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New McDonald’s Japan menu item is lazy, looks suspiciously like dog food, says Japanese Net

Mike
Apr 1, 2014
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Not everybody has time to cook a solid, healthy meal on their own every morning for breakfast. We get that. Hell, sometimes we’re forced to drink the leftover grease from last night’s KFC bucket just for some kind of nourishment as we dash out the door, so who are we to judge when someone opts for a fast food breakfast?

But imagine plopping down 619 yen (US$6) for the newest McDonald’s breakfast item you’d been waiting for, only for the cashier to present you with a heaping plate of random food bits that look like they were scraped together from various leftovers they found lying around in the kitchen.

Capcom Japan’s April Fool is awesome, nyansensical

Philip Kendall
Apr 1, 2014

Ah, it’s been a great day for April Fools’ pranks this year, what with Google treating us to a worldwide pokémon outbreak and car maker BMW unveiling its “ZZZ” series sleep machine (any others I missed?). And now, Capcom – the Japanese company behind video game greats such as Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Mega Man – has announced that it is launching special dubbed versions of its top titles.

That’s right, folks, all of your favourite Capcom games are now available in neko-go “cat language“, allowing Japan’s nyan population to join in the gaming fun.

Simulation shows the chaotic consequences of walking in Shibuya while staring at your phone

Casey Baseel
Apr 1, 2014

In recent years, Shibuya’s scramble intersection has shot to international fame as a symbol of the sheer energy and extreme congestion that can be found in downtown Tokyo. The five-road nexus is one of the busiest crossings in the world, and it’s not unusual to see as many as 1,500 people making their way across it – usually in opposite directions – when traffic in all directions stops.

With such a massive amount of pedestrians trying to get to the other side, navigating the scramble intersection without careening into anyone can be a tricky affair, especially with three giant video screens and several times as many mini-skirted legs pulling your attention away. But what if we added yet another distraction, in the form of every single person staring at their smartphone as they crossed? How many collisions would we see then? 10? 20? 50?

Try hundreds.

The top overpriced products in Japan

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Apr 1, 2014

Tokyo and its big city cousin to the south, Osaka, are consistently voted among the most expensive places in the world in international polls. Japan in general is notorious for its high prices, prompting many potential visitors to choose a different, more cost-effective destination. Sure, from an outside perspective, prices in Japan are more than most are used to, but what do those who actually live there think? Japanese website, Ameba News, asked 570 working Japanese adults to name any products they felt weren’t priced correctly, whether too expensive or too cheap. The results may surprised you.

“Business Nail” – the latest trend among young Japanese businessmen looking to get ahead

Philip Kendall
Apr 1, 2014

In a country where concepts like uniformity and social cohesion are praised from kindergarten to retirement, and where those who seek out their own paths are considered quirky at best and troublesome renegades at worst, it is difficult for young professionals in Japan to stand out and make a name for themselves. For men especially, who more often than not must don the same black suit, white shirt and neutral-coloured necktie combo as their millions of peers, it’s easy to become just another face in the commuter crowd.

But a new generation of young businessmen has recently started bucking social trends in order to do precisely what they were always discouraged from: stand out and get noticed. Known as bijinesu neiru (“business nail”), thousands of men working in industries from pharmaceuticals to video game design are now paying hundreds of dollars a week to have their fingernails prettied up with gemstones, pastel-pinks, hearts and even company logos, with many claiming that, since getting their nails done, they have been rewarded with pay rises and promotions, and now have more friends and lovers than they could ever have dreamed.

Capybara enjoying a meal at Ueno Zoo treats us to the herbivore’s version of “Hana Yori Dango”

Kay
Apr 1, 2014

As our readers may be well aware, we Japanese have a passion for the sakura, or cherry trees, turning it into a huge social event when they’re in bloom each spring, even though they last for only about a week. We’re also quite fond of capybaras, as you can tell from the way we delight in pampering them in hot spring baths, and also creating mascot characters out of them as well. Well, we’re right in the middle of sakura season in Tokyo now, and we’ve found a cute little picture that combines these two seemingly unrelated subjects in a delightfully unexpected way. Yes, straight from Ueno, one of the most famous sakura-viewing areas in Tokyo, we bring to you this lovely photo that has captured the hearts of Japanese netizens and gives renewed meaning to the Japanese expression, “hana yori dango.”

