Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Japan (Page 1471)
Japanese UFO catchers give the best prizes – if you’re talented or lucky enough to grab them. (Personally, I think it’s all about luck because after many hours and probably hundreds of yen down the drain, I’m still not any better at winning.) But the euphoria of a win is usually quickly forgotten, and you’re left with one more piece of tat to cram into your room. So what about if UFO catchers actually dished out useful goodies? Wouldn’t that be a real win-win situation?!
As the world’s biggest video game and anime merchandise district, it’s easy for enthusiasts to lose track of time in Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood. For hard-core fans, an initial plan to pop into the ground floor of one of its multi-level shopping complexes, just for a second in order to check out the newest releases, can easily metamorphose into a two-hour survey of all the goodies the store has in stock.
Still, there are some things that shouldn’t take very long, even for the biggest anime nut or gaming enthusiast. So when one man heard the call of nature then spent 30 fruitless minutes waiting for even one person to come out of the three stalls in the public restroom he’d entered, he became suspicious, and with good cause, since it turns out the three individuals holed up in there were doing more than clearing out their digestive tracks.
Cheating and adultery are one of the leading causes of divorces and break-ups. No one wants to be cheated on, and for those who do the cheating, the thrill of sneaking around and trying not to get caught is sure to spur some adulterers on. However, at what point is what you are doing considered cheating? For most people, sex is certainly cheating, and kissing someone other than your partner is crossing the line. But is having dinner with someone cheating? Is having lunch? Is spending significant time with someone cheating?
An Osaka judge has drawn a new line in the sand for what is considered adultery in Japan, with one woman suing not her husband but his “mistress”, despite the fact that there was no intercourse involved.
With the string of holidays known as Golden Week coming up in early May, all of Japan is looking forward to a couple of days off to spend with friends and family. Whether you’re visiting a friend’s apartment or going back to your hometown for a couple of days, Japanese manners dictate that you should bring a gift, with food being the most popular choice.
If you’re stumped for what kind of food to bring, here’s an easy way to play the percentages. Almost everyone likes cake, and almost everyone in Japan likes Disney characters, so odds are this set of Disney cakes will make just about everyone happy.
The earliest weapon associated with the samurai was the longbow, and many were also proficient with polearms. Neither is what first springs to mind for most people when they think of Japan’s warrior class, though. To many, the image of two opposing samurai grasping their swords, ready to duel, is by far the more iconic image.
But while the bow is technically the most traditional, the polearm arguably the most practical, and the katana certainly the most dramatic, none of these are anywhere near as funny as the depiction in this centuries-old scroll of samurai battling each other with their farts.
The official website for the Pokémon XY television series announced on Monday that the previously scheduled episode for Thursday, April 24, “Kaitei no Shiro! Kuzumō to Doramidoro!!” (Castle at the Bottom of the Ocean! Skrelp and Dragalge!!), has been delayed indefinitely “due to circumstances.”
A South Korean ferry sank off the southern coast of South Korea on Wednesday. Of the 462 passengers, including 325 high school students, 87 have been confirmed dead and 215 remain missing.
A pig farmer in Japan is warming hearts around the world, thanks to a photo collection that documents his life with some 1,200 pigs. Whether he’s tending to the little piglets, sleeping with the sows, or serenading them all with tunes on his guitar, this is a farmer who loves spending time in the pen surrounded by his animals.
My wife, who’s always interested in learning more about foreign culture (no doubt in an effort to better understand her insufferably baffling husband), recently asked me how Easter is celebrated in America. “We usually hunt for Easter eggs and eat chocolate rabbits,” I told her, which quickly presented us with two problems. First, our apartment isn’t nearly large enough for a proper Easter egg hunt, and while you can get special Easter donuts in Japan, bunny-shaped candies are surprisingly nonexistent.
Stumped as to how to spend the holiday, my wife offered a suggestion. “Why don’t we go to the rabbit café?”
Close your eyes and throw a stick in pretty much any Tokyo neighbourhood, and there’s a good chance that you’ll hit someone riding a bicycle. With roughly 72 million bikes on the streets of Japan, they’re an essential part of daily life for many, especially in urban areas where space for motor vehicle parking is both limited and expensive.
