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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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New range of futons for cats feature traditional Japanese patterns, made with tails in mind

One of the great pleasures of visiting Japan is the chance to sleep in a futon, traditional Japanese bedding that’s freshly laid out on the floor every evening. When you’ve got a nice thick mattress pad, a fluffy, quilted duvet cover and a compact buckwheat pillow, a night sleeping on tatami straw floors is a night few foreigners forget.

Now you can share the traditional Japanese bedtime experience with your feline friends, with a gorgeous new range of futons created especially for the discerning four-legged customer. From the gorgeous Japanese prints to the matching pillow and the ergonomic, tail-friendly design, this is the best chance yet for obliging humans to finally reclaim their beds!

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If Darth Vader owned an iPhone, he’d probably keep it in a stunning wooden ukiyoe Star Wars case

There’s always been a strong connection between Japan and the George Lucas-helmed Star Wars franchise. From the samurai-influenced Darth Vader and Stormtrooper costume designs through to the film’s storyline, which borrows heavily from Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 film Hidden Fortress, Lucas himself is the first to admit he owes a lot of his creative inspiration to the Land of the Rising Sun.

So it’s nice to see that Japan is reciprocating the love with a number of Star Wars creations of their own. From samurai-styled figurines to ukiyo-e woodblock prints, these Japanese-styled homages to the epic American film franchise are the perfect way to get ready for the December 18 release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And now you can carry the force wherever you go, with a gorgeous wooden iPhone 6 case that’s so beautiful even a Sith Lord would stand in line to buy one.

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Top 10 things even Japanese people think they’re too obsessive about

It’s no exaggeration to say that Japan is pretty obsessive when it comes to societal safety and manners. Japanese people often go to ridiculous/disgusting lengths to stay safe and to make sure that visitors are aware of all the unspoken rules that permeate throughout the country.

But sometimes it’s all just too much, even for the native Japanese themselves. So we present to you a list of the top 10 things that even Japanese people think they’re too obsessive over. Are you just as paranoid as they are, or would you be considered a carefree spirit in Japan? Read on to find out!

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Fullmetal Alchemist shoes are here to complete fashionable anime fans’ footwear collections

When making her professional debut, manga creator Hiromi Arakawa decided to work under the masculine-sounding pen name Hiromu Arakawa. The choice was probably made under the logic that a male author would be more easily accepted by the predicted male fanbase of the action-adventure stories Arakawa was crafting.

In the end, though, all of that worrying was probably unnecessary. Male readers have no issue with Arakawa’s gender because she can produce awesome adventure stories, and her series have enjoyed broad crossover appeal with female manga readers as well. As a matter of fact, so many of Arakawa’s fans are women that there are now two pairs of pumps inspired by her most successful series, Fullmetal Alchemist.

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Winter is coming—Get ready with these amazing cat-themed kotatsu covers, cushions, and hoodies!

Depending on where you are, winters in Japan can be bitterly cold or actually rather temperate, but due to a general lack of insulation, it seems like most Japanese homes are always a little cold. But this general chilliness gave birth to that magical piece of furniture, the kotatsu. Basically a covered table with a heater attached, the kotatsu is often the centerpiece of a Japanese living room and a great way to get in some family time.

And with these new cat-themed kotatsu covers, cushions, and hoodies, it’ll be twice as difficult to pull yourself away from the kotatsu on a chilly winter morning!

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Japanese coffee maker’s commercial is dark, milky, and udderly crazy 【Video】

Not everyone loves Japanese TV, but we have to admit that one thing it has going for it is absolutely bonkers commercials. You can find weird, unsettling, funny, emotional, or even just hilarious commercials the world over, but it sometimes seems that Japan has a particularly high concentration of them. Maybe there’s something in the coffee…

And speaking of coffee, Japanese coffee brand Blendy has produced one of the most bizarre commercials we’ve seen to date, mixing absurdist comedy with unsettling, dark undertones. Oh, and milk. Lots and lots of milk.

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We check out Sushi Bar Yoshihachi, a taste of American sushi in Okinawa

As a nearly 10-year resident of Japan, whenever I’m back to visit the States I love taking friends and acquaintances out to a nearby sushi bar and being easily the most knowledgeable sushi snob in the whole place. While my buddies are pouring over the weird fusion sushi – inevitably featuring fried shrimp sticking out at crazy angles like that spider-head monster in The Thing – I’m busy cramming the more delicately-flavored and exotic nigiri cuts into my gullet, rolling my eyes around in the back of my head and making exaggerated, mmmm, ohhh man, noises and sometimes giving the side-eye to the guy reluctantly prodding his uni nigiri like it’s going to come to life and slither off the table.

