Japan (Page 1346)

Japan has sort of a love-hate relationship with bugs. On one hand, there’s a trio of insects that are seen as nostalgic symbols of summer. Dragonflies are a popular motif on yukata summer kimono, the whining of cicadas is an immediate audio cue that brings back memories of the lazy days of summer vacation, and catching stag beetles has been a popular pastime during the warmer months for generations of Japanese kids.

On the other hand, cockroaches are universally hated, because, well, they’re cockroaches.

With such strongly contrasting emotions involved, it’s understandable that rumors persist of a cockroach/stag beetle hybrid, something which caught the nation’s attention again recently after someone in Japan claimed to have caught one.

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New Attack on Titan souvenir straps feature Colossal Titan at famous Japanese landmarks

Attack on Titan has such a worldwide following that many visitors to Japan can’t help but keep an eye out for possible sightings of the Colossal Titan as they travel around the country. Chance encounters with the steaming giant are now more real than ever, thanks to a new series of souvenir straps featuring the hungry beast at famous locations throughout Japan. Now you can see him dressed up as a samurai, devouring Tokyo Tower or reincarnated in the form of a giant gold Buddha. If you want the whole collection, you’ll have to do some travelling as each souvenir is limited for sale only at the local tourist hotspot it features. From Tokyo to Osaka, check out the Colossal Titan posing like you’ve never seen him before!

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Special exhibits on Studio Ghibli’s art and architecture coming soon to two Tokyo museums

For any serious anime fan making a trip to Tokyo, a visit to the Ghibli Museum should be at the top of their list. Not only is the design of the building bursting with subtle references to the works of esteemed director Hayao Miyazaki and his compatriots, the on-site theater also screens Ghibli shorts you can’t see anywhere else, such as the heart-warming follow-up to My Neighbor Totoro.

This summer, though, two more Tokyo museums are getting in on the act with special exhibits focusing on the architecture of Studio Ghibli plus artwork for the animation house’s newest film.

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A Tokyo office worker says former champion boxer Christian Eugenio-Gomez threatened him, saying “pay up or cut off your finger.” More details after the break!

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American newscaster can’t stop laughing at crazy Japanese mascot

Japan has more than its fair share of ridiculous mascots, ranging from the absurdly muscled pot sticker, Chaozu-kun, to the snarky Yoshida-kun representing the country’s least popular prefecture.

But of all the crazy characters, our most favorite mascot to ever represent Japan has got to be Funnashi, the jiggly yellow pear. Just one look at his rotund head and undulating belly, coupled with his somewhat creepy high-pitched voice, and you’ve got something so hilariously bizarre, even a professional newscaster for CNN couldn’t keep it together on live TV.

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Want your cooking to taste like world-famous chef Nobu’s? Here’s the seasoning you need

One of the few Japanese restaurateurs to gain international fame and popularity is Nobuyuki Matsuhisa. Better known by his professional moniker Nobu, the Saitama-born chef began his culinary career in Tokyo, before leaving Japan to open restaurants in Peru, Argentina, and the U.S.

Being so far away from the birthplace of Japanese cuisine, though, meant Nobu had to come up with new recipes and flavors that would suit the palates of his non-Japanese clientele. This often meant finding roles for locally available ingredients, but in one case, Nobu took things a step further by developing one of his own: miso powder.

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When giant blueberry monsters attack: Ao Oni meets Attack on Titan【Video】

So-called MAD movies are Japanese fan-made videos spliced together from clips from anime and video games. Posted on sites like YouTube and Niconico Douga, they are similar – although not identical – to YouTube poops, in that they see fans mashup footage and distorted sound to make beautiful, and bizarre videos. Truly, the internet is a wonderful place.

Today we bring you a MAD movie that throws together a Japanese pop culture David and Goliath in the form of puzzle-horror game Ao Oni (“Blue Demon”), and anime and manga publishing sensation Attack on Titan. Join us after the jump for some surreal animated mashup fun!

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Rainy season blues, go away! Bring us summer (and beer) right away!

