inconsiderate

At my old job, my coworkers and I shared bathrooms with a half-dozen or so other companies that had offices in our building. For the most part, the men’s room stayed relatively clean, but about once a week, I’d walk into one of the stalls and find a pile of cigarette ashes on the floor.

Frankly, it was disgusting and exasperating, especially since the building had a smoking lounge. But hey, I guess the perpetrator who couldn’t resist the self-pleasing siren song of simultaneously taking a puff and a dump didn’t see what the big deal was. Here with a handy explanation, though, is some surprisingly wise Japanese bathroom graffiti.

Read More

Sailor Moon facial powder gets a sequel with this beautiful Crystal Star Compact replica

A while back, we took a look at a replica of Sailor Moon’s Transformation Brooch which held cosmetic powder formulated to give you the look of anime-like perfectly unblemished skin. Die-hard fans, however, know that the brooch breaks shortly after the end of the anime’s first major story arc.

Early in Sailor Moon R the brooch is upgraded to the Crystal Star Compact, and if you’re looking to keep pace with Sailor Moon herself, now you can order a faithful recreation of her second transformation item that’s also filled with facial powder.

Read More

If anyone understands your short people problems, it’s this bunny

I always hear of these so-called “short people problems“. Things like never being able to reach the top shelf; having to jog to keep up when walking with people who are taller; people using your head as an arm rest…

While I can’t personally sympathize, maybe this rabbit can, as he tries so hard to get a good view out the window, but just can’t quite reach.

Read More

New snack sensation: super sour and certainly salty lemon flavour potato chips

Yep, it’s “weird potato chip flavour” time again! Hot on the heels of steak sandwich flavour, tangerine flavour, and banana and peach “breakfast chips”, we bring you… super sour lemon!

No doubt these crunchy potato slivers will be burning huge holes in our tongues when they go on sale and we immediately rush to satisfy our curiosity by guzzling several bags at once.

Read More

New Attack on Titan movie will hit audiences with lights, wind, and water, also has moving seats

The second Attack on Titan theatrical feature has been a long time coming, but the film, subtitled The Wings of Freedom, is finally opening in Japan this month. Since the movie is a condensed version of the second half of the anime TV series, there probably won’t be too much in the way of new plot developments. What audiences can look forward to, though, is a movie experience augmented by moving seats, gusts of wind, and other awesome effects.

Read More

Sailor Moon birthday cakes come with chocolate Senshi, are fun for kids from 1 to 987,654,322,110

The Sailor Moon manga began serialization in 1991, and the anime debuted soon after in 1992, so it’s safe to say many people have grown up following the adventures of the Sailor Senshi. If you’re getting ready to celebrate having completed another year of your life as a fan of the perennially popular magical girl franchise, why not do it with these soon-to-be-released Sailor Moon birthday cakes, topped with chocolate versions of the series’ characters?

Read More

The joy of pancakes, and why they might kill you

Although hardly new, Japan has been undergoing something of a boom in pancake consumption in recent years. With several trendy new restaurants opening up around the country, there has also been a significant rise in the popularity of homemade pancakes as well. Yes, with its warm and fluffy texture and mildly sweet flavor it’s certainly hard to turn down a hotcake, isn’t it?

While everyone is having a good time with their pancakes, some researchers and medical professionals would like to remind us all that pancakes and similar flour based foods have the potential to not only make us very ill, but in some cases may lead to death.

But before you go cursing out these wet blankets of science for ruining yet another beloved food with their health warnings, there’s actually an incredibly easy way to not die from eating flapjacks as well.

Read More

With the recent announcement of a Final Fantasy VII remake, gamers are already starting to imagine which parts from the RPG classic will be making the trip to the PlayStation 4. While they haven’t been officially announced, we’ll probably once again see the scene where Sephiroth flashes video gaming’s most memorable stink eye in front of a fiery backdrop, the moment when Cloud and childhood friend Tifa share a heart-to-heart talk in a starlit playground, and also that one part where the spikey-haired hero wades into the water holding Aerith (I think he was trying to teach her to swim or something, but I don’t remember exactly).

But while none of those have been officially confirmed for the new game, there is one thing director Tetsuya Nomura has made clear. The part where the main character dresses up as a woman to infiltrate a brothel? Totally going to be in the new Final Fantasy VII.

Read More

Steve Jobs…manga hero???

To many, comic books are strictly for far-fetched make-believe. Quite often, that holds true for Japanese comics, too, since at any given time many of the top-selling manga feature transforming robots and magical powers, not to mention women with larger breasts and men with more finely delicate faces than any you’ll find in the real world.

Not every popular manga is a flight of fancy, though, as there’s also an audience that likes reading about such down-to-earth topics as starting and running a successful business. Oftentimes the companies and executives portrayed are fictional, but not always. That’s why a thorough list of today’s popular manga protagonists doesn’t just include One Piece’s Luffy and The Seven Deadly Sins’ Meliodas, but also Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Read More

We get lost in a world of steamy boy-on-boy fantasies at Ikebukuro’s BL cafe

Boys’ Love (BL) is a genre of fiction in Japan, usually taking the form of manga and anime, that depicts men in romantic relationships with one another. These homosexual stories are generally produced by and for women who want to fangirl over impossibly beautiful men getting frisky with each other.

Like with the maid cafes that cater to male otaku in Akihabara, it was only a matter of time until fictional fantasies started spilling over into the real world. My fellow reporter, Evie, and I went to visit a BL cafe near Otome Road in Ikebukuro, an area filled with stores catering to female otaku and fujoshi.

Read More

Bandai to launch online capsule machines controlled by smartphone

Last week Bandai hinted that they would be announcing something big in their line of Gashapon capsule toy machines. Thinking I’ve seen it all in the capsule toy world I didn’t give it much attention. I figured it was probably just another series of sushi-cat hybrids or sausages shaped like giant isopods, same old same old.

It would seem I was wrong. Actually, Bandai did have something big up their sleeve and will be soon offering their line of capsule toys for random purchase from anywhere you happen to be holding your smartphone. That’s because next month they’ll be doing test runs on the sophisticatedly named Net de Capsule: remote operated Gashapon machines accessible over the internet.

Read More


  • Jun 18, 2015

Disney meets classic Japan — see your favorite characters reborn as traditional Japanese crafts!

It’s no secret that Disney has been hugely successful in Japan. The Japanese anime industry may have cultivated a unique style over the years that’s quite different from that of the international entertainment giant, but the public here in Japan definitely seems to love all things Disney, from beautiful lingerie to adorable mini-cakes.

So we guess it’s not too surprising that Disney characters have now been recreated using traditional Japanese crafts, which is the concept behind the Disney Japan Classic Series of merchandise. Join us for a look at what delightful forms the familiar Disney characters have taken at the hands of traditional Japanese artisans!  Read More

  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 1179
  5. 1180
  6. 1181
  7. 1182
  8. 1183
  9. 1184
  10. 1185
  11. ...
  12. 1538