Japan (Page 1444)
Okay, so there isn’t an official event called “The Running of the Nerds” in Japan, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, but what else would you call this biannual spectacle of Japanese otaku frantically clamoring off a crowded train, sprinting up the platform stairs, rocketing past the turnstiles, and…patiently waiting in line for five hours? Read More
New fad in Japan: Posting your phone number, bank account, and other personal information on Twitter
Even as more and more people complain about how unsocial social network services have become, some Japanese Twitter users have put their faith in humanity and opened up a new line of communication with their fellow Tweeters.
How? By publicly posting their phone numbers, some going as far as posting their bank account information and address.
A few weeks ago, we introduced you to some of Japan’s greatest themed-hotel rooms, but it seems we may have jumped the gun just a bit because The Prince Hotel located in Minato Ward of Tokyo has just opened up a brand new Hello Kitty-themed suite, and it might very well be one of the cutest rooms we’ve ever seen.
Check out the photos and details of the cutest room in Japan below.
Nagoya District Court ruled on August 9 that the family of a man with dementia who entered a railway line and consequently died after being hit by a train must pay compensation to the Japan Railway (JR) Group. The court concluded that the measures the family put in place to prevent the 91-year-old from wandering off by himself were insufficient.
The traditional onsen tamago, not widely consumed outside of Japan, follows a simple recipe of blasting an egg in its shell with hot steam or letting it slow-cook in hot water. It’s basically a poached egg that’s shelled after the poaching.
Seeing as perfectly poaching an egg the traditional western way is a messy and surprisingly complicated affair, it makes a lot of sense to just leave the eggs in their shells and stick them in some hot water for a while, or better yet, just leave them in a hot car, forget about them entirely, and go play some XBox. Next time you go on a beer run, you’ll find delicious onsen tamago waiting for you on your dashboard, like this Japanese Twitter user.
MOS Burger, the Japanese fast food chain famous for being a fresher, slightly healthier alternative to other hamburger joints, has recently announced that it will release a new hamburger sandwich to go alongside its existing range of plain and cheese “Tobikiri” hamburgers. The exciting twist? This one’s loaded with French demi-glace sauce and aligot, a sumptuous mix of potato and cheese that’s sure to send you to premium burger heaven.
Fans of anime and manga are most certainly acquainted with the ever-popular adventure series, One Piece. Now, the brand that brings us all of our favorite pirate-themed products is teaming up with the water label, FRECIOUS, to deliver some totally cool One Piece water dispensers.
Don’t worry, though the story of One Piece takes place on the ocean, these water coolers deliver only the freshest grade-A water from the forests of Mount Fuji. Read More
With character design and a visual style worthy of a Disney production, when we were introduced to this short animation by the staff at our sister site RocketNews24 Japan, we almost didn’t believe them when they said it was made not by a world-famous animation studio but by students of the National Taiwan University of Arts. Half an hour of replays later, we managed to tear ourselves away from the video just long enough to share it with you, our dear readers, too!
It’s cute, it’s emotive, and it’s absolutely gorgeous; this is Deathigner.
Ishigaki Island has a few well known specialty foods such as Ishigaki beef and Yaeyama soba noodle, but aside from these delicacies a little-known snack food has been making waves across the nation. They call it onisasa.
Onisasa should be mistaken for some gimmicky new flavor the city of Ishigaki has concocted just to drum up tourism. This little hidden gem had been around for a long time in the region before getting the attention of greater Japan. So just what is onisasa?
It feels like yesterday when our reporter Kuzo travelled deep into China for find the fabled “melt-proof ice pop” named Banana – a vanilla ice cream encased in a protective gummy sheath. However, this year Banana has come to the world (under a variety of names such as Bennana in Japan), and this October it will reach the shores of Japan.
To celebrate, Banana’s maker Nestle held a “Banana Day” event in Harajuku, Tokyo on 7 August. Yet another punny Japanese holiday on a Japanese reading of “8/7”, it involved the giving away of free monkey ears, T-shirts, and of course Bennanas.
It’s summer in Japan and that means everyone is on the lookout for ways to cool down and cope with the stifling heat. For many Japanese, relief comes in popsicle form, and one of the most popular and refreshing is the Suika Bar, literally “watermelon bar”, which featured in our recent Japanese convenience store ice-cream ranking.
But what happens when you have a craving for the crunchy watermelon treat and the blistering walk to the shops is too much to bear? Our Japanese reporter recently faced this dilemma and tried to recreate the popsicle with just the fruit instead. How will the humble frozen watermelon measure up next to its manufactured cousin? We bring you the answer to this summer’s most pressing question after the break.
It’s come to that time of the year again when many of us will be thinking about getting in shape (or wishing we already had!) as our garments become skimpier and the amount of flesh on show sees an increase. For some, this means planning well ahead of the summer season and going through heavy exercise or muscle training sessions at the gym. However, I’m sure that if you came across the 80-year-old Japanese man in the photo above, you’d find it hard to believe that he was a professional bodybuilder. Perhaps the most natural response would be, “An old man keeping himself active.” But wait until you see the body that he’s hiding under that tracksuit.
The 2013 Summer round of Comic Market (Comiket) began on 10 August, drawing flocks of anime, manga, and cosplay fans from Japan and abroad. The three-day event draws around half a million attendees on average.
For one resident of Odaiba where the event is held, this time of year is an absolute nightmare as he claims an abnormal smell emanates from the convention every time. The following is an translated open letter from the office worker in his 30s, who we’ll refer to as Mr. A.