The rainy season has cometh! Spring was but a brief reprieve from the stinging cold of winter, and now Japan cowers beneath its umbrellas trying to escape the rain, knowing all too well that the humidity, however, cannot be escaped from.

It seems like the best way to chase away these rainy season blues is with a nice crisp beer, and RocketNews24 has a found a great place where you can do just that. It’s really close to our main offices in Tokyo, so sit back and plan your next happy hour, at Vector Beer!

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First new Japanese Apple Store opened in eight years, Apple fans celebrate best way they know how

On 13 June, the Omotesando Apple Store opened in Tokyo. It was a rare occasion, being the first of its kind to open in Japan since the Sapporo Apple store in 2006. Although no new product was released, an estimated 1,000 Apple fans came out to show their support in true Apple fashion by making a huge line.

We sent our local Apple line-up correspondent Mr. Sato to report from the frontline.

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The Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei: Better than Olympic Athletes? 【Part I】

Mt. Hiei, which straddles Kyoto and Shiga prefectures, is home to a huge temple complex called Enryakuji. The foothills of Mt. Hiei border Kyoto City’s northeast. This group of Buddhist temples is home to an eclectic group of Tendai-shu monks, dubbed the “marathon monks” for their amazing physical feats. Not all Enryakuji monks take part, mind you, as one must get special permission to engage in what is called one of the most rigorous athletic and spiritual challenges on the planet.

During the sennichi kaihogyo, or Thousand Day Challenge, the monks venerate Fudo-myo-o, the god at the center of worship in the Tendai sect. Over a seven-year training period, the monk, called a gyoja, makes a pilgrimage to over 250 sites on Mt. Hiei, one of the top three sacred spots in Japan. At the end of the challenge, he will have walked far enough to have circled the globe once. As if this were not enough to please their god, he also takes part in a fast for nine days in which he can not eat, drink or sleep. So arduous is the sennichi kaihogyo that just over 5o monks have accomplished the challenge since records started being kept back in 1585. Indeed, many monks have died en route to this ultimate quest for enlightenment.

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7-year-old turns cash into “art”, parents decidedly unamused

How did you first learn about the value of money as a child? Did you save up your allowance in a piggy bank until there was enough to buy a cool new toy? Or how about taking care of the neighbor’s cat for a small reward?

Or maybe you were never actually taught how to spend your cash wisely, and to this day keep a tall stack of credit card bills around in case you need to blow your nose.

Speaking of money going down the drain, that’s pretty much what one Japanese 7-year-old was found guilty of the other day. He was given a 1,000-yen note, worth roughly US$9.80, and told to “use it however you want.” While most other kids would have jumped for joy and rushed to the nearest toy store, this kid had a much more…creative idea.

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Cheerful, cherubic cat chillin’ on a chair 【Video】

When my nephew was still a baby, I clearly remember the whole family gathering to watch as he rolled over for the first time. It was an exciting moment, and we were all impressed by his accomplishment.

On the other hand, I can’t remember the last time anyone gave me a round of applause for rolling over, even if I’ve had so much beer that my motor skills have regressed to infant-level. The fact is that whether an action is compelling to watch has as much to do with the natural charisma of the performer as it does with what they’re doing.

For example, most of us couldn’t entertain a group of strangers by just sitting in a chair, but that’s only because we aren’t this incredibly cute, eminently relaxed cat.

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Japanese Twitter user shows off cell phone alarm, we all nod in sad agreement

Hey, it’s Monday! Aren’t you excited to be back at work? We sure are! Of course, writing at RocketNews24 is probably the coolest job you can get, so maybe our experience is slightly different…

But even if you do love your job, waking up in the morning can still be a pain, can’t it? Now, some of you are probably those mythical “morning people,” who wake up without an alarm and are actually capable of speech without three cups of coffee and a cold shower. But for the rest of you, we bet you need an alarm clock or three to wake you up. If so, this tweet will have you nodding your sleepy head.

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High schoolers’ epic stop-motion fight jumps between the third and second dimensions 【Video】

In Japanese schools, it’s the responsibility of students to clean the classrooms at the end of the day. But while some kids take this responsibility seriously, others are more interested in goofing off while their more earnest classmates do the majority of the work.

