Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Japan (Page 1300)
Coming off mixed reviews of his live-action Attack on Titan film, fans may recall that Shinji Higuchi is also tasked with directing TOHO‘s upcoming Godzilla film with fellow tokusatsu lover Hideaki Anno. Helming the first Japanese Godzilla film in 12 years is no small feat. In fact, Higuchi almost turned down the offer because of the sheer amount of pressure that comes with directing such an iconic monster.
Everyone knows that the best way to drink beer is either from a bottle or poured into a glass, yet more often than not you will find beer packaged in a can at the store. Cans make economic sense since they are cheap, can be crushed down to save space and they float in water if you happen to drop them while you are out having fun. However, all beer drinkers know that drinking from the can tastes horrible compared to drinking from the glass.
There are plenty of beer glasses to choose from, but a beautiful glass strangely makes the beer taste even better, and one Japanese crystal company has some of the greatest glasses for your summer drinking. Fired by the Joetsu Crystal Glass Company, the Tsukiyono Kobo line features fantastic glasses that cast your beer drinking in a much more beautiful light.
As in most countries, magazines aimed at young adults in Japan spend a lot of time talking about the opposite sex. Just as publications aimed at men often wax poetic about their image of the ideal woman, so too do women’s magazines write up collections of traits of desirable guys.
But one recent list has Japanese Internet users scratching their heads over its oddly specific list that includes such minutiae as foot size and social media preference.
If you’ve ever spent the summer in Japan, you know that it’s not the heat, but the humidity that makes many people want to take refuge indoors with the air conditioning blasting. But the silver lining to this cloud is the clouds themselves, as all that moisture in the air can turn Japan’s summer skies into a stunning puffy white landscape.
On the evening of August 5, skywatchers in the Tokyo/Yokohama area that turned their eyes to the west saw a towering, lightning-spitting thundercloud so powerfully majestic it immediately drew comparisons to one of Studio Ghibli’s most beloved anime.
Released from B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 a.m. (Japanese time), the world entered the unprecedented atomic age with the deployment of the most powerful weapon known to man.
No anime in history has generated the amount of discussion that Evangelion has, as audiences have now been debating the finer points of the franchise’s content and production for two decades. Was the TV series’ unorthodox ending strictly a case of budgetary constraints, or is it the purest version of Eva’s true message? In the closing scenes of End of Evangelion, has protagonist Shinji accepted or rejected the rest of human existence? Is creator Hideaki Anno ever going to actually make that fourth, and supposedly final, Rebuild of Evangelion theatrical feature?
For today, though, let’s brush aside those nebulous issues, and instead look at a question that has a definite answer: What would official Evangelion lingerie look like?
Box Office Mojo reports that Funimation‘s limited theatrical run of the Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ film earned US$1,967,626 on its opening night on Tuesday. That gives the film a per-screen average of US$2,198, the highest among the top 10 movies playing in the United States on August 4.
Adding “musical” to the end of any idea is an easy but effective way to come up with concepts for new creative properties. Foul-mouthed muppets plus musicals gave us Avenue Q and anime plus musical has given us a surprising number of stage productions! But one combination we’d never even dreamed of has now seen the light of day: A sumo musical.
Titled Dosu Koi Musical, this sumo musical isn’t actually a stage production, but it does star none other than Taiwanese singer Lin Yu-chun, whom you might remember killing it on America’s Got Talent in 2010. Maybe if we’re all good boys and girls, this will be turned into the next Broadway hit starring Lin and Neil Patrick Harris!
American tech giant Microsoft apparently has some explaining to do to Korean Windows users.
That’s because a television commercial announcing the recent release of Microsoft Windows 10, the latest and blessedly less-infuriating edition of the company’s flagship operating system, apparently commits an unwritten faux pas by way of a text font displayed in the ad.
