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【TGS 2012】 Brain Kiss or: How I Neuro-Cheated on my Wife at Tokyo Game Show

Now don’t get me wrong. I love my wife and wouldn’t trade her for anyone in the world. But my brain is telling me that I just met the girl of my dreams at today’s Tokyo Game Show, and how can you argue with your own brain?

She’s a booth girl at Brain Kiss, a “neuro-diagnosis” app for iOS that tests the compatibility of two people by analyzing their brainwaves.

All you need to do is put on a special brainwave-reading headset developed by NeuroSky and stare deep into the eyes of the person in front of you for 15 seconds. Brain Wave then presents you with your results, divided into five different “levels of affection.”

It sounds like a fun little app, but be careful who you use it with: if you’re like me, love may be staring your straight in the face.

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Some of you internet aficionados may have heard the story of the 22-year-old Japanese man who cooked his own genitals and served them at a dinner party back in May, giving new meaning to the term “self serve.”

It was reported that after the event, local police refused to launch an investigation as nothing had been done that was against the law. However, on September 18, it was revealed that the case had been sent to the Tokyo Public Prosecutors office on suspicion of “public display of offensive sexual materials.”

But they were displayed in private to a group of paying customers… Do we really live in a society where a man cannot freely cut off and saute his own genitals and feed them to the public without risking prosecution!?

For the sake of humanity: yes please.

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Although it’s sometimes forgotten about, Shikoku, one of the four large islands that make up mainland Japan, is as much a part of the country as Hokkaidō in the north and Kyūshū to the south. People eat rāmen, do karaoke and play pachinko, exactly like everywhere else. Take a drive around the island and, just like every other part of the country, you’ll find literally hundreds of convenience stores. Lawson, Family Mart, Mini Stop, Coco Store; they’re all here.

All, that is, except 7-Eleven…. Read More

Stop! Don’t Pack Your Electric Fans Away Yet! Gravity-Defying Paper Plane Fun Awaits

Summer is nearly behind us. All across Japan, people are turning their air coolers down a touch, returning to sleeping with their feet under the blankets, and stopping to groan “it’s hoooot!” at co-workers a little less often.

But before you put those electric fans away, make sure you take a few minutes to put them to what is quite possibly the best use they’ll have all year: making paper planes magically float in mid-air. Read More

Not Your Grandmother’s Birthday Cake, Torte Bakery in Gunma Churns Out Some Amazing Anime Cakes

At Torte in Takasaki city, Gunma prefecture, anime enthusiasts and otaku alike can order their favorite anime character on a cake.  Starting at 3,300 yen (US $42), Torte handcrafts strawberry whipped cream cakes topped with beautiful illustrations.

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Avant-Garde Ramen to be Served at Tokyo Game Show, But Is Anyone Iron-Gutted Enough to Eat It?

The Tokyo Game show always has displays and products guaranteed to shock and amaze video game fans from all over.  This year they seem to be leaning more towards the shock with this gourmet experiment.

Remember when you were a kid, you and your friends would put mustard, salt, ketchup, and squished meat into a McDonald’s cup of cola and dared each other to drink it?

This seems to be the concept behind this Soy Milk Curry Ipecac Ramen.

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The word otaku is a tricky one to define. Over the years, it has slowly made its way into western culture– usually used to describe a person who is excessively fond of Japanese animation or comics— and is often listed in modern English dictionaries as something along the lines of “a person obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture”.

In its native Japan, however, the word is used far more broadly, describing a person who is fanatical about or devotes large amounts of time to something. That “something” could be anything from videogame culture to pop idols to hardcore ear-cleaning, and once a person reaches a certain level of obsession with their hobby, it’s far from unusual for them to be labelled as “otaku” by their friends and family. But whatever the object of an otaku’s affection, wade through the stacks of comic books, unplug that goliath gaming rig, put away the Train-Spotter’s Manual and you will discover a regular guy; a regular guy who sometimes thinks about deep things. Even marriage… Read More

The grand opening of Aomori prefecture’s first Starbucks location in the Hachinohe area drew quite a crowd.  On September 14, 2012,  around 100 people waited in line on the first business day of Starbuck Coffee Hachinohe Tamukai.

