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Wear your love of anime on your stomach with Totoro Tummy hoodies and tees

Although he increasingly dealt with heavy themes and narratives as his career went on, legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro is a film of almost non-stop good vibes, with scene after scene filled with childlike whimsy, wonder, and joy. Wouldn’t it be nice to take a break from the worries of the workaday world and live inside the 1988 classic for a day?

Of course, if we’re talking animated flights of fancy, why stop at being just any character in the movie, when instead you can become Totoro himself with this lineup of Totoro apparel.

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Japanese cats show the world what they can do: poop in (and flush!) the toilet【Videos】

In addition to such cool things as opposable thumbs and the gift and speech, one of the areas in which we humans are clearly superior to other animals is our development of a sophisticated pooping culture. Not only have we reached an almost species-wide agreement that just leaving our feces lying around is not cool (with the exception of a few exasperatingly inconsiderate holdouts), we’ve also put our scientific know-how to use in developing systems to carry our feces away from our homes.

Now, though, it seems that mankind has a challenger to, and for, the throne, in the form of two cats in Japan that seem to be well on their way to mastering the toilet.

By the way, did you already have a nice, nutritious breakfast? If not, be advised that cats will be dropping deuces after the jump!

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“Beautiful foreigner walking a polar bear” spotted at Shibuya’s famous crossing

Twitter was set ablaze last night after dozens of people shared photos of “a beautiful foreigner walking a polar bear” between throngs of pedestrians at the world-famous Shibuya Scramble crossing in Tokyo.

Join us after the jump to see a video captured by an onlooker and learn more about the group to which this mysterious bear-keeping stranger apparently belongs.

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Sea urchin ramen – Not for the faint of heart!

For the ultimate Japanese food experience, sushi or ramen are certainly the top picks. And while sushi covers all the flavors of the ocean and even some less traditional meaty options, ramen remains a steady choice between four main soup stocks: miso, soy sauce, pork and salt.

Of course, more individualistic and unnatural ramen shops exist around Japan, but never before had we heard of a ramen restaurant specializing in sea urchin ramen.

Until now.

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Why would anyone buy a tiny toy folding chair? We ask the designers and find out!

You can find some pretty strange stuff in Japan’s gachapon toy capsule vending machines, like futons for your smartphone or doggy bread figures. But one set of gachapon goodies from manufacturer Epoch is so odd because of how amazingly mundane it is: a series of folding chairs and school desks.

But why did Epoch decide on such a down-to-earth muse, and why have people been snapping them up? We went straight to the source and talked with two members of Epoch’s development team to find out.

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A man-made cave of wonders: the world’s biggest underground storm drain in Kasukabe, Japan

Deep beneath the ground, 19 miles north of Tokyo, lies a truly incredible feat of engineering. The G-Cans Project is the largest storm drain on earth, a colossal series of underground silos and tunnels, built to protect Tokyo from flooding during typhoon seasons. Its main hall (actually an enormous water tank) is held up by 59 columns each 25 metres high, and is known as the “Underground Temple”.

The facility is free to visit by guided tour, and the folks at Another Tokyo, a Japanese website introducing off-the-beaten-track places from around the country, recently went to check it out. This is what they found!

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We take a luxurious trip to Aomori in the first class section of the bullet train

For most people, getting to fly first class in an airplane to some far off destination is a fleeting dream, too expensive to actually accomplish. So for those of you wishing you could enjoy free slippers and a dedicated cabin attendant but don’t want to shell out half a year’s salary to do it, look to the first class section of the shinkansen, Japan’s high speed bullet train.

One of our Japanese reporters took a ride on the Hayabusa E3 Shinkansen in “Gran Class” from Tokyo all the way up north to Aomori and documented his luxurious trip. Take a look inside his first class cabin experience!

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Kobe video arcade gets gamers in the fighting spirit with taunting subway posters

Every gamer knows that one of the best ways to get another gamer frustrated and seeking sweet, bloody in-game revenge is a well-placed “your mom” joke or other taunt or insult involving one’s relatives, girl/boyfriend, dog, cat or the size of certain parts of the target’s anatomy.

Which might mean that this Kobe video game arcade – which, remember, are still quite popular in Japan – may have struck marketing gold with this new ad campaign featuring insulting posters plastered all over the subway.

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In Japan, it seems like almost every time I see a dog owner out for a stroll with their pet, it’s wearing some sort of clothing. It always strikes me as a little weird, since dogs are already covered with fur, and for most of the year, Japan doesn’t really get cold enough to warrant an extra layer to keep them warm.

Still, I guess the owners get a kick out of it. I do feel a little sorry for the dog sometimes, though, especially if he’s been stuffed into some cutesy, frilly costume. Wouldn’t he be happier in something more masculine, like a suit of doggy armor?

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Nintendo fan’s Super Mario kimono is an awesome mix of retro gaming and historical fashion

You could make the argument that Nintendo is the most “Japanese” of the major video game companies. Obviously that’s a label you can’t apply to Microsoft, but even compared to internationally focused Sony, with design studios and production teams all over the world, more of Nintendo’s products are developed domestically, and many in Kyoto, the quintessential Japanese city.

So it’s kind of ironic that the company’s best-known character, Mario, is Italian. Still, the video game hero is one of the best choices for a symbol of Japanese pop culture, and now he’s been combined with Japanese traditional culture in an awesome Mario kimono.