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Are Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid all dating the same prince?

Casey Baseel
Apr 1, 2014

If we’re going strictly by the Disney versions, most people could tell you that the respective heroines of The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White are respectively Ariel, Aurora, and Snow White. A tougher trivia question, though, is to name their three princes.

As the most recent of the bunch to appear on the screen, Ariel’s Eric might not be too hard to recall, but how many remember that Aurora’s betrothed is named Phillip? And as for Snow White, we never learn the name of the man who wakes her with a kiss, as not once in the movie is he referred to as “Prince Charming.”

Actually, if we go back further, to the original fairy tales these Disney classics were based on, many times the male lead is simply called “the prince.” While it’s possible this is because of their relatively small and interchangeable roles in those stories, one mother in Japan has another theory: the same prince stole the heart of the Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White.

Cat shoes – so you’ll always land on your fashionable feet

Casey Baseel
Apr 1, 2014

With feline-inspired marshmallows, lattes, and confectionaries, you could actually spend the whole day in Japan consuming nothing but cat-shaped treats. But while that diet would easily help you meet your recommended daily requirements of cuteness, there’re also a lot of calories in those feline-inspired delicacies.

Still, there’s nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence, as long as you also get enough exercise to balance the scales as opposed to tipping them. Going for a nice, after-dessert walk can be a great way to burn off some of those calories you just took in, and it only makes sense that if your love of cats is what got the cycle started, it should be there with you for the next step, too, with these cat-shaped shoes from online retailer Rakuten.

International Court of Justice orders halt to Japanese whaling

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Apr 1, 2014

It’s no secret that you can buy whale meat in Japan. It’s served in schools to young children and even offered up 16 different ways at this shop in Tokyo. In fact, the Japanese have had a history of whaling that dates back to the 12th century. In recent history, however, Japan’s whaling program has been condemned by the international community and its practice of consuming whale meat proven unhealthy. But both whaling and the eating of whale meat, whether you agree with it or not, may be a thing of the past as a result of a recent ruling by the International Court of Justice.

Final Fantasy café puts spirits within you with materia cocktails, chocolate buster swords

Casey Baseel
Apr 1, 2014

With well over 20 years since the original Final Fantasy was released, everyone who was old enough to enjoy developer Square Enix’s hugely successful video game franchise from the very start is legally old enough to drink in Japan. So when we heard tale of a realm/café run by the company, called Artnia, where we could combine our passions for role-playing games and alcoholic beverages, we were intrigued, and when rumors reached us of chocolate buster swords, we were out the door.

Our journey took us through pitch black tunnels, subterranean cities, and secluded forests, but we persevered, and have returned to tell all of our adventures.

Step aside, Hachiko! Yamaguchi’s Cat Temple offers a samurai tale of feline fealty

Casey Baseel
Apr 1, 2014

Nearly every guide book for Japan mentions Hachiko, the dog who patiently waited every day for nine years in the 1920s and ‘30s in front of Shibuya Station for his master to come home, never knowing that the man had passed away at the office. It’s a touching story of devotion, and one so well-known Hachiko now has his own statue near his waiting spot.

However, some argue that Hachiko didn’t come to the station every day because he was hoping for his master to return, but because of the free handouts of food he got once he became a local celebrity. Could it be that the friendly pooch actually isn’t the epitome of animal-human loyalty?

Maybe that title would be a better fit for a cat that lived hundreds of years before Hachiko was even born, and displayed such fealty to its samurai master that its entire species is honored at their own Cat Temple.

We try renowned patissier’s honey-sweet creation available for just one day

Kay
Mar 31, 2014

Tokyo, as you know, is a huge metropolis where millions of people work in countless offices. But did you know that there are also some winged critters keeping busy every day in the middle of Tokyo to provide us with sweet nourishment? Yes, there are honey bees actually being cultured here in Tokyo for honey production, and at the shopping/dining/entertainment complex Hikarie in Shibuya, some special honey products were recently offered in connection with the date of March 28, which they designated honey bee day (because the numbers three, two and eight can be called mi for three, tsu for two in English and hachi for eight, which when combined sound like the word mitsubachi for honey bee in Japanese).

