Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
SE Asia (Page 16)
Generally speaking, it’s considered bad form to suck face on public transportation, particularly in socially conservative countries like the Philippines, but perhaps lovers get a little extra leeway on St. Valentine’s Day, because the Manila Light Rail Transit is offering free tickets to couples bringing the romance today.
The opening of McDonald’s first restaurant in Vietnam on Saturday drew massive crowds, as well as a live DJ, face painting and various performers.
Hundreds of people began camping out at the new location in Ho Chi Minh City hours before its 8 a.m. opening to get their first taste of a Big Mac and fries made in their own hometown, according to Liberty Voice.
Not so long ago, if you were travelling overseas and someone swiped your bag or camera, you pretty much had until you left the country to crack the caper. Unless you happened to be carrying a cargo of priceless gems in your tote bag, the local authorities weren’t going to coordinate an international search and recovery operation with you once you’re back in your home country.
Things are different now, when so many of the gadgets we take with us on vacation are linked to cloud storage services and social media accounts. Such was the case of one Japanese traveler who goes by the Twitter screen name Matsumoto Hiroki. Matsumoto, who lost his iPhone on a trip to Bangkok, was able to track down the person using it through iCloud, which is when his story got really interesting.
When the following pictures popped up on a Japanese news site, we found ourselves enraptured by the breathtaking and surreal scenery depicted within. In the photo above, the water is so transparent that the children seem to float over an endless cloud of seaweed. But it’s not an optical illusion. That is indeed water, and it is in fact actually part of the ocean. Can you figure out which country this gorgeous photo was taken in? Here’s a hint: it’s somewhere in southeast Asia. The answer is after the jump.
Recent relaxations of regulations by the government of Myanmar have gone a long way in opening up the country to foreign tourism and investment. While we’re sure this is big news in the worlds of finance and manufacturing, we couldn’t help but wonder what this would mean for RocketNews24’s journalistic foundation: fast food. We’d heard that Japanese/Korean hamburger/craziness emporium Lotteria had entered the market, but where do the people of Myanmar get their fried poultry fix? Do they have KFC?
We suppose we could have used Google to see if the chain operates in the country (turns out it does), but we saw no reason to do so when we could get paid to take an overseas business trip instead. And so we travelled to Myanmar’s metropolis of Yangon in search of KFC.
We found two thirds of what we were looking for.
Unlike numerous other animal rights groups, non-governmental organisation WildAid aims to combat the problem of illegal wildlife trade – most notably the killing of sharks for their fins, elephants and rhinos for their precious ivory, and tigers for their skins – by attacking the problem at its source: the people whose money encourages it. The group’s message is simple: “When the buying stops, the killing can too.”
With the help of numerous high-profile figures like footballer David Beckham and even Britain’s Prince William, WildAid puts pressure on the people providing the demand for these “luxury” items. This week, world-famous actress, animal rights campaigner and, in our opinion, full-time babe Maggie Q appeared in the group’s newest commercial, which aired in China. The ad, titled “Impress”, aims to dissuade wealthy Chinese from eating shark fin soup, with Maggie telling both her date and TV-watching China that although there are many ways to impress a woman, shark fin soup is definitely not one of them.
Cosplay is arguably the most popular subculture in Japan. While the costume play community has seen an explosive growth across the globe in recent years, many “normal” people still tend to look at those engaging in the activity with judging eyes; some even think that they’re “weird” for wanting to dress up like their heroes. But the truth is, beneath the elaborate costumes, cosplayers are just as normal as any one of us.
We’ve seen cosplayers without their costumes, but photographer Ching Yee Tan takes a step further by showing us a glimpse of their private lives. If you’ve ever wondered what a hardcore cosplayer’s room looks like, this is your chance to take a peek into one!
While staying in Thailand, one of our reporters came across an expansive estate littered with colossal buildings. This was said to be the property of the Chairman of Saha Farms Group, Dr. Panya Choititawan.
As we will soon see, Dr. Choititawan seems to be a devout Buddhist and has opened his home, called Sukhawadee, to the public for a nominal fee of 200 bahts (US$6). It’s said the purpose was to give people a feeling of being a joint owner and treat them to the images of Buddha it contains. Kowloon Kurosawa, wanting to get a taste of success decided to take a look around.
Asian films can’t hold a candle to Hollywood films in terms of worldwide popularity, but when it comes to movies with intense fighting action, Asian stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li shine above the rest with their impeccable kung-fu moves. But such agile movie stars are hard to come by, so film-makers often rely on filming techniques and computer graphics to boost the intensity of action scenes.
Four Singaporean youths brought things back to the basics with an amateur action video clip and showed us that you don’t need state of the art CG to show the audience a powerful kick. All you need is some powder. And of course, some sleek martial art skills.
It’s all happening on Asia’s trains this week, isn’t it? According to Southeast Asian news sources, a man dressed in “samurai” garb faces up to five years in prison and “flogging” after jumping the ticket gate and then brandishing a full-length samurai sword on board a busy subway train on Monday this week.
Over the weekend, I stopped by the End of Year Cosplay Festival (EOY) held at Marina Barrage in Singapore. Although I love anime, I’ve never been to an anime convention or cosplay festival for one simple reason: I hate crowds. But this time around I had a friend, who coincidentally is a cosplay photographer, to show me the ropes of treading through a people-packed cosfest, so I braved the crowds to bring you guys (and girls) some fabulous cosplay photos!
A new advertising spot from Pantene Philippines is taking on the big issue of gender parity in the workplace. Playing on how the same behaviors are labeled positively for men and negatively for women, it encourages women “not to let labels hold them back.” Presumably by buying the correct label when it comes to shampoo…
We all know that Hello Kitty is one busy little cat, but it looks like she’ll be in particular demand in the coming weeks … in Thailand! In what is yet another collaborative effort involving the hard-working Ms. Kitty, McThai has recently started their “Hello Kitty Fairy Tales” promotion.
