Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Japan (Page 1399)
The beautiful and imposing samurai armour from the Warring States period (sengoku jidai) still fascinates people today, and there are historians who have dedicated their lives to finding out as much about ancient warfare as possible. We know that warriors often rode horseback, but did samurai also use armoured cats and mice in their epic battles?!
It should be no secret that we at RocketNews24 love traditional Japanese music. Whether its Ki&Ki with their tsugaru-jamisen songs or the Wagakki Band with their fusion of vocaloid-inspired rock and traditional instruments, we simply adore the sound. Of course, we’re also fans of Nintendo’s old video games–which is what makes Famikoto one of our favorite discoveries this season!
Check out this group’s music and get ready to take a walk down memory lane with some of Nintendo’s best theme songs!
With Toyota’s first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV), Mirai, now available, many wait to see if this revolutionary car with take off or fall flat in Japan. On 25 December, JX Nippon Oil & Energy began selling hydrogen for these new vehicles at a cost of 1,000 yen per kilogram (US$8/kg – $3.60/lb).
So is that worth giving up the pumps for…whatever hydrogen comes out of?
In today’s globalized economy, it’s perfectly normal to be wearing shoes made in Malaysia, listening to an American pop star on a Korean smartphone while driving a German car fitted with Japanese tires. But how many times have you taken a good look to find out where those new jeans or those headphones you got for Christmas were really made?
Recently Japanese consumers have been discovering that some of their products are from “P.R.C.,” a country they had never heard of, and would like some answers on what appears to be a legal gray zone in product labeling regulations.
Getting a fancy new computer is always fun, but then you’re left to get rid of your outdated clunker. Sure you can send it off to be recycled, but think of all the good times you’ve shared with your old computing buddy.
One Japanese Mac Pro user couldn’t part with his desktop, so he decided to give it a second life − as a stove. A rocket stove, to be precise. By adding a burner to the top and an exhaust pipe at the bottom, behold the “yakiringo” (grilled apple).
We thought people were dedicated when they lined up in droves to wait for the release of the iPhone 6 earlier this year, but that’s nothing compared to what these people had to endure while waiting for New Year’s lucky bags outside of the Apple Store in Sapporo, Japan!
Would you wait outside in the freezing cold for over a day and risk catching pneumonia in order to score some spiffy Apple products?
We’re all used to seeing those before-and-after photos of plain jane (or even, let’s be honest, um, “conventionally unattractive”) Asian girls transforming themselves into gorgeous swans through the use of cosmetics. But did you ever stop to think about those girls’ lives? What kind of bullying and social pressure drove them to devote themselves so entirely to relying on the contents of their makeup bags?
Today we’d like to introduce you to a young lady whose “before” face has made her the victim of a barrage of cruel tweets. But is she bothered? Not one bit!
Japanese people have a reputation for being polite and well-mannered, so the frequent sight of so many people, rather than giving up their seat as they should, suddenly becoming engrossed in their smartphones or pretending to sleep when a pregnant woman or elderly person boards always comes as a bit of a surprise to me.
Of course, there are still plenty of kind and courteous people who offer up their seat without fail. On such occasions, the elderly passenger will often decline the offer, either because they will be getting off in a couple stops, or because despite appearances they still feel young and genki enough to stand for the journey. One elderly man in particular, though, took offense at a young boy who kindly offered up his seat recently.
Learning a foreign language is hard. Even if you master all the vocabulary and grammar, there’s still no guarantee that you’ll ever achieve a native-like accent. For Japanese learners of English, differentiating between the “l” and “r” sounds and pronouncing the “th” sound correctly can be tricky them no matter how many years they’ve been practicing.
But have you ever wondered what it’s like the other way around? What sounds do we English speakers make that sound strange when we speak Japanese? Well it turns out the sound that we mess up the most is one you might not have expected: “fu”.
One of the best things about Comiket, or any kind of convention really, is just wandering around checking out what everyone else is wearing. In Japan especially, you can expect to see a high level of polish and detail when it comes to the outfits dedicated cosplayers wear for the benefit of everyone else’s aesthetic appreciation. But, as in life, it seems like those cosplayers who are naturally blessed with beauty tend to be the ones drawing everyone’s eye. Just ask this incredibly cute young lady, who was one of the unofficial stars of Comiket 87.
