Featured

Japan (Page 1447)

Pancake on a stick: Roky makes all your pancake popsicle dreams come true

Is there anything better than breakfast for dinner? Well, okay, that’s a silly question. Obviously nothing is better than night-time breakfast–pretty much everyone would agree that sitting down to a plate full of pancakes drenched in syrup at 7 pm is simply awesome. And the best thing about breakfast-as-dinner is that it’s easy to make! Pancakes, eggs, bacon–all easy to throw together without much culinary skill needed.

But sometimes even flipping a pancake is just too much work. Thankfully, Roky – a machine that produces pancakes in the shape of popsicles – ensure that you needn’t lift a finger when ignoring basic dietary advice.

Read More

Idol Aimi Sekiguchi recreates One Piece’s the Going Merry with a 3Doodler, blows our minds

As the technology grows, 3-D printing is starting to really come into its own. You can make nearly anything with it–from spaceship engines to incredibly ugly pistols. And while it’s still going through growing pains, the appearance of the 3Doodler, a handheld 3-D printing “pen,” signals that we might not be far from Star Trek-like replicators and holodecks. Okay, maybe that you won’t be able to go swashbuckling with Riker any time soon, but you might be able to join Luffy and the rest of the One Piece gang!

While many people were understandably skeptical of the 3Doodler, this video by Aimi Sekiguchi shows just what the device is capable of…and it’s quite a lot actually. Watch as she builds the entire Going Merry ship in miniature!

Read More

Keep your skin purr-fect with a feline face pack featuring characters from Cats the musical

Once upon a time, face packs were plain. They were white, wet and definitely something you wouldn’t want to be seen wearing. Now, beauty masks are finally becoming beautiful, with newly released endangered animal designs and even prints featuring dramatic kabuki makeup.

From the end of this month, the cats will come out to play. And not just any cats. These are the famous felines from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats. With four cat face packs to choose from, now you can look after your skin and play out your feline fantasies at the same time!

Read More

Leadership does nothing despite public harassment of Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member

Sexual harassment in the workplace is always a problem–there’s nothing to debate in that statement. But it becomes a doubly serious problem when you’re a politician and your workplace is the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

While we’d like to think that politicians would, at the very least, know how to behave themselves in public, it turns that some Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members could use a lesson.

Read More

Study kanji while taking a whirlwind tour of Kyoto with this beautiful video and GIFs!

We recently brought to you a collection of GIFs inspired by the thrilling city of Tokyo, designed by artists from around the globe. Now it’s Kyōto’s turn! A company called COG has created a highly stylized, four-minute animated film by dynamically fusing the original imperial city with kanji characters, and some scenes are now available as GIFs.

So get ready to hop aboard the city’s famous electric trolley and zoom though quintessential Kyōto sights like the Sagano Bamboo Forest and Daimonji bonfire. Along with two other GIFs making waves online, you’ll find yourself immersed in Japanese motifs that are anything but quotidian, and if you’re learning the language, see if you can name all 18 of the kanji characters used!

Read More


  • Jun 22, 2014

Soft and sweet — adorable Hello Kitty bread now available in western Japan for limited time!

What’s cute, sweet, soft and golden brown? Why, Hello Kitty bread, of course! Yes, we’ve seen the internationally famous cat transform into numerous forms, including many delectably edible ones, and once again, we get to be treated to another example of Ms. Kitty doing a bit of business while filling our stomachs with sweet goodness.

Now, we know Hello Kitty’s been busy with her 40th anniversary celebrations, coming up with collaborative products like the special edition Super Alloy Kitty and even helping out with charity, but we always love to see her transformed into tasty treats, whatever the occasion. Let’s take a look at what she has in store for us this time!

Read More

Be careful how you talk about “spaghetti” in Japanese — you may sound unhip

Although Italian in origin, the words pasta and spaghetti are now everyday words in English. Thanks to the foods’ proliferation around the world these words can also be found in Japanese, pronounced pasuta and supagettī respectively.

