Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
You can get practically anything via online retail giant Amazon, and there are even some products that you can only get via the website. Ordinarily one such product is a special beer from popular Japanese craft brewery Yoho Brewing, but beer drinkers will soon be able to pick up a can at their local Lawson convenience store. You’ll have to hurry, though, because the number available is limited, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.
This month, the whole world is celebrating 30 years of Mario, only the most famous video game character of all time. It’s been a long time since the Italian plumber’s humble beginnings as Jumpman, and Nintendo is pulling out all the stops to make this anniversary year as special as possible for long-time gamers who got their start playing as starry-eyed kids back in the 8-bit era.
To continue the festivities, we’d like to share with you this nifty video tribute which tracks the evolution of Mario over the past three decades of video gaming history. Prepare yourselves for a nostalgic trip down memory lane!
Even if you’re not a fan of McDonald’s burgers, fries, or food offerings of any kind, you have to admit the fast food chain knows how to make a pretty tasty shake. Thick and creamy, sipping on a McDonald’s shake can instantly bring back those feelings of happy contentedness you felt as a child, and in Japan part of the reason might be that the experience is designed to make you feel like a baby sucking down a meal of breast milk.
A young Japanese woman suddenly finds herself surrounded by four hot guys, each one vying for her favor. One is tough, another is cool, and the third is going with the soft sell. There’s even a handsome man trying to game her or rule her or neg her, whatever the term is when pseudo-aggressive dudes simultaneously tell a girl that she’s insufferably lame but that they also desperately want to hook up with her.
The woman’s pulse races as she realizes she hold all the cards in this game of love. But this scenario is too good to be true right? Is it a dating simulator video game? A reverse-harem anime?
Nope, it’s the cell phone corner of a Japanese electronics store.
To those not familiar with the scene, cosplay may just seem like older kids and adults playing dress-up, but few realize the time and effort that goes into custom-making the costumes or the attention to detail that really makes the outfits works of art.
For some, just wearing their masterpieces to an anime or comic convention is enough, but others take it a step further, staging beautiful, dramatic, or sometimes even humorous photoshoots, preserving themselves in character and enabling the sharing of their visual pieces online. And today we’ll be taking a look at just that! Here is a collection of the amazing handiwork and photography skills from around the world used to recreate scenes (and create new original scenes!) from the mega-popular anime series Attack on Titan.
In Japan, customer service tends to pretty amazing across the board, but perhaps nowhere more so than in the restaurant industry. Some restaurants may be boisterously friendly and others may be quietly courteous, but you can just about always be assured that everyone on the staff, from your server to the owner, is working hard to ensure an enjoyable dining experience.
But even by those standards, this yakiniku restaurant goes above and beyond the call of duty, with an extensive list of extra special services they’re willing to provide. Of course, courteousness is a two-way street, so the restaurant also has 10 unique requests it in turn makes to its customers.
Dating is hard. No, let’s back that up. Meeting people is hard. We can even go a little further and say talking to someone for the first time is hard. Some of us lack the courage and confidence to approach someone who we like and start talking to them.
It’s a problem that has plagued humanity for centuries, and even though human civilization has shown, through constant population growth, that people are getting things done, it’s always nice to have a little bit of help. While there are plenty of websites and books that offer you tips on how to present yourself, this handy video is much more suited for our busy modern lives, since in just four minutes it tells you how to pick up all the guys.
en though a lot of couples in Japan officially start their relationship with a dramatic and explicit expression of love, that level of passion can be hard to maintain indefinitely. Especially among married couples in Japan, it’s not common to say “I love you” every day, and after a few years as husband and wife, some spouses stop seeing each other as a man and a woman.
But marriage is a long string of small shared experiences, and sometimes couples find a spark that rekindles the flames of their emotions for one another, like in this list of the top 10 times Japanese men fell in love with their wives all over again.
We’ve seen many Studio Ghibli tributes from around the world–some in the form of still artwork, and others in even more ambitious video formats. Today, we’d like to share another fantastic tribute by a South Korean artist that’s sure to please anyone with an eye for some clean graphic design!
At first glance, it looks like a trailer for a new movie or even a documentary about the pressures of beauty, popularity and social media. But in what is one of the most elaborate video commercials we’ve come across in a while, one beauty clinic in Thailand has gone to extreme lengths to advertise its services. Playing on the vulnerability of today’s millennials and modern societal pressures of beauty, they have produced a 14-minute short film which is as compelling as it is a disturbing.
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Kennin-ji is one of Japan’s most historic landmarks. Founded in 1202, it’s the oldest Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto and its founding monk, Eisai, is credited with introducing the philosophy of zen to Japan. To celebrate the temple’s 800th anniversary in 2002, a pair of dragons were painted inside the Dharma Hall, with instructions from the Abbott that they be “rampaging across the ceiling”.
The beauty and power of these dragons has inspired an experienced collector to commission a timepiece featuring the very same artwork, calling on the expertise of four of the very best master craftsmen in the business to come together in what’s being called the “Kennin-ji Master’s Project”. Helmed by acclaimed English watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin, experts are saying this is one of the most exquisite and ornate watches ever made in the history of the craft.
Whether rightfully or not, Chinese products are much maligned for their supposed lack of quality. Even the Chinese people themselves are often critical of their own country’s products, criticizing everything from Chinese news to rice cookers.
But are they really that bad? Our Japanese reporter Meg recently went on a trip to China and brought back a Chinese rice cooker to test it out. She had a couple of surprises along the way, involving everything from getting the rice cooker to even work, to the taste of the final product, so read on to see how it all turned out!
