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Japan (Page 1365)

Starbucks close to total Japan domination

Tottori Prefecture, the final frontier. It may sound strange, but when it comes to Starbucks, Tottori is uncharted territory and the only prefecture in all of Japan without a Starbucks location. That will all change soon as the coffee giant plans to open a new store somewhere within the small prefecture’s borders by March 2015.

With the largest population of elderly folks in all of Japan, it might seem natural that Tottori went without a Starbucks for so long. However, you might be surprised to find that there are places in Tokyo that have yet to see the familiar green and white mermaid.

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Hollywood blacksmith forges Sephiroth’s massive sword from Final Fantasy VII【Video】

When Final Fantasy VII hit PlayStations around the globe in 1997, featuring some of the most gorgeous graphics and CG cut-scenes gamers had ever seen, it single-handedly opened up the Western market to Japanese console RPGs. In years since, though, there’s been some contention over just how deserving developer Square’s biggest hit ever is of its exalted place in video game lore. Does it have a gripping story, or does the narrative become a confused mess after its midgame plot twist? Do the title’s numerous mini games flesh out its world, or is spending hours breeding giant flightless birds to race for sport both silly and boring?

But no matter which side of the debate you fall on, there’s one thing gamers everywhere can agree on: Final Fantasy VII’s antagonist, Sephiroth, is a stone-cold badass. Now, Hollywood blacksmith Tony Swatton has brought the villain’s iconic weapon, the gigantic blade named Masamune, to life.

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We play Russian roulette with new spicy “Tyrant Habanero” snacks

Russian roulette is the ultimate in high-stakes games of chance. A revolver with five empty chambers and one loaded, there is no more intense or insane way to spend a Saturday night. However, since none of our minds were warped from being a POW in the Vietnam War we haven’t had the pleasure of partaking in such a game.

But now, we might enjoy the culinary version with Tohato’s Russian Tyrant Habanero snack cups. The premise is that one out of every six corn chips in the cup is seasoned with enough habanero spice to take your face off. In the interests of science and comedy, we wrangled our weakest-tongued reporter to try some out and see if it truly is the rush its makers describe.

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Sanrio’s newest cutsy character, an anthropomorphic salmon fillet, set for major debut, grisly death

Japan never fails to amaze when it comes to transforming the quotidian into cute. I mean, this is the country that turns cucumber-stealing, human-throttling swamp monsters into adorable toys for kids. The country’s latest go at cute-ification comes from Hello Kitty producing toy company Sanrio: Kirimi-chan, a walking, talking salmon fillet, who is set to debut next month with a line of kawaii craziness.

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Fan makes detailed clay figure of Hayao Miyazaki, even his cigarettes look life-like

Hayao Miyazaki has created some of anime’s more memorable characters, winning legions of fans all around the world. As such you would imagine that along with the thousands of pieces of fan art, an aspiring sculptor somewhere would pick up the gauntlet and recreate some of them in three dimensions.

One sculptor answered that call, and set out to make the ultimate Ghibli character from clay: Mr. Miyazaki himself… We hear his friends say he’s “a real character.”

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Like all things Evangelion, whether this hoodie is creepy or cool depends on the viewer’s interpretation

Over the past several months, we’ve seen wave after wave of wearable Sailor Moon merchandise, from accessories to lingerie to even bibs. But what about the other colossal ‘90s anime hit featuring combat-ready adolescents, Evangleion? Is there no new way to dress yourself in a way that shows your love for the franchise that ping pongs back and forth between scenes of its 14-year-old protagonists battling horrific aliens and coming to grips with the sexual confusion and frustration of puberty?

Why yes there is, and you can keep yourself warm at the same time with this crazy zip-up Evangelion hoodie.

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Snazz up your wardrobe with style cues from Tiger & Bunny characters

Looking for some style inspiration? How about Barnaby Brooks Jr. and Kotetsu Kaburagi from Tiger & Bunny? Premium Bandai’s Bandai Fashion Net has started selling clothing inspired directly by the characters’ duds from the upcoming Tiger & Bunny The Movie -The Rising- film (check out all the new character wardobes and designs at the official website).

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Tokyo DisneySea offers unbearably cute limited-edition Duffy sweets and souvenirs

From now until March 20, Tokyo DisneySea is offering some very cute snacks featuring Duffy, the Disney bear, and his lady friend, ShellieMay. Take a look after the jump, but be warned: the cuteness is off the charts!

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We try mail order chanko stew from a swanky restaurant

Chanko stew is a very heavy dish that most people associate with sumo wrestlers. The high protein and high caloric content of these pots are perfect for putting on the bulk or just to warm your bones on a cold winter’s day. Chanko is also known to be rather pricey due to the bounty of ingredients used. That’s why most people would probably steer clear of Chankoya Suzukichan and its reputation as “a restaurant frequented by celebrities” for fear of breaking the bank.

But now, thanks to (oddly enough) the convenience store Family Mart’s online shopping site, we could get a taste of the high-life delivered straight to our door. So we did.

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We get ready for romance by eating Krispy Kreme’s limited edition Valentine’s Day donuts

With less than a month to go until Valentine’s Day, Japan has got sweets on the brain. Japanese tradition dictates that, on the special day, women give gifts to men, including at least one form of chocolate.