The store’s interior is typical of most Starbucks locations: big windows let in natural light from outside, funky lamps hang from the ceiling, and wood grain paneling adorns the ceiling and counters.  The store is around 1,700 square feet with enough seating for 55 people inside and another 16 on the terrace.  There’s even a drive-thru for those who want coffee on the go.

But Starbucks-goers didn’t get all riled up over a mediocre cup of coffee.  Oh no, they had their eyes on something even better:  Read More

We Catch a Glimpse of the Elusive “Shadow Fuji”

Back in August, group of our most daring reporters ventured out of Tokyo and into the wilderness to climb Mt. Fuji. Last week, weshared their report of the top 3 meal of Mt. Fuji , but it turns out there was another noteworthy occurrence that day.

At around 6 pm, just as the sun began to set, our heroes gathered their spirits and began the long hike down from the peak of the mountain. As they surveyed the sea of clouds that spread out before them one last time, one of our reporters noticed a dark triangle off in the distance.

The sun setting behind the mountain on one side; a triangular shadow cast over a canopy of clouds on the other side; our reporters were witnessing the fabled “Shadow Fuji!”

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Stabbing Snails at the Bottom of the Sea 【You, Me, And A Tanuki】

You, Me, And a Tanuki is a weekly featured blog run by Michelle, a Californian who is currently one of only two foreigners living in Chibu, a tiny fishing village on one of the Oki islands in Japan. Check back every Saturday for a new post or read more on her website here!

The most shocking thing I ate when I first came to Chibu (other than salty fermented squid) was sazae.  In Japan, people go nuts over this delicacy.  In Tokyo, you have to shell out $3 for a single sazae.  In Chibu, they are not only free, they are everywhere you look.  Climbing up the side of the docks in the evening, hanging out on the ocean floor while you snorkel; there’s plenty to go around.  If you’re wondering what a sazae is, here’s a picture:

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Sadly these days, we see more and more stories of crimes committed against young children.  That’s why reporting anything out of the ordinary can help save lives.

However, on the Hyogo Prefectural Police operated online crime prevention board, “Hyogo Security Net” a suspicious person report was posted that made several people stop and scratch their heads.  The police seem to have an APB out on themselves.

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Jewelry You Can Eat! Q-Pot Cafe: The Sweetest Most Adorable Cafe in Tokyo!

Are you familiar with the Q-pot brand of jewelry?  It could get a bit sticky if your tried wearing it on your next night out on the town, but it certainly is attractive, and tasty!

That is because Q-pot Cafe arranges chocolates, cupcakes and macaroons into delightful rings, bracelets, and necklaces!  Never before has there ever been such delectable mouth-watering jewelry, something that is served up in the most appealing manner at the Q-pot cafe. Read More

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In the days following Nono-Chan the cat’s 8th birthday, he began to take stock of his life.  He wondered if chasing strings and sleep was all there was. “Have I reached my fullest potential as a cat,” he pondered.

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“Aaaaaaaaa!” or “When Scribble Gets Out of Hand”

Remember how much fun it was practicing writing the alphabet when you were a kid? Every single letter; upper and lowercase; again and again; page after page after page. Good times, no?

Well, at least one Japanese NicoNico Douga user seems to think that there’s no better way to pass the time than filming herself writing a few Japanese characters on a sheet of paper. Sorry, did I say “a few” characters? How about just one character? 30,000 times… Read More

Taking the Ferry From Japan to Foreign Lands: a New Adventure!

If we asked you your travel plans for your next trip abroad, you would probably come up with a flight plan.  It wouldn’t occur to most of us to take a boat.  The fastest way to get from point A to point B particularly when B is overseas would have to be flying.

A ferry ride to foreign lands, compared to air travel ,may not be the most efficient way to go, but the sense of embarking on an adventure on the high seas, makes up for it!  From an island country like Japan, surrounded on all sides by water, taking a ferry trip overseas is actually very reasonable.

Although it is not widely known, there are several  ferry routes leaving at regular intervals from various ports across Japan.  Where do these ferries go?

