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Where to find the “ultimate melon bread” in Japan

Krista Rogers
Mar 24, 2014
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Just the thought of melon bread (or meronpan, as it’s called in Japanese), is enough to make my mouth water. It’s got to be the combination of that fluffy, sweet interior and the crispy, thin cookie dough outer coating…not to mention its heavenly aroma. Whenever I go to a new bakery in Japan, I always try out the melon bread first, and that inevitably sets the standard for me (by the way, plain old 7-11 melon bread is one of my favorites – who else agrees?!).

While it may seem contrary to fact, not all melon bread is actually made with melon flavoring. The name has more to do with the fact that its round shape and exterior grooves resemble a melon. However, we here at RocketNews24 have recently discovered an authentic, “ultimate melon bread” to beat all the rest! If you’re as big of a melon bread fan as us, keep on reading to find out where you can buy this little bun of happiness.

These cat-laden sweets are too cute to eat…but we still want to!【Photos】

Joan Coello
Mar 23, 2014

We’ve found the perfect snack to go with those cat marshmallow lattes! The best match for a cup of hot coffee or cocoa with a cute cat floating in it has to be hotcakes loaded with little wandering kitties! The best (or worst) part is, those cats aren’t just decorations, they’re completely edible! More pictures after the jump!

Expat blogger dishes on her favorite foods to bring back to Japan after a trip home

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Mar 23, 2014

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, if you’re an expat, there’s something from home you’re craving. Whether it’s chips and salsa or a good, strong beer, not having easy access to your favorite foods can put a damper on even the most enthusiastic of world travelers. That’s why knowing what to bring back after a visit home is so important, and Sharla, a university student living in Tokyo who makes videos about life in Japan, is here to help. Take a look at her video titled “What to Pack for JAPAN 日本に持っていくべき物!” and be prepared to take some notes. As an added bonus, Sharla speaks in English but includes subtitles in Japanese so anyone studying either language can get some extra practice.
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AQTAS: the deep fryer that not only is safe to add water to, but uses it for better frying

Master Blaster
Mar 23, 2014

In Japan, there’s been a lot of talk about a new deep fryer developed by Noritz called AQTAS. Traditionally deep frying involved using oil and oil only. Adding water to the equation would often lead to destruction to property and/or serious bodily harm.

Then there’s AQTAS which somehow not only is able to take in water and ice without an explosion but all of the oil in the fryer is actually swirling directly atop a layer of water. We’re not really sure exactly why it works, but it does and there are a bunch of other benefits to it as well.

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Stingy people rejoice as Japanese restaurants in New York introduce a ban on tipping

Fran W
Mar 23, 2014

“Please can I give you a tip? In America, we have this custom, you know. I have to tip the pizza guy. And you came all the way out here in this weather…”

The rain-drenched delivery man on the doorstep of the Japanese apartment looked mildly embarrassed as he waved away my friend’s money. It was a typhoon day – classes cancelled, school closed, and the English teachers from my school had piled into one apartment for a party. Not wanting to brave the lashing wind and rain to go out and get food, we had ordered pizza, but hadn’t counted on the guilt we would feel when the delivery guy turned up on a moped looking like he’d just jumped into a swimming pool fully clothed.

In Japan, there’s no custom of tipping. In fact, leaving a tip could potentially be considered rude, as the cost of the service is already supposed to be included in the price you pay. My American buddy’s attempt to follow his home custom in Japan ended in the delivery driver apologising profusely for not accepting the tip! In New York City, meanwhile, Japanese restaurants are bringing the no-tipping custom Stateside, as Restaurant Riki becomes the latest Manhattan establishment to ban their customers from tipping.

LED plant factories offer efficient 3D alternative to traditional gardening

Master Blaster
Mar 22, 2014

The concept of plant factories is not a new one. Especially in space-strapped Japan, the idea of a compact garden that can simulate a natural environment in a tight urban area is highly desirable.

