Can you spot the Self-Defense Force personnel shown here? Oh, and their amazing jeep too [Video]

The other day, we decided to sneak out of the office and grab some coffee. And when we say sneak, we mean literally, as we made our Starbucks run slinking through the streets of Shinjuku while hiding under a cardboard box.

But while our Metal Gear-style tactics did get us to Outer Coffee Heaven safely and stealthily, there are two problems with our method. First, our crawling speed is pretty slow, even with the caffeine boost we enjoyed on the way back. Second, the cardboard box wouldn’t help us blend in with a more natural environment, which is why we now find ourselves wanting this amazing, perfectly camouflaged Japan Ground Self-Defense Force jeep.

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Watching Japanese people try Marmite for the first time will brighten your day [Video]

Pretty much every culture has at least one food or drink that, unless you grew up eating it, you probably don’t like. For example, the first time most foreigners try natto, Japan’s infamous fermented soy beans, the pure disgust may also make it the last time they ever try it. In the opposite direction, America’s root beer doesn’t have the best track record in Japan either.

YouTuber Chris Broad, from Abroadin Japan, has brought another such food to Japan: a traditional condiment from his homeland of the UK that is not even loved by all Brits: Marmite. As he puts it, “people tend to either love it or hate it.” With this in mind, Broad set up a camera so we could watch the reaction of Japanese people trying the polarizing food for the first time.

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Relive the 90s as seen from China, thank the stars you didn’t live in China back then

For anyone who has seen the VH1 show I Love the ’90s, they know it’s a fantastic way of remembering just how ridiculous the times were back then and seeing visually how much has changed since. There was Nirvana, Friends, grunge fashion and some of the most beloved video games including Pokémon and Final Fantasy VII.  Well it’s 2015 and everyone is streaming Friends on Netflix, there’s going to be a new album featuring Kurt Cobain, and Pokémon and Final Fantasy titles continue to dominate the sales charts. So has anything changed?

Maybe not for the West, but China, which was recovering from the strict ruling of Mao Zedong, really started to find itself in the ’90s. Their impoverished nation was beginning to discover fashion and entertainment and experience what the rest of the world was experiencing. And now that the Internet has taken over the world, how has China changed from the ’90s to now? Watch an amazing video after the jump to find out.

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The mysterious ways of Japanese mums that never fail to mess with our heads and funny bones

Mothers. They’re the amazing beings who carried us in their tummies and brought us into this world. Some of us live with one, some of us can’t wait to move away from one. Some mums are fashionable and love parties, some can’t send a text message without messing up a few words every time, some tend to nag too much, and some bake the best cookies in the world.

The bottom line is, every mum is unique in her own way, and they’re lovable for all their strengths and flaws…especially when they have their own hilarious methods of doing things, like the mums of these Japanese Twitter users!

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Want to tell which generation a person grew up in? Hand them an N64 controller!

Released in 1996, the Nintendo 64 game console not only eventually gave us such hit titles as Mario Party and Super Smash Bros., but it also had one of the most unusual controllers of all time. You know the one: that three-pronged contraption with the d-pad on the left, A, B, and C buttons on the right, and the joystick in the middle.

Many of us grew up with those classics, and with many consoles still alive and kicking, even the younger generations are able to enjoy them today. But, did you know that you can tell who grew up in the N64 generation and who didn’t by the way they hold the controller?

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Tiny gachapon hamsters are here to cling to your glass and make your drink extra cute!

Here at RocketNews24 we like to think of ourselves as experts in taste and style (hey, stop laughing!). We like to add little personal touches to our cutlery drawers and drinks cabinets (gotta love those panty glasses!). So you can imagine how excited we were when we found out about these little hamsters you can clip onto the edge of your glass or mug to up the cuteness factor of everything you drink by 150%.

