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Cooking pizza in a burning cardboard box, and other unconventional recipes

Cookpad is easily the largest community cooking website for getting new Japanese recipes to try out in the kitchen. Started in 1997, it grew to be so popular that two years ago it expanded its user base by launching an English version.

It goes without saying that you can find a dish for pretty much anything you have lying around in your kitchen, but because most of the recipes are posted by amateurs, you might have to weed some of the stranger ones out by taking a look at their reviews.

Fortunately there seems to be a whole crew of users willing and waiting to take a hit for the team and try out the latest recipe, including a recently posted recipe for making pizza that requires putting the uncooked crust and toppings inside a box and setting the box on fire. How  does it measure up? One net user decided to photograph and review the process.

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This precious kitten’s “squeak” is making us all squee! 【Video】

Not another cat video! …said no one ever. We here at RocketNews24 know just as well as anyone that nothing does cuteness more purrfectly than cats do. We’ve found one kitten, though, that’s people in Japan mad, and absolutely killing us with its most adorable, squeaky meow.

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Haco Stadium unveils plans for new cosplay purikura machine

Even though this year’s Tokyo Game Show already wrapped up a few weeks ago, we just can’t get all that awesome cosplay out of our heads. Even though the convention space made for some great shots, more and more cosplay enthusiasts are searching for that perfect spot to really give their costumes some added flair, and Haco Stadium, opened just last year, really delivers.

With 33 different themed rooms and a wide range of free or rental items for visitors to use, it’s a cosplayer’s dream come true. But not satisfied with stopping there, this time Haco Stadium wants to help you look even more the part with the introduction of a new sticker picture, or purikura, machine that promises to give you a flawless finish.

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“Miyako” – one of the most beautiful, feels-inducing Japan videos you’ll ever see【Video】

If you’ve ever visited Japan, chances are your first stop in the country has been a big, bustling metropolis like Osaka or Tokyo. While the enormous flat screens, heaving intersections and impressive skyscrapers make for some memorable photo moments, it’s the serene, picturesque country towns that really hold the true essence and beauty of Japan.

For those of us who can’t make a trip out to soak in the serenity of the countryside, there’s a short, three-and-a-half minute film that will transport us there. If you loved Chihiro’s tranquil train ride in the Studio Ghibli movie Spirited Away, you’ll love this touching video, which introduces us to a stationmaster called Miyako, who waves at all her departing passengers—and keeps waving until they disappear into the horizon—showing us just how moving a simple gesture can be.

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Attack on Titan fans left “waiting”, start tweeting, as subtitles freeze during first screenings

With part one of the live-action movie adaptation released for the first time outside Japan on Wednesday this week, fans of the hugely successful manga and anime series Attack on Titan were no doubt incredibly excited to see their favourite giant-slaying characters brought to life by living, breathing Japanese actors.

Little did then know, however, that when one of the English subtitles added to the movie for its North American release would appear on-screen, it would remain there—for a full 20 minutes—while the action continued behind it.

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Everyone could use a little extra money in their pocket as we head towards the end of the year. Maybe you’ve got a long Christmas shopping list, made fancy New Year’s Eve plans, or just want to take a trip back home to visit family and friends during winter vacation.

As such, you might find yourself looking for a part-time job to help fill your coffers, and while you could go with such traditional choices as picking up a shift working in a restaurant or a shop at the mall, your options now also include a micro-stint as an editor for two of Japan’s most popular manga anthologies.

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We try civet poop coffee【Taste Test】

Human beings are endlessly inventive when it comes to food. From curried cicadas to snake soup to lemon and mint Pepsi, we never stop inventing new ways to follow the evolutionary imperative to stuff our faces with calories. And while I’m generally a cultural relativist when it comes to “weird” foods, sometimes there is a concept so out-there, you can’t help but say it’s bizarre.

Like kopi luwak, coffee made from beans that have been through the poop shoot of a tree cat. We’ve all heard of it, and it sounds revolting, but have any of us ever actually tried it? Why, yes, actually…

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Prime Minister Abe does super cute shuffle-jog into meeting room, China falls in love【GIF】

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the U.N. headquarters in New York on September 28 to discuss advancing negotiations on long-standing territorial disputes between the two countries.

Rather than focusing on politics, however, netizens have been focusing much more on the fact that, having arrived late to the proceedings, Prime Minister Abe performed an adorable little shuffle-jog straight towards the Russian prez. So adorable, in fact, that some Chinese netizens have completely reversed their initial impressions of Prime Minister Abe, and now apparently think he’s the last word in kawaii!

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Evangelion Shinkansen service takes off on November 7 with life-sized Eva cockpit on board

As far as joint collaborations go, the Shinkansen Evangelion Project is set to go down in the annals of history, with Japan Rail West joining up with the hit anime franchise to make our wildest dreams a reality, by bringing out a special Eva-themed bullet train to shuttle customers from Osaka to Fukuoka and back on the Sanyō Shinkansen line.

Since the announcement of the project, we’ve been waiting on the edge of our seats for more details, and finally JR West has come through with news of the launch date, along with never-before-seen images of the train’s interior, which includes Eva-themed seats and window blinds, and a designated “cockpit room”.

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You don’t want to meet these Dragon Ball Z villains in a dark alley at night

There are plenty of horror movie villains that scare us so bad we can’t sleep at night. These include the classics like Freddy Kruger, Jason, and Chucky as well as some newer terrors like Pennywise, Sadako, and Ghostface. Well, isn’t it about time to expand the roster of baddies that keep you up at night? They might not be household screamfest names yet, but what about Freeza, Cell and Evil Majin Buu?

