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Rika-chan finds a playmate in cute Kumamoto character Kumamon

Oona McGee
Jan 27, 2014
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If you’re a girl who grew up with Japanese relatives, then this Rika-chan doll probably brings back some childhood memories. Created in 1967, her popularity in Japan rivals that of Barbie in the West and her impressive accessories collection contains all sorts of Japanese-related goods including futons, Hello Kitty hats and kimonos. Now Rika is adding to her collection by collaborating with one of Japan’s newest and most popular characters, Kumamon, the official mascot for Kumamoto city in Kyushu. The new friends, with their matching black, red and white outfits, will be released on February 1 by Takara Tomy.

Mr. Sato takes a stroll in his USB Pollen Blocker: “Felt great but it was a struggle to order coffee”

Master Blaster
Jan 27, 2014

A few days ago we brought word of a revolutionary hay fever remedy from the folks at Thanko. Harnessing the mighty power of nylon and universal serial bus ports, the USB Pollen Blocker may be our savior for this impending allergy season in Japan.

To be sure, we picked one up in Akihabara and gave it to our resident ace-reporting guinea-pig Mr. Sato for a road test. Did it cure him of his seasonal sniffles or did it simply make him look like an demented bee-keeper on the streets of Tokyo? The following is his report.

From delicate nibbles to edible dinosaurs – It’s chocolate madness at the Salon du Chocolat Tokyo

Kay
Jan 26, 2014

Many of our readers have probably guessed that Japan has a passion for chocolate. But each year in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, which is when women in Japan customarily give men gifts of chocolate, that passion has a tendency to turn into outright frenzy. Spend time in Japan before Valentine’s Day, and you’ll see countless special chocolate products and dedicated vending areas in every shopping mall and department store. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Valentine chocolate madness has now officially begun in Japan, and what better place to experience the excitement than Tokyo’s own production of the world’s biggest chocolate festival, the Salon du Chocolat? Join us on a tour of the event and see what all the sweet fuss is about — if you’re a chocolate lover, you just might think you’ve died and gone to chocolate heaven!

Nine reasons some Japanese women only date foreign guys

Preston Phro
Jan 26, 2014

Now, you’re probably familiar with the stereotype of Western guys moving to Japan to meet women. It’s a nasty stereotype…with a few grains of truth to it, we suppose. But at least we can now rest easy knowing it’s a two-way street, because there are tons of Japanese girls who only date Western men.

If you happen to have a lot of Japanese friends, you may have met one or two women with a penchant for non-Japanese gentlemen. While it’s not usually as bad as your one creepy guy friend–you know the one we’re talking about–have you ever wondered what’s going on with that?

Here’s a quick look at life on the other side of the looking glass, with nine reasons some Japanese women only date foreign guys.

AKB48 to hold exclusive show for coffee contest winners, Mr. Sato immediately buys over 300 cans

Master Blaster
Jan 26, 2014

Recently the walls of the RocketNews24 office have been echoing with giddy squeals of “Eeeeeee… Takamina!” at a rate of about once per hour. In between, we have been treated to a middle-aged man’s song-stylings of AKB48’s single Koisuru Fortune Cookie.

It all started last year when our reporter Mr. Sato had entered a dance contest to meet graduating AKB48 member Tomomi Itano, but despite his best efforts he lost out. Now, he has his sights on Minami Takahashi (“Takamina”) and the chance to see her and other members in an exclusive show only available to the winners of a contest held by Japan’s Wonda Coffee.

Japanese baseball players’ freedom to chew gum is going, going, gone!

Casey Baseel
Jan 26, 2014

The Yomiuri Giants, one of two professional teams playing in Tokyo, are without question Japanese baseball’s version of the New York Yankees. With huge coffers from which to pay the kind of salaries to attract and retain the talent to be competitive year after year, the Giants are loved at home, admired in markets that don’t have a team of their own, and reviled in those that do.

However, the Giants most recent season ended in bitter disappointment with a game seven loss in the championship Japan series. Adding insult to injury was the fact that the defeat came at the hands of the Rakuten Golden Eagles, an upstart expansion team formed in 2005 that until recently was the league’s doormat.