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Chances are you won’t solve this problem correctly

Recently a psychology student posted a copy of the “Four Card Problem” which is a logic puzzle where players must flip over the minimum number of cards to possibly prove or disprove a rule. The way to play is quite simple, yet fewer than 10% of university students have been able to successfully answer it. Ready to step up and give it a whirl?!

Not you, psych students and graduates who have probably already seen this! Back off for a sec and give the rest of us a try first.

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New JPEG image enlargening software is actually a bigger deal than it sounds

Maybe this is an Internet writer problem and all you people with real jobs won’t understand, but a major snag we often run into in this line of work is not being able to find images of the right size and/or copyright status.

A lot of the most relevant, high quality images tend to belong to wire services and newspapers, while pulling stuff from the less copyright-protected corners of the net is kind of a crapshoot; you might find a beautiful pic that’s perfect for your story, but then again you might also discover that the only remotely related image that you can find is a thumbnail that’s only clearly visible under a magnifying glass.

Now, however, there is a solution!

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Video of kids reacting to strangers dropping their wallets might restore your faith in humanity

For the most part, Japanese society stresses being considerate and courteous. 99 times out of 100, that makes Japan a great place to live, but in certain situations those virtues can be taken to such extremes they actually end up contrary to their original sentiments. For example, part of being courteous is not bothering others, but as I’ve talked about before, in rare instances that bit of well-meaning deference can get warped into not getting involved in other people’s affairs even when they’re clearly in a quandary.

But while adults sometime stumble while walking the tightrope between forcing unasked for assistance on someone and helping those in need, what about children? That’s the question posed in this video showing a group of kids reacting to a stranger dropping his or her wallet at the bus stop, and the outcome just might restore a bit of your faith in humanity.

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Nike the sleepy pooping cat reminds us all to enjoy life’s little pleasures 【Pics】

We’ve seen a lot of adorable cats here on RocketNews24. There’s cats politely waiting outside convenience stores, cats being stored on shelves, and a whole island of cats just waiting for you to come feed them and scratch their heads.

If you’re like us though and your hunger for cute cat pic simply cannot be satiated, then take a look at Nike, the adorably sleepy Japanese cat who’s been paws-itively blowing up Japanese Twitter recently. Side effects of looking at Nike’s pictures may include pro-cat-stination of work you should be doing, feline like you’re going to laugh, and wanting to take a catnap of your own.

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Throw out your clock! Website has race queen models telling you the time every minute of the day

It’s pretty easy to see the need for most jobs in the motorsports world. The drivers are there to drive the cars, obviously, and the members of the pit crews refill their gas tanks and change their tires during the race.

But what about the class of models Japan calls race queens? Ostensibly, one of their roles is to hold umbrellas over the drivers to keep them cool while waiting on the tarmac, but it’s not like the competitors behind the wheels are so dependent on their cars for mobility that they can’t just walk over to the shade and sit down there. No, the true function of race queens is to attract attention to the sponsors ‘ logos printed on what precious little fabric their costumes make use of, and considering that money is as crucial as gas in keeping a race car running, it’s an important job.

The models have just picked up another work responsibility, though: telling you the current time, with this website that displays a new race queen photo every minute of the day.

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May 23 is Kissing Day in Japan, apparently. If you didn’t know that, don’t worry – chances are no one in Japan knows either. But May 23 is the anniversary of the release of Hatachi no Seishun, the 1946 movie celebrated as the first Japanese film to feature a kiss scene, and someone decided to declare that date as kisu no hi (キスの日), a date for romantic first encounters and anything-goes puckering up.

And a nightclub in Tokyo is offering couples the chance to experience that famous kiss scene for themselves, by, er, kissing each side of an acrylic “window”!

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These beautiful flower arrangements are actually desserts from Tokyo Station

Whether you call it Bavarian cream or Bavarois, the classic dessert generally isn’t much to look at. Since traditional Bavarian cream itself is just a beige lump (being cream, after all), many chefs choose to drizzle a brightly colored fruit sauce on top of it. And while that definitively adds some much needed visual pizzazz, if you’re after a dessert that’s as captivatingly beautiful as it is mouth-wateringly tempting, this Tokyo pastry shop’s Bavarian cream that includes edible flowers is basically a work of art that you can eat.