This has to be extremely frustrating. For example, imagine you just put in the time to diligently wash the blackboard, only to reach the end, turn back, and discover someone ruined your efforts by doodling over the section you’d already cleaned. You’d probably be pretty angry, right? But would you be so angry that you’d start a brawl that almost destroys the entire schoolhouse?

If you were the star of this amazing stop motion video, you would.

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Snacks turned into art — these impressive visual creations are all made from food!

Now, we’re aware that we here at RocketNews24 have maybe just a tiny bit of weakness for tasty treats (or is it just me?) and we’ve featured many edible works of art on our site, from magnificent Kirby tarts to adorable cat-shaped sweets, but we have to say this particular work has certainly impressed us with its unique simplicity. Who would have thought that a good ol’ Oreo cookie could be changed into an artistic presentation with a few scrapes of the hand (albeit some very skillful scrapes)? And if you’re familiar with Japanese ukiiyo-e block prints, you may have the feeling that you’ve seen the image created with the cream somewhere before. Yes, this actually is a surprisingly expert recreation of the famous ukiyo-e print by Hokusai Katsushika titled the Great Wave off Kanagawa, or sometimes referred to simply as The Wave, and  once you compare it to the painting, we think you’ll agree that the execution really is quite superb!

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Japanese soccer fans remember their manners in Brazil, clean up before going home

Their national team may have lost their World Cup game against Ivory Coast yesterday morning, but Japanese fans didn’t forget their manners, it would seem.

Like all good kids who remember to say thank you to their friend’s mother after playing at their home, Japan’s passionate football fans reportedly grabbed refuse bags and cleaned up after themselves before leaving the stadium following their team’s match against the African side.

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Evangelion characters get their own clothing lines

Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu, the eternally popular characters from the Evangelion franchise, now have their own clothing collections. Sold by Radio Eva, which sells a wide variety of bags, watches, cardigans, loafers, and other such items, the “Rei Ayanami Collection” and “Asuka Shikinami Langley Collection” allows fans to combine their love of Rei, Asuka, and NERV with their desire to hit the streets in Evangelion-branded casual clothing.

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Take a look at Japan from a whole new angle — from the air! 【Video】

Now, chances are you’ve already seen many pictures and video footage from Japan, especially of tourist areas in cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. But this video, shared about a month ago on Vimeo, offers a look at these cities from a very unique perspective — from up in the air! The video, filmed by a tourist visiting Japan, was taken from the perspective of a remote-controlled drone attached with a camera. And while some of the shots captured are of well-known tourist spots, Internet users both inside and outside of Japan seem to have been impressed by how the unique angle gives the familiar scenes quite a new feel! Let’s see what some of the popular sites of Japan look like from up above.

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Awesome Snorlax bed lets you be just as lazy as its namesake

If there’s one thing every human being has in common with some of anime’s most beloved friendly monsters, it’s a love of being super, super lazy. Mei found Totoro sleeping one off in the forest, after all, and who can forget that obviously lazy (though somewhat creepy) daikon-monster in Spirited Away?

Then there’s perhaps the most famous lazy anime monster: Snorlax from Pokémon; who I always want to call “the Snorlax” because it sounds like a Dr. Seuss character. The bear-like Snorlax is known throughout the Pokémon universe as an exceptionally lazy, docile – though voracious – creature. Heck, its first appearance in the anime was in a story that revolved around Snorlax falling asleep in a river somehow and blocking up an entire town’s water supply for months.

Now you and Snorlax can block up lazy RPG towns’ water supplies together with this exceedingly comfortable-looking Snorlax bed!

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What does blood type have to do with the Japan national football team?

At first glance, it may seem like Alberto Zaccheroni, the head coach of the Japan national football team, systematically screens his players’ blood types before letting them onto the team. After all, out of the total 23 players on the 2014 national team, only three of them have blood type B blood. That number was zero for the 2012 national team. So is this fact pure coincidence, or is there something larger at work here?

Actually, the answer may lie in Japan and other East Asian countries’ belief that blood type determines character traits. Still not convinced? Read on to learn why football players with type B blood may actually be at a disadvantage in the game.

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