And if you’re as baffled as we initially were about how a simple, commonly used font could be so offensive, well, let us tell you a little story about Japan-Korea relations…
Morinaga’s Hi-Chew is one of Japan’s favorite candies. Its popularity has spread across the world and you can often find different flavors of Hi-Chew at your local store. Fans have gone to great lengths to show their appreciation for the flavorful chewy snack over the years, including our Japanese team who once even created their own giant Hi-Chew, thus disproving the old adage that “bigger is better”.
Now, to celebrate the candy’s 40th anniversary, Morinaga is releasing some special new flavors and an extra-special version of their most popular flavor that will become the first refrigerated Hi-Chew in history.
Birds of a feather flock together, so the saying goes. And that concept applies to non-humans as well; it’s not uncommon for pets and their owners to act, and sometimes even look, somehow similar after spending years together. Even in the super popular anime and game series Pokémon, where the aim of the game is to collect as many pokémon as possible, many of the pokémon trainers in the series use pocket monsters that somehow resemble them.
But what the characters of the anime series Free! were pokémon trainers? Which creatures would they have under their well-toned wings? Find out as this Japanese fan puts her imagination to work in a series of awesome Pokémon x Free! crossover illustrations!
Japan never ceases to be the country of making something taste exactly like something it shouldn’t. In the land where you can get kimchi-flavored soft drinks and spaghetti-flavored ice candy, it would seem food companies are really just drunk with power when it comes to what they can and will make stuff taste like.
And now we have “the perfect snack cake for any meat-lover,” Momotan Aged Meat Flavored snacks. It’s in the form of a typical Japanese confection called manju with a cake-like outer coating and sweet been paste filling. However, these Momotan manju are heavily seasoned to make you swear you were eating a morsel of month-old meat instead!
For a country that’s ordinarily very concerned with not doing anything to shock or offend, Japan can be extremely open about its sexual tastes, in ways that manifest as both perfectly healthy and perfectly pervy. Japan is also pretty open and comfortable with its weakness for cute things, as you’ll often see adults of both genders sporting clothing or accessories bearing the image of popular children’s characters.
But what happens when you have both a sexy anime huggy pillow and a cute Disney stuffed animal in your bedroom, and you leave them alone for a while?
So, you like eggs, but with all the conflicting research about the little balls of protein, it’s hard to decide if you should be eating zero eggs, an egg a day, or as many as you can stuff in you face. Sadly, we’re not entirely certain either, but if you simply don’t care about what’s good for you or not, we’d like you to meet your comrade-in-shells, P.K.
Our clothes-hating Japanese reporter P.K. is a huge fan of the unfertilized bird babies, and he recently read that all that research saying you shouldn’t eat too many eggs is bunk. So he decided to make up for lost time and headed down to Ramen Kagetsu Arashi to get a bowl of noodles with more eggs than a chicken coop. Egg lovers, get ready to hear your stomachs growl!
They say that it’s rare to see a real maiko walking the streets of Kyoto, since these artists usually work at night and live in their own secluded world, far from the rest of Japanese society. In fact, if you spot a maiko strolling around Gion during the day, there’s a good chance she’s a tourist who’s undergone a fabulously elaborate makeover.
We took our Japan Wish competition winner Ashley to a studio in Kyoto’s Gion neighborhood to have a maiko-over and be transformed in an amazing process that yielded completely stunning results. Ashley was able to choose her own kimono and obi sash, and as part of the deal she was treated to a professional photography session and the opportunity to take a stroll around the streets of Gion in full maiko garb!
Even among otaku, those with a fondness for anime series Love Live! are known for being particularly obsessive. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to say that the Love Livers, as the franchise’s fans are known, worship the show’s central characters.
And if that’s the case, one arcade figured, why not give fans a place where they can kneel down and make offerings to their anime idols?
Cardcaptor Sakura’s titular heroine keeps her captured cards in a magic tome called the Clow Book, pulling them out as needed in the course of her adventures. In your daily life, though, you probably don’t run into that many occasions that call for instantly producing wooden cages, creating a labyrinth in an alternate dimension, commanding the sun to rise, or any of the other mystical functions of the Clow Cards.
