Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
When it comes to limited-edition beverages, Pepsi continues to rise to the occasion year after year. And just when we thought we’d seen the last of Pepsi’s seasonal releases for 2015 with their mystery-flavoured Halloween range, they go and announce a special Christmas present, with the release of a new Pepsi White Cola for this year’s winter season.
Last month it was announced that the Pokémon franchise would be coming to smartphones in Pokémon GO, an ambitious augmented reality mobile title. But while Pokémon is often associated with Nintendo, the brand itself is managed by The Pokémon Company, a semi-independent subsidiary of the video game hardware and software giant.
Today, Nintendo revealed the first stage of plans for its long-awaited Nintendo-branded smartphone apps, but those hoping for a new game starring Mario or Link are going to have to keep waiting. As a matter of fact, Nintendo’s first official smartphone release isn’t a game at all, but a system by which to make a virtual recreation of yourself that will autonomously talk about you in the social media sphere.
The international anime fan community has adopted a number of Japanese loanwords for concepts that originated in Japan and don’t have succinct, ideal vocabulary equivalents in other languages. English-language discussions between foreign fans are peppered with terms like otaku (fans whose enthusiasm for their hobby is so strong it affects their life balance), tsundere (a person whose expressions of emotion towards an object of affection run hot and cold), and moe (a feeling of devotion and protectiveness, often in response to a display of innocence or purity), just to name a few.
Now, though, the shoe’s on the other foot, as one woman in Japan with a soft spot for anime showing deep, emotional bonds between male characters is calling for the popularization of an English loanword to help her avoid being mistaken for a fan of homoerotic anime and fan fiction.
Did you know that each of Japan’s 47 prefectures has a designated monster that represents their region? The larger-than-life beings were born from the “Gotouchi Kaiju” (“Local Monsters”) multimedia project helmed by Professor Hiroshi Sagae, who’s worked on a number of kaiju-centric films such as Godzilla Millenium, Ultraman Saga and Gamera the Brave.
Now there’s a special crowdfunding campaign that’s calling on the masses to support the plight of the monsters as they strive to protect nature and promote greenery in their towns. Patrons who contribute to their favourite beast will be rewarded with cards, T-shirts or even a 3-D kaiju figurine but best of all, the funds raised for each prefecture will go towards supporting environmental projects in the region.
Gearing up for Halloween, we’ve already seen our share of humans dressing up like cats, but how about some costuming felines? Of course, as we’re sure all you cat people out there already know, getting kitty dressed up in a ridiculous outfit is a lot easier said than done.
…Or is it? Turns out the owner of Maru, “the most famous cat on the internet” has devised an easy way to get even the most stubborn of felines to get into the Halloween spirit with these cute animal costumes.
Ever since Twitter user @itsIsaaaaaaac tweeted those famous words, “Netflix and chill“, internet meme-dom, and indirect invitations to have a “good time” with it, were forever changed.
As a result, the internet is now packed full of hilarious and awkward examples of what can happen when one puts out that particular call. But what if, mused one net user, instead of offering to Netflix and chill one was to make a similar offer to “Smash Bros. and chill“? What would that even look like?
Thanks to the work of the Internet masses, we now have the answer. And it’s hilariously inappropriate.
Every country has its own culture and unique customs that come with it. Understanding the social etiquette of the country before visiting can help to make the experience less overwhelming.
In China, you might be surprised to find that burping is considered a way of complimenting the chef or that a gift will be refused several times before it is accepted.
Here are 13 customs to know before traveling to China.
There’s an annual autumn event in Japan called Shichi-Go-San, which is a celebration for children aged three, five, and seven. My brother-in-law’s youngest daughter is seven this year, so on the special day my wife and I gave her a small monetary gift. Sweet kid that she is, she immediately thanked us, but as we left the party my brother-in-law handed us a small cake to express his appreciation as well.
This pattern of giving someone a gift to say thank you for the gift they previously gave you is fairly common in Japan, where gracious manners are always held to be of the utmost importance. As a matter of fact, it’s such a part of life in the country that apparently even one animal, a thankful tanuki, is following the custom.
I’ve actually never seen any of the Toy Story movies. I hear they’re entertaining and poignant, but my extremely busy lifestyle only leaves me so much time for watching cartoons, and I generally prefer my animation to be hand-drawn and Japanese.
But I may just have to check out the newest Toy Story Blu-ray release, since it contains a piece of original animation from Trigger, one of Japan’s hottest anime studios.
