Japan (Page 1191)

Yokohama Baystars get a shojo manga makeover in a bid to wow female fans

There’s only one thing better than a life-size replica of your favourite Japanese baseball player, and that’s a manga-style life-size replica.

A large-scale illustration of eight players from Yokohama DeNa Baystars goes on show this week in the run-up to a special festival for the Baystars’ female fans.

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“Solid Sato” sneaks into Starbucks under cover of cardboard box, Metal Gear-style 【VIDEO】

Our resident oddball writer Mr. Sato loves his coffee, so much so that he finds it impossible to pass by a Starbucks without stopping in for a quick coffee break. The only problem is that he tends to favour “girly” drinks like frappuccinos, and lives in fear of being spotted by friends and acquaintances enjoying one.

The solution? Sneak into Starbucks underneath a cardboard box, Solid Snake-style, and see if the baristas will serve coffee to a cardboard box. Check out our video to see how he did!

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Win props and Survey Corps uniform from Attack on Titan film just by test-driving a Subaru!

It looks like car manufacturer Subaru has their hands on some neat swag that was used on set for the upcoming Attack on Titan live-action film and, for some reason, they’re willing to just hand it off to one lucky Subaru test-driver.

You don’t need to own a Subaru or even like Subaru to be eligible to win an authentic Survey Corps uniform actually worn by a character in the film, plus an actual, “working” 3-Dimensional Maneuver Gear set – the piston-operated grappling hook setup that Survey Corps heroes sport in their fight against the series’ titular titans.

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Gotta deep-fry ‘em all! Pikachu cutlet on a stick being sold by Korean food stalls, online shop

There’s a balancing act involved in creating snack foods in the image of a beloved children’s character. Take too few cues from the original design, and your customers won’t be able to recognize the character, thereby missing out on all the fun. On the other hand, go too far in the opposite direction and you end up with something like these cutlets from Korea, which make it look like you’re literally eating the flesh of Pikachu.

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Guinness World Record-breaking strawberry found in Fukuoka and it’s delicious

Everyone loves strawberries, right? Not only are they pretty hard to beat on the deliciousness scale, but they have the ability to ward off allergy symptoms and can even occasionally taste like peaches. Not bad for a little red fruit–or big red fruit if we’re talking about the Guinness World Record-breaking strawberry recently harvested in Fukuoka.

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Shimane Prefecture will give you a house…but only if you promise to stay for 25 years!

As you may have heard, the population of Japan is getting older and smaller. While other (smarter) people have debated the problems and complexities of this issue, we do know one thing: It’s left a lot of prefectures without many young people. Some places are celebrating when the community has even a single wedding, but Tsuwano in Shimane Prefecture thinks they’ve hit upon an idea for injecting some new, young blood into their town. They’re giving houses away for (kind of) free! Of course, there are a few stipulations…

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Hero lady apparently saves guy from groping accusations by posing as girlfriend

Japan is pretty famous for its packed trains that invite occasional chikan (groping incidents). Luckily, in light of improving rights for women in Japan, the law of late tends to come down pretty hard on train gropers. Assuming a victim or a witness to such a crime speaks up about it, a perpetrator typically faces immediate arrest at the next train station and can probably expect to do some jail time.

While this system works pretty well for the most part, it’s not unheard of for some unlucky guys to face career and life-destroying consequences after being falsely accused of groping. One Japanese Twitter user, in fact, posted a series of Tweets detailing a close call he had himself, relating that he was almost certainly destined for the slammer if he hadn’t been saved by the alleged victim herself.

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Mr. Sato tries to get ladies by transforming into a creepy version of L’Arc-en-Ciel’s Hyde

If you’ve been reading RocketNews24 for a while, you’ve probably come across the name Mr. Sato. If not, let us explain. Mr. Sato is a hilarious reporter for our Japanese sister site. But he’s so much more than just a writer; Mr. Sato is a teacher, a foodie and is also very patient.

One thing Mr. Sato is not, however, is married.

At roughly 40 years old, Mr. Sato wants to be impressing the ladies, so he’s tried time and again to transform himself to look like different famous people. But so far, nothing has worked. He has a new model in mind, though, that he thinks is fail-safe…

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Feeling stressed? These videos of stubby Munchkin kittens at play will hug your soul

Have you heard of “gogatsu-byou“? Also known as “May Sickness” this is a Japanese term used to describe the particular malaise that descends upon many people in May, after the excitement of the new school year and hiring period in April.

But what better way to combat a case of the blues than with adorable kitten videos? If you’re feeling low, we reckon these capering Munchkin kittens will cure what ails you!

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Women, gamers, and foreigners all show up to be samurai for a day at Sengoku battle reenactment

Some people in Japan have no more than a passing interest in the country’s long and fascinating history, which is at least partly the fault of how the subject is taught in schools. Many history classes place a heavy emphasis on memorization of the exact dates and years of important events, leaving less time for studying the people and motivations behind them.

There’s been a recent surge in history buffs, though, especially in regards to the Sengoku, or Warring States, period which lasted from the mid 15th century until the very start of the 17th century. But it’s not crusty old historians leading this charge, as a recent samurai battle reenactment had women making up some 40 percent of the volunteers, whose ranks were also bolstered by video gamers and foreign residents of Japan.

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Japanese realtors are reaching out to customers with the most nonsensical ads ever 【Pics】

Moving house in Japan is tough business. Even to find an apartment, you need to go through a real estate agent, and all the upfront fees you have to pay to move in can cost you five times or more what your monthly rent will be.

