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Japan (Page 1422)

Pet sitting service extends into Nagoya, Japan

When leaving the house for days on end, whether it be for work or for pleasure, those who have pets face an additional problem in planning. Someone has to feed the critters and make certain that they don’t leave any stinky surprises. Japan offers a number of different services for traveling pet owners, but one man, Mr. Haruna from Okazaki City in Aichi Prefecture, hated to see how upset his pet became after being left in a pet hotel.

In order to limit the stress of lonely pets, Haruna quit his job as a salary man and started the Pet-Sitter Gentry. “It’s the pet version of a babysitter,” he explains, and although the business has seen some hardships, the recruitment of additional staff has now allowed him to expand his pet-sitting service area into eastern Nagoya City.

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Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX screeching into game centres across Japan this month

Start your engines, boys and girls! Long-running racing series Mario Kart is making its third entry into the arcade scene, with Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX launching this July in Japanese video arcades!

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We try 400-year-old Ghost Child Care Candy – so good it’ll raise the dead

In the Higashiyama area of Kyoto City stands a candy shop which boasts a unique regular customer, the specter of a woman who comes for their candy. The legend began in 1599 and has been handed down from generation to generation to the present day.

The shop, now called Minatoya Ghost Child Care Candy Main Office, only sells its legendary Ghost Child Care Candy. RocketNews24’s Kuzo decided to head down to Kyoto to investigate the bittersweet story behind this candy shop’s connection to the other side.

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Japan-exclusive Oreo Sticks – Can they compete with the real thing?

There are few things with the power to excite and abhor travellers more than foreign versions of sweets and cookies that exist back home. Even though we pass them by dozens of times a day in supermarkets and convenience stores in our own country, spot M&M’s, Doritos or even a Kit-Kat in a land where everything else is alien, and immediately we feel like home is not so far away; it’s like running into a friend from your home town during your first week of college where everything else is scary and unknown. What happens, though, if that same friend has a weird new haircut and is affecting some peculiar accent just because they’re in an unfamiliar town?

Oreo Sticks, a snack exclusive to Japan, will likely have the very same unnerving effect on snackophiles. With packaging familiar to millions, yet containing a snack entirely different to those we’re used to, Oreo Sticks have the potential to shatter cookie fans’ dreams, but with a little courage they could also be something quite wonderful.

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Despite its image as a high-tech country, a lot of Japan’s government paperwork still takes the form of bound collection of hard copies of legal documents. The National Diet Library has the responsibility of housing countless numbers of these collections.

However, like a fiery balrog, water is the bane of physical printed documents (which admittedly have a bit of a problem with fire, too). The National Diet Library occasionally has to deal with restoring books that have become wet before water damage sets in. Recently, the library revealed its simple, easy to copy technique for properly drying out a soggy book.

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The restaurant that powered the team behind one of Nintendo’s biggest hits

Kyoto has a long-standing reputation as a center of traditional culture, justified by its numerous significant temples and shrines, not to mention the artwork they house and their surrounding gardens. However, the city is also home to a site of great importance to modern pop culture: the headquarters of video game maker Nintendo, responsible for many of the titles that shaped modern gaming.

There’s a saying in Japan, though, that you can’t win a battle on an empty stomach, and that goes for designing great games, too. We recently visited the restaurant that powered the development team of one of Nintendo’s biggest hits ever.

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My, Kitty, haven’t you grown!? Japan’s favourite feline gets a risqué remake

Oh, Kitty-chan, you look… different! Sent to us by Madrid-based reader April, these photos of a cheeky t-shirt riff on everyone’s favourite Japanese cat are sure to raise a few eyebrows both at home and abroad.

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Mr. Sato shows us how to make a frozen slushie with our favourite sodas

If you’ve ever been to Japan during summer, then you’ll know how the energy-sapping, mind-melting humidity can make you want to do crazy things like wear ice-cream shorts and invest in USB-powered neck coolers. So of course we weren’t surprised when Mr. Sato came into the office insisting everyone shake their carbonated drinks and put them in the freezer. While some of our more sensible staff members made it clear that they wouldn’t be sticking around to clean up any fizzy explosions, our man Mr. Sato managed to convince us all that this would work. And work it did. In fact, this may be one of Mr. Sato’s most sensible ideas yet!

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Employee flushes 40 liters of soap, bubbly carnage ensues

Oh, dear heavens! What’s this?

Is Tokyo having freak, concentrated snowfall in the middle of summer? Have Mr. Freeze and Iceman been duking it out in Ginza? Is it a cotton candy terrorist attack??

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“Someone is dead in your room” phone call triggers Osaka’s eeriest dead body incident

Police in Sakai City, Osaka are currently investigating a 46-year-old man found hanged in an public housing complex apartment that wasn’t his. The actual owner, a 21-year-old man, has since disappeared. This strange story all started when the young tenant received a phone call from an unidentified man speaking in a Tokyo area dialect that said “someone is dead in your room.”

