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Japan (Page 1589)

We can’t get enough of these clever pouches inspired by Japanese amulets

If you visit a shrine in Japan, you’re sure to find a small shack somewhere on the shrine grounds selling Omamori, special amulets for good luck or protection. These small pieces of colored cloth come in many different designs and serve various purposes. Some are meant to protect the holder while traveling, others give good luck to those taking a test. They are almost always brightly colored and are works of art in themselves. Inspired by the beauty of Omamori, one design team from Japan has created beautiful pouches and notepads that are sure to impress.

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Watch red pandas while you eat red panda curry at Japan’s Safari Land

Penguin bars, owl cafes, and black cat coffee shops are just a few of the strange and yet completely cool shops in Japan where you can view animals while you sip and munch. It seems like new ones are turning up every week, like this one in Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The restaurant, which is actually part of the Safari Land animal park, allows guests to enjoy a plate of curry in the shape of a smirking red panda face as they watch a real life version of their curried animal in an adjacent enclosure.

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  • Nov 14, 2013

See the new capybara babies at Izu Shaboten Park — and maybe even name one of them!

The capybaras at the Izu Shaboten Park in Shizuoka Prefecture are somewhat of a celebrity here in Japan, and you may recall this isn’t the first time we’ve brought you a story about them. Now, we’re pleased to report that the lovable rodents have recently welcomed some adorable new additions to their family. So, here’s your chance to meet the new babies of the family, and what’s more, you may even be able to give them a name!

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All-you-can-eat Whoppers at Burger King Japan. Thank you. Thank you so much.

One of my closest friends recently visited Japan with his wife, and we made plans to get together to sip fine cognac and discuss neoclassical philosophy (OK, canned Ebisu beer and Japanese sports cars). Since they were staying in a hotel with an awesome view of the city, we held our high-minded symposium in their room while admiring Yokohama’s gigantic Ferris wheel.

My friend asked how much all our convenience store-bought booze would run us at a restaurant, and I told him it would depend on whether or not we took advantage of the all-you-can-drink specials that many offer. “Free refills on beer? That’s awesome, but you could never get away with that in the States,” he responded.

It’s a crying shame that he already flew back home, because if he’d stuck around just a little longer, he’d have been able to experience another gastronomic experience unique to Japan: all-you-can-eat burgers at Burger King until December 1.

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Things Japanese people believe about British vs. American English

From elementary school all the way through high school, Japanese kids are required to study the convoluted subject of English as a second language. It’s an enormous struggle for many, as Japanese natives must familiarize themselves with not only the vocabulary and grammar points, they must adjust their ears to pick up on the plethora of sounds that do not exist in their mother tongue. To top it all off, when the existence of various English accents is brought to light, their brains can become confused even further.

A recent post on a Japanese message board asked people to list the differences between British English and American English. The comments extended far over 100. Here’s what some of the respondents had to say.

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Japan belongs to Apple: iPhone claims top 10 spots in total smartphone sales in November

In news that Android fanboys will likely want to spit at, Japan’s top 10 smartphone sales chart currently reads 100-percent iPhone, it has been revealed.

Now carried by all three of the country’s biggest mobile providers, Apple’s iPhone has become immensely popular in Japan in recent years and is seemingly the must-have mobile this November.

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  • Nov 13, 2013

Dazzle us, Ms. Kitty! Hello Kitty is purrr-ly magnificent in her new jeweled look

We’re quite aware that Hello Kitty, the most famous feline in the world, has turned herself into some pretty exclusive high-end products in the past, like a limited edition pink car or even a jewel-studded platinum doll complete with a one carat diamond on her signature ribbon worth approximately US$150,000. But now, it looks like Ms. Kitty’s latest collaborative effort is about to top all of that!
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Too hot to be a nerd? We visit the fabled Animate worker who has the ladies of the Internet talking

You’ve already been introduced to Yuya Uchida, the attractive worker at the Osaka Nipponbashi branch of Animate, a chain of anime and manga stores in Japan. He has inspired countless Internet debates regarding his status as both an otaku and a hottie, prompting one user to comment, “Hot guys should be banned from watching anime.” We knew we had to go out to Osaka to find this mythical hotaku™ and see for ourselves if he really is as irresistible as the Internet makes him out to be.