Calbee’s Jagariko is among the tastiest snacks in Japan, if you ask us. The little cups of potato sticks come in a variety of flavors, including cheese, butter, and salad. There are also some seasonal flavors, like yuzu-shio, or yuzu and salt, available now! If you haven’t tried Jagariko yet, this is definitely a great introduction to one of the best snacks in Japan!
Not too long ago, we reported on Pico Cassette, a new device which will allow you to play retro video games on your smartphone via a cartridge which you plug into the headphone jack.
Since we absolutely love all kinds of gadgetry here at RocketNews24, and since we’re also big retro gaming nerds, we made a point to visit Pico Cassette’s booth at this year’s Tokyo Game Show in order to try it out for ourselves!
Every country has its own set of rules and customs that visitors may not initially be aware of. To meet the demands of the growing tourism industry, many governments have opted to implement multi-lingual signs and websites. Sometimes, however, the translations cause much more confusion than they prevent, like with this list of jobs foreigners aren’t allowed to do in Thailand.
Recently a similar goof occurred in India, this time due to some curiously mistranslated signage posted inside the Chennai International Airport, leaving visitors both amused and confused.
SoftBank’s emotional robot Pepper could be considered a hit in Japan ,with the first wave of 1,000 bots selling out in a minute and another 1,000 ready to move at the end of this month. But is Pepper’s popularity peculiar to purely people in one part of the Pacific? Perhaps.
We may soon find out according to a report in MIT Technology Review. One of their writers visited Aldebaran Robotics, the company which made Pepper along with SoftBank, and learned that an American Pepper is already well into development and has been given a significant attitude adjustment of the smart-ass kind to better fit in there.
In Japan, going on a trip often means you’ll be coming back with about twice as much luggage as you left with, as you are almost always expected to bring back souvenirs for your friends, family, coworkers, teachers, neighbors…pretty much everyone you’ll run into at some point after returning from your trip, even if it’s just a weekend getaway.
The plus side of this? Pretty much anywhere you go in the country, you can find local treats available only in that specific area, and sometimes also limited to the seasons as well. Tokyo is no exception, and today we’re going to be taking a look at some rare, special eats that you’ll only find within the terminals of Haneda Airport.
You can find canned coffee almost anywhere in Japan. First invented and introduced to the Japanese market in 1969, canned coffee sales really started taking off in the 1980s. Admittedly my first canned coffee experience left me wondering what all the hype was about, but now, perhaps as a result of better production methods or acquiring a taste for it after living here so long, I have to admit nothing beats the satisfaction you feel sipping on a warm can of coffee from the vending machine just as the weather starts getting chilly.
Of course, when it comes to coffee, many people think of Italy. Along with pasta and pizza, coffee is a huge part of Italian food culture. In fact, the country has over 160,000 small cafes serving coffee, drinks, and light eats from morning to evening. So how exactly would Japanese canned coffee fare with Italian locals with a refined taste for excellent coffee? RocketNews24 decided it was worth making the trip over to ask.
Even if you haven’t been with us for very long, it’s not hard to see that we here at RocketNews24 love cats. Big, small, fit, fat, even stretchy, cats of all shapes and sizes win our hearts! We even love them when they’re wreaking havoc on small towns of people, like the devilish little cutie in this feline remake of a man versus monster flick…
Tokyo Skytree turns pink for the cherry blossom season
Shibuya Station’s Hachiko Gate and Yamanote Line stairway locations change next month
Burning through cash just to throw things away tops list of headaches when moving house in Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Strongest-ever Dodekamin energy drink approved by Japan’s Home Economics Dragon
Yakuzen ramen restaurant in Tokyo is very different to a yakuza ramen restaurant
Don’t throw away your leftover ramen broth! Use it to make ice cream sauce instead!【Recipe】
Hey, 2020s kids! The ’90s have a sticker picture message waiting for you in Tokyo
How to make curry in a rice cooker with zero prep work and no water[Recipe]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to localsNaruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Now is the time to visit one of Tokyo’s best off-the-beaten-path plum blossom gardens
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Is Sapporio’s Snow Festival awesome enough to be worth visiting even if you hate the snow? [Pics]
Japan has trams that say “sorry” while they ride around town…but why?
Sakura Totoro is here to get spring started early with adorable pouches and plushies
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Poop is in full bloom at the Unko Museums for cherry blossom season
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamedStarbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourismThe 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Archfiend Hello Kitty appears as Sanrio launches new team-up with Yu-Gi-Oh【Pics】
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning looks to be affecting tourist crowds on Miyajima
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your homeJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Strongest-ever Dodekamin energy drink approved by Japan’s Home Economics Dragon
Yakuzen ramen restaurant in Tokyo is very different to a yakuza ramen restaurant
Don’t throw away your leftover ramen broth! Use it to make ice cream sauce instead!【Recipe】
Hey, 2020s kids! The ’90s have a sticker picture message waiting for you in Tokyo
How to make curry in a rice cooker with zero prep work and no water[Recipe]
Hey, Japanese taxi driver! Take us to the best Turkish rice restaurant in Nagasaki!
Exhibit of globally popular ’80s and ’90s Japanese cars comes to Toyota Automobile Museum
Bone-chilling taxi tours of Japan’s most haunted places now include all-night course, livestreams
Site of the worst bear attack in Japanese history is a chilling place to visit
11 different ways to say “father” in Japanese
What’s up with the secret basement at this Japanese train station?
Mt. Fuji gets covered with beautiful umbrella cloud that also has some people seeing a fried egg