Whether you’re coming to Japan as a tourist or a new resident, getting into the island nation usually means taking a plane. With luggage space at a premium, odds are you haven’t packed more than two or three pairs of shoes, which is fine for a running start in the country. With all the walking involved in public-transportation-embracing Japan, though, wear and tear are going to set in before long, and you’ll find yourself in need of a new pair of kicks.
Odds are, though, that you didn’t come all the way to Japan to blow your travel budget on new shoes. If you’re just getting started as a working professional here, you’re probably also a little light on cash. So to keep your feet comfortable, outfit stylish, and wallet happy, today we’re taking a trip to one of Tokyo’s best-kept secret bargains, the Tokyo Shoe Distribution Center, to pick up a selection of footwear at less than 990 yen (US$8.40) per pair.
Ah mochi, the delicious Japanese sweet. It can come in all different shapes and flavors, from the loveable daifuku with sweet bean paste filling, to hot zenzai soup with azuki beans and white mochi, to such delights as mochi ice cream and even chocolate cow poop mochi.
Since mochi is a traditional New Year’s treat in Japan – you can even reserve your New Year’s kagami mochi at Baskin Robins – more of it is consumed around this time of year than any other.
But all that mochi-eating has a dark side to it. With its incredibly sticky texture, mochi causes the most choking-related deaths of any food item in Japan. Last year it killed two people during the New Year season, and after just two days into 2015 it has already claimed nine lives and hospitalized 128 others.
Do you like a good laugh, free stuff, and also stuffing your face with sushi and yakiniku? Then you might be interested in this new promotional campaign that’s going on in Japan right now!
Stamina Taro, an all-you-can-eat sushi and yakiniku chain in Japan, has enlisted the help of female comedy duo Nippon Elekitel Rengo to help drum up extra business over the New Year period. All you have to do to score majorly discounted or even FREE sushi and grilled meat is dress up like one, or both, of these super-funny ladies.
Every New Year’s, people across Japan flock to stores for special bargains, and in particular, the “Lucky Bags” known as fukubukuro. From electronics and chocolate shops to up-scale department stores, Japanese shops and businesses of all kinds come up with original Lucky Bags at the beginning of each year to tempt those of us out for some new year’s shopping. Now, these bags are supposed to offer good value, containing products worth more than the price you pay for the bag. Well, the bags may be a good value, but the catch is that you can’t choose what you get in your bag, and each year there ends up being much online discussion on whether the Lucky Bags from different shops are a particularly good or bad deal.
Not to miss out on the action, the team at the Japanese RocketNews24 site has also joined the Lucky Bag rush, and as we’ve already started reporting, we’ve taken a look at the contents of quite a few of the bags being sold this year. And one of them happens to be a bag from none other than … Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan. Let’s see what “finger-lickin’ good” items were included in their Lucky Bag for 2015!
How is your mental state? How likely do you think you are to commit a crime? If it were the year 2112 in the dystopian Japan of the popular anime Psycho-Pass, it would be no secret; your mental state and “Crime Coefficient” would be read, monitored and recorded by the Sibyl System. What’s more, if you were to go a little crazy, then you would be “taken care of” by the Public Safety Bureau.
With the new Psycho-Pass movie coming out on January 9, Fuji TV and their anime program Noitamina have come out with an ingenious advertising event. Why wait until 2112 to get your Psycho-Pass index when you can just go to Shinjuku Station next week! But watch out, if your mental state reading is muddy or your crime-coefficient is too high, you might get eliminated.
Many of you will undoubtedly have heard about the social phenomenon that is Youkai Watch. Indeed, the game, manga and anime series has been so immensely popular that some may even say that it has taken over Pokémon’s role as Japan’s favorite character franchise. Naturally, with that kind of popularity comes an abundance of fan art, so Japanese social trend and information compilation site Naver Matome has put together an article introducing selected works found on Twitter that stand out for a specific reason — for giving us an idea of what Youkai Watch may look like in the hands of some famous manga artists!