Clearly, a shakeup is necessary to get the Giants back on the path to glory. Something extreme, like banning chewing gum during games.

Multiple witness reports of mysterious lights over Okinawa 【Video】

Master Blaster
Jan 26, 2014

At approximately 9:00pm on 23 January, reports started coming into the Okinawa Times about a strange array of lights over their capital city Naha. Japan’s Self Defense Force and astronomical experts are without answer, yet witness accounts and videos claim a dozen or so bright orange lights appearing to hang and shift around in the sky could be see in the area.

Scalding your subordinate with tofu – definitely not proper police procedure

Casey Baseel
Jan 26, 2014

When you think about it, there really aren’t that many situations in which it’s OK to smash food into someone else’s face. I racked my brain, and could only come up with the following two:

1. You’re a pie-throwing extra in a Three Stooges movie.

2. You and your spouse share the same slapstick sense of humor, and want to smush a slice of wedding cake into each other’s’ faces at your reception.

You know what doesn’t make the list? Scalding someone’s mug with piping-hot tofu, especially if you’re a high-ranking police officer.

Special photo booths let you pose with sumo wrestlers without having to strap on a loincloth

Casey Baseel
Jan 25, 2014

Should your visit to Tokyo coincide with a sumo tournament being held in the city, you really owe it to yourself to see the sport in person. Tickets are reasonably priced, the matches are fast-paced and showcase a surprisingly large variety of techniques (many similar to those of offensive linemen in football), and there’s really no way to properly convey the amazing controlled ferocity through a television screen. Best of all, the arena is compact enough that even the cheap seats provide a good view of the action.

And in case you need an added incentive, the venue is now home to two special sticker picture booths, where a little digital photo manipulation allows you to take a snapshot with your favorite sumo wrestler.

The Mirror Harrier: Objects in car are closer than they appear

Master Blaster
Jan 25, 2014

As a young lad I often watched Flight of the Navigator and dreamed of flying around with Sara Jessica Parker in a spaceship that talked like Pee-Wee Herman. What child didn’t?

But most exciting was how beautifully shiny that ship was. Image if a car could be that shiny too. Actually, stop imagining because our reporter stumbled across one such vehicle at a Toyota event at Tokyo Midtown.

Japanese alcohol company accused of advertising to children, pulls commercial off the air

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 25, 2014

It seems Japanese companies can’t keep themselves out of trouble this week. First, an ANA commercial starring a Japanese man wearing a long nose and blonde wig had some groups offended, prompting the company to issue an official apology. Now, an advertisement from Kirin, one of the largest producers of alcohol in Japan, has parents crying foul over the use of a friendly green frog that could appeal to children.

Dole Japan awarding personalised Banana Trophies to 200 runners in this year’s Tokyo Marathon

Philip Kendall
Jan 25, 2014

The Tokyo Marathon 2014 is just a few weeks away, and hundreds of thousands of people are already pushing themselves that little bit harder during their daily training, not to mention paying extra attention to the food they eat, in preparation.

As in previous years, Dole Japan has stepped forward to sponsor the event, providing piles of hand-grown Lakatan bananas, which contain plenty of citric acid essential during exercise, for runners to munch on. This time around though, the company is awarding 200 runners with a very special bite to eat, or perhaps let sit on the shelf and slowly turn to mush: the Trophy Banana, complete with personalised message printed on the skin.

Attack on Titan characters come alive in awesome new Subaru TV commercial

Oona McGee
Jan 25, 2014

If you’re waiting anxiously to catch a glimpse of the live-action Attack on Titan film slated for release in 2015, then this is a TV commercial you won’t want to miss. It’s the latest ad for Subaru Forester and while the car looks pretty flashy, all eyes will be darting around the vehicle to check out the awesome titans in action. Screened tonight, with a lot of hype around its debut between the hours of 9:00pm and 10:30pm in Japan, the ad is like a teaser for the live-action film to come. In a country full of weird and wonderful collaborations, this tie-in promotion with a car and people-guzzling giants is the one joint venture we’ve all been waiting for.