But while common opinion holds that homemade chocolate is best, not everyone has the culinary skills or free time to whip up a batch. So for those of you looking for the next best thing, we bring you our taste test of Krispy Kreme Japan’s three limited edition Valentine’s Day flavors.

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Connect to sushi-poo Wi-Fi using smartphone or tablet devices

Looking for a way to give those in your immediate area looking for Wi-Fi a delicious treat? No? Well, me neither. But I do enjoy some pointless yet fun tricks to do with devices like Apple’s iPhone or iPad. Take, for example, this incredibly easy way to make your device show up on others as pieces of sushi and poo – or more!

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Something for soy milk skeptics: cola and pear flavors

Living in Japan has done a lot to broaden my palate. For example, over the last 10 years my take on tofu has gone from “jello’s boring cousin” to “actually pretty good, especially with a little bit of sesame or spicy sauce.”

That said, I’m still not sold on soy milk. While the idea of popping open a soybean pod and finding delicious morsels of beef sounds like some sort of wonderful dreamland, the potential magic of bovine/bean cross-over doesn’t do much for me in reverse, and in general I’ll happily pass on drinkable soy.

Hoping to change my mind are two upcoming additions to soy giant Kikkoman’s line of flavored soy beverages: pear and cola.

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In a strange story out of Hyogo Prefecture, a man has been arrested for squirting an unwanted, creamy white liquid onto an unsuspecting high school girl. And while the substance in question isn’t as disgusting as it could have been, it’s still pretty gross.

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Man arrested for fraud in potentially the stupidest way possible

For years now, Japan has been beset by cases of ore ore sagi (“hey-it’s-me” scam). This is where the scammer contacts a (usually elderly) person claiming to be or know their child or relative. They then explain that they need money for an emergency and provide an account for the victim to transfer their money to, which sadly they often do.

These perpetrators can be difficult to catch, but sometimes a person’s force of habit can help make the police’s job that much easier. Take the case of one suspect named Akio Kanazawa, for example.

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In our modern world of contact lenses and laser eye surgery, no one really needs to wear glasses. Nevertheless, there are some people who choose to do so, as well as another set of not entirely overlapping glasses fans who simply feel the object of their affection looks all the cuter with a set of corrective lenses.

Now, a new glasses stand from anime merchandise producer Funny Trick lets you instantly transform your favorite characters, even those with 20-20 vision, into bespectacled beauties.

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Live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service film’s new images feature Tonbo, Osono

Website Crank In!! posted six new images from the live-action film of Eiko Kadono‘s fantasy novel series Kiki’s Delivery Service (Majo no Takkyūbin) on January 4. The images feature Kiki (Fūka Koshiba) and various other characters, including Tombo (Ryōhei Hirota, above) and Osono (Machiko Ono, below).

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Gotta size ’em all? Image of all 718 Pokémon depicted to scale leaves us awestruck

Haven’t you always secretly wanted to know what a puny Caterpie would look like next to the legendary Lugia? And I bet you didn’t know just how much of a pipsqueak Pikachu actually is. Well, thanks to one artist on deviantART, now you can compare the sizes of all six generations of Pokémon in one picture! We were blown away by the amount of work it must have taken to research the dimensions of all 718 Pokémon and compile their silhouettes into one image. Can you guess which are the biggest and smallest Pokémon?

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Biker gang crashes Coming of Age Ceremony in real life anime moment

The Coming of Age Ceremony is the Japanese celebration that officially marks the passing into adulthood of all boys and girls that turned 20 the previous year. It’s normally steeped in tradition and – unlike some other countries’ coming of age rituals where kids put their hands in fire ant mounds or drink 15 beergaritas or whatever – it’s generally a pretty subdued affair until the youngsters-only after-party.

But one Setagaya Ward Coming of Age Ceremony saw things get pretty rowdy this year when a gang of bikers – called bosozoku – decided to crash the party. Bosozoku (literally, “wild running clan”) are groups of teens and 20-somethings that share a love of impractically kitted-out motorcycles, breaking traffic laws and all-around crude behavior.

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KFC has its own potato chips in Japan, and we’ve got them in our bellies

For all of the attention Japan gets for its culinary contributions such as sushi and tempura, precious little credit is given to the way the country is always willing to push the envelope of salty snacks. Walk into any convenience store in the country, and you’ll find shelf after shelf stuffed with rice crackers, assorted nuts, and most of all, potato chips.

Recently, snack maker Calbee unleashed its newest flavor: KFC Colonel’s Crispy Potato Chips, and despite having never been to Kentucky, I knew it was my solemn duty to eat them.

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Fishermen (illegally) save endangered Japanese fish species

In a somewhat complicated story we’re not sure is heartwarming or kind of devastating, three middle-aged Tokyo fishermen have accomplished what experts thought was impossible by single (triple?)-handedly bringing an area fish species back from the brink of extinction by illegally catching them.

The three men, according to their accounts, caught the fish and, upon learning that they were on the endangered species list, contacted experts and aquariums for advice on breeding them – either for the sake of fishkind or for the sake of tons of delicious illicit fish meat.

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