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All-you-can-drink sake in the park as 23 brewers come to Tokyo for the Shibuya Sake Festival

Late spring is one of the few universally pleasant times to spend outdoors in Japan. The cold of winter and the heavy pollen counts of early spring are gone, and the heat and humidity of summer are yet to make their appearance.

Of course, some would say that no matter how nice the weather is outdoors, it’s even more comfortable to have a drink in hand. Next month, you’ll be able to scratch both those itches at once with the Shibuya Sake Festival in Tokyo’s Miyashita Park, where you can spend a day drinking as much as you’d like of more than 100 different kinds of sake.

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“Pink Pussy” up for sale in Hyogo Prefecture

While perusing Japanese restaurant website Tabelog recently, I came across a little cafe in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, called Pink Pussy. Quite what it was I don’t know, but something about the place really appealed to me so I hopped on a train over there. It was a bit of a journey but I’ve traveled farther to get some, and you can’t put a price on a good cup of coffee.

However, when I arrived I was shocked to find that Pink Pussy had been put up for sale.

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Driver struck by another vehicle in the wrong lane, still ordered to pay 40 million yen

Driving is dangerous business – tons of metal and motors on wheels, whizzing around at high speeds past other vehicles and pedestrians, which is why you never want to throw alcohol into that mix. What a lot of people don’t realize, though, is that driving while you’re sleepy can be just as dangerous as driving drunk. You become less attentive, your reaction time slows, and drowsiness can also affect your decision-making.

Three years ago, a tragic accident occurred in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, in which a sleepy driver drifted into the opposite lane, causing a fatal accident. The case went to court, and the court’s decision was announced last Monday. Many were shocked to hear the results: that the judge placed fault on the driver of the car that was struck, ordering them to pay 40 million yen (over US$336,000) in damages.

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Revealed! Japanese companies are putting hidden messages in their packaging!

You may have noticed that Japanese product packaging tends to be completely covered with text in a variety of fonts and styles. If you’ve ever taken the time to read any of it, you’ve probably realised that quite a bit of it seems to be particularly chatty, going beyond the usual product description in order to occasionally impart some philosophical wisdom or advice.

Some companies even go as far as to include hidden messages to communicate directly with the consumer. Check out this gallery of some of the best.

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Anna Sui’s new manga accessory collection includes anime eye pouches and torso bags

March 31 was the last day to pick up something from Anna Sui’s line of Sailor Moon purses and accessories. The American designer hasn’t exhausted all of her Japanese animation and comic inspirations, though.

Next month Anna Sui pop-up stores are scheduled to open at six locations in Japan, where fashion fans can find exclusive bags, wallets, and pouches that take cues from some of Japan’s most famous manga creators, including Osamu Tezuka, Ryoko Ikeda, and Rumiko Takahashi.

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Japan Bucket List II: 8 places you need to visit to really understand Japan

We at RocketNews24 believe that to truly understand a country’s people you need to know something about their history and where they came from. So following last week’s popular Japan Bucket List: Things you need to do to really understand Japan, this week we offer you eight places that contributed greatly to the development of Japan, its culture, and people.

Get ready to take your understanding of the Japanese people a step further with eight historical places that have helped shaped them into the people they are today. Let’s go!

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Get in the Gundam robot! Event lets fans sit in giant Zeta Gundam replica cockpit

While the 1:1-scale Gundam statue in Tokyo is, with good reason, a mecca for mecha lovers, it’s not the only extra-large recreation of combat hardware from anime’s most prolific robot franchise. Clear on the other side of Japan’s island of Honshu, Okayama Prefecture has its own statue, modeled after the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam.

On one hand, Okayama’s mobile suit isn’t life-size, but it still stands an impressive seven meters (23 feet) tall. Even better, this weekend fans will get to climb into its cockpit.

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Make the ocean your office with new TRUE WETSUITS from Quicksilver 【Video】

Even if you’ve never even attempted to hop on a surfboard, you’ve probably still heard of Quicksilver. Their clothing and bags have achieved a near ubiquitous status in many parts of the world, particularly as backpacks for students. But the Australian company’s heart is surfwear, as you probably know, so they obviously also make wetsuits. But as a new commercial for the company shows, they also make TRUE WETSUITS.

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“Akakara Cochin meatball pizza” is the latest collaboration pizza in Japan, actually looks pretty good!

Aoki’s Pizza, the Japanese pizza chain which brought you last year’s chocolate and pineapple-topped Black Thunder pizza, is teaming up with fellow Nagoya-based Akakara (a popular nabe chain) for another wacky yet oddly appetizing-looking menu item: introducing this year’s “Akakara Cochin [a breed of chicken] meatball pizza.”

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Raw eggs may lead to heads as bald as eggs

One of Japan’s most beloved dishes is tamago kake gohan which is simply a bowl of rice topped with a raw egg and a splash of soy sauce. While the thought of consuming raw egg might be off-putting to some people, here a TKG is about as commonplace as a PB&J would be in America.

In fact raw egg is used as a garnish for many other dishes as well, which might make you wonder why everyone in Japan isn’t constantly kneeling over a high-tech toilet bowl. Actually the problem of bacteria has been licked quite some time ago, but now a new danger in raw egg consumption looms: it’s thought to cause hair loss.