Keystone Technologies is one Japanese company that has been constantly refining their LED garden technology. Currently they boast a system that can fit about a quarter acre’s worth of crops into a space of a hotel’s single-room, and that’s just the beginning.

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Man spends $140,000 a month on cosmetic surgery, girls still aren’t impressed

Philip Kendall
Mar 22, 2014

Imagine dropping vast sums of cash on plastic surgery in an effort to make yourself appear more attractive, only to be told by a host of female celebs on national television that they wouldn’t touch you with a barge pole.

In classic Japanese variety show fashion, that’s precisely what TBS’s Watashi no Nani ga Ikenai no!? has in store for viewers next week, according to a recently released teaser trailer.

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Well I never knew that! Video shows secret sleeping quarters for night bus drivers

Philip Kendall
Mar 22, 2014

Most haulage vehicles have snug little sleeping compartments for their drivers to crawl into after many hours on the road, but if you take a look around an average Greyhound or overnight bus you’ll notice no such place to hunker down.

So if a driver needs a little shut-eye between trips, where do they get it? Motels? Some kind of depot? Sitting up in their seat with a neck pillow? According to the following video, night bus drivers in Japan actually have another alternative, and it’s a lot closer than we thought.

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Turn your painful break-up into a positive global force with this “Heartbreak Box”!

Kay
Mar 22, 2014

We all know break-ups can be a painful, gut-wrenching experience. Even long after the actual traumatic event, you may suddenly be seized with thoughts such as, “Oh, we were supposed to see that movie together,” or “We were going to go to that beach this summer,” and find yourself weeping uncontrollably at the most unexpected and usually inopportune moments.

And what can really be a bummer is deciding what to do with all the things your ex-boyfriend (or ex-girlfriend) gave you. Birthday presents, letters or even pictures of the two of you together — all items that were irreplaceable treasures at one time — can bring back painful memories and possibly even prevent you from moving on. But now, there may be an ideal solution to this problem, and one that can help change the world for the better.

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Lobsters offered as prizes for claw game all found dead, foul play suspected

Master Blaster
Mar 22, 2014

A tragic scene unfolded at the Inter World game center in Iwatsuki, Saitama this week. The lobster claw game, in which players get a chance to catch a live lobster became a grizzly spectacle as every single crustacean was found dead.

“How do you google using Yahoo?” and other amazing questions from Japan’s Yahoo! Answers

Fran W
Mar 22, 2014

Japan has its own version of Yahoo! Answers, the question and answer site where you can ask anything and receive a quick reply from other users. The Japanese site is named Yahoo! Chiebukuro (“Yahoo! brains” or, more literally, “knowledge bag”), and as this collection of the best Q&A sets shows, the questions people ask range from the bafflingly inane to the unexpectedly profound!

As we’re about to see, Japan has its fair share of loveable idiots as well as geniuses!

“Dude, where’s my cat?” Check in the rice cooker!

Preston Phro
Mar 22, 2014

Cats are always sticking their noses…and heads and butts and, well, their whole bodies where they just don’t belong. Working on an important business report? Cat on the keyboard! Trying to cook? Cat face in your mixing bowl! Strange noises in your closet freaking you out at night? Cat doing…something in there. We still have no idea what.

While we all love a cute kitty, it’s impossible to avoid the fact that they simply have an innate desire to get in the way or into just about everything. One Japanese Twitter user learned this the funny way when his cat just…disappeared!

Japan’s vending machines are no match for counterfeit coins

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Mar 21, 2014

Counterfeit coins and bills are hard to make and with the advancement of technology, hard to pass for genuine money. Store clerks are armed with a variety of techniques, from special pens to knowledge of watermark placement, making it even more difficult for those looking for undeserved cash to score big.

However, with the proliferation of vending machines across Japan and the circulation of a high-value 500 yen (US$5) coin, counterfeiters have a perfect mark for cashing in their fake coins, as a recent photo on Twitter confirms.