One of the items was a very special cake called the Miel Baum, created by renowned Japanese patissier Toshi Yoroizuka. And what made this cake so special? For one thing, it was made using honey collected right there in Shibuya, and secondly, it was sold on one day only — March 28. A cake made by a famous patissier using Shibuya-grown honey and available for just one day? Now that, we just had to try!

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What do a zebrafish and Dragon Ball’s Krillin have in common?

Master Blaster
Mar 31, 2014

The zebrafish is an interesting member of the minnow family for a number of reasons. They cute, fairly cheap, and relatively easy to take care of as pets making them great for warming up the old homestead. On the other hand, they are widely used in labs due to their speedy reproduction and development along with their fully sequenced genome.

Krillin, meanwhile, is an interesting recurring character of the Dragon Ball series. The most popular fully human character, he has developed the power of flight and powerful energy disc. He’s also one of the more versatile dressers of the series sporting outfits and hairstyles beyond his fighting gear.

So what is it that connects this fictional fighter to the freshwater fish?

Guy proves women’s makeup works eerily well on dudes too

Mike
Mar 31, 2014

If there’s one thing women are probably consistently jealous of men about, it’s the fact that a girl often feels that she has to go through a whole morning ritual that can last 20 minutes to an hour or two before they feel comfortable showing their faces in public, whereas guys can just hop out of bed, put on some pants (probably the same ones as the day before) and stroll out the door in 30 seconds flat if need be, and no one would be any the wiser.

But, if this Japanese dude is any indication, the fellas may have been doing it wrong the whole time and, just maybe, all that hard work on women’s part is worth the trouble after all. Here are some before/after photos of cosplaying Twitter user Chyaraizumi with and without women’s makeup on:

Foreigners in Japan vote for the best-looking katakana character

Oona McGee
Mar 31, 2014

When it comes to Japan’s three writing systems, kanji, hiragana and katakana, it’s the most complex of the lot that usually gets the most attention. The numerous lines and strokes involved in kanji pictographs are so revered that people nominate one at the end of every year to represent the mood of the nation. Even foreigners across the world are taken by their meaning and beauty, with many committing a patch of skin to their favourite (sometimes completely wrong) kanji in tattoo form.

But what about the least utilised member of the group, the katakana characters used for foreign words? Well it looks like they’re finally getting a bit of love, with a recent survey being conducted among foreign residents in Japan to determine the coolest looking symbol in the katakana syllabary. Place your bets now for which one comes out on top!

Kit Kat pizza!? Japanese pizza and cafe chains get creative with the new bakeable snack!

Kay
Mar 31, 2014

We were already perfectly full and happy having had a chance to try Japan’s new bakeable Kit Kats, and felt that the chocolatey snack had been taken about as far as it ever could. But apparently there’s still more to look forward to from these unique Kit Kats than just the novelty of “toasting” them at home: Kit Kat pizza!

That’s right, several pizza and cafe chains in Japan will be offering special menus for a limited time using the “Bake ‘N Tasty Mini Kit Kats Custard Pudding Flavor” (Kit Kat Mini Yaite Oishi Purin Aji), and we have to say, they look pretty darn sweet.

Meanwhile, in Japan: Puzzle game Candy Crush hires girl’s nails as advertising space

Fran W
Mar 31, 2014

Japan knows a thing or two about human billboards. And now, from the PR company that brought the world adverts stuck to girls’ thighs on the condition that the girls wear short skirts and knee-high socks, comes a brand new marketing idea: Candy Crush are sponsoring this girl’s fingernails, with a wacky, candy-based design that’s as bold and colourful as the game itself.

Way to go! Japan earns top spot and two others in top 10 most dangerous world cities ranking

Master Blaster
Mar 31, 2014

It’s always nice to be number one for something, even if it is number one in the “cities where the earth is most likely to kill you” ranking. That’s why we’re proud to announce that Tokyo and Yokohama were declared the cities at highest risk of natural disaster by Zurich-based Swiss Reinsurance (Swiss Re) in a 2013 study, whose findings were recently announced.

Fashion Update: Lobster is the new black

Master Blaster
Mar 31, 2014

With only a day left before the dreaded sales tax hike in Japan, this is truly the zero hour for you to get your last-minute impulse buys in. And what could be more impulsive than buying this lobster-shaped clutch bag for the low low price 50,400 yen (US$490)!?

It’s not getting any cheaper folks!