Japan (Page 1184)

Nintendo: Next console’s OS is not Android

Company responds to Nikkei’s report that NX’s OS is Android-based.

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Speak up! Japanese art-sharing site Pixiv now lets you try your hand at voice acting too

If you’re a budding illustrator, there are a number of artwork-sharing sites on the Internet where you can post your creations for all the world to see. Being based in Japan, it’s no surprise that many of the drawings on website Pixiv reflect Japanese animation art trends, and browsing the site you can find hundreds of gorgeously drawn characters that look like they could be starring in their own series.

But to really complete the anime fantasy, a character needs a voice, right? Thankfully, Pixiv now lets you add voice clips to your illustrations. Not only that, artists can also solicit voice samples from other users, so if you can’t draw to save your life, but have always wanted to dip your toes in the amateur voice acting world, now’s your chance!

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You’ve got the Golden Touch! Namie Amuro invites you into her world with interactive music video

Japanese queen of pop Namie Amuro is back with a new studio album out June 10, and a clever music video released last week. The video for single ‘Golden Touch’ is a “simulated interactive” experience which asks you to become part of the scenes being depicted – simply by placing your fingertip in the centre of the screen throughout the track.

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One day in college, I walked into Japanese class to find one of my classmates with a troubled expression on her face, as she struggled to mentally work out a solution to some problem. When I asked what was wrong, she said, “My friends want to do a cosplay photo shoot, and we’re trying to figure out how to get all of the blood we need for it.”

I honestly have no idea how she solved that problem, because I was worried that if I stayed in the conversation any longer, she’d ask me to make a donation to their cause. After graduation, we lost touch with each other, which is too bad, because this Japanese cosplay supplier has the perfect solution: fake blood that can be rinsed off of your skin with just water, and washes out of clothing without leaving so much as a trace of fake hemoglobin.

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Eevee Evolutions captured in silver & gold necklaces

The new wave of Eevee merchandise continues with a series of necklaces. There are nine necklaces for each of the evolutions represented on a silver, gold, or rose gold pendant with a semi-precious or precious stone. The price varies depending on which metal the buyer chooses. The jewelry is being made in a collaboration with K Uno.

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Liquid-filled Disney iPhone cases give us another reason to play with our phones

What do you get if you cross Disney, an iPhone, and a snowglobe? These new liquid-filled Disney iPhone cases, of course!

Not only are these things functional (preventing your precious phone from getting scratched) they’re also a source of constant fun as you can flip the phone upside-down and watch all the characters float around on the back.

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Check out that fluffy belly! Donguri the cat loves to lounge around on his back

A while back we investigated what our sleeping styles say about our personality. One of the things we found out is that if you tend to sleep on your back, you’re more likely to be assertive and possibly even a little self-centred – two words one might use to describe Donguri (acorn) the pussycat, who’s been spotted cat-napping all over his owner’s house flat on his back!

Warning – this post contains extreme amounts of fluffyness!

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May all your fairy tale dreams come true, with these real wearable glass slippers!

For any of you who have ever wished for your own fairy tale ending, for your Prince Charming to come and sweep you off your feet and carry you away to his kingdom, or if you ever simply wondered what it would be like to wear shoes made of a material that could potentially shatter and cut your feet to bits, well then these real blown-glass, Cinderella-inspired slippers are just what you’ve been looking for!

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Japanese sports in general place an emphasis on discipline, sportsmanship, and respect for the game. Even though baseball was imported in fairly modern times from America, these traditional values are still in full play, as showboating and taunting on the diamond are frowned upon as much as they are in the sumo ring.

Normally, these high standards of conduct extend to everyone in the ball park, players, fans, and stadium employees included. One recent game, though, saw an odd bit of violence between opposing mascots, including a boot to the face and baseball remix of a gangland-style execution.

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Looking for a great meal in Tokyo? Try this cigarette stand

When starting a restaurant, creating a good appearance is important. In a way, the look of an eatery reflects the quality of food that it serves. Looks can be deceptive, however, as just like people, the beauty of a restaurant might be limited to the surface.

The opposite also holds true, though, as our own Mr. Sato learned during an excursion to the Dogenzaka area of Tokyo. Inside this unassuming cigarette stand that you wouldn’t even realize was a restaurant, he found one of the best meals he ever had.

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Prestigious Chinese university under fire for allegedly plagiarizing a Japanese PR video

The prestigious Fudan University (复旦大学) in Shanghai, China has been hit by a storm of criticism for allegedly ripping off a PR video which was released by the University of Tokyo last year.