Beginning last Friday, McDonald’s all over Thailand are selling adorable plush Hello Kitty dolls. But these aren’t just any ordinary plushies. This time, our beloved Ms. Kitty has been fitted with colorful costumes from the world of fairy tales!
Although still relatively unknown in the West, instant messaging application Line is pretty huge in Asia. Developed by the Japanese division of South Korean internet content gurus Naver Corporation, the application allows free digital voice calls and text messaging, and is loved by both Android and iOS users, no doubt in part thanks to the dozens of cute “sticker” icons that users are able to share.
When promoting the messaging app in Thailand, however, Naver seemingly decided to take an altogether different approach. Tugging at our very heartstrings, this ad tells the story of a recently bereaved father and daughter and how through “more LINE, Much closer” they become able to communicate their feelings more effectively. Clever marketing or not, this is a real tear-jerker.
Industrial designer Siew Ming Cheng has evidently had enough of being pushed and shoved on the Singapore subway. Those space-invading commuters have brushed up against, knocked and pushed her one too many times, and now the young creative is declaring war on space snatchers with special body armour: the Spike Away vest.
Sushi is without a doubt the most popular Japanese food in the world, and as such it’s found its way onto the menus of restaurants around the world. However, as we well know, different countries always like to add their own twists to imported cuisine. These countries sometimes have a special way of eating sushi beyond the imaginations of people in Japan. Our reporter Shogo, while out covering the situation in the Philippines following Super Typhoon Haiyan, had stumbled on some such sushi while visiting a Japanese restaurant there. Read More
If you were out and about one day and a foreign student randomly came up to you and asked you to dance to some Japanese pop song you’d never heard in your life, would you do it?
Four exchange students from Japan managed to get hundreds of people in Singapore, locals and tourists included, dancing to the catchy tune of Japanese idol group AKB48’s Koi Suru Fortune Cookie in various public places such as tourist spots and popular food establishments. If you’re planning a trip to Singapore, or have never heard of this tropical getaway, this informative video is a must-watch!
Super Typhoon Haiyan left a trail of destruction as it made its way across the island nation of the Philippines on November 13, 2013. In the wake of the disaster, one of our reporters traveled to the Philippine island of Leyte to talk to the victims of this massive storm and give a firsthand description of the damage. Please enjoy his humble account of the situation in Ormoc City, Philippines.
Starbucks has a policy of seamlessly blending their coffee outlets into remote tourist locations around the world. So when two brothers in Bangkok set up their street-side coffee cart business under a familiar looking green logo, Starbucks was quick to assert that this was not one of their operations.
Damrong and Damras Maslae are now in hot water as the global coffee franchise is coming down hard and suing them for copyright infringement.
We’ve all got bizarre excuses for cheating on a diet. You know, like how donut holes don’t count because they technically don’t exist? And we all know ice cream is mostly air anyway. Now, men, at least, are going to have to add a new ludicrous excuse: “Certainly calories don’t count if you eat them in midair.”
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Japan reacts to Donald Trump’s “Islamic Republic of Japan” remark
Japanese airport rebrands itself as “Sushi Airport” to attract foreign tourists
Studio Ghibli theme park’s new dessert is a drinkable version of Hayao Miyazaki’s pilot daydream
Hollywood live-action Naruto movie announces global search for its Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
Giant Mewtwo statue disappears from real-life Pokémon Center in Japan, may be headed to America
Solid gold Hedorah kaiju from the Godzilla series is now available to pre-order
Godiva Japan is now offering two Chocolixirs for the price of one, and here’s how to get themStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
A visit to Sri Lanka’s knockoff knockoff Uniqlo (no, we didn’t stutter) to see its rare “Pikachus”Japanese airport rebrands itself as “Sushi Airport” to attract foreign tourists
New Mt. Fuji overnight bus takes travelers from downtown Tokyo straight to the most popular hiking trail
Don’t judge this Kiki’s Delivery Service book by its cover, because it’s not actually a book!
7-Eleven Japan releases chocolate cookies that taste like freshly baked melon breadJapan reacts to Donald Trump’s “Islamic Republic of Japan” remark
7-Eleven Japan now has Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, but how do they taste?[Taste test]
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the countryStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroadSalomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel styleJapan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
Forget Tokyo go-karts – there’s a new way to sightsee on four wheels in JapanJapan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in TokyoStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Studio Ghibli theme park’s new dessert is a drinkable version of Hayao Miyazaki’s pilot daydream
Hollywood live-action Naruto movie announces global search for its Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
Giant Mewtwo statue disappears from real-life Pokémon Center in Japan, may be headed to America
Solid gold Hedorah kaiju from the Godzilla series is now available to pre-order
Godiva Japan is now offering two Chocolixirs for the price of one, and here’s how to get them
Starbucks Japan puts a bow on peach season with new limited-edition Peach Creamy Tea Latte
Foreign tourists staying in one part of Japan can now get nightly government hotel discounts
Yoshinoya and Dragon Quest slaying scalpers with shift to made-to-order collaboration merch
Japan now has a Pokémon airport that features every species of Flying-type ever[Video]
Climbing season officially opens for Japan’s Mt. Hiyoriyama, the shortest mountain in the country
New Mt. Fuji overnight bus takes travelers from downtown Tokyo straight to the most popular hiking trail
Kurokawa Onsen celebrates 40 years of its beloved bathing pass with redesign, summer festivities
Foreign tourists injured in Nissan GT-R crash near Tokyo’s Shibuya Scramble Crossing
Grandpa Sensei solo art exhibition returning to Tokyo and he’ll be there every day of it