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Nerd crime: N00b online gamer stabbed in real life by L337 Hackz0r

In a slightly convoluted tale of intrigue and betrayal, a Saitama man was arrested for stabbing his online gaming buddy after the two got into an argument about a lack of gaming skills.

The two apparently met at a game arcade over a decade before the incident and had been keeping in touch, dabbling in multiplayer matches of a Gundam-themed online game together. After one apparently teased the other about his lack of skills, the two decided to settle the debate in person.

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Hafu: Telling the story of Japan’s mixed-race minority and changing attitudes in society【Q&A】

For such a small word, “half” carries an awful lot of weight here in Japan. Adapted to fit the syllabary, the word is pronounced “hafu” in Japanese, and describes a person who has one Japanese – and of course one non-Japanese – parent. More often than not, the word carries certain connotations, and many Japanese have preconceived, often erroneous, notions that hafus have natural English ability, have spent time abroad, and possess many of the physical characteristics Japanese associate with Westerners. At the same time, the word is immediately indicative of something very un-Japanese, and many hafu – even those who have never set foot outside of Japan and speak no other language – are never truly accepted by society as a result.

The Hafu Project was begun in 2009 as an initiative aiming to promote awareness of racial diversity in Japan and the issues facing those of mixed heritage. It was after becoming involved with the project that two filmmakers, Megumi Nishikura and Lara Perez Takagi, began a collaborative work that would eventually become a full-length feature film titled, simply, Hafu.

Three years in the making, Hafu was completed in April this year, and has been screened at independent cinemas everywhere from Madrid to Tokyo. After checking out the film for ourselves when it came to Shibuya recently, RocketNews24 talked with Megumi and Lara to learn a little more about the making of the film and how in their opinion attitudes in Japan are evolving.

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The nine best onigiri fillings as chosen by an American


Onigiri is a popular Japanese food. Although it’s a simple combination of a ball of rice filled with some other delicious meat, fish or vegetable, it takes some experience to get to know this snack deeply in all its combinations. Of course, Japanese people all know what they like when it comes to onigiri, but how much could a foreigner get into this kind of food?

To get a sense of this, we met with an American named Chris who is visiting Japan to do some surfing, and gave him a taste test to rank his nine best onigiri fillings. Read More


  • Nov 12, 2013

Feel the charm of Moon Prism Power — while putting food in your mouth!

Remember when you had a favorite TV/comic/game/storybook character you couldn’t live without, and you just had to have some toy or other connected with it close to you at all times? Well, if you’re a fan of Sailor Moon, you’ll be delighted to hear that toy manufacturer Bandai has just announced a line of products that may just let you relive some of that giddy excitement. And while these products may have the sparkly appearance of a toy, they also have a very practical use too, as you’ve probably been able to guess from the picture. Yes, folks, get ready to enjoy some Moon Prism magic — at your dining table! Read More

Nissan to release new Skyline for the first time in seven years…and it’s a hybrid!

A representative for Nissan announced the company will release a new hybrid version of their Skyline in Japan. This marks the first design change for the coveted sports sedan since 2006. We’re hoping this new version will be able to be imported to the US…

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Japanese product promotion invites women to snuggle up with foreign hotties in bathrobes

Women in Japan were feeling a little left out when the charity breast squeeze event came into town this past summer. Sure, some women like to squeeze a boob every now and then, but there was never any naughty public happening created with ladies in mind. That is until now.

For a limited time only, the women of Japan can enjoy sandwiching themselves between two bathrobe-clad foreigners without having to donate a single yenny.