Why there were 19 syllables in the Japanese word for “saxophone” during WWII

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Mar 21, 2014

A photo of what appears to be an entry in a Japanese textbook tweeted by Kurita as been surprising netizens across the country. It shows a list of foreign loan words that had been turned into Japanese during the early 1940s. Most surprising of the list, as pointed out by netizens, was the word for “saxophone,” which was transformed into an awkward 19-character-long mouthful. Let’s take a closer look at why this happened and the results of English being deemed an “enemy language” during WWII.

Check out this 8m robot that appeared on Tokyo’s waterfront【Video】

Fran W
Mar 21, 2014

It’s not every day you get to see an enormous robot being lifted up to tower above you. That’s why fans of science-fiction series Mobile Police Patlabor were excited to see an 8-metre high humanoid robot from the series being put up in the Toyosu area of Tokyo’s waterfront.

The robot in question is the AV-98 Ingram, which appears in the latest movie addition to the franchise, a live action series called The Next Generation Patlabor. Fans gathered to watch the robot, which is built “actual size” at just over 8m high, being raised into place on March 17th.

Fiery balls of lava erupting from Nishinoshima eruption caught on video

Master Blaster
Mar 21, 2014

Late last year we watched as a new island was born and started growing off the Pacific coast of Japan. Boy did it grow fast, as a little later that year it assimilated (to form the face of loveable hound, Snoopy, no less) with another nearby island, Nishinoshima.

This kind of event doesn’t happen every day, but unfortunately the Japanese Coast Guard is advising all ships to stay well clear thus torturing the curious souls who want to catch a glimpse of it. Then by a sheer stroke of luck, someone from the Ogasawara Tourist Board was able to capture a brief but interesting look at these eruptions in action and generously posted it on YouTube for all to see. It’s seriously impressive.

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Computer equipment: the new way to keep your pet birds warm and happy?

Philip Kendall
Mar 21, 2014

When you think about all the power our modern devices burn through each day, particularly when some of us leave our gear switched on when it really needn’t be, it seems like a tremendous waste. So why not put some of that lost heat energy to good use and keep your pets warm?*

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Super (Saiyan) dad creates homemade Dragon Ball animation for his son’s birthday

Krista Rogers
Mar 21, 2014

We’ve officially found the world’s coolest dad…and he lives in Brazil! Animator Robson Menezes dos Santos began working on a special animation video last August for his son Rasdael’s 9th birthday on February 9. And let’s just say that the results will blow you away faster than if you got hit by a Kamehameha. He even got the official Brazilian voice actors to dub a special birthday message for Rasdeal! Be sure to watch this awesome birthday present yourself- it’s over 9,000 one million levels of coolness!!

Assassination Classroom apologizes for printing error on characters’ bra sizes

Anime News Network
Mar 21, 2014

Anything that gets published is prone to typos at any stage of the process, and manga is no exception. From using the wrong kanji to misprinting page numbers, any number of mistakes can happen. Readers haven’t always proved to be understanding of these, but when it comes to a matter very dear to many hearts — bra sizes — errors can be especially unforgivable.

“Hungover today, sorry!” Laidback Tsukuba cafe gives hilarious reasons for frequent closings

Mike
Mar 21, 2014

Tsukuba is a small, planned city nestled in the mountains of Ibaraki, which has a reputation for being a pretty chilled out place to live. The small population size and abundance of surrounding nature give the city a slow-paced, laid back feeling compared to the bustle of major cities like Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka.

We hear there are also a lot of great places to eat in Tsukuba, provided your restaurant or cafe of choice isn’t closed for the day because they couldn’t decide on the day’s menu items or the manager has a hangover.

Or at least, that may be the case if you choose to drop in on the popular privately owned cafe, Ajiyoshi. The staff over there seem to take their easygoing lifestyle to the next level, frequently closing up shop on a whim; but never without “good” reason.