Yes…the Dragon Ball Z villains. We are not pulling your leg (nor ripping it off painfully), but one artist has rendered these two-dimensional anime characters into truly terrifying creatures of the night. So, hide your kids and hide your wives, because it’s about to get super scary.

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Captain Phasma figure is the perfect way to get ready for Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars fans have been blessed recently with a veritable Imperial March of fantastic toys. Many fans dream of possessing the coolest, best action figure out there and Bandai has been making it pretty hard to choose just one. They’ve made the choice a little more difficult with their newest toy now, however, which is modeled on a new character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Move over Fett clones, the troopers have a new captain in town. Fall in line for Captain Phasma.

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Japan’s urban landscape is dotted with giant TV monitors mounted on the sides of skyscrapers. Despite what you might expect, though, from watching science fiction anime or young adult-literature-sourced movies depicting dystopian futures, they aren’t constantly broadcasting information about where citizens should evacuate to during the current alien invasion or directives from the Office of the Supreme Leader.

No, usually they’re just devoted to ad loops. But this weekend, public big screens across Japan will be showing something a little more exciting: The entire first episode of anime hit Evangelion.

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Over 20 Museums, Galleries and Zoos in Tokyo are free for today only!

Today (October 1) is Citizen’s Day in Tokyo, celebrating the independence and welfare of the area’s residents. And what better way to do that than by giving them free access to over 20 of Tokyo’s cultural attractions from museums to art galleries to gardens and even zoos.

Now, considering it’s Citizen’s Day you might be thinking that such a deal is only open to people living in Tokyo, but no! Anyone who can get out here today and today only can get free admission to the following places.

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Beautiful boys abound! Tokyo university introduces “Mister Bishoujo” contestants, polls now open

The internet can’t seem to get enough beautiful boys and handsome girls. Not that we’re complaining; there’s something strangely mesmerizing about people who can pull off looking like the opposite gender so well that no one can tell the difference. Plus, what’s not to like about someone just being who they are and looking good while doing it?

Well, Tokyo Institute of Technology (東工大/Toukoudai or TIT… okay, get your giggles out now!) seems to feel the same way, because, alongside their Miss Toukoudai Contest they’re having a Mister Bishoujo Contest—bishoujo being the Japanese word for “beautiful young girl”—allowing voters to pick their favorite Mr. Beautiful!

Join us after the jump to check out the contestants!

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Even if you’re not ordinarily a very artistic person, we bet you get a spark of inspiration when you’ve got a pancake on your plate. Who hasn’t drawn a doodle or sketched a smiley face in maple syrup, or at least initialed their flapjacks with the sticky, tasty condiment?

After all, tasty as they may be, pancakes look pretty dull if you don’t add any decoration…unless you’re dining at this restaurant in Japan where the pancakes come pre-decorated with images of Pikachu, Mario, and dozens of other anime and video game characters.

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Japanese gamers’ heads explode as they learn Super Mario’s Goombas are mushrooms, not chestnuts

Japan may love Mario, but they have a couple wrong ideas about the series. For example, did you know that in the Japanese versions of Mario, Goombas are called “kuribo,” which translates to “chestnut guy?” For three decades now, it has been widely believed in Japan that the Goombas are, indeed, chestnuts.

Until now. Thanks to the official Nintendo Line Messenger bot, Japanese netizens have learned the shocking truth about Mario’s oldest enemy: they’re not chestnuts, they’re shiitake mushrooms!

Read on and see for yourself the aftermath that shocked Japanese gamers all over the internet.

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On the short side? Lucky you! Japanese women describe what they love about shorter men

Despite the fact that plenty of tall guys can be found walking around Japan these days, it’s still true that the national average height for an adult Japanese male is 170cm (5’5″), which, compared to the figures for countries like the US, UK and Australia (all around 177cm, or 5’10”) might seem a little on the shorter side for some.

However, it’s not all bad news for shorter guys looking to find love in Japan—many Japanese women actually really like shorter men, and here are some of the reasons they gave as to why they like their fellas fun-sized.

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Sports car or fighter plane? American tuner’s Nissan GT-R looks like World War II’s Zero

Somewhere along the way, people started calling Nissan’s GT-R, the company’s flagship sports car, “Godzilla.” It’s a fitting nickname, since the GT-R is intimidatingly powerful, and also because with a curb weight of 1,740 kilograms (3,836 pounds), it’s not exactly svelte.

Still, one American turning shop thinks there’s an even more apt comparison to be made that to the King of the Monsters, and has created a customized GT-R with its appearance based on the Imperial Japanese military’s World War II Zero fighter plane.

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Boy sends granny packing as she attempts to steal a kiss 【Video】

Many teenage boys daydream about some beautiful older woman planting her red lips on their own, but one young man in China found himself the recipient of unwanted advances recently, when a woman old enough to be his grandmother appeared to go in for a kiss while the two of them stood alone in an elevator.

Thankfully, the young man knew exactly how to respond.

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One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions

One of the great things about the One Piece series is how intricate the world it’s set in is. Loosely based on historical colonial times, it’s familiar enough for readers to feel comfortable with, yet different enough to create a sense of magic and intrigue. Though originally written in Japanese, the manga hints that characters in the series also speak English, Spanish, French, and a handful of other languages.

It might not seem too farfetched, then, that some fans were curious about what nationalities the characters would have been had the story taken place in our world instead, and this is exactly what one reader asked the creator of the series. The answer they received wasn’t quite what some fans had in mind, though…

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