On the other hand, you probably whip out your smartphone several times a day, and the next time you do, it could be inside this regal-looking Cardcaptor Sakura iPhone case.
Japan has a lot of unique customs, and not all of them make sense to newcomers. Eating fried chicken on Christmas Eve, anyone? How about the weird ritual of girls giving chocolate to guys on Valentine’s Day (do guys really like chocolate more than we girls do?).
But it turns out that there are plenty of customs that even Japanese people think are a waste of time. Here’s the top seven worst offenders, and why they are so annoying…
A few days ago, we talked about fast food chain Mos Burger’s plan to unleash something called the Wet Burger, or Nure Burger in Japanese. Unlike normal sandwiches which are content to have their sauce on the inside, the Wet Burger is submerged in tomato sauce before serving.
But is this new challenger a legitimate rival to the standard Mos Burger, already considered one of the stars of the Japanese fast food scene? Or is it simply too bold and saucy for its own good?
For many young people in Japan, August means summer vacation, festivals and free time. For fourth-year university students however, it means time to start interviewing for jobs. The job-hunting process in Japan is long, grueling and very systematic, culminating in interview after interview for the jobless, soon-to-graduate, young adults.
Interviews can be nerve-wracking for even the most experienced candidates, but Japanese companies don’t always ask the most predictable questions. In fact, some of their questions can be downright weird. Many of these oddball interview questions, however, may not actually be legal.
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Japanese kindness restores our faith in humanity after a highway bus accident in Tokyo
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Fatal stabbing at Pokémon Center in Tokyo reignites concern over rising stalking cases in Japan
Totoro and Calcifer become little light-up lanterns for Ghibli-style excursions or at-home decor
Public restrooms in Osaka to get in-stall video screens with ads
Japanese restaurant chain shows us how to make katsudon in three minutes【SoraKitchen】
Kyoto temple suffering from littering tourists claiming not to understand Japanese verbal warningKrispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
7-Eleven Japan releases a crazy new viral sandwich: Chocolate Sprinkles and Whipped Cream
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Japan now has a “for foreign tourists only” Mt. Fuji sightseeing train[Video]Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Nine amazing off-the-beaten-path cherry blossom spots in Japan for yaezakura and shidarezakura
Stunning central Japan wisteria festival is like a purple fantasy straight out of a Ghibli movie
Studio Ghibli releases the My Neighbour Totoro tea caddy, with a magical self-closing lid
Create a tiny Ghibli anime world on your bookshelf with new miniature papercraft art kits
Studio Ghibli unveils new Rollbahn notebook in honour of Howl’s Moving Castle
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in TokyoStarbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day FrappuccinoKrispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Cherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season7-Eleven Japan releases a crazy new viral sandwich: Chocolate Sprinkles and Whipped Cream
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Fatal stabbing at Pokémon Center in Tokyo reignites concern over rising stalking cases in Japan
Totoro and Calcifer become little light-up lanterns for Ghibli-style excursions or at-home decor
Public restrooms in Osaka to get in-stall video screens with ads
Japanese restaurant chain shows us how to make katsudon in three minutes【SoraKitchen】
Kyoto temple suffering from littering tourists claiming not to understand Japanese verbal warning
Play with fire at an old-fashioned “irori” hearth restaurant
Studio Ghibli releases the My Neighbour Totoro tea caddy, with a magical self-closing lid
Japan now has a “for foreign tourists only” Mt. Fuji sightseeing train[Video]
Can you tell the difference between real beer and Japan’s happoshu quasi-beer?【Taste test】
When Two Amazing Worlds Collide: Welcome to the World of Cat Sushi!
How much is Amazon Japan’s lowest-rated currency calculator worth in yen?
Japanese politicians working to promote plastic model culture as a cultural asset
Deer are appearing in Osaka City, may have wandered there from Nara[Video]
Should you get up early to see the sakura cherry blossoms in Tokyo?