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Studio Ghibli producer kills theory of death subtext in My Neighbor Totoro

There’s a persistent rumor, one which we’ve talked about ourselves, that claims there’s a dark side to feel-good anime classic My Neighbor Totoro. The theory holds that while the movie opens with two lively sisters in the spotlight, both of them die somewhere before the end of the film, and the immense huggable Totoro isn’t in fact a forest spirit, but a death god ushering them into the afterlife.

If this creepy interpretation has been spoiling the warm fuzzy sensation you used to get from watching what you once thought was a heart-warming film, you can breathe easy again, as none other than Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki has publicly put the rumor to rest.

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Splatoon dominates Japanese video site, makes us wonder if everyone is eating properly

While the Wii U hasn’t exactly been the biggest success in Nintendo’s history, we can’t help wondering if newly released game Splatoon is going to help turn things around. The game currently has a score of 81 on Metacritic (and an 8.3 out of 10 from users), so it’s certainly getting some appreciation from gamers and game critics alike overseas. Someone in Europe even stole a truck full of copies of the game and Amiibo!

But how about in Japan? We already know that there seems to be a lot of younger people excited about it, but it’s not just kids who are loving the game…

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Japan’s 10 weirdest ice cream flavors

Temperatures are shooting up all around the archipelago and that means soft serve season has come to Japan! For some baffling reason, vanilla remains far and away the most popular flavor for Japanese, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get creative with their frozen treats too. Flavors like green tea and ume plum are easy to find (and delicious), but don’t stop there if you want to try some really out there local flavors.

Here are our choices for the 10 weirdest soft serve flavors Japan has to offer.

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Super Mario is turning 30, Nintendo celebrates with a trip down memory lane and a new project

Do you remember where you were when you played your first Super Mario Bros. game? If you’re old-school like us, you’ll probably remember the feel of that rectangular gray NES controller in your hands, or if you’re Japanese old-school, then the burgundy Famicom controller probably means a great deal to you. If you are a bit younger, perhaps your first time with Nintendo’s rotund plumber was with Super Mario World or Super Mario 64. Or how about Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Galaxy? Needless to say, if you are a gamer, you’ve got a Mario memory somewhere in there!

Nintendo is excited to celebrate the 30 years of Mario this year, and they want you to head down the warp pipe to check out the history of Mario and what is coming up next.

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Playing with water: Japanese Twitter user shares how to create jiggly water jelly!

Remember those mizu shingen mochi water cakes that we got all excited about last summer? Well, a recent tweet showing how you can create something that at least looks very much like the fleeting, gone-in-30-minutes cakes offered by the Kinseiken shop in Yamanashi Prefecture has been making the rounds on the Japanese Twitterverse.

If you want to try having a bit of fun playing with water, all you apparently need, besides the water of course, is two ingredients you can get at a drug store!

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There are only so many hours in a day, which means all the time you devote to listening to Japanese girls’ rock bands or learning a half-dozen ways to says “breasts” in Japanese means less time for soaking up mainstream American pop culture. As a result, I’ve got some pretty big gaps in my Hollywood movie-watching history, but at least I know their basic plots because they’ve been talked about and referenced elsewhere so much.

For example, I know Titanic is about an elderly woman fondly remembering some dude she hooked up with on a cruise 70 years ago, who was apparently so good in the sack that she has no time on her deathbed to remember her children or the man who fathered them. Forest Gump is about remarkably patient bus travelers who are willing to listen to the life story a complete stranger because of his vague promises of giving them chocolate at some point.

And Toy Story, as I can infer from these Tokyo Disneyland photos, is about how a humble cowboy and abrasive astronaut learn to overcome their differences and become pals when one gives the other a hand job, right?

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Nintendo might be using Android to power its next games console

Nintendo may be ditching its historic proprietary operating systems (OS) and instead using Android to power its next games console, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, Kotaku reported.

If true, this could be a big win for Google, while helping to boost Nintendo’s flagging sales.

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Kids of the ’00s rejoice: a live-action Hollywood Beyblade film is in the works

Following the success of other popular toy franchises turned Hollywood films such as Transformers and G.I. Joe, Paramount Pictures has announced that they have acquired the rights to make a live-action Beyblade film.

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Denim ice cream, burgers and steamed buns now on sale from Japan’s jeans capital

About three hours from Tokyo on the bullet train is a beautifully preserved area in Okayama Prefecture’s Kurashiki known as the Kurashiki Bikan historical quarter. Set alongside a picturesque canal, the district has long been known for its traditional storehouses and shops, but now it’s looking to celebrate one of its most profitable exports – denim.

With more than 100 family-run indigo and dyeing factories operating throughout the prefecture, denim has long been an important part of area’s economy. And what better way to celebrate the locally made textile than with a selection of special foods? Come with us as we show you what burgers, ice cream and steamed buns look like when crafted in a denim blue hue.

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