Last weekend, though, we stumbled upon a fleet of sparkling new bicycles that couldn’t be more different to the typical mamachari shopping bikes that everyone from junior high schoolers to worryingly wobbly grandmothers pedal around town. Sleek, compact, and with”Suicle” stamped on their crossbars, these lime-green lightweights are available for anyone with a prepaid IC bus or rail card and a half-decent sense of balance to rent.
Eager to know if the ride, and the process of renting and returning, was as smooth as a nearby sign purported it to be, we took a couple of the mini bikes out for a spin.
2014 marks 25 years as a band for the pillows. They are celebrating with a song entitled “Happy Birthday,” and also by announcing a cover and dance contest. For those with the misfortune of not knowing who the pillows are, they are a Japanese rock band whose style has changed over the last 25 years from pop to jazz experimentation to alternative rock.
Many of the band’s fans outside of Japan became acquainted with them through the six-episode animated series, FLCL, for which the pillows provided the music. The caffeinated, crunchy soundtrack is the perfect complement to the nonsensical but purely fun plot that includes a robot that emerges from a boy’s head wound, the spirit of a powerful pirate king and the sexy maniac who hunts him down riding a Vespa with an electric bass as a weapon.
As a two-party democracy, the United States can be a fickle place for marketers. Republicans and Democrats are so different ideologically that certain words and phrases on your product label or in your ad campaign are practically guaranteed to alienate half of the market; or, if you’re especially unlucky, all of it. Take the word “immigrant,” for example – it’s a loaded word that will make Republicans shun your product believing that it advocates rights for immigrants (Remember, this is the same party whose leaders sometimes suggest in all seriousness building a moat – complete with cartoonish man-eating alligators – around the US to keep illegals out), while Democrats might see the word “immigrant” on a product and suspect some type of labor exploitation going on.
Luckily, Americans – and Japanese – of all stripes are united in their love of beer, so Chiba, Japan’s Loco Beer brewery’s rendition of an old American beer recipe, originally brewed by German immigrants, gets a pass from American expats and Japanese consumers alike on the unfortunate naming of its new Immigrant Pilsner craft beer.
Ever since Mt Fuji earned World Heritage status in 2013, designers and artists have been marking the occasion with a flurry of creative merchandise featuring the famous landmark. The latest product to hit shelves shows the celebrations are continuing well into 2014, this time with moulded ice mountains that sit perfectly in your favourite drink! The attention to detail is particularly impressive, with the concentrated tip of ice perfectly resembling the famous snow-covered peak of Mt Fuji.
We take a look at the unique mould that makes them and see why this is one of Japan’s latest must-have souvenirs.
Twenty-year-old Ayaka Sawada has a lot going for her. To begin with, she’s currently a junior in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tokyo (Todai for short), the most prestigious university in Japan. Secondly, she is the newly appointed weather forecaster on NTV’s Sunday morning program Shuichi. Thirdly, she’s drop-dead gorgeous, and was even crowned “Miss Todai 2013”! Is there anything this girl can’t do?
It’s also safe to cross art off that list, because it turns out that Ayaka’s also talented at drawing. Her profile lists drawing as one of her special skills, but we were still impressed by the following adorable sketches made by her!
Do you love burgers and enormous, skinless giants? How about sexy studs Eren and Levi from the super popular Attack on Titan? If you answered yes to any–or all–of those questions, then you better get to your nearest Lotteria this Friday, because supplies for the limited-edition mini-towel and plastic file are…uh…limited!
Also, we’d really like a milkshake while you’re there.
There are a number of active bands in Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), but at the top of them is the Central Band. In existence longer the GSDF itself, they are the go-to band in situations where it’s unacceptable to screw up, such as welcoming foreign dignitaries and ceremonies of the highest order.
Then there’s “Senbonzakura”. This song was produced by WhiteFlame (aka Kurousa-P) and utilizes the artificial vocal talents of vocaloid Hatsune Miku. After its upload to video hosting site Niconico Douga in 2011, it became a modern classic of the vocaloid genre spawning several remixes and covers online and in karaoke rooms.
So what happens when the rigid discipline and tradition of the GSDF Central Band meets the wild pop of Senbonzakura? Let’s take a listen!
