Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Japan (Page 1312)
Would you like to know what Sailor Moon and her pals eat for lunch? Or perhaps you’re curious to find out how they study or what they’d take along to the local shrine. Well now you can find out all that and more, with this gorgeous miniature collection!
Fish may make low-maintenance pets compared to cats and dogs, but they are still fragile creatures, and you may find that neglecting to clean the tank, forgetting to feed them, or letting their water get too warm in the summer months will send Bubbles to an early, watery grave. Even with utmost care, some fish don’t have very long lifespans, and no one likes saying goodbye to a beloved pet.
Well, now you can forgo the aquarium maintenance and not worry about the heartache, by creating your own invincible fishy friends and bringing them to life through your iPhone with Takara Tomy Arts’ new Pictuarium!
It’s no secret that McDonald’s Japan has been on a slippery slope following several food safety scandals in recent years. In 2014, the fast food giant reported its first annual loss in 11 years, which amounted to 21.84 billion yen (around US$176 million).
In an effort to restore trust and reaffirm their commitment to quality assurance, the fast food chain recently fitted out two stores in Japan with an “open kitchen” design, allowing customers to get an inside view of operations to see just how orders are made, from start to finish.
But will this be enough to bring customers back to the golden arches?
Onsen etiquette can be confusing for a foreigner visiting for the first time, and there are many small rules and customs that even many Japanese people aren’t quite clear on. There aren’t usually any written instructions around the baths as it is expected that everyone will already know the basic customs surrounding communal bathing. This means that things people who have grown up in Japan take for granted, such as putting your shoes in a locker when you arrive or knowing which towels to use for what, can be hard to figure out for first-timers, and your supposedly relaxing spa break can become a little bit stressful.
Check out the video below to see how our Japan Wish competition winner Ashley navigated her first ever trip to an onsen and see if she found it relaxing…or stressful!
Lotteria Japan has done it again. Just when we thought nothing could beat their ramen noodle burgers, they bring out these little beauties. No more dreaming of salty, crunchy potato chips smothered in sauce and stuffed inside your favourite burger because Lotteria has finally made our dreams a reality!
One of the beautiful (or painful, depending on how you look at it) aspects of the Japanese language is its complex system of numbers and counting methods. For starters, there are two commonly used systems of numbers–often referred to as the Sino-Japanese numbers and the native Japanese numbers–that are used in different contexts, as well as a seemingly limitless number of counter words. Confused yet?
So how the heck do you become a master of Japanese numbers? Well, a good way to start is by checking out this handy-dandy infographic put out by Japanese Video Cast!
Last year, over 13 million foreign visitors took a trip to Japan. Many of the country’s best attractions, though, are actually hundreds of years old. That means that while they’ve been drawing more international travelers than ever in the 21st century, they were hardly being ignored in the 20th, as shown by this collection of retro-cool travel posters from the early and mid-1900s.
A Japanese website recently published a list of four commonly occurring behaviors at work which are actually considered to be crimes by Japanese law. The scariest thing is that regardless of where you are in the world, you might have been doing them all along!
Perhaps take a moment to check whether you have explicit permission before doing any of the following four things at your place of employment, or else you could find yourself in a legal mess in the worst case scenario.
A while back, we talked about adult fashionistas, including actress Zooey Deschanel, who’d become smitten with the boxy Japanese backpacks called randoseru. In Japan, though, randoseru are strictly for the prepubescent set, as they’re exclusively used by elementary school students.
That’s not to say that kids don’t appreciate a nice-looking bag, though, which is why Disney is getting in on the randoseru game, with a line of backpacks that can only be purchased inside its Tokyo theme parks, and cost the equivalent of several hundred dollars.
In Japanese high schools, it’s customary for the band to accompany the baseball team to important games. Saitama’s Namegawa Sogo High even mixes in some modern musical stylings, as Queen’s “We Will Rock You” showed up on their set list for a recent contest in the prefectural championship tournament.
Of course, such a bombastic tune coming from the stands requires equal flamboyance from the players, and one student athlete responded with the craziest batter’s box warmup we’ve ever seen.
Japanese culture has spread throughout the world with food, anime, video games, and more. But one region that hasn’t taken in as much of what Japan has to offer as the rest of the world is the Middle East and other Muslim countries.
Until now. Pictures of young Muslim women incorporating Japanese Lolita fashion with their traditional hijab head scarves have been exploding in popularity online. Could this start a new trend toward Muslim idol groups and cosplay conventions?
Game developer Square Enix, renowned for its number of long-running Japanese RPG series, announced yesterday that a new, smartphone-only entry in the fabled Dragon Quest franchise will hit online stores sometime this year.
For anyone who has stayed in a Japanese hotel, you know that the breakfast can be a little lacking. We aren’t talking about a ryokan, which is a Japanese-style inn that prepares a special Japanese breakfast for all their guests, because those kinds of hotels are in a class of their own. In most hotels, there are rice balls, miso soup and maybe a cabbage salad mix.
Luckily, TripAdvisor Japan compiled a list of the best hotel breakfasts of 2015, and the same hotel breakfast held its spot at number one again this year. That fact piqued our curiosity, so we decided to head to Kobe and try the breakfast for ourselves.
Does it live up to its reputation? Find out after the jump!
We’ve seen the Japanese Self-Defense Forces get quite creative with trying to entice new recruits, but never before have we seen them do an all-out official collaboration with an anime.
And Gate is the perfect anime for them to team up with. It’s about the JSDF traveling through a portal to another world, taking down monsters, teaming up with cute girls, and just generally making it look like joining them would be the most amazing thing ever.
You can bet the JSDF is milking it for every last drop they can, starting with posters that are giving us a strange urge to visit our local recruitment center.
