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Japan (Page 1584)

Onigiri taste test: Which convenience store will win?

Walk into any convenience store in Japan and you’ll see the staples: magazines, drinks, snacks, and the ubiquitous onigiri. And when it comes to onigiri, the world-famous rice ball wrapped in seaweed, one of the hands-down most popular is the salmon variety, with salty, sweet, succulent flakes of orange salmon at its centre.

So which convenience store sells the best salmon onigiri? We decided to conduct a taste test in our offices to declare a winner, pitting the top three – 7-Eleven, Lawson and Family Mart – against each other in a battle befitting the rice ball’s feudal origins. With a set of scales, the slice of a knife and a merchant tester, we begin.

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All aboard! Taking a ride on Kumamoto Prefecture’s party train

Kumamoto, a rural prefecture on Kyushu Island off the mainland of Japan, is one of the remaining “car societies” in a country using more and more public transportation. It is also home to one of the country’s roving party locations: the Beer Garden Train. While it’s nothing unusual to see drunk people on public transportation in Japan, this one-car trolley actually encouraged us to imbibe!

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Become your favorite Sailor Scout with new Sailor Moon T-shirts!

Many of us girls, who grew up with magical girl anime, held tight to the fantasy that we too could become a super-powered Sailor Scout and fight evil in the name of the moon. Well, dig those magic rods and transformation toys out of the closet, because it’s not too late to transform! In conjunction with the upcoming anime and the recent Sailor Moon Musical, Premium Bandai has begun accepting pre-orders for a new line of Sailor Scout T-shirts that promise to turn you into a Sailor Scout just by putting one on!

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Anime and alcohol: The Moe Syu Summit & Sake Matsuri in Akihabara

Like cute anime girls? Enjoy the occasional cup of sake? Then head on down to the Moe Syu Summit and Sake Matsuri. Held in Akihabara, the otaku capital of Japan, the festival combines moe (cute anime girls) and nihonshu (Japanese rice wine).

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Akihabara-based magazine blasts past Kickstarter goal, aims to bring otaku culture to the world

The word “otaku” in the Japanese language is a general term for anyone who is passionate about a hobby. But in English, “otaku” has become a term that refers to people who are obsessed with Japanese culture, particularly anime and manga. But the world of the otaku is sometimes misunderstood. That’s where JH Lab, a group of “otaku of the highest caliber” comes in, hoping to demystify the world of anime and manga fans and bring the culture of Akihabara to people everywhere.

To do this, JH Lab has created Akiba Anime Art (AAA), “a brand new pop-culture magazine from Akihabara, featuring cool OTAKUs, advanced technologies, kawaii-cosplays, Dojins and much more!” They’ve started a Kickstarter campaign to make their dream a reality and have quickly surpassed their initial goal, raising over US$42,000. Supporters of the project will receive special edition illustrations from featured Japanese artist, John Hathway, and have a chance to be drawn into his amazing Akihabara picture jockey cityscape. Let’s take a closer look at this rapidly growing magazine’s “ultra otaku power.”

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Autumn style: Hair and cargo netting together at last!

Tired of the same old hairstyles? Twin tails just not rocking your socks any more? Well how about hairdo that could also be used as a weapon or a means of catching your next meal?

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Koreans angry as iPhone’s new iOS 7 displays disputed islands as Japanese territory

Released earlier this month, the latest iteration of Apple’s operating system for mobile devices, iOS 7, boasts a sleek, vivid interface that is certainly quite a departure from previous iPhone software. Although the majority of Apple’s customers will likely be more than satisfied with both the OS’s stylistic and functional changes, some Korean citizens have taken issue with iOS 7’s Maps application, which refers to the islets located between Japan and Korea – over which there has been much debate – by the Japanese name of Takeshima.

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Pins ‘n’ peel: This banana art will blow your mind

We don’t know about you guys, but when we were kids our parents always told us not to play with our food. Judging by the number of “banana tattoo” photos doing the rounds on Twitter today however, it looks like there are plenty of people here in Japan prepared to ignore that particular piece of parental advice in the name of art.

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All-you-can-eat cookies!!! Aunt Stella’s cookie buffet opens in Ikebukuro Station

Japan is wild about dessert cafes and pastry shops. From donuts to pretzels to cakes, the nation’s sweet-tooth knows no bounds, and you’ll find baked sugary treats almost anywhere in the city. “So what makes this new store special?” you ask. Well, it’s not your typical sweet shop, but in fact an all-you-can-eat cookie buffet!

This Wednesday, a new location for the popular dessert chain Aunt Stella’s Cookies opened up in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro. And Aunt Stella has cooked up a bunch of tasty specials to celebrate the move!

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Star Trek fans will either laugh or flip out after watching Japanese Spock sell anti-rust spray

KURE 5-56 is Japan’s version of WD-40. It’s hard to make a connection between a lubricating spray and Star Trek, but one Japanese company managed to do just that, incorporating clips from the newest movie, Star Trek Into Darkness, into a commercial. The company also gave rise to their own version of first officer, Mister Spock, and he’s…interesting.

