Featured

Darth Vader to be featured in large-scale Star Wars snow sculpture at 2015 Sapporo Snow Festival

The annual Sapporo Snow Festival held in Japan’s northernmost prefecture has been delighting tourists and locals for over six decades. Each year, artists from around the world are invited to show off their talents constructing enormous structures out of ice and snow.

To commemorate the release of the seventh installment of the Star Wars series, The Walt Disney Company has collaborated with festival officials to design what looks to be the most epic large-scale snow sculpture yet, featuring enormous snow versions of Darth Vader, three Storm Troopers, a TIE fighter, and the Death Star.

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Rock band KISS collaborating with Sailor Moon Crystal’s Momoiro Clover Z

The U.S. rock band KISS is no stranger to merchandise collaborations with Japan, but the maskedglam rock band is marking its first time working with a Japanese musical artist with a new single next year. KISS and the Japanese pop idol group Momoiro Clover Z are set to release a new single together on January 28, 2015.

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Mythbusters: We drive a car over our smartphone to test the protective film

Even today, a lot of people in Japan still prefer flip phones over smartphones. Part of the reason is because smartphones screens–exposed as they are–are a lot more vulnerable and seem to break easily. Take myself for example: after purchasing a brand new Samsung Galaxy S4 last summer, I dropped it once and since then have had a giant crack across my screen.

But with the right case and protective film, your smartphone can, apparently, become practically invincible!

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Ready to tie the anime knot? Company offers marriage certificate for you and your 2D waifu

Over the last few years, it’s become a trend for truly obsessive anime fans to start referring to their favorite female character as their wife, or waifu, thanks to the Japanese language’s almost complete lack of terminal consonants. Honestly, the whole phenomena is crazy, because how can you claim someone’s your spouse with no legal paperwork?

Seeking to make the spousal bond between husband and anime wife just a little more legitimate, one company is now offering marriage packs, complete with marriage certificates, for two popular anime lasses.

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Taiwanese subway debuts second anime mascot, net users experience moe overload

Remember Xiao Qiong, the Taiwanese anime subway mascot we introduced you to last month? If you thought she was cute, just wait till you check out her new partner in crime who takes the moe madness to dangerous new levels.

We’re proud to present the second mascot character of Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System (高雄捷運, or KMRT for short). Everyone, say hi to the blonde bombshell Emilia!

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There’s still a lot of room for improvement regarding the availability of elevators in Japan’s train stations and other public facilities, but the country doesn’t have a totally sub-par record in helping the disabled retain their mobility. For example, on the sidewalks of most moderately large streets, you’ll find a row of bumps that operate as a guide for blind pedestrians, indicating not only any curves in the walkway but also warning of intersections and steps ahead.

Obviously, good manners dictate keeping the path clear, but in all that empty space one Japanese motorist saw a perfectly-placed parking spot. And while Japanese culture often errs on the side of not sticking your nose in other people’s business, it looks like one elementary school student couldn’t let this go without giving the driver a piece of his mind, even if the inconsiderate owner wasn’t anywhere to be found right then.

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Burger chain Lotteria trolls McDonald’s Japan’s potato shortage with pithy sign

Earlier this week, we reported that McDonald’s Japan is in the middle of a potato shortage, causing them to halt sales of medium and large-size fries. Even the meal sets will come with a measly small fries, though thankfully at a discounted price.

Rival chain Lotteria is happily pouring salt in the wound by using McDonald’s hardships to market their own fried spuds. See if you can spot the recent addition to their menu after the jump.

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New Evangelion short film now streaming on animation studio’s website

It’s been almost two years since the theatrical release of the third Rebuild of Evangelion movie. The film series is a reboot of the phenomenally successful and influential psychological science-fiction anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. Or maybe it’s a sequel. Actually, knowing series creator Hideaki Anno’s penchant, and talent, for throwing viewers gigantic curve balls, it could be something else entirely.

All we really know is that fans have been waiting since January of 2014 for more Eva, and their patience has been rewarded with a brand-new, highly artistic Evangelion short that’s already streaming online.

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Beautiful Kinkakuji temple even cooler under blanket of snow

Over the past few days Japan has been battered by nonstop snowstorms. Parts of Niigata have gotten over two meters (6.5ft) of snowfall, with surrounding prefectures getting nearly just as much, extending as far north as Hokkaido and south as Kyoto. This has unfortunately already resulted in eleven deaths and hundreds of canceled flights, and even more snow is expected over the next several days.

But always one to look on the bright side, Japan has recently been reveling in just how darn pretty the famous Kinkakuji temple in Kyoto looks with freshly fallen snow.

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Too busy to wrap Christmas presents? Not if you’ve got 12 seconds, Japanese store shows【Video】

I honestly don’t remember the last time I wrapped a Christmas present. Due to a lack of time during the busy period at the end of the year, plus a lack of manual dexterity during…my life in general…I usually just put everyone’s presents into a gift bag.

However, if you want to give someone the gift of satisfaction that can only come from tearing through some festively patterned paper, and you’re got more aptitude for arts and crafts than me (trust me, you do), there’s no need to let your hectic schedule stop you, as this video shows you how to wrap a present in just 12 seconds.

