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Japan’s very own Braziltown offers great food and shopping for a great price

Krista Rogers
Feb 2, 2014
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The World Cup is now less than half a year away! Don’t you wish you could go to Brazil to cheer on your national team? For those of you living in Japan who can’t quite scrape together the funds for that ticket, we bet you didn’t know that you can visit Japan’s very own ‘Braziltown’ right outside of Tokyo! While the world’s most widely viewed sporting event won’t be coming to the area anytime soon, you can still get a taste of the atmosphere by visiting authentic Brazilian restaurants and import stores. And the best part of going? This Braziltown is located within two hours of Tokyo and only costs 1,000 yen (US$9.77) to get there. Not bad considering airfares these days…

The folks at Another Tokyo, a popular Japanese website dedicated to introducing off-the-beaten track places around Japan, sent a reporter to Braziltown to check it out. Join us for a look at his photos and to hear about his experience.

Ensure your fruit never rolls away with pentagon oranges

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Feb 2, 2014

From creepy pears in the shape of a baby to heart-shaped lemons and watermelons, Japan has the market cornered on unusually shaped fruit. Now we’ve come across a five-sided orange produced in Ehime Prefecture. What’s more, these pointed fruits are supposed to help you pass your school exams!

Moving to Tokyo? Here are the three best, most reasonable neighborhoods to live in

Casey Baseel
Feb 2, 2014

Committing to an apartment in Japan can be nerve-wracking. On the plus side, there’s no penalty for breaking your lease, but on the other hand, you can expect to pay somewhere between four to six months’ worth of fees and deposits to your real estate agent and landlord. This being Japan, they’d like that in cash, and before you move in, of course.

Long story short, bouncing around from one apartment to another is cost prohibitive, so you want to make sure you choose a location you like. For everyone who’s looking for a place to live in Japan’s capital, we asked a real estate agency for the three best, most affordable neighborhoods in which to live in downtown Tokyo.

Are you otaku? Roughly 40 percent of Japanese college students say, “Yes!”

Casey Baseel
Feb 1, 2014

There seems to be a bit of a debate these days centered around whether or not being an otaku, the term used in Japan to describe people who obsess over a variety of hobbies, is a socially healthy one. In extreme cases, the otaku lifestyle can limit romantic opportunities, and even renowned anime director Hayao Miyazaki has grumbled about their effects on the industry he earned his fame in.

With all the negativity and marginalizing, you’d think the number of people the label could be applied to would be small, and the number of individuals who’d choose it for themselves to be smaller still. Surprisingly enough, though, in a recent survey of college students, nearly four in ten identified themselves as an otaku.

Tokyo Disneyland celebrates “Thanks Day” where the employees become valued guests

Master Blaster
Feb 1, 2014

On 27 January, Tokyo Disneyland held a little-known annual event to express gratitude for their legions of employees. Called “Thanks Day” it’s the one times of the year where those who work hard offering us visitors their cordial hospitality get to cut loose and have free rein over the park. Meanwhile, their managers give themselves a temporary demotion for the night to serve colas and operate Big Thunder Mountain.

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Toast with fermented soybeans and honey may not be good-looking, but it is good eating

Casey Baseel
Feb 1, 2014

There are plenty of Japanese foods that meet little to no resistance on the Western palate. Soba noodles and beef bowls tend to go down easily for new arrivals, and while the weirdness factor may take some time to get over, not too many people have complaints about the flavor of things like raw fish and cod roe.

There is, however, one hurdle in Japanese gastronomic assimilation that is so high that some people never clear it: natto, or fermented soybeans. Recently, we took on the notoriously challenging (and smelly) natto with the help of a powerful ally, honey.

Starbucks Japan’s sakura drinks: One more reason we’re ready for winter to be over

Casey Baseel
Feb 1, 2014

Is it spring yet? I know my southern Californian upbringing means I whine whenever the temperature is cold enough that I have to put on a jacket to go out, but I could seriously do with some warmer weather right about now. There’s all sorts of things to look forward to in the coming season, such as longer days, being able to spend more time outdoors, and the blooming of the sakura, or cherry blossoms.

And just in case the deal needs any more sweetening, there’s also Starbucks’ springtime sakura beverage lineup.