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Cuddle up with a giant squid plush toy and other inky goods from NHK

In a joint effort between NHK and the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, an international team of scientists was assembled in a quest to be the first to photograph the elusive giant squid in its natural habitat. Their search was made into an NHK special documentary titled, “World’s first photographing! Deep sea giant squid” and was broadcasted in Japan this past January. After its airing, giant squids quickly became a popular topic of conversation among viewers.

In celebration of the documentary’s success, NHK has created a line of giant squid goods. From smartphone cases to squid ink cookies to pencil pouches in the shape of giant squid, there are almost too many tentacles for sale.

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Thief sells bikes on popular auction site, steals them back

Since the early days of the Internet, online shopping has been fraught with deceit. And, despite the hard work of many companies, there’s still a lot of trepidation when bidding in Internet auctions. Inevitably, anyone is bound to wonder: “Will they really send the goods?” “Are the pictures accurate?” “Are these beautiful bicycles actually soon-to-be stolen items?”

That’s right, we said “soon-to-be-stolen,” not “stolen!”

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Lotte releases gum for women over 50 that tastes like women over 50, it’s surprisingly good

Gum can be a great way to freshen your breath or relieve stress, but by the time you’re old enough to have huge amounts of stress and coffee-breath, chewing gum can look kind of immature.

But food and candy maker Lotte is looking to shatter that stereotype by producing a gum target directly at women over the age of 50. Oddly enough their strategy seemed to be making it taste like a woman in her fifties.

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One in twenty Japanese people sunbathe nude – how does your country compare?

Ever sunbathed topless? How about totally nude? Expedia conducted an opinion poll across 21 countries to gather information on people’s holiday habits, and managed to slip in some cheeky questions on how much clothing people were willing to do without at the beach.

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Enjoy latte art at home with cute marshmallow cats!

From colourful anime designs to awesome 3-D creations, exciting things are going on in the drinkable art world of Japan. Now, there’s a new trend that’s melting our hearts: latte art in adorable take-home designs. Created by a marshmallow company in Nagano Prefecture, the range includes cute cats and fluffy cat paws that gradually dissolve into 2-D latte artworks. The only skill you’ll need for these is an ability to stand the cuteness!

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Places you simply must visit: Nara edition

Often overlooked in favor of Kyoto, Nara Prefecture is one of the most beautiful and significant places—culturally and historically—in Japan. If you happen to be traveling in the Kansai region, we cannot urge you enough to make the time to swing by!

In fact, there’s so much to see that we can’t possibly tell you about every amazing place in Nara, but here are a few of our favorites!

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Japanese gifts most wanted by foreigners

As a foreign resident of Japan, I take occasional trips back home. And on such occasions, I almost always find myself at a surprising loss for ideas when souvenir shopping for friends stateside.

Sure, there are obvious choices: Hentai manga makes a great gag gift, for example, but you’re bound to go on some kind of watch list if customs decides to randomly inspect your luggage. Yukata seem universally appreciated by new-agey aunts, and quirky Japanese toys are great for kids. But foolproof, sure-to-please-anybody gifts are surprisingly hard to pick out.

Luckily, a Japanese reporter at Excite Japan, who travels frequently and thus has lots of souvenir purchasing experience, has revealed the top Japanese gifts most likely to please friends and family abroad.

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Court ruling orders anyone with a TV-equipped device to pay NHK’s public broadcasting license fee

On May 27, Sagamihara District Court in Yokohama, Japan, ruled that regardless of whether or not someone has entered into a contract with NHK (Japan’s public broadcasting station), being in possession of a TV-equipped device, like a smartphone or car navigation equipment, is enough by law to be obligated to pay NHK’s licensing fees.

According to NHK News, the same district court ordered a household in Kanagawa Prefecture to pay a TV license fee that was calculated back to when they first bought their TV set many years ago. The total fee came in at a whopping 109,000 yen (US$1,100). Such a ruling is a first of its kind; up until now if you could somehow avoid signing the TV license contract, you could rid yourself of any obligations to pay.

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Japan’s sex habits laid bare – Condom maker reveals results of national survey

Known the world over for impecable manners and social etiquette, yet at the same time home to a thriving sex industry, Japan is a country of stark contrasts. What goes on behind closed doors is seldom discussed in public and yet with risqué manga and adults-only bars and stores in plain view in most city areas, there are likely few urbanites who aren’t plainly aware that behind its deep bows, well-regimented table manners and ceremony surrounding even the seemingly trivial act of exchanging business cards, Japan has a naughty side.

In a recent survey carried out by Japanese condom manufacturer Sagami Condoms, however, 4,100 people from all over the country disclosed the intricate details of their sex lives, discussing everything from when they first started doing it to how often they have sex today and whether they’re completely satisfied in bed.

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Unfortunate Google employee forced to wander alone on eerie abandoned island for Street View photos

Google Street View seems to have its priorities all out of whack. While only just getting around to snapping the more remote areas of mainland Japan and having yet to cover the majority of Canada, Google sent out one intrepid employee to explore the completely abandoned Japanese island of Gunkanjima.

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