I’ve developed a taste for Japanese style-sushi, in other words, and I’m not afraid to be a jerk about it. But, back here in Japan, I’ll be damned if I don’t sometimes get intense cravings for a good ol’ California roll. Luckily, there’s a great place serving authentic American California rolls and other “Americanized” sushi in Okinawa, just a (relatively) short hop from Tokyo, and you can bet we went to try it out!

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Encounter with Japanese anime changes the life of foreigner

Japanese animation is much-loved around the world. China is no exception, and anime has a massive following in the country. Many young people in China are enamored with anime for its creative story lines and artistic animation. It has the ability to uplift, motivate and entertain us, and allows us to momentarily escape reality, and for many foreigners, it does more than just that. It can shape our lives.

Here is one heartwarming story from China of a life-changing encounter with anime.

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Imagine you’re out and about, strolling around town, when suddenly you come upon one of your fellow citizens sprawled out on the sidewalk. Granted, the fact that it’s not a human, but a cat, would make the situation a little less alarming, but still, you’d be worried right?

That’s how one Japanese Twitter user felt, but it turned out the kitty wasn’t just OK, but adorable too.

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Roll cake-headed town mascot character attacked by group of men, woman inside injured

Upon arriving in Japan, one of the first things you’ll probably notice is the large army of characters being used to sell anything from services to stationary to automobiles, or giving tips on being a good citizen like when it comes to separating your trash or picking up your dog’s poop after it finishes doing its duty. Most of them are cute, but some are downright scary.

In recent years, yurukyara, literally “weaker mascot characters”, have slowly been taking over the country, with more and more cities and businesses allocating funds to coming up with the prefect representative character costume each year. Aside from being hot and stuffy inside, being a yurukyara seems like a pretty awesome job. Kids are happy to see you, people are clamoring to get a picture of you, and generally everyone loves you…

Or at least that’s the impression we got until news of a mascot character in a small Ehime Prefecture town getting attacked.

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Turns out 15 seconds a day is enough to document a two week trip to Japan【Video】

After living in Japan for long enough, you might find yourself occasionally forgetting the beauty and wonder you felt when you first arrived. Being surrounded by it all the time, it might alip your mind that Japan is a place unlike anywhere else in the world. That is why when photographers or filmmakers come to Japan and capture the essence of the country through fresh eyes, it really reminds us of how awesome it can be.

One such filmmaker is Francisco Fuentes, better known online as Birdo, who visited Japan in May 2015 and captured his 14 days of travel through unique video clips that altogether only amount to 15 seconds of video per day. As a testament to his artistic vision, those 15 seconds are exhilarating to watch, even when his subject matter is normal, mundane tasks. Those who have never been to Japan before will be greeted with an excellent “amuse-bouche”, while people who have lived in Japan might get a little nostalgic for all their favorite places.

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Odds are at some point you’ve been part of an after-school study group with your classmates, either to help each other power through a difficult course or cram for an important exam. Maybe you got together at a friend’s place or took over a corner of your local coffee house, but in Japan, neither of those of those is really a viable choice of location.

Japanese homes are generally too small to host a large group of visitors. Meanwhile, the coffee break-loving country’s cafes tend to be packed when schools let out in the afternoon, so it’s often a serious challenge to find even a single empty seat in a Tokyo Starbucks, let alone adjacent ones for all your study buddies. So in response, clever Japanese students thought outside the box and discovered a trendy new venue for group study sessions: karaoke boxes.

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Are Japan’s national universities actually getting rid of their humanities departments?

Earlier this year, news of a letter sent to presidents of national universities—purportedly telling them to get rid of or modify their humanities departments to better “benefit” Japanese society—spread across the Internet. Since then, it has even been picked up by some high-profile English sites, with considerable (and understandable) consternation. And you can believe there were academics in Japan who were incensed at the idea as well.

But is it actually going to happen? It turns out the short answer is a weak “probably not.” The long answer, though, is a bit more complicated.

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Training wear for the Hyperbolic Time Chamber? These DBZ threads are the perfect fit!

Halloween may be right around the corner, but October also means it’s time to break out all the hooded jackets and heavy sweaters that have been hidden away in drawers for the last several months. For those who find that moths have attacked your precious layers, look no further than these stylish zip up hoodies that are a little “bad” and a whole lot of fashionable.

Introducing a pair of parkas inspired by the greatest villains of the Dragon Ball Z universe; wearing one of these will definitely grant you a stylish level over 9,000.

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