But in recent years, it seems as if the word “spaghetti” has been falling out of favor in Japan, being replaced by the word “pasta.” Although in English the distinction between “spaghetti” and “pasta” is pretty clear (pasta being the foodstuff, spaghetti one of its many varieties), it seems there is a whole other world of nuances when the words cross over into Japanese.

Read More

Japan national football star to voice character in upcoming Pokémon film

Atsuto Uchida, a defender on Japan’s national football team currently playing in Brazil, is making his voice acting debut in the latest Pokémon theatrical film set to premiere next month. 

The producers of the Pokémon movies are well-known for inviting celebrities to voice supporting characters in the annual films, but this year marks the first time that an athlete will lend his voice to the production. Uchida himself has been a fan of Pokémon since he was a child, and his involvement in the movie will hopefully add even more excitement to the World Cup fervor already taking over Japan.

Read on to learn more about Uchida’s role in the upcoming film!

Read More

Emergency services get prank phone call–but was it the wind…or ghosts?

Summer’s here, and that means it’s time to gather your friends and head to a haunted house to scare the heat out of yourself. But maybe you’re a really tough guy or girl, and nothing like a few kids dressed up as zombies is going to give you a fright. You need a real ghost to help cool you down.

Too bad ghosts aren’t real, right? Well, after reading this story, you might not be so sure…

Read More

It’s only been a few months since Japan’s consumption tax jumped from five to eight percent, making everything consumers buy instantly at least three percent more expensive. Some sneaky retailers even took advantage of the opportunity by tacking an extra three percent onto their displayed, pre-tax prices.

Now comes a rumor of an entirely new revenue stream the Japanese government might be moving to secure: a tax on cell phones.

Read More

Awesome anime marriage proposal simulator lets you create romantic scenes, dark comedy

The company Recruit is mainly known for its online job-hunting service, but that’s not the organization’s only business arm. Recruit also runs Zexy, one of Japan’s most popular wedding planning websites.

In order to help singles get into the marrying mood, Recruit has created an animated proposal simulator, where you can type in words for one of five dreamy anime-style guys to say. Ostensibly, you’re supposed to unleash your inner poet and dash off a smooth, romantic line. On the other hand, you can also use the system that allows you to make them say anything for a little bit of snarky fun.

Read More

New York City’s Barcade is all about the classic Japanese games

Nostalgic for Japanese video games from the late 1970s and ‘80s? Barcade, a combination bar and arcade, recently opened in Chelsea, Manhattan with about a dozen classics from Japanese game developers such as Taito, Nintendo, Namco, and Konami.

The games are still only a quarter (there are change machines on site), and the machines are in great condition. Marvel at the old-school graphics of Space Invaders, Galaga, Mappy, Crazy Climber, and Frogger.

Read More

You (only) live twice! Repair work begins on priceless Toyota 2000GT crushed by falling tree

The world’s car fans wept in unison earlier this month when a freak accident caused a 30-metre beech tree to fall on an eye-wateringly expensive Toyota 2000GT. Widely recognised as the first Japanese supercar, the 2000GT has been known to sell for over 1 million dollars, and although we were relieved to hear that the driver escaped with only minor cuts and bruises, the photos of his trashed car brought tears to car-lovers’ eyes.

The 2000GT’s regular production run in the late 1960s was so limited that only 351 were ever built, and when these photos emerged of the flattened vehicle, many assumed that the number left in existence had just got that little bit smaller – and the car, therefore, a little rarer. However, Japanese website Nostalgic Car TV reported June 14th that the car in question is to be repaired and restored, promising regular updates as it is brought back to its former glory.

Read More

Despite the draw with Greece, Japan’s World Cup team still has a glimmer of hope

Japan has had a bit of a rough start at the 2014 World Cup. After losing to 2-1 against the Ivory Coast, the team came back strong against Greece and got an amazing…0-0 tie. Well, it’s better than losing right?

Though you may be ready to throw in the towel for the Japanese soccer team, we’re here to tell you that things aren’t quite as bleak as they may seem. While having lost the first game of the tournament certainly isn’t a good sign, there are teams who’ve made it to the next round in similar circumstances!

