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Japan (Page 1298)

Onigiri good enough to get off the train for: We tried the food at Bongo and it was amazing!

Otsuka isn’t exactly the most famous neighborhood in Tokyo. Located next to bustling Ikebukuro, it’s a quiet area and most people assume there’s not much to do. Whether or not that’s actually true, one of our Japanese writers found himself getting off the train at Otsuka Station the other day with a singular purpose in mind: He was there to eat onigiri (rice balls).

But should you hop on a train to Otsuka just for some food you can buy at a convenience store? Is this onigiri restaurant really worth a trip to this quiet neighborhood? Read on to find out!

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Observing the first night of a married couple – Does such a family tradition exist?

Like in many countries, people in Japan sometimes turn to anonymous Internet forums for advice. A lot of their problems are the usualt sort of things one might imagine. What’s the best way to lose weight? Should I change jobs, or stay with the position I’ve got now?

And then, there was this young lady’s plight:

“I was told the worst thing by my grandmother and great-aunt. I come from a very old-fashioned family that has a long-standing tradition. They told me that on the night of my marriage, my relatives will open the door a crack and watch me and my husband’s first night as a married couple.” From Fretting Freshman

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How to tie a women’s summer kimono sash 【Video】

It might seem a little odd to hear that yukata, the lightweight kimono worn at summertime festivals, fireworks shows, and bon dances, are in the middle of a revival in popularity in Japan right now, but it’s absolutely true. After several years in which young Japanese found yukata to be too expensive and troublesome to bother with, they’re back in fashion with teens and young adults in a huge way.

Part of this is no doubt due to more and more manufacturers offering reasonably priced yukata, as you can now often find sets that include the robe and sash for around 6,000 yen (US$48). And as for not knowing how to put everything on and tie it properly? That’s also a problem of the past, thanks to online explanations like this pair of videos from fashion and yukata retailer Uniqlo.

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Women in Tokyo are cutting through stress and fat with this new “Katana Exercise” class

There’s a growing fitness trend in Tokyo, but it’s nothing new really, being based on age-old traditions: Katana Exercise.

Not only will you be taught to swing a sword like a samurai by a handsome teacher, but you’ll cut out stress and extra fat. Check out our hands-on experience of the class after the jump!

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New Tokyo restaurant promises food that tastes like crap: actual poo-flavored curry

It’s getting harder and harder to be truly original these days, and nothing much seems to surprise anymore. And then something like Curry Shop Shimizu opens in Tokyo. This is a real curry restaurant that specializes in poo-flavored curry.

The very notion of that is sure to send a flurry of questions up to the old cranium, the biggest one no doubt being “How do they know what poo tastes like?” Well, they actually have a good explanation for that, along with answers to other questions you may be pondering…

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  • Aug 17, 2015

Our reporter visits Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku, a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu esque world of cuteness!

If you’re a fan of Japanese kawaii culture, there’s a new establishment that just opened in Harajuku this month which you may want to know about. It’s the Kawaii Monster Cafe, produced by artist and creative director Sebastian Masuda. As the name of the cafe suggests, Masuda is quite the leading figure in Japanese kawaii culture and has even handled direction and set production for solo live performances by none other than Japanese pop idol Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. So it really isn’t surprising that the cafe has attracted attention as a place where you can have the quintessential Kyary Pamyu Pamyu-esque psychedelic experience.

Well, that certainly piqued our interest, and as you may have already guessed, one of the reporters at our Japanese sister site Pouch visited the unique cafe so that we can give you a firsthand account of what the place is like!

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Mr. Sato smokes some dead leaves he found on the street 【Retro Sato】

With RocketNews24’s fast-paced global news cycle of Polish otaku nylon parties and Taiwanese McDonald’s employees, we can’t always keep up on all the escapades of our star reporter Mr. Sato. So, every once in a while we would like to take a look back to some of his past antics that we might have missed in a segment called “Retro Sato.”

This installment we’re going way back to the year 20 hundred and 14. It was a simpler time when Pharrell’s “Happy” was topping the charts and an Ebola outbreak was threatening to destroy us all. However, on one unusually chilly March morning Mr. Sato was taking a walk to ease his troubled heart. A sales tax hike was set to take place in a few weeks and that meant his monthly cigarette budget would have to go up as well. It was then that some dead leaves gently floated down in front of his eyes.