According to information from the Travel site Tripgraphics, ferries leave regularly for destinations in China, Korea, and Russia.  There are frequent ferry departures to 8 ports of call in these three countries.  Doesn’t it tickle the imagination?  At the very least, you can’t help but be curious.  What would a sea voyage be like? Read More

What’s Your Passport Worth? (Not That We’re Buying)

It turns out that not all passports are created equal…

International residence and citizenship experts Henley & Partners released a report earlier this month detailing for the first time the level of ease with which people of various countries are able to travel around the globe, and what restrictions they face during their time abroad.

The more fortunate among us are undoubtedly well aware that, with a valid passport, they are relatively free to travel wherever they like, and can in some cases remain in a foreign country for months at a time without acquiring any kind of paperwork or additional visa approval. But there are also many countries out there whose governments require citizens to jump through a series of hoops before allowing them to leave the country for so much as a weekend, and even then their entry to another country is not always guaranteed.

Henley & Partners’ Visa Restriction Index ranks countries based on how easy it is for their citizens to travel around the globe, essentially providing a numerical value to any given country’s passport. After comparing everything from socio-economic factors to political relations between countries, each country is awarded a score, reflecting just how free to travel and enter other countries its people are; in a word: passport power. Read More

Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

One fun way to see what anime or game series are currently popular with kids and otaku in Japan is to visit an arcade and take a look at the prizes up for grabs in the crane machines, or UFO catchers, as they’re often called in Japanese.

Unlike North America, arcade culture is still going strong in Japan and UFO catchers are one of the main attractions. Always found on the first floor of arcades, these machines are stocked with the latest limited-edition figurines and plushies of popular characters, many of which can only be acquired as UFO catcher prizes (or on Amazon at obscene prices).

Japanese toy company Banpresto has announced their newest lineup of CRANEKING arcade-exclusive prizes, available this October. Check what toys are hot on the Japanese arcade scene below!

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Earlier this week, website Netallica posted an interesting little article entitled “The Things That Foreigners in Japan Hate to Hear” for its predominantly Japanese readership. Naturally, classics like “wow, you’re so good at Japanese”, and “you’re very good with chopsticks” were flagged as the main offenders, which I’m sure many gaijin (a term I use intentionally and will come back to later) will no doubt empathise with and would be happy to hear a little less frequently, but overall there were few phrases that could not be reasonably perceived as stemming from either the speaker’s genuine desire to compliment the listener or simple naivety.

It’s difficult to broach this topic- especially as a cynical Brit who loves a good grumble- without it quickly turning into a cliché-ridden compendium of gripes about life in Japan as a foreigner or an ill-advised rant about how comments of this nature are, in fact, some kind of backhanded attempt to draw a line between foreigners and Japanese; and goodness knows there are plenty of those out there.

There are, nevertheless, a number of phrases that foreigners living in Japan have heard a thousand times and would definitely prefer Japanese people knew aren’t always received in the way that they are probably intended…

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Would a Pancake by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? Apparently No, No It Would Not

If I was to suggest that there was a difference between “pancakes” and “hotcakes” you’d probably say, “You’re crazy. Get off my internet!”

And yet if you go into a supermarket in Japan you will find two products made by the same company distinctly classified as “Hotcake Mix” (hottoke-ki mikkusu) and “Pancake Mix” (panke-ki mikkusu).

Either this is some clever ruse concocted by the pancake cartels of Japan or maybe they tapped into something we always knew subconsciously but never fully realized.

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How Your Old Videogames, Books and CDs Could Help Educate a Child

Take a quick look around your home. See anything gathering dust? Any old books sitting on the shelf unloved? That AKB48 CD you bought last year but are too embarrassed to listen to? How about those Playstation2 games that you never got around to playing before your console died?

Well now’s your chance to have a good old clear-out. Grab a cardboard box and turn that stuff into an education for a less fortunate child.

Japanese recycling giant Book Off is working in conjunction with Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) to provide books and learning materials for children who have found themselves homeless as a result of war or natural disasters. As well as donating the in-store buy-back value of any books, CDs, DVDs and videogames donated by regular folk like you and me, Book Off is pledging an extra 10% of that value to the charity.

In short, some less fortunate kids get an education; you make some space in your home and get to feel warm and fuzzy. Read More

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