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Searching for Senyu Ryuka, the Japanese woman people call “God”

You’d think finding a god would be easy. Now, I don’t mean that in the born-again “finding God” kind of way. I mean actually finding someone who hundreds maybe even thousands of people consider a god and who walks among us.

It all started one sunny day as I was out pencil shopping along a busy street. A little old lady with a kind smile handed me the paper pictured above. The title read, “The message from the world of spirits: William Shakespeare.” Thinking, “Now, that’s a name I can trust!” I read on.

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Vocaloid’s fandom evolves beyond the music and becomes the face of young Japanese otaku

Last month, we posted an article capturing the changes in anime art style over time. These adjustments in overall style can come on so slowly, but when laid out side-by-side, they become so blatantly apparent, it’s amazing that such a large breadth of drawing styles could all come under the umbrella of Japanese anime. It would seem that with every passing decade there comes an attraction to a different art style.

In the special interest magazine, Febri volume 19, there is an interesting report called Portrait of a Modern Otaku, which classifies these trends in popular Japanese anime according to “generations,” starting with Space Battleship Yamato and all of its fans falling into generation one. Generation two is represented by Gundam, while fans born of Evangelion and erotic dating simulators belong to generation three. Today’s twenty-somethings likely identify with the fourth generation of fans frontlined by The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. And finally, the youngest bunch, teenagers and below are classified together with none other than Kagerou Project.

But wait. How could it be that an offshoot of Vocaloid, the computer voice simulator, is the poster child for this most recent generation of otaku? The development of Vocaloid fandom itself, holds the answers.

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Nintendo to release album of 8-bit theme songs to celebrate 30 years of NES

For those of us that find it hard to believe that the NES (called “Famicom” in Japan) turned 30 this year, Nintendo is putting out an album of 26 of the best theme songs from classic games like Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. The two-disc album comes out December 4, making it the perfect holiday gift for that person in your life that loves the simple 8-bit tunes of yesteryear.

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Trio busted for forging 3,700 idol group autographs

Diehard fans of popular Japanese idol groups like Arashi, Hey! Say! Jump! and AKB48 may want to double-check that signed poster they bought online. Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Chiba prefectural police arrested three people last week for an elaborate idol merchandise scam. It seems that the scheming trio forged signatures of eight popular idol groups onto merchandise, put the fake goods on online auctions, then defrauded the winning bidder. Police believe that the three made about 3,700 of these items, which duped people out of 6,700,000 yen (US$67,000)!

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Constipated cats, sticky blue poop and more: Japan’s 9 weirdest vending machine toys

Gachagacha or gachapon are vending machines that spit out little toys or other small items in a plastic egg. For a few bucks, you get not only a new anime figure or phone strap but also the thrill of submitting to the luck of the gachapon. Where I come from, you might find a similar machine dispensing stickers or candy in the front of a big box store, but there wasn’t much choice and the appeal wears off sometime before junior high. Here in Japan though, gachapon have an endless and ever-changing variety of contents, along with enthusiastic collectors of all ages. Entire stores exist simply to house hundreds of gachapon, and with all that variety, there’s sure to be some serious weirdness in there. This is Japan, after all.

We’ve scoured the Net to find nine of the most bizarre for your viewing pleasure.

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Japan’s 10 best-selling video games this century so far

In a recent article from Famitsu, the weekly video game magazine considered by many Japanese gamers to be the authority when it comes to their medium of choice for entertainment, a list showing the current total video game sales for all platforms in Japan between January 1, 2001 and September this year caught the attention of gamers both at home and abroad. Aside from the fact that the number of games sold in Japan over the last decade or so is simply staggering, Nintendo’s dominance in its home territory when it comes to total software sales is quite remarkable.

Join us after the jump as we see Japan’s 10 most popular video games of this century so far, and how, with a little help from some clever pocket monsters, Nintendo is absolutely raking the cash in.

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