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  • Apr 21, 2015

Hooray! Taco Bell opens in Japan and we’re there to get the commemorative T-shirt and free taco!

While you can certainly find countless restaurants offering a seemingly endless range of cuisines in Japan, if you’ve spent some time in the country, you may have noticed that options for Mexican food (or at least American-Mexican food) can be somewhat limited. So when news went around that American fast food chain Taco Bell was going to re-open in Japan, the response on the Japanese Internet was huge. And while we understand that not everyone is a fan of Taco Bell, there certainly seemed to be enough people overjoyed that the chain was finally returning to Japan after having opened shop here once for just a short time in the 1980s.

All of this meant that the opening of the new Taco Bell shop in Shibuya, Tokyo was bound to attract lots of attention as well as a good crowd, and not to miss out on the excitement and tacos, our very own Mr. Sato from the Japanese arm of RocketNews24 was there on opening day to bring you the following report!

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Edo and Meiji era Japanese artwork now available for free download 【Pics】

Attention all designers, artists, fashion enthusiasts and people who just appreciate some nice Japanese artwork: The Smithsonian Libraries should be your best friends.

Among their thousands of other free artwork and books, The Smithsonian Libraries and the Freer and Slacker Galleries, Smithsonian’s Museums of Asian Arts now offer free downloads of thousands of beautiful Japanese prints.

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Buddhist temple singles parties: The enlightened way to find a romantic partner

Buddhism and Shintoism share space pretty peacefully in Japan, partially thanks to a division of duties. Shinto shrines, for example, handle weddings, while Buddhist temples are the locations of funerals and graveyards.

These days, though, a few Buddhist temples are helping singles find someone to marry at one of those Shinto weddings, though, as one sect of Buddhism in east Japan has branched out into organizing matchmaking parties.

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Peace Kitchen: promoting Japanese food (and maybe something more) across the world

As RocketNews24 readers, you are probably a bit more savvy than most about what Japanese food is, but for many, the concept doesn’t extend far beyond sushi. Despite its recent elevation to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status and its potential for international popularity, washoku still lacks global recognition and understanding.

That’s about to change, however, if newly launched project Peace Kitchen has their way, and we might all be better off for it.

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Miyazaki wanted to make “Parasyte” the next animated Studio Ghibli production

Parasyte, the creepy science fiction horror manga series about a boy with a sentient alien parasite living inside his arm, was almost the newest Studio Ghibli animated venture, it has been learned. Studio Ghibli’s former president Toshio Suzuki last week sensationally revealed the news that Hayao Miyazaki had intended to bid for the rights to the series, which eventually went to film studio Toho.

So, what is Parasyte and what, if anything, have we missed out on here?

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Pikachu outbreak to happen again in Yokohama this summer, this time with dance fever!

Half-way through April, all of the cherry blossoms are gone from the Tokyo area, and while it’s good to know that they’ll be back in 12 months’ time, it’s always kind of a bummer to see them go.

Thankfully, though, there’s plenty to look forward to as the weather starts to heat up. For example, traditional festivals and amazing fireworks displays take place all across Japan during July and August. Plus, it looks like there’s a new annual summer event now, as the city of Yokohama is going to once again be overrun by Pikachus this year, and this time it sounds like all 1,000-plus of the unbearably cute Pocket Monsters have come down with dance fever!

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Hide your name, hide your face – Death Note TV drama set to air this summer!

There has been a successful anime, a trio of movies, various games and even a musical, but one form of media the Death Note series has been noticeably missing is a TV drama.

But just like an entry into the infamous Death Note itself, a one-line news report revealed that a live-action drama was finally in the works. And we’ll be seeing it a lot sooner than you think!

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You’d be hard-pressed to find a girls’ manga with a broader or more international fanbase than Hana Yori Dango. Also known as Boys Over Flowers, Hana Yori Dango ran as a serialized comic for more than a decade in addition to having a popular anime version that aired in the late 1990s. That was just the beginning of its multimedia franchise, though, as the series was later remade as a live-action TV and film series in Japan, with separate, locally produced versions for Taiwan and Korea as well.

One place Hana Yori Dango hasn’t gone yet, though, is the stage. That’s changing next year, though, with a Hana Yori Dango musical that’s holding open auditions to cast its female lead.

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Naruto’s son speaks in new teaser for Boruto –Naruto the Movie- anime film 【Video】

With less than four months to go until the film’s premiere, more and more information is trickling out about Boruto –Naruto the Movie-. Just last week, the voice cast was announced for the latest installment in the smash hit manga/anime ninja saga, and it turns out we didn’t have to wait long for lead performer Yuko Sanpei show her skills, as the newest teaser for the movie lets us hear the voice of Naruto’s son.

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Cuddly koalas pose in business class as part of trip to celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday

To celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday, Australia sent four koalas to the Singapore Zoo for what is possibly the best birthday present ever. As one of Australia’s national animals, these four fuzzy marsupials were given top-notch treatment as they were upgraded from the cargo hold to “Koala Class”. Pictures appearing on Qantas’ Facebook page showed exactly how good people and bears have it in business class.

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