“That’s it! I’m a freaking genius!” thought Mr. Sato as he gathered a bunch of the fallen foliage in a plastic bag and ran back to the RocketNews24 offices.

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Neco Republic: A cat cafe for rescue cats and the people who love them 【Pics & Video】

Cats are just about the best thing ever. They’re adorable, they’re fun to play with, and they seem to keep the Internet running and free of mice infestations. They also often need our help as a result of many pets ending up abandoned for one reason or another. It’s always an unfortunate situation when our adorable feline friends can’t find a home, but it’s even worse when so many of them end up being euthanized. Japan, like many countries, puts down a large number of cats every day, but one organization called Neco Republic is trying to put an end to all of that, and the best part is, you can help just by stopping by their cat cafe and enjoying the company of a few adorable kitties!

We wanted to know more about Neco Republic and their plan to save Japan’s homeless cats, so we stopped by the new Tokyo location and sat down with the branch manager. To learn more about Neco Republic and to see more cute cats than you can shake your tail at, take a look below!

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  • Aug 17, 2015

Short thriller by JoJo series creator Hirohiko Araki to become unique theatrical production!

Manga artist Hirohiko Araki is best known for his hugely popular JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure comic series, which began in 1986 and is still going strong today, after nearly 30 years. But now fans of the series can look forward to enjoying one of Araki’s works in a different form this fall — as a theatrical production! This is actually the first time a manga by Araki will be turned  into a play, so fans are bound to be excited, but, as it turns out, it’s not a story from the JoJo series that we’ll be seeing on stage. Instead, it’s a short story with a fast-paced and bizarrely creepy plot, known in English by the title Under Execution, Under Jailbreak, and fans are already abuzz with speculation about the upcoming production!

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Things are just peachy at Freshness Burger: Peach burger added to special menu

One of the simple pleasures of summer is all the amazing sweet fruit in season, like watermelon, cherries, apricots, berries and peaches. Now Freshness Burger have come up with a way to combine one of your favourite summer fruits with the humble hamburger. The latest item on their special menu is a peach burger, which went on sale August 14. If you can’t decide whether you want something sweet or savoury to snack on, this burger should do the trick!

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We try Cup Noodle Ice Cream, filled with shrimp, meat, eggs, chives, and madness 【Taste test】

A few days ago, we heard that Nissin, maker of Cup Noodle, was now selling ice cream topped with meat, chives, and all the other fixings that are found in instant ramen at the Cup Noodles Museum. One of my coworkers, who lives not far from the Osaka Cup Noodles Museum, bravely volunteered to try it out, and I was all set to let him be our guinea pig, since I’ve already taken one for the RocketNews24 team as far as strange desserts go.

But as it turns out, the Cup Noodle Ice Cream is available exclusively at the second Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama. Hey, wait a second! That’s where I live!

Uh oh…

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The cosplay of Comiket 88: Sailor Moon, Splatoon, Love Live! and more【Photos】

Comiket 88, the world’s largest dojinshi fair, is now underway at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre. And while thousands of people are already rushing to buy some of the best and rarest anime, manga and video game merch money can buy, others were there for one thing only: cosplay.

Despite the beating sun and intense humidity that comes as standard with Summer Comic Market (you did read our Comiket survival guide, right?), the almost complete lack of shade outdoors did not deter Tokyo’s cosplayers, who stood out for photo after photo, striking their best poses and wowing our reporters with their incredible outfits.

Join us after the jump for a look at some of our favourites!

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We tried torching sushi with a “flamethrower” to increase its flavor! 【Video】

Okay class, who’s ever tried aburi sushi, or seared sushi before? Sushi prepared in this manner has its own unique savoriness that’s different from that of the raw kind.

Our Japanese reporters recently got it in their heads that they wanted to try preparing some roasted sushi for themselves…and when they do something, they go all out. In other words, forget regular kitchen tools–a flamethrower was obviously called for in this situation! Would they find that bigger flames equal bigger flavor?