Every culture in the world has different standards and social norms surrounding blossoming romance. But first kiss stories are a worldwide constant… or are they?
A Japanese cosmetic company, T-Garden, recently came out with a line of new lip gloss called ChuChuMagic, taken from the Japanese sound effect of kissing (“Chu!”). To further their new ad campaign, the online makeup store, Luvlit, started a ChuChuMagic survey on the online market research site, “Girl’s Monitor,” that asked Japanese men and women about their various kissing experiences. After questioning 1,000 users who registered for the survey, Luvlit reported their findings.
In order to show off their new automotive technology called “Eye Sight,” Subaru recently released a commercial starring miniature cars. Filmed without a single frame of CGI or a blink of sleep for 60 hours, the wonderland of a commercial is surprisingly beautiful! We do hope that the actual cars in the dealer lots will fit normal-sized people though…
What’s your 100m sprint time? If it’s over 23.8 seconds, then you’re slower than a 90-year-old! Last month Japan’s Turbo Granny smashed the Japanese record for her age category and now has her sights set on the world record.
Ah, Japan. Land of the world’s best vending machines. It’s hard to go anywhere in the country without finding one, including the summit of Mount Fuji. With over five million scattered around the country, someone should put those hunks of metal to work. Three organizations in Japan are doing just that, teaming up to turn the machines into a lifesaving tool in the event of a disaster, and we aren’t talking about the devices giving out free beverages.
With dozens of websites dedicated to videos of their cute antics, there’s no denying that the Japanese love their pets. But when a pet owner also happens to be a rather talented craftsman, you can be sure that when their skills and love for their pet come together, the results will be terrific.
Check out this miniature ninja house that YouTuber heibonkinoko made for his pet hamster, which comes complete with hidden doors, fake walls and escape tunnels. It’s positively epic in tiny proportions.
Many of us have heard legends about Japanese vending machines. It’s said that you can get practically anything, not just pop and candy bars, from some of these mechanical beauties. Sadly, much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, most vending machines in Japan only serve your typical fare of soda, water bottles, tea, and corn soup. I was personally quite disheartened on my first trip overseas when I was unable to find a single novelty vending machine during my entire visit. However, this upcoming fall season, a popular bra company in Japan is inviting women to buy their brand new bra directly from a vending machine.
MOST POPULAR
Now
Japanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
One of Tokyo’s most beautiful gardens gets its own moon for moon-viewing season
Some of the best Japanese fried chicken in Japan comes from this shack in the middle of nowhere
Tokyo Skytree to be lit up in Jujutsu Kaisen colors on Halloween in months-long art collaboration
Classic Japanese character merch stars of the late ‘90s and early 2000s make comeback with San-X
Starbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
Super budget-friendly retro Tokyo hotel feels like having your own 1960s Asakusa apartment
Material that cools down by glowing developed by researchers in Chiba and Osaka
Starbucks adds official Kids’ Frappuccinos to the menu in Japan
Dining with Totoro — 400-year-old ceramics company makes Studio Ghibli chopstick rests【Photos】
Weekly
New Hello Kitty McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys are here, and Kitty’s sister is part of the set- Starbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
- One of Tokyo’s most beautiful gardens gets its own moon for moon-viewing season
- Super budget-friendly retro Tokyo hotel feels like having your own 1960s Asakusa apartment
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Studio Ghibli lets you cosplay as Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle with cosy anime fashion range
Abuse Cafe Japan: We get abused by waitresses in maids’ uniforms at Tokyo’s viral pop-up diner
Night sky Studio Ghibli greeting cards are a beautiful reason to put pen to paper【Photos】
Hot spring facility’s beautiful views and all-you-can-eat sushi leave us clean, full, and happy- Some of the best Japanese fried chicken in Japan comes from this shack in the middle of nowhere
Monthly
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers- Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
- Studio Ghibli lets you cosplay as Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle with cosy anime fashion range
Japanese government suspends plan to pay Tokyo women 600,000 to move away to get married
Japanese government wants to remove tax-exemption limit for foreign tourists on consumables- New Hello Kitty McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys are here, and Kitty’s sister is part of the set
Starbucks Japan unveils new limited-edition Frappuccino for autumn- Starbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
The heartwarming story of Japan’s “Weakling Gundam” and the fans who supported it in its hour of need
Foreign tourist in Japan arrested for having sex on shrine grounds in broad daylight
Yearly
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods- Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Starbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
Super budget-friendly retro Tokyo hotel feels like having your own 1960s Asakusa apartment
Material that cools down by glowing developed by researchers in Chiba and Osaka
Starbucks adds official Kids’ Frappuccinos to the menu in Japan
Dining with Totoro — 400-year-old ceramics company makes Studio Ghibli chopstick rests【Photos】
New Hello Kitty McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys are here, and Kitty’s sister is part of the set
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Japanese clothing companies adopt fifth “Intense Heat” season because summer is too long
The results are in! One Piece World Top 100 characters chosen in global poll
How to use the self-serve dispensers for green tea at conveyor bel sushi restaurants in Japan
Pikachu/Game Boy manhole cover installed at Nintendo Museum, not viewable by general public
Low price, free booze and curry, late check-out, and great location — Akihabara capsule hotel has it all
Legendary manga creator Rumiko Takahashi gives Twitter tour of her home【Photos】
One Piece kabuki adaptation officially opens in Tokyo, cast photos begin to surface online
-