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Like many members of the RocketNews24 team, I met the love of my life after arriving in Japan, and just to be clear, I’m talking about my wife, not a cold can of crisp, delicious Ebisu beer. There’s a lot to be said for an international marriage, whether it’s the chance to learn about another culture in the most in-depth way possible, or simply the opportunity to dazzle your spouse by cooking food from your home country, even at a quality that would have your friends and family back home hitting the speed dial button for the local pizza delivery.

Of course, Japan, like any society, has its own baseline attitudes about married life, some of which can be startling for foreigners with a Japanese spouse. Blogger Madame Riri has composed a list of marital quirks to be aware of and think through together with your Japanese sweetheart before the two of you say “chikaimasu” (“I do”).

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Osaka unleashes another adorable dessert with hotel’s bathing bear ice cream

While Tokyo remains Japan’s largest and most internationally well-known metropolis, the city of Osaka is no slouch either. Osaka is known for its simple, tasty grub, such as takoyaki octopus dumplings and kushiage, basically deep-fried anything on a stick.

Osaka is also building a pantheon of cute, animal-shaped sweets, such as the platypus pastry which was on sale there until the end of last August. For autumn, there’s a new adorable dessert in town: this bathing bear made out of ice cream.

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The little hedgehog that couldn’t (but it’s still fun to watch him try) 【Video】

They may not have the swoon-inducing power of 14 baby pandas in a row, but hedgehogs are nevertheless incredibly cute, and they make great little pets. They’re passive, clean, ideal for those who are out during the daytime, and, as this video proves, hugely entertaining to watch wrestle with the inside of a toilet roll.

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Time to celebrate Halloween, Japan-style with jack-o’-lantern sushi!

Unlike America and other Western countries, Japan is only starting to get into the swing of Halloween. Over the past few years the country has come a long way toward embracing this eerie Western holiday. Now when fall comes around, it’s a lot easier to find stores bedecked with black cat posters and ordinary restaurants festooned with orange pumpkin garlands. Most department stores have a token costume section on display, and sometimes bigger cities will have events for kids to wander around in costume with their parents. One district in Kanagawa Prefecture has really gone the extra mile to give people a frightfully good time this October!

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Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge to turn pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Rainbow Bridge, which spans across Tokyo Bay, is usually lit up with the colors of the rainbow at night. This October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (called “Pink Ribbon Festival” in Japan), the usually multi-colored bridge will get a pink make-over to raise awareness of breast cancer.

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Achieve a super saiyan style with Dragon Ball Z hair wax

Japanese beauty product manufacturer, Creer Beaute, has just come out with a new line of professional-grade hair wax with the strength to hold your hair nice and stiff, even in the midst of an hours-long death match. Their Dragon Ball Z Hair Wax promises to hold your spiky hair chunks in place throughout even the most rigorous battles and is a real must-have for any fist-fighting, world-saving hero.

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Japanese blogger discovers the real reason people camped out for the iPhone 5S launch

Apple’s iPhone 5S went on sale in Japan on September 20, with electronics aficionados, including our own Mr. Sato, lining up days in advance in order to purchase one on launch day.

Obviously, you have to love your electronics to be willing to camp out on the sidewalk, especially with a typhoon hitting the Tokyo area right before the new model’s release. Blogger Junichi Suzaki wondered if there might be something other than the promise of shiny new tech convincing people to spend multiple days and nights in line, though, and found a surprising motivation for the people at the head of the line.

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Bacterium aspires to work in a toilet, dresses the part

You know that line careers guidance counsellors often use: “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have”? Well it looks like one bacterium with its eye on a gig in the bowl of a toilet has perhaps taken that advice a bit too literally…

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Lawson gives you a taste of Japan’s prefectures with their new premium roll cakes

Each prefecture in Japan has its own claim to fame when it comes to locally produced products. Whether it’s lemons or sea salt, you’re sure to find something delicious sprinkled around the country. With this in mind, the Lawson chain of convenience stores has just announced eight roll cakes that each feature two different flavors from across Japan.

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Fries missing from your order? McDonald’s Japan will deliver them to your door

We have all experienced it before. You’re too tired to cook, but also too tired to go sit down at a restaurant. You want a quick meal that takes no effort at all and you want to just veg out on the couch while you eat. Off to the McDonald’s drive-thru you go to order yourself a BigMac meal. You finally make it home, park yourself in front of the TV and peel open the greasy bag only to find that THEY FORGOT YOUR FRIES!!! Exhausted and completely famished, you bitterly bite into your BigMac which somehow doesn’t taste as good without a fry chaser.

But if you are in Japan, you can call up the McDonald’s you ordered your meal from and they will deliver the missing item…for free.

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