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Six non-traditional osechi New Year’s meals in Japan

New Year’s in Japan is usually celebrated with family huddled under the kotatsu while munching on mikans, and sharing a dinner of traditional food, called osechi. Each component of the meal retains an auspicious meaning, granting the eater with good fortune, health, or fertility, among other things, during the coming year.

However, in recent years, an increasingly large population of Japan’s youth have chosen to forgo eating osechi. There are many reasons osechi has been disappearing from Japanese homes during New Year’s, but these changing tastes have given rise to a smorgasbord of strange, unique, and, frankly, comparatively tastier pre-made osechi meals. From cooked isopods to a box full of meat, let’s take a closer look at six modern day osechi.

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This amazing Weipa recipe tastes every bit like fried rice without frying rice

For the uninitiated, Weipa is a fried rice condiment that is popular in the Japanese interpretation of Chinese food. Even if you’re not in Japan or China, you’re sure to be able to track this down in a Chinese supermarket near you. Weipa is used to add flavor to the Chinese fried rice that has become a staple in Japan’s Chinese cuisine – and believe us when we say it’s delicious.

To introduce everyone to the wonder of Weipa, we have a super simple recipe that involves mostly just rice, with results so amazing you wouldn’t be able to stop!

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Terrorize your figure collection with a fully articulated titan model

In case your figure collection needs more naked people or angry titans, Kotobukiya is releasing a 160 mm (~6.3″) figure of Attack on Titan‘s Eren titan.

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Kobe Luminarie illumination creators ditched LED for the warmer light of normal bulbs

Tokyo may be trying to take the throne of “City of Lights” from Paris and we’ve seen some dazzling lights in Mie Prefecture, but inKansai, nothing says holiday spirit better than “Kobe Luminarie.” The light display is entering another year of brilliance, as it was originally a display to honor the victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, pray for the revival of the city, and reintroduce tourism into the region.

In an effort to save energy after the Tohoku Disaster in 2011, Kobe Luminarie changed their lightbulbs to LED lights. Smart move, right? You would think people would be happy with the economically and environmentally savvy improvement, but apparently the results were a little more sparkling than they’d hoped, in the bad way.

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Love sweets, hate Frozen? Solution: repurpose your Olaf bun into Bert from Sesame Street!

Remember when we recently had a little fun with the Disney’s Frozen pastry buns that have gone on sale all over Japan? You know, the ones oozing with cream and chocolate (mmm) and featuring the annoying face of that goofy snowman (grr) that’s absolutely everywhere right now? While we certainly enjoyed mangling Olaf’s face with a big knife whilst maniacally humming “Let it Go”, it seems that one Twitter user has an even better idea for dealing with that pent-up Frozen frustration. An idea that involves re-purposing the buns into something more aesthetically pleasing! Since we’re all about that silver lining (and since generally, we enjoy our food more when it doesn’t look like a murder scene) we had to investigate! It turns out that it’s actually pretty simple to change goofy Olaf into another character with a little more pedigree behind it – Bert from Sesame Street! Read on for the step-by step guide!

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Blogger Madame Riri often writes about her experiences as a Japanese woman in an international relationship who’s spent a considerable amount of time living abroad. Recently, though, she took a look at women in the opposite situation.

Sifting through the writings of Grace Buchele Mineta, a Texas-born expat married to a Japanese man and living in Japan since three years ago, Madame Riri pulled out four pieces of advice for non-Japanese women in or looking for a romantic relationship with a Japanese man in Japan.

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Video of crafty cat’s escape from behind bars shows no simple cage can hold him

Japan’s comparatively cramped housing means there’s not only less room for a home’s human occupants, but for its animal residents as well. Because of this, you may sometimes see pets spending a few hours a day in cages that, in other countries, would ordinarily be able to run free around the house.

But if the sight of a cat behind bars makes you feel a little sad, you’ll be happy to know that at least one Japanese feline can apparently escape whenever he feels like it.

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Japanese website wishes users a Happy Xmas with sweet animation【Video】

Get into the Christmas spirit with this festive video featuring flip-book style animation and a Japanese rock rendition of “Happy Christmas”, put together than none other than master animator Tekken.

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Japan’s biggest online retailers now have more smartphone traffic than desktop site users

Japan’s most visited sites saw PC traffic decline by between 10 and 20 percent in 2014, while access from smartphones rose rapidly, according to a Nielson survey published this week. Online retailers saw the most marked changes, with some experiencing as much as a 60 percent rise in mobile internet traffic.

It’s easy to see this shift to mobile as part of a wider global trend – after all, Americans already spend more time accessing the internet via mobile and tablet apps than with computers. But smartphone use in Japan looks a little different. When Japanese consumers use smartphones to access the internet, it is mostly via mobile web browsing, rather than dedicated apps.

Join us after the jump as we take a closer look at the what and why of these suprising survey results.

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We head to the Snickers Hungry Barber for a free haircut, worth every penny

The other day we reported that the people behind chocolate, peanut and nougaty munch-fest Snickers was opening up a barber shop in Tokyo’s trendy Omotesando. Dubbed the Snickers Hungry Barber, the shop boasts some of the strangest hairstyles in the world, and they’re all free of charge!

Our Japanese correspondent Yuichiro Wasai decided to take Snickers up on the offer and ordered an Omakase (“I’ll leave it to you”) from the shop’s scissor-wielding staff. Little did he know that he would receive a hair style so potent with animal magnetism that everyone he passed on the street seemed to want a photo of him.

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