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Japanese people reveal the six western foods they find most disgusting

Japanese cuisine is known for containing certain dishes that many westerners find hard to stomach, delicious as they may be. That includes sashimi (raw fish!) and natto (fermented soybeans!).

But what about the flip-side of the coin? Which western foods make Japanese people want to barf? The results may surprise you – or perhaps not. Here’s a list!

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Limo-bike? Stretch scooter? Whatever you call it, it’s long, pink and has two wheels

No matter what the car, giving it a stretch in the middle makes it a posher ride. I’m pretty sure that’s a rule of some sort. But does it apply to other vehicles? If you stretched a scooter to ridiculous lengths, for example, and then gave it a pink paint job and a bright yellow seat, would that make it cooler?

At least one person clearly thought so.

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Cocon the Shiba Inu could be the laziest dog in the whole world 【Photos】

Waking up in the morning sucks, especially if you’ve got a long commute to work or school ahead of you (or if you’re just chronically lazy). But what if you’re a pampered pooch whose only obligation is to be a family pet? How hard could mornings possibly be for a dog?

If you’re Cocon the Shiba Inu, the answer is very! Check out these cute snaps of Cocon saying a big fat “nope” to mornings in general, and getting out of bed in particular!

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Japanese Cigar cookies a big hit in the UAE, we try them to see how good they are! 【Taste Test】

One thing we definitely have plenty of in Japan is sweets, be it cookies, chocolates, ice cream or cakes. From sakura flavored treats to mochi-infused ice cream, you don’t have to look too hard to find a dessert that captures your fancy, whatever your mood happens to be. Interestingly, one trend we seem to be seeing in recent years is the increasing popularity of Japanese confections in the Middle East, the U.A.E. in particular.

Now, it’s quite common these days to see a popular snack or dessert from one country become a huge hit in another part of the world, but one Japanese treat that apparently has been acquiring a growing number of fans in the U.A.E. is not the latest dessert fad to hit Tokyo, nor is it created from a unique and unexpected combination of Japanese ingredients. It’s a conventional, albeit tasty, Western-style cookie, and what’s more, these cookies have been around here in Japan for over four decades!

Naturally, we bought a box and tried them to see what makes them so special!

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Preserve your gaming memories forever with these beautiful art pieces 【Pics】

Some people may think that video games are a mindless way to pass time, but anyone who’s spent a decent amount of time holding a controller knows that it can be so much more. Not only can games be mentally challenging, but you can even get pretty emotionally involved. You’ll always remember that moment when you beat that boss or finished that game for the first time.

One French artist is trying to preserve these memories for gamers around the world by creating beautiful art pieces that capture such special gaming moments in one-scene shots.

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Shin-Koiwa Station is going all out to prevent human injury and death

Delays on a train are annoying but inevitable, since with such a massive transit system in Japan, not everything is going to work 100 percent of the time. No one wants to see the words “train delay” on the information screen at the station, but even more so, no one wants to see the reason for the delays attributed to “human accidents,” the catch-all term Japan uses when people are found on the tracks while the trains are running.

An unfortunately common station for such accidents is implementing a number of changes in order to curb the rise of these incidents. It’s not just barriers and fences, prevention can start with you! So join us after the jump to see what sort of changes are being made to Shin-Koiwa Station.

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Japanese version of Game of Thrones comes with badass manga-style covers, because, Japan

The fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire has been a tremendous hit across the globe, and the television adaptation of the series, titled Game of Thrones, simply pushed its popularity to newer heights.

On this site, we’ve previously seen the Game of Thrones characters get the Disney treatment, now check out the characters done up in manga-style glory!

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