Japan’s kofun are ancient burial mounds that can be found throughout the country in a wide range of sizes and shapes. They’re great sources for learning about the past, covering multiple centuries of Japanese history. Collectively, they offer remarkable glimpses into the life of Japan from the third to the seventh centuries CE.
Kitora Kofun is one of Japan’s smaller kofun, but since its discovery in 1983, it’s proven to be incredibly valuable for historians. With an exhibit focusing on the tomb coming up later this year, some extra work has gone into analyzing the star chart used to decorate one of the walls — and researchers have come to some surprising conclusions about its origin!
Late last week, we told you about an event being held by Tokuyama Zoo this summer: the Cockroach Fest. One of the attractions listed was the horrific sounding “cockroach encounter,” but we didn’t have any details about just what kind of encounter it was. Being a naturally curious bunch with a masochistic streak a mile wide, we decided to dispatch a reporter to find out.
If you’re an anime purist, you’ve probably watched at least one title with a localization choice that rubbed you the wrong way. Maybe you were irked by Sailor Moon’s Usagi being called “meatball head” on American T.V. instead of “dango/dumpling head.” More recently, you might have wondered why Doraemon’s central family ditched all their chopsticks and now eat their Japanese food with forks in their U.S. appearances.
But localization runs in the other direction, too, and it’s just come to light that Pixar has altered part of the artwork in several scenes of Inside Out solely for the film’s Japanese release.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen Japan Railways, Japan’s largest rail operator, embark on a spurt of posh train building, with coaches that feature gold leaf accents, split-level suites, and relaxing foot baths. This fall, though, JR West will be launching a train that dials back the luxury while pumping up the awesomeness in the eyes of anime fans with the Evangelion Shinkansen.
We reported earlier this year that Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is floating the idea of opening a new theme park in Okinawa. We now know the proposed name for the new amusement park, and it has left many Japanese surprised and confused.
You see, the company plans to drop the “Universal” brand from its name, and instead the new theme park will, apparently, be called Nangoku Resort.
If you’ve seen Disney’s Big Hero 6, you know that the film’s most memorable character, marshmallowy medical helper/combat robot Baymax, spends about half of his screen time being awesome, and the other being adorable. In one of the best examples of the latter, he becomes a mattress for his exhausted friends, letting them lean into his soft, cushioned body during a brief respite during the bumpy transition to their new lives as superheroes.
If you’re feeling similarly worn out after a hard day, you’ll be happy to know that, just as the trailer for the film promised, Baymax has your back…or your front, or your side, depending on how you sleep, in the form of this amazingly heart-melting semi-posable Baymax bed.
Japan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at home
Japan’s new Pokémon jackets give you the look and powers of the Kanto starter trio
Sega opening 65th anniversary store in downtotn Tokyo with deep-cut game merch
Viral tweet suggests Japanese convenience store ripping off customers with donuts, so we investigate
Studio Ghibli releases new anime keychains that are like miniature figurines
Lipton releases… Pudding Milk Tea in Japan?!?
Retro-style Evangelion T-shirts coming to Uniqlo sister brand GU[Photos]
Studio Ghibli releases crystal glass paperweights featuring Totoro and the Catbus
Japanese people share 11 amusing tales relating to pregnancy and childbirth
Dorayaki from 89-year-old Japanese confectionery shop is one of the best sweets hidden in TokyoJapan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at homeJapan’s new Pokémon jackets give you the look and powers of the Kanto starter trio
New Kyoto Converse sneakers celebrate Japan with traditional kimono fabrics for your feet
Brand-new Square Enix Cafe to open in Tokyo…and in Los Angeles too!
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Tifa’s Final Fantasy VII bar is going to pop up in real-world TokyoStudio Ghibli releases new anime keychains that are like miniature figurines
Studio Ghibli launches huge new anime movie T-shirt collection with special design details
Hello Kitty is now a transforming truck robot[Photos]
Tsujihan sushi bowl restaurant goes viral with foreign tourists, but is it worth the hype?
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visaJapan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Wisteria season starts early with blooming of Japan’s Great Wisteria in its beautiful garden
Japan’s best conveyor belt sushi restaurant of seven years ago has now, finally, come to TokyoNew Kyoto Converse sneakers celebrate Japan with traditional kimono fabrics for your feet
Brand-new Pokémon manhole covers coming to help the recovery of a disaster-stricken part of JapanJapan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at home
Japan’s awesomely beautiful Alpen Route snow corridor is now open
Injuries on stairs in Tokyo highlight an overlooked design flaw
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
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 saysJapan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Lipton releases… Pudding Milk Tea in Japan?!?
Retro-style Evangelion T-shirts coming to Uniqlo sister brand GU[Photos]
Studio Ghibli releases crystal glass paperweights featuring Totoro and the Catbus
Japanese people share 11 amusing tales relating to pregnancy and childbirth
Dorayaki from 89-year-old Japanese confectionery shop is one of the best sweets hidden in Tokyo
Tifa’s Final Fantasy VII bar is going to pop up in real-world Tokyo
New Kyoto Converse sneakers celebrate Japan with traditional kimono fabrics for your feet
Japan’s Mister Donut Japan tries its hand at Taiwanese-style street food donuts
Bandai cancels gacha/blind-buy system for anime cosmetics, will let fans choose what they buy
Shinto shrine will bless your bike helmet and give you a sacred bike helmet stamp
Only five branches of Japan’s beef bowl giant Matsuya serve milk shakes, but how do they taste?
Live-action Ghibli Princess Mononoke stage play tickets are now on sale
Tokyo store makes you to pass a quiz in order to buy Pokémon cards as part of anti-scalper policy
War in Iran threatening Japan’s pudding production