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Prepare for a “poopoopoo” picnic with Nintendo’s Kirby at Kiddyland this month

It’s hard to believe that our beloved, voracious powderpuff Kirby is over 20 years old now! “Born” in 1992 on the Nintendo Game Boy, the adorable little guy is actually a fully grown adult now, possibly with a driver’s license and, like, maybe even a family we don’t know about. We picture him holding down a boring office job somewhere in Tokyo, willing himself not to snap at his irritating boss and hoover him up (thus gaining his incredible powers of bureaucracy and micromanagement).

But, even though everybody’s favorite non-Jigglypuff pink ball creature is all grown up now, that doesn’t stop him from enjoying a good picnic!

A Poopoopoo picnic, to be exact.

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Just how big is Comiket, the dojinshi (independently produced comics) event held twice a year in Tokyo? Over the three days of the event, some 35,000 creative groups and roughly 600,000 fans are expected to attend. In terms of size, Comiket isn’t so much an anime convention as it is a temporary city that roles through the Big Sight conference center.

Comiket is such a large-scale gathering that it changes the whole atmosphere of the neighborhood on the weekend it’s held, and with this summer’s iteration right around the corner, the local train station and convenience store are looking a lot more otaku-centric, as these photos show.

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Determining Japan’s most popular anime or manga franchise isn’t such a cut-and-dry thing, as different criteria suggest giving the crown to different series. For example, if you’re going by longevity, pirate saga One Piece has to be in the discussion, since its manga started in 1997 and its anime in 1999, with both still going strong.

However, you could also make a case that teen idol singer story Love Live! is a contender for the title, since currently no other show’s fanbase can hold a candle to the burning passion of the Love Livers, as Love Live! fans are called.

But while the main characters of both One Piece and Love Live! and friendly, forgiving, and work well in a team, the Love Livers are feeling quite a bit more animosity towards One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda for a remark he made that many interpreted as the famous manga artist throwing shade on the way Love Live! has become a pop cultural phenomenon.

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Tokyu Bus alight button is yours to own, pushing all the right buttons

Japanese people take their public transportation very seriously. Millions commute to work either by train, subway or bus on a daily basis. When spending so much time on buses and trains, one tries to find joy in the small things in life, like the sound and satisfaction from pressing the alight button on a bus to indicate you want to get off at the next bus stop.

That thrill can soon be yours to hold and enjoy to your heart’s content. Tokyu Bus Corporation, which operates multiple lines in and around Tokyo, will be releasing a Tokyu Bus alight button kit, which allows transportation nerds to press away all day long.

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Japanese moms tweet the stupid things kids do during summer vacation that drive them crazy

Oh summer vacation. For little kids (and big kids too!) it’s a time to finally throw off those backpacks, forget about homework, and have fun all day long running around outside or playing video games. If you’re the mom or dad of one of those kids, though, you’re often left to clean up in their wake.

And the same is true in Japan too. For the most part it’s moms who’re left to run after kids giddy with the freedom of no school. They’ve even started a Twitter hashtag for it: #SummerVacationStupidKids.

What kind of things do Japanese kids do to drive their parents crazy? Are they the same as the rest of the world or completely different? Read on to find out!

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Comiket for beginners: 7 tips for surviving Summer Comic Market

A hashtag has been trending on Twitter in Japan recently that roughly translates as “the Comiket tips no one ever teaches you”. While a lot of the suggestions are tongue-in-cheek, there are actually some extremely useful tidbits hidden in there. People often say that Comiket is a battlefield, and it really is; thousands of otaku jostle for the chance to get their hands on limited-edition merch before it sells out, and if you’re not being crushed half to death like you’re on a rush hour train, you’re struggling to stay on your feet in the hours-long queues (here’s a bonus tip – portable folding chairs come in handy here). 

Summer Comiket truly is hell on earth, so Winter is recommended for newbies, but if you really insist on going this summer, we’ve got this handy guide to help you out.

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Subway Japan launches cheesy pizza squares, but will they destroy its fresh and healthy image?

Subway is one of the most popular and successful fast food chains from the US to make it here in Japan. While of course you could always load your sub up with things like meatballs and cheese, the company has succeeded here by carving out a niche for itself as the healthy fast food option. Subway’s brand in Japan is now synonymous with fresh vegetables and lean meats, so what happens when a chain with a reputation for offering healthy, light lunches starts selling gooey, cheesy pizza?

These are not just any pizzas, though; they’re Pizza Subs, but not as Americans might know them.

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