We’ve been bringing you all the the details on the year’s best fukubukuro – or “lucky bags” – today, but no roundup of these wonderful New Year’s goodie bags would be complete without a visit to ice cream purveyor Baskin Robbins Japan. Let’s find out what frozen delights were hidden in their bag!
With people generally getting married at a later age than in our parents’ generation, it sometimes feels like we have to throw out the whole rule book on marriage and starting a family in order to write a brand new one. But what do you do when your potential partner already has a bunch of crossed-out pages? Japanese website MyNavi Woman conducted a survey of 111 women between the ages of 22-34 and asked them, “Would you marry a man who’s been divorced”?
With its classic, minimalist style and unbranded goods, Muji is a popular and enduring brand. And whereas its international stores tend to mainly sell household goods and furniture, Muji in Japan has dipped its toe in a wide range of sectors, from show houses to cafés to a Muji car.
While Muji’s Lucky Bags always sell out, the store also sells this Fortune Can for, appropriately, 2,015 yen (around US$17)! As well as a 2,015-yen gift card – that’s right, every can contains a gift card that’s the same value as the retail price of the can! – each one also contains a traditional Japanese ornament from the Tōhoku, Kansai or Chūgoku regions.
Well, when our Japanese reporter Sachi Ojiya heard about that, he rushed down to Muji and bought not one but three Lucky Cans! This is his report.
As you’ve probably already gathered by browsing our front page today, fukubukuro season again! And for the 99.999999999 percent of us who couldn’t get the robot suit, every other store in Japan has something up for grabs.
This time we’re going to take a peek inside a lucky bag from leading fast food chain Lotteria as purchased by our own Hattori GO. Even though he’s not particularly a Naruto fan, he found himself very satisfied with his 2,000-yen (US$17) paper bag, so let’s take a look inside and see why!
7-Eleven Japan now offering baked-in-store pizza by the slice with two very different topping sets
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever gacha capsule toys, featuring iconic menu items as plush coffee charms
New Studio Ghibli washi tape adds anime flair to Japanese stationery
7-Eleven Japan adds new cold soup smoothies to its convenience store drinks range
New service lets Tokyo tourists display their faces on giant screen at Japan’s busiest intersection
Studio Ghibli releases new Spirited Away earrings featuring mysterious anime bathhouse character
Okayama man arrested for catching butterflies in central Japan
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Studio Ghibli Laputa figure looks like it’s really flying thanks to cool visual trick
Starbucks Japan unveils new coffee drinks… for people who don’t drink coffeeTokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Giant Evangelion Spear of Longinus to be installed at Japanese train station with Eva art trains
Face lettuce appears in Japan, with the face of Death Note’s Light Yagami, but why?
Starbucks Japan releases a miniature display rack so you can create your very own store at home
99-year-old woman rescued while attempting to climb Mt. Fuji
Pokémon Card Stores requiring facial recognition scans for entry in Japan in latest anti-scalper move
Kyoto receives more foreign tourists than ever before, but fewer visitors say they’ll return
Family Mart’s new Famima flagship in Tokyo has a hidden gem that most visitors miss
Starbucks Japan unveils exclusive new Frappuccinos limited to three regional areas
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see itTokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in TokyoStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroadSalomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Studio Ghibli releases new Spirited Away earrings featuring mysterious anime bathhouse character
Okayama man arrested for catching butterflies in central Japan
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Studio Ghibli Laputa figure looks like it’s really flying thanks to cool visual trick
Starbucks Japan unveils new coffee drinks… for people who don’t drink coffee
Kyoto receives more foreign tourists than ever before, but fewer visitors say they’ll return
Sanrio’s newest item looks like dog butt, exactly like it’s supposed to [Photos]
Life-size Legendary Pokémon Mega Rayquaza digitally greeting travelers at Tokyo train station [Vid]
Studio Ghibli adds new Ponyo glassware to its anime lineup for summer
Katana of one of Japan’s most famous swordsmen goes on display to help Kumamoto earthquake victims
Kumamoto Castle left illuminated all night long as symbol of hope for earthquake victims
Foreign tourists in Japan eat far more rice than previously thought, according to new data
McDonald’s Japan reveals new Pokémon collaboration range, covering McNuggets and lucky bags
Why is Taco Bell failing in Japan, even as the country falls in love with tacos?