One of the benefits of living in a modern society is letting other people worry about building all the stuff we use–like cars or blenders or cell phones. After all, do you really know what’s going on inside an internal combustion engine or how your juicer works? Well, okay, actually, you might know, but even so, it’s fair to say that the average person probably doesn’t have a very clear idea of how all their appliances–kitchen or otherwise–were actually put together.
And there’s nothing wrong with that! That’s the whole point of living in a society–DIYers and insane survivalists aside–specialization is what lets us have so much cool stuff. But sometimes our ignorance can lead to certain, um, embarrassing situations, as one Japanese Twitter user recently learned.
You may already be aware that there is a subculture of train fanatics in Japan known as densha otaku, or train nerds. But did you know that there are loads of sub-subcultures within the densha otakus? From those obsessed with train noises to experts in train lunch boxes, we’ve got them all covered for you.
To all of our lovely women readers out there – have you ever felt betrayed by another female friend? Perhaps you were deceived and taken advantage of. Perhaps the coworker you trusted as your confidant was surreptitiously spreading scandalous rumors about you behind your back. Whatever the situation was, it was sure to have been an unpleasant experience.
A recent survey on popular Japanese site Mynavi Woman asked its female readers the same question as above. Dozens of women shed light about backstabbing friends and unbelievable scenes from the past. Have any of the following situations ever happened to you?
Okay, we admit we have, shall we say, a certain amount of fondness for Häagen-Dazs ice cream (no, we’re not calling it an obsession, not yet). But that’s because the people at Häagen-Dazs keep giving us reasons to be obsessed about fond of their products, so it’s not really our fault, is it? And now, it looks like Häagen-Dazs might have done it again, with two new flavors, that despite seeming unconventional for ice cream, certainly sound good enough to plunge our spoons into!
Apparently, someone is unhappy at Studio Ghibli these days with one of the posters that are lining the studio’s walls. And who might that be? It’s none other than the studio’s co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki, and the poster he’s upset about happens to be the one for Ghibli’s upcoming release, When Marnie Was There. But what doesn’t Miyazaki like about this seemingly beautifully illustrated poster?
Starbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】
7 great places to see Mt. Fuji from without having to climb it
How should a guy say “I” in Japanese? Japanese women give their opinions【Survey】
The 13-year-old video game contest winner who became one of Japan’s greatest manga artists
Japanese thug wear from Birth Japan perfect for those breaking bad next year
Japan’s first hotel with a human washing machine is now ready for you to come and bathe in it
Kyoto’s “ikezu” culture of backhanded compliments explained in hilarious souvenir sticker series
Why do tourists eat noodles with a green onion instead of chopsticks in this Edo town?
We found possibly the quietest Japanese-style hotel in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district
Japan’s oldest largetooth sawfish in captivity back on display in Mie PrefectureStarbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Cyberpunk anime meets traditional culture in Ghost in the Shell gold leaf Japanese changing screens7 great places to see Mt. Fuji from without having to climb it
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Hello Kitty Choco Egg figures are an adorable trip through three periods of Japanese pop culture【Pics】
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
Starbucks Japan releases new zodiac chilled cup drink for 2026
Can a dirty butthole make you filthy rich in Japan? We’re starting a New Year’s lottery experiment
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in TokyoStarbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Stamina-destroying “Paralysis Noodles” are Tokyo’s newest over-the-top ramen innovation
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Updated cherry blossom forecast shows extra-long sakura season for Japan this year
Japan’s first hotel with a human washing machine is now ready for you to come and bathe in it
Kyoto’s “ikezu” culture of backhanded compliments explained in hilarious souvenir sticker series
Why do tourists eat noodles with a green onion instead of chopsticks in this Edo town?
We found possibly the quietest Japanese-style hotel in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district
Japan’s oldest largetooth sawfish in captivity back on display in Mie Prefecture
Japanese Cabinet to officially announce new romanization spelling recommendation next week
More people in Japan quit sending New Year’s cards and many have started to regret it
How to make a depressed daikon snowman
Nine tales of stunningly crazy customer complaints in from the Japanese service industry
Wear a genuine piece of Japanese sword around your neck with beautiful new jewellery range
The unstaffed vegetable stand in Japan where you pick your produce yourself
Scarier than a haunted house? Kyoto hidden-meaning “mean” manners escape house on the way