Read More


  • Jun 21, 2014

Extreme vacationing: How to enjoy a trip to Hong Kong in just 12 hours

Now, it’s something of an accepted fact that Japanese companies expect their staff to work hard and put in a lot of overtime. Long hours are the norm, and it can be difficult to get time off from work when resources are already stretched thin and doing so could very well mean making your coworkers’ lives harder. The truth is, with the exception of the New Year’s holiday and the obon period in summer, the majority of Japanese workers don’t take time off unless they absolutely have to. So it can be a bit tricky if you want to take an overseas vacation.

But how far would you be willing to go to take a trip abroad? Would you be prepared to take a trip so short that you’re at your destination for just 12 hours? Well, that’s exactly what our reporter Meg from our Japanese sister site did. Read on to find out what it was like to travel to, enjoy, and fly back from a foreign destination in the space of 24 hours, and whether she thought it was worth making the trip!

Read More

Hyotan Onsen – Japan’s only hot spring with three Michelin stars

Even though the prefecture is home to barely a million residents, Oita has not one, but two famous hot spring resorts. Yufuin is generally held to be the more refined and tastefully restrained of the pair, while Beppu, despite having some of the most popular hot springs in Japan, gets saddled with the reputation as the more touristy town.

While there may be some truth to the labels, there’s one thing Beppu has that you won’t find in Yufuin, or anywhere else in the country for that matter: Japan’s only hot spring with three Michelin stars.

Read More

Himeji City preparing to crack down on nuisance “walking biker gangs” (Yes, you read that right)

It’s June again, and that means it’s time for Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture to hold its annual Himeji Yukata Festival! The three-day event incorporates around 800 businesses and draws in around 200,000 attendees, many of whom are dressed in traditional Japanese summer wear yukata.

It’s a festive time for the whole family, but the Himeji Yukata Festival also has a dark side that city officials and police are looking to stop once and for all. This problem comes in the form of biker gangs known in Japan as bōsōzoku. But these are not just any biker gangs; they’re biker gangs… without bikes.

Read More

What are the requirements of a happy romantic relationship? A set of shared values is important if you’re looking for anything more substantial than a fun fling. On the other end of the scale, common interests are good to have too, for those lighter dates when you and your partner want to do something other than discuss your life philosophies.

Many people would say the most critical element, though, is trust. After all, no matter how attracted you might be to a person, without the ability to trust one another, your collective jealousy and insecurity will eventually poison any potential you have to be happy together. Of course, building that trust can be a long, difficult, and sometimes scary process, but it’s something you eventually have to do, right?

Not if you’re one of the roughly 30 percent of Japanese women who’ve secretly checked the messages on their boyfriends’ cell phones.

Read More

Cute d’état! Thousands of ducks take to the streets in Thailand

There’s a lot going on in Thailand at the moment, and you can be sure that those in the tourism industry watching visitor numbers plummet now that the country has fallen under military control are none too pleased, so it’s not surprising to hear of stories of anger and frustration. What we didn’t expect to see, though, were ducks taking to the street en masse as if in protest.

Check out this video of thousands of ducks waddling along together in an adorable yet really eerie demonstration of nature.

Read More

Japanese ‘Day One Edition’ Xbox One adopters are actually getting a pretty good deal

While there are no doubt plenty of Xbox One owners who are still glad they scrambled to preorder a “Day One Edition” of the console at launch last year, there are probably a few who now feel that it perhaps wasn’t worth breaking a sweat for. Shipping in slightly sleeker packaging than usual, Day One versions came bundled with a controller embossed with the words “Day One 2013” and a card to activate an achievement on their owner’s online profile; plenty of bragging rights for the hardest of hardcore Xbox fans, certainly, but that’s about it.

According to the Japanese Xbox One site, though, day-one adopters in the Land of the Rising Sun will be getting a markedly better deal.

Read More

  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 1444
  5. 1445
  6. 1446
  7. 1447
  8. 1448
  9. 1449
  10. 1450
  11. ...
  12. 1655