That’s why choosing a good agency who will work with you to get the best deal is important. But with so many agencies around, how can you choose? Some realtors may offer deals like 50% off their agency fees, but others are taking a more… creative approach to draw in customers, by adding silly, ridiculous, or just plain nonsensical catchphrases on their property ads.

Join us after the jump for such advertising gold as: “You can be a big daddy too” and “Decent of the fashion monster”.

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Nintendo DS on the menu as Japanese prisons get creative to keep ageing prisoners’ brains active

As Japan’s penal system struggles to cope with a rising number of older inmates, a number of prisons are taking unusual steps to help inmates stay healthy in mind as well as body.

The number of prisoners in Japan aged 65 or over increased almost five-fold in the twenty years up to 2013. This ageing prison population means institutions are bringing in innovative programmes to slow the onset of dementia in inmates, from yoga to hand-held video games.

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Sweatshirt that gives your pet a special cuddle pouch is half cat, half kangaroo, all adorable

If you’re the doting owner of a dog or cat, odds are you think it feels pretty great when your animal companion saunters over for a snuggle. Still, there are times when you want to keep your hands free for other activities, like reading a book or surfing the Internet, and don’t want to have to worry about knocking your pet off your lap every time you shift in your seat or change your posture.

So even if your animal-loving heart only belongs to your kitty or pooch, consider taking a page from the kangaroo playbook with this hoodie that features an oversized pocket on the front perfect for letting your cat or dog cuddle up against you.

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Cheese and seaweed treats are as tasty as they are visually appealing

At first glance these might look like some kind of plastic toy, building blocks or a pile of random puzzle pieces, but what you see before you are multi-layered nori (seaweed or laver sheets) and cheese slices, and they’re are making the rounds on Twitter.

According to beer nuts, these savoury little morsels are the perfect accompaniment to beer or wine.

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Now you can be the coolest ninja on the block with these awesome origami shuriken

Origami is known worldwide as the art of paper-folding, and while most people associate it with Japanese culture, it also has history in China and Europe as well. We’re not sure what it is, but there is something strangely satisfying about turning a flat piece of paper into a three-dimensional model resembling anything from flowers to animals to vehicles.

One particularly fun shape to make are ninja throwing-stars, like the ones you see above. If you’re in the mood for some crafts and would like to give it a try, follow us after the jump to get started!

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Sushiro is making sushi so delicious that even McDonald’s should be worried

If you’ve spent much time in Japan, chances are you’ve eaten at a conveyor belt sushi (kaitenzushi in Japanese) restaurant. One nice thing about these restaurants is that they also offer many child-friendly sushi dishes on their menu. These dishes also double as foreigner-friendly, so that those who aren’t so fond of raw fish and other seafood can enjoy sushi too.

There are so many different chains in Japan, it’s often hard to figure out which one to go to, but anyone who sees the sign for Sushiro best head there soon as the chain has a new dish that is oddly satisfying.

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Plastic model based on Hayao Miyazaki’s as-yet unreleased manga “Teppo Samurai” goes on sale

Since Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli fame announced his retirement in September 2013, many fans worldwide were left wondering what the prolific director – known to be a notoriously hard-worker – would be doing with all his free time. If you’re one of those people, listen up, because we’ve got some good news and bad news.

First, the bad news–one of Miyazaki’s first new projects post-retirement, a manga series titled Teppō Samurai (鉄砲侍/”Matchlock Samurai”), is currently stuck in indefinite limbo. But here’s the good news–a plastic figure modeled on the titular character has already been released, even without the manga being completed.

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Comedians let strangers slap them in the face in Tokyo, unsettling number of people say “Sure!”

Right next to Tokyo’s Shibiya Station, there’s a plaza that sits between the railway hub, the statue of faithful dog Hachiko that’s one of the city’s most popular meeting spots, and the Scramble Intersection that’s become famous as one of the busiest crosswalks in the world. While empty space in the plaza is scarce, it’s still a coveted spot for street performers, vendors, and politicians to stake out a spot, since there’s a steady flow of people passing by more or less around the clock.

Often, you’ll find people with those “free hugs” signs hanging out there, but really, when you stop and think about it, isn’t it kind of weird to embrace a complete stranger? Maybe that’s why a Tokyo-based comedy troupe decided to offer an alternative in this video where they’re not giving out hugs, but instead allowing anyone who feels like it to slap them in the face as hard as they can.

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This is how Japan’s train-cleaning crews clean the Shinkansen in only seven minutes

Riding the Shinkansen in Japan is always a fun experience. Not only does it go super-fast (you can totally feel those G-forces!), it’s also guaranteed to be quiet and incredibly clean. But with 323 Shinkansen trains departing from Tokyo every day, how do they find the time to clean all those trains?

Well, it turns out that it takes a highly synchronised team of mega-efficient cleaners only seven minutes to clean each train – since that’s all the time they have!. And here’s an incredible video of how they do it!

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We tried Tokyo’s “rent a middle-aged Japanese man” service, and it was awesome!

You can rent pretty much anything in Japan. Even people, it would seem.

With so many people working long hours and not having the time to devote to cultivating real relationships, it’s just easier to hand over some cash and pay someone to act as your boyfriend, girlfriend, or just a friend to hang out with for the day.

But what about when you’re looking for something different? What if you’re in need of life advice that only a middle-aged Japanese man can provide? Well that’s where the ossan (middle-aged/old) rental service comes in!

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