Cyclist in Tokyo ordered to pay $459,000 after collision leaves 74-year-old woman dead

Philip Kendall
Jan 31, 2014

A Tokyo court has ruled that a cyclist must pay 47 million yen (US$459,000) to the family of a 75-year-old women he collided with and killed in 2010.

The pensioner, one Mrs. Mitsuhiro Azuma, was struck by the cyclist on a pedestrian crossing in Tokyo’s Ota Ward after he ignored a red light. The court heard that Mrs. Azuma suffered a head wound when she was knocked to the ground, from which she died five days later.

Goro Miyazaki to direct Ronia the Robber’s Daughter TV anime

Anime News Network
Jan 31, 2014

Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill) will direct a television anime adaptation of Swedish author Astrid Lindgren’s Ronia the Robber’s Daughter children’s fantasy book. The series, titled Sanzoku no Musume Ronia in Japan, will air on NHK and BS Premium this fall. POLYGON PICTURES (Knights of Sidonia, The Sky Crawlers) is animating the 3D CG series in collaboration with Studio Ghibli. The show will mark the first time that Miyazaki is directing a television anime series.

Attack on Titan’s studio head talks sequels, keys to the hit anime’s success

Casey Baseel
Jan 31, 2014

It’s been a long time since anime has had a hit like Attack on Titan. Over the last several years, Japanese animation has become increasingly self-referential, providing previously unparalleled enjoyment for, and arguably pandering to, its most devoted followers. This came at the cost of accessibility, though, and often shut out new fans in much the same way that the city walls in Attack on Titan were keep rampaging giants outside the city.

Joji Wada (who also goes by George Wada), is the head of Wit Studio, the production house behind the animated hit. In a recent interview with the The Nikkei, Wada talked about the keys to Attack on Titan’s success, as well as dropped some tantalizing hints regarding spin-offs and sequels.

Foreigners reveal the moments they felt they really “got this whole Japan thing”

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 31, 2014

Expats in Japan, you know the feeling: After years of working towards your goal of somehow, someday living in Japan, you finally made it to the land of mochi and Harajuku. But you’re not really living in Japan, no, you’re drowning in it. It wasn’t what you expected it to be (how dare your years of research, whether in school or from anime, deceive you!). And you cry and you curse your naivety for ever thinking you could just pick up and move to such a strange land.

But then one day, you have a clear, identifiable moment when everything seems to come together and you just have to stop and smile to yourself, thinking, “I’m doing it. I’m really doing it.” It’s these little moments that eventually trickle together and without realizing it, you’re walking on water, swapping oyaji-gyagu with the best of them and craving sashimi for dinner. Let’s take a look at what 20 foreigners on Japanese website, Niconico News, identified as a time they really felt like they had gotten the hang of living in Japan.

10 house points to the boy or girl who can correctly identify this bizarre bread beast

Philip Kendall
Jan 31, 2014

Twitter user Zarame25 shared the above photo on earlier this week along with the comment: “My mother bought this bread, but I have no idea what it’s supposed to be. Is it a character or something? It’s some kind of weird animal.” Having spent the best part of this morning staring at it and throwing suggestions around, we have to admit we’re not sure what it’s supposed to be ether.

Foreign residents pick their favorite snacks to pair with Japanese beer

Casey Baseel
Jan 31, 2014

A few years ago, I was hanging out with a friend in Tokyo. Being recently married meant that for the first time in several years I was living in an apartment more spacious and comfortable than a bunker, and I invited my buddy back to my place for a beer.

I called my wife to give her a heads-up that I was bringing home a guest, and when we arrived, I was surprised to see she’d gone down the block to the store and picked up a selection of snacks for our impromptu drinking session. In hindsight, this really shouldn’t have been so unexpected, as beer is almost always accompanied by food in Japan.

Our memories are a little hazy, but we seem to remember being taught, “When in Rome, drink as the Romans.” Taking this to heart, recently a group of foreign residents in Japan shared their favorite munchies to pair with Japanese beer.

Nails looking duller than a sack of potatoes? Brighten them up with Smart Nails!

