Since being released in April 2013 in Japan, the American-produced Bubi brand of foldable water bottles had become a hit with the public. Despite it not being the first collapsible bottle on the market, as well as it being considerably more expensive, and while it isn’t even the dog days of summer in Japan, online shoppers here have been scooping up Bubis faster than they can be made.
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Not familiar with natto? Shame on you! Natto is the fermented soy bean “snack” loved throughout the Kanto region for its supposed health benefits that outweigh the questionable flavor and strong smell, which is optimistically described as “cheesy and pungent” and otherwise described by detractors with violent gagging noises.
Looks like Green Day’s frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, needs to add anger issues to his growing list of ailments requiring rehab. Armstrong was apparently infuriated by the success of Korean pop star, Psy, and his record breaking sensation, Gangnam Style, which made its rounds while Armstrong was serving a stint in a clinic for alcohol and prescription pill abuse. The rocker experienced a “flareup” of sorts at the news that Psy’s epic follow-up, Gentleman, was racking up similar praise.
How many of you are familiar with the restaurant Bubba Gump Shrimp, based on the 1994 Oscar-winning film Forest Gump? Speaking as a sweet ol’ Southern girl, raised in the Heart of Dixie, USA, I’m well acquainted with both the movie and the real-life restaurant that it inspired. Bubba Gump Shrimp, with its American Cajun-style cooking, has branches scattered all across the globe, including three within Japan. As the name would imply, the menu features an abundance of shrimp, making it an irresistible spot for seafood lovers. Read More
Over the weekend, a Korean businessman got into hot water when he complained about his in-flight meal on a trip to the United States. Apparently, he wasn’t satisfied with the taste of his ramen or with the service, and expressed his displeasure by assaulting one of the cabin crew. As a result, he was turned over to the FBI and prevented from entering the country.
Here’s what we know about this bizarre incident. Read More
Facebook, possibly in an attempt to outpace Asia’s reigning chat program king LINE, updated their iOS Facebook Chat program on April 17, adding “stickers” that can be used in chat conversations much like LINE’s “stamps” (also called “stickers” in English language versions).
Fox Sports Japan is offering a freely downloadable “Foul Ball Armor” papercraft helmet for people with a lot of free time and an iron will (papercuts are serious business and you should expect a lot of them building this thing).
You’ll also obviously need access to a printer, or if you have no sense of shame, a nearby Kinko’s.
Fox Sports introduced the Foul Ball Armor in a new television ad campaign to coincide with the March 29 start of the 2013 baseball season.
Apparently Japan is under the impression that Mattel’s Fijit Friends toy is actually America’s favorite new diet tool.
The below video – which we pray to God, Buddha and Zombie Jesus is a misguided parody of some kind – shows Japanese women going nuts over the new “fijiet” trend.
Elementary and high school students from Miyagi Prefecture were given a special send off at Japan’s Narita Airport yesterday afternoon as they set off for the U.S. in order to convey messages of thanks for the efforts of those involved in relief operations following the 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Northeast Japan.
Below is an account from Sayaka, a reporter over at our sister site Pouch. It is an intriguing look at differences in business culture between Japan and the west. It makes one realize that there is no perfect business strategy as such but by incorporating the best parts from each culture, one can get pretty close to their own perfect business model. Moreover, Japan’s business culture has to be one of the most unique in the entire world.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Tokyo Station as well as Grand Central Station, New York: two titans of transportation who have served their respective metropolises proud.
To honor this centennial, Grand Central hosted “Japan Week” which drew crowds to the already crowded terminal. Hearing of this, RocketNews24 sent a reporter to investigate the centerpiece of Japan Week; the ekiben counter!
No doubt there to promote the release of new Nintendo 3DS game Luigi’s Mansion 2 (known as Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon in the West), Shigeru Miyamoto – the creator of Super Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong among others – was spotted hanging out with staff from Nintendo America in New York yesterday, not to mention looking exceptionally green. If only he’d arrived a few days earlier, this get-up would have worked pretty well for Saint Patrick’s Day, too.
A chart surface on the Internet recently titled: 100 American College Music Majors Analyze Japanese Musical Talent and the Relationship with the Number of Members.
How exactly this information came together is unknown, but the name suggests that 100 American music students were surveyed about several Japanese music acts past and present. Those results were then plotted against the number of members in each band.
The results certainly do suggest that there is a correlation between the number of members in a music act and the perceived crappiness of said act. So lets examine this more deeply with some samples and a translated version of the chart above.
55 contestants… 110 funbags!
Surely the main attraction of world-famous restaurant Hooters is the waitresses and their gigantic…appreciation for quality customer service. Now you can help select the cream of the Japanese Hooters crop in the Miss Hooters Japan 2013 by voting for your favourite “pair” online. The first round of voting runs from February 1-14, and the lucky finalists will be announced on the website Feb 16.
Space: the final frontier. This is the voyage of a homemade rocket carrying the fearless Hello Kitty as its sole passenger. Its mission: to explore the effects of altitude on air pressure and temperature, and to boldly go where no Kitty has gone before… Read More
Slappy Cakes is a popular pancake restaurant in Portland Oregon that lets customers create their own custom pancakes at their tables. It’s a fun time for those who want a completely new pancake experience. However, its popularity has resulted in some long wait times.
Luckily, Slappy Cakes’ success has allowed it to expand, but rather than add another location in Portland they decided to set up shop in completely uncharted DIY pancake house territory: Shinjuku, Tokyo. We sent Mr. Sato to a pre-opening demonstration for a report.
Propaganda is an ugly art. History is full of distorted and racist imagery of one nation’s enemies during times of war. Looking back on them now we can chuckle at the absurd lengths people went to in an effort to instill hate in one another, but they often remain shocking nonetheless.
This series of paintings from North Korea surfaced on the internet around 2010, but it’s uncertain exactly when they were created. Judging by the American uniforms they’re most likely Korean War era. We can also see this by the one where US soldiers are depicted sawing open a guy’s head (they got lasers to do that nowadays).
Salty tears roll down your cheeks as you spend yet another night alone eating instant ramen. You despondently stare at the ripples formed as you continue to sob into your noodles. The broth takes on a miserable taste you are all too familiar with.
Singles rejoice! Your nights of eating alone will be made a little less lonely thanks to this new invention: the anti-loneliness ramen bowl!
In Japan, people generally eat jellyfish, not decorate with them, but if you are the kind of person who eschews conventional interior design, you’ll want to have a look at these charming hanging lamps made by California-based Roxy Russel Designs. Faithfully modeled on real jellyfish, these translucently luminous creations will enchant even the most jelly-phobic decorators. Read More