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Japanese mothers react to being called by their first names after years of just being “Mama”

It might sound strange, but in a lot of Japanese households, the use of first names tends to become increasingly rare after the arrival of children and grandchildren. Although plenty of parents in the western world will also refer to each other as “Mommy” or “Daddy” in an effort to help their newborn or toddler pick up the words, or sometimes just to be cute, a man calling his wife “Mama” or “Okaasan” even after their kids have long flown the nest is perfectly common in Japan.

But what happens when a husband suddenly starts calling his wife by her first name, just like when they first started dating or had not long been married? Japanese cosmetics company Pola recently conducted an experiment to find out how simply being called by their first name can affect the health and physical appearance of young women who have over the years come to be known simply as “Mama”.

Promo or not, the effect was surprisingly powerful.

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Touching video chronicles pup’s transformation from timid pound rescue to brave rescue dog

It’s been just a little over a month since the deadly landslides brought about by a powerful storm hammering Hiroshima City. Soon after the disaster struck, rescue crews sprang into action, providing shelter and medical assistance to victims.

We’re sure the residents are deeply grateful for the service of those who came to their aid, and while every man and woman who did is no doubt courageous and caring, the cutest of all was probably rescue dog Yumenosuke.

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Cafe Talisman, Osaka’s Sailor Moon theme cafe

As we’ve previously discussed, Japan is chock full of cool little cafes. Obviously, not every single cafe in the country is going to be spectacular, but we have to say that we have found no end of fun places to sit down and order a coffee. But if you’re a Sailor Moon fan, we may have found the ultimate place to enjoy a latte: Cafe Talisman.

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Dressing up as Final Fantasy’s Squall for Halloween? You need this real-life gunblade 【Video】

Back at the start of the year, we all had the urge to go out and fight some monsters when we saw Hollywood blacksmith Tony Swatton recreate the massive sword wielded by Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth. Of course, Sephiroth is just one member of the gigantic collective cast of the long-running video game franchise. With so many more iconic weapons to choose from, it was only a matter of time until craftsmen went to work on armaments from the other games in the series, and next up is a real-life version of Squall’s gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII.

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What’s under Rilakkuma’s suit? Find out for yourself with this insanely cosy onesie

This limited edition 2014 Rilakkuma onesie might just be the most outrageously warm and snuggly thing we have ever seen. It also answers the burning questions that fans of the character have been wrestling with for years: if Rilakkuma is a bear, why does he wear a bear suit? Is he even a bear at all?

Sure, you could wrap yourself in a blanket to keep warm this winter. Or, you could become Rilakkuma with this luxurious loungewear. Wrap yourself up from head to toe in furry goodness, and solve the mysteries of the cartoon bear universe at the same time.

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Wednesday has to be the least exciting day of the week. Your energy boost from the weekend is likely spent, and you’ve still got a couple more days of work until your next chance to cut loose and have some fun.

At least, that’s how things generally are. This week, we’re psyched about Wednesday, because October 8 is bringing a lunar eclipse to Japan, and as part of the celestial show, the moon is turning red.

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Six habits of first class “business elites”, according to one cabin attendant

If you’re like us here at RocketNews24, you probably don’t spend a lot of time sitting in first class on airplanes. The cabin attendants always seem so grumpy when they have to come around with brooms and shoo us to the back of the plane where our seats are.

Aside from the legroom and complimentary champagne (or whatever first class fliers get), there is one other big difference between sitting at the front and in the back in economy: Your fellow passengers. Now, don’t get us wrong, everyone cramped in the back with us is great…but have you ever wondered what those fancy-shmancy passengers are like? Well, wonder no more! A Japanese cabin attendant has dished on the top six things she’s noticed about the wealthier passengers. And none of them are what you might be expecting.

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In the name of the moon, Sailor Moon feminine pads will absorb your menstrual flow!

In some ways, Sailor Moon is a strange choice for a character to build an anime franchise around. Her natural tendency is to be lazy and whiney, which isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a magical heroine.

But what endears Sailor Moon to so many fans is that, when the chips are down, she’s loyal and brave. Whether you’re being attacked by monsters or just feeling down in the dumps about bombing your math test, she’ll be with you through any rough times.

That’s a promise that even extends to when you’re on your period, thanks to new Sailor Moon menstrual pads. No, seriously.

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How to properly wrap a ninja hood – Now available in English!

Every once in a while we at RocketNews24 like to bring you some instructional pieces on how to perform traditional Japanese practices such as drinking green tea, eating sushi, butchering a wild boar and seppuku. However, even with handy instructions some of these practices require rigid discipline and considerable practice. Interestingly enough, we get the fewest complaints of failure from the seppuku piece, but the ones we do get seemed to be the most angry.

This time however, we have a traditional Japanese guide that not only is easy to perform but is perfect for Halloween, which is fast approaching. So get ready to learn how to properly wrap a ninja hood around your head!

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Man’s rejected proposal goes viral as he tries to turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’【Photos】

A marriage proposal is supposed to be a special personal thing, it’s the chance to ask your significant other if they will be with you until the end. You want to make it an intimate and unique occasion, and do we have to mention again, personal. But with the advent of the Internet, more and more marriage proposals are going public as everyone tries to show how clever they are.

For as many amazing proposals there are nowadays, there should be an equal number of heartbreaking rejections out there. You probably don’t see many of them because no one wants to publish their failure online, especially after your heart was just put through a giant wringer. Unfortunately, if you propose in public, you don’t have a choice to share your moment or not, since any random bystander can take pictures of you popping the question. And as you will see, sometimes the results aren’t pretty.

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