Master Blaster
Jan 31, 2014

Smart products seem to be emerging left and right these days with smart wigs getting a patent by Sony and smart sushi restaurants already on the streets. With all this smartness to be had, why not give your nails the same intelligence. They deserve it. All you have to do is pick up some Smart Nails recently released by H2L.

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Gum gets frisky in Japan

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 31, 2014

The word “frisk” usually means “to pass the hands over someone in search for hidden weapons, drugs, or other items,” and don’t even get us started on the meaning of “frisky.” But in Japan, the naughty English word refers to something a little different: breath mints.

Frisk mints are commonly found in convenience stores and supermarkets across Japan. Although originally created in Belgium, the tiny yet powerful mints burst onto the fresh breath scene in Japan in 1992 and have since dominated the market. But now the brand is getting a little frisky with gum, arguably the cousin of breath mints. Oh my!

Life-sized 3-D maneuver gear goes on display at Osaka’s new Attack on Titan museum

Oona McGee
Jan 31, 2014

The wildly popular manga and animated series, Attack on Titan, continues to charge on, picking up speed and treating us all to a bevy of fan-related events before its live-action film debut in 2015. Now, for a limited time only, Osaka will play host to a very special “Survey Corps Museum”, with original illustrations, exclusive merchandise and awesome, life-sized 3-D maneuver gear. If you’re a fan of Attack on Titan, then take a look at what’s waiting for you in Osaka for the next 16 days…

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Incest-themed TV anime sparks decency investigation. What were the odds?

Casey Baseel
Jan 31, 2014

It’s a tough time for anime studios. The boom days of direct-to-video productions, when consumers would happily plunk down 5,000 yen (US$48) or more for 30-minutes of animation, sight-unseen, are long gone. At the same time, TV ad revenue is hard to come by, and in some cases, non-existent for anime programs. So in order to produce a hit these days, you’ve got to put your product on television first, and then find a way to leverage its broadcast popularity into subsequent DVD and Blu-ray sales.

The real tricky part is striking a balance between showing enough for free to keep people watching and interested, yet offering the prospect of something they can’t see on TV in order to drive home-video purchases later. An easy choice for this is sexual content, and the closer a show treads to the censorship line, the more wondrous the delights awaiting viewers in the unrated DVDs are assumed to be.

Recently, one anime may have aimed a little too high in appealing to the lowest common denominator, and is now the subject of a broadcast decency investigation.

Survey reveals that more than 70 percent of otaku would choose their hobby over love

Philip Kendall
Jan 30, 2014

Over the years, the term “otaku” has, as well as being accepted into the English language, come to mean not just computer or anime fanatics locked away in their bedrooms, but any person who shows above-average fondness for any given hobby or pastime. Crazy about pop idols? You’re an otaku. Can’t get enough cosplay in your life? Same for you. Have a collection of video games so large that your friends casually refer to your house as “the library”? You’d better believe you’re an otaku.

But is your passion for your hobby so great that you would willingly choose it over love and romance? A recent survey asked a group of otaku that very question, and found that 70.1 percent of them said they’d shun love in favour of their hobby if it came down to it.

Tottori University researchers discover a simple way to possibly cure all forms of cancer

Master Blaster
Jan 30, 2014

Alright, it doesn’t look so simple from the above image, but on 25 January, Tottori University announced that researchers have found a method to successfully transform a cancerous tumor into non-threatening tissue. Although the research that went into it is incredibly complicated, the result is a single molecule that may be able to universally reverse cancerous cells in a relatively brief amount of time.

The announcement doesn’t hold back its enthusiasm either, proclaiming that from this discovery “the dream of the eradication of cancer is at hand.”

Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki says the anime industry’s problem is that it’s full of anime fans

Casey Baseel
Jan 30, 2014

It’s hard to imagine legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki needing to be any more lauded than he already is. Over 95 percent of Japan’s population has watched one of his movies, people see uploading his films to the Internet as being the fast track to popularity, and he’s even got a celestial body named after him. Really, though, after seeing the quality of his work, it’s hard to argue with the respect he receives. The man is clearly a genius.

However, Miyazaki is also a 73-year-old man, and like many individuals who have reached such an age, occasionally can’t resist the stubborn urge to grumble about how the people who came up after him are screwing up his industry.