How many abandoned bicycles can fit in just one Tokyo pond?

Casey Baseel
Jan 24, 2014

One of the odder problems you run into living in Japan is how to throw large things away. Say you’ve just bought a new bicycle, for example. In many countries you could find a charity to donate it to, or perhaps a relative or friend of a friend who’s just starting college or a career.

Japan’s predominantly middle-class society and general dislike of used durable goods means you’re unlikely to find someone willing to take your old bike off your hands, though. Trash collectors won’t haul off something that big unless you shell out an additional fee, either. In some cases, people will simply abandon their bike somewhere, such as a back alley or deserted parking lot.

Or, apparently, in a lake in one of Tokyo’s most beloved parks.

School kids in Japan learn about bugs, terrifying miniature horse-beasts and baby Ohmus

Philip Kendall
Jan 24, 2014

Back when I was a kid growing up in Liverpool, we studied only the subjects that were essential for daily life: namely Numbers, Words, Throwing, and of course a selection of moves from the 1983 romantic drama Flashdance. There was no time for art or creativity, and we were only ever allowed outdoors to collect firewood or when the time came to offer up a sacrifice to The Beast.

So it’s great to see that school kids in Japan are given a chance to learn the things that really matter, like identifying a Japanese rhinoceros beetle from a lineup of frightening, hopefully imaginary, creatures.

Sanrio’s Evangelion line-up keeps getting cuter and cuter

Anime News Network
Jan 24, 2014

Yes, you read that correctly. Sanrio has a line of Evangelion merchandise. Naturally, it’s all adorable.

Called “Eva Micro Macro,” the line was announced late last year, and already includes smartphone cases, with t-shirts to come in April 2014.

We try french fries and chocolate sauce at Lotteria Japan

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 24, 2014

We all know that there are few combinations that are better than dipping your french fries in a vanilla shake. The hot, salty fries mixed with cold, sweet ice cream…it’s a match made in cheeseburger paradise. But fries and chocolate? Japanese fast food chain, Lotteria, is betting you’ll make the jump from shakes to chocolate syrup with their new menu item. We knew we had to send Mr. Sato out to give this crazy combo a try.

Japanese women reveal their biggest expenditures ever

Casey Baseel
Jan 24, 2014

A while back, I’d been struggling for months with an old laptop that took a solid 30 minutes to start up each morning. My repeated attempts to rectify the problem, using the most advanced electronics trouble shooting techniques known to me (hurling every curse word I knew in both English and Japanese at the screen), only proved successful in cutting the waiting time down to 29 minutes, unfortunately.

Eventually, I bit the bullet and bought a new laptop. Despite my lovely and crafty wife talking the salesman into a 3,000 yen (US$30) discount, it was still the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought. Not that I’m complaining of course. It works great, and since almost all of my work, in-home entertainment, and overseas correspondence is done through my PC, my life is honestly better for having purchased it.

You can’t always count on being completely satisfied every time you drop a giant wad of cash on something, though. Japanese women’s Internet portal My Navi Woman recently released the results of its survey on working women’s biggest expenditures, and whether or not they got hit with a dose of buyer’s remorse afterwards.

Dogo Onsen to exhibit works by famous artists in Japan, let you spend the night in them

Master Blaster
Jan 24, 2014

At Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, 2014 marks the 120th anniversary of the spa’s main building which stands as a notable landmark of the area. It’s a majestic and traditional building that some say was the inspiration for the bathhouse in Spirited Away.

To celebrate, the surrounding area will be hosting a large scale art exhibition in which the Onsen’s main building and at least ten other hotels and inns will be transformed into works by various modern artists. The actual event will run from 10 April to 31 December of this year, but a sneak peak was held from December of last year involving five prominent Japanese artists: Fujio Ishimoto, Yayoi Kusama, Shuntaro Tanikawa, Akira Minagawa, and Araki Nobuyoshi.