It appears these white little critters have recently been creating a bit of a”flutter” in the Japanese Twitterverse, and we guess that should come as no surprise, considering how utterly cute they look. But what exactly are these fluffy white balls? They’re actually coin purses made by craft artist Piyoyama, and people who have fallen in love with the little birds are asking where they can get their hands on one of them!
Beauty pageants for boys dressed up as girls are kind of a thing in Japan now. Whether you think they’re awesome or kind of confusing, you can’t help but admit that the entrants usually manage to pull off the cute girl look surprisingly well.
This month marks the annual Miss Komaba High School Pageant, a contest that has been going on for several years now and which invites young men to dress like their female peers . Last year’s contestants were pretty good, but can this year’s pretty boys give them a run for their money? Let’s find out!
Japan is really putting on a show for the upcoming release of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie. From cute, bite-sized character sweets to samurai figurines and even a special train, welcome celebrations in the Land of the Rising sun are proving to be the best this side of the galaxy.
Fortunately for us, the special releases just keep on coming. And now, Takara Tomy Arts have joined the party by metamorphosing our favourite characters into adorable plush toys that are small enough to sit in the palm of your hand!
The first thing that many people notice about the eyes of anime characters is how big they are, but that’s not the only thing that makes those 2-D peepers special. Through the magic of Japanese animation, anime eyes shine so brightly they almost look like they’re made of crystal or some other equally lustrous precious stones.
Of course, real eyes aren’t so reflective, but if you’ve got your heart set on your eyes sparkling like your favorite anime heroine, you can now achieve the look with the just-released line of anime-style contact lenses.
It has been announced that Noriyoshi Ohrai—the Japanese illustrator best known for producing remarkable poster art for Metal Gear Solid as well as for films including the Godzilla series and Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back—passed away from pneumonia yesterday morning at the age of 79.
With a career spanning over half a century and an impressive portfolio of artworks for novels, games and well-known international movie releases, fans around the world are mourning the loss of a great talent and taking a look back at his extraordinary body of work.
Nintendo’s last cartridge-based home console, the Nintendo 64, was home to a long list of games that no doubt played a big part in many of our lives, and none more so than GoldenEye 007. A first-person shooter that followed the storyline of the James Bond movie of the same name, GoldenEye’s all-guns-blazing split-screen multiplayer mode made and broke many a friendship over the years, and was considered the epitome of fun in back in 1997 when it launched.
But the game was an odd choice to appear exclusively on a console made by Nintendo—a company with a reputation for squeaky-clean fun and family-friendly software. And it turns out that the violent nature of GoldenEye was a matter of deep concern for Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s most influential director and producer and the creator of Super Mario. So much, in fact, that he suggested an alternate ending to the game: one where everyone shook hands and made up.
Bubble tea, also called boba, or pearl-tea, had its beginnings in Taiwan but has spread in popularity throughout the world. The creamy milk-tea dotted with chewy, gummy-like tapioca pearls and endless flavor possibilities makes this the perfect snack when you can’t decide if you want something to drink or something to eat.
The tapioca pearls that give these milky drinks their fun texture are made from cassava root. Or, at least they should be. But an investigation in China has turned up a “tapioca” plant that makes pearls from materials that aren’t even edible…
Japanese game makers and gamers take their chosen medium of entertainment very seriously, and there are titles out there for just about every conceivable audience, even niche genres such as “BL” (boys love). Although it may seem like the audience for such titles may not be so big, there are numerous BL titles on the market to satisfy the desires of fujoshi gamers.
Even among the many titles, however, one particular game titled Out Division has managed to catch its players unaware with a unique take on the classic memory game. Fancy playing a game of nipple matching, anyone?
For anyone who lives in Niigata or is planning on heading there in the next couple of days, please be sure to obey all the laws and regulations of the prefecture. It’s not that they have odd rules that are going to catch you off guard, it’s the fact that there is a gigantic, police labor robot, or Patlabor, that has arrived in the prefecture. Its appearance has caused a bit of a commotion and the robot is, potentially, fully prepared to take out any criminals while it’s stationed there.
Oh, and if you think you might be able to commit some sort of crime out of sight of a robotic police presence, the human officers have a very speedy patrol car in the area as well.
When it comes to celebrities and drug-use, Japan doesn’t have the same forgiving attitude that many other societies do. Last year, for example, when pop singer Aska was arrested on drug charges, the Studio Ghibli-animated video for the vocalist’s song “On Your Mark” was removed from an upcoming boxed set of Hayao Miyazaki animation.
Now there’s been another intersection of anime, music, and illegal narcotics, as idol singer and voice actress Ai Takabe has been arrested for drug possession, and the anime she most recently performed in has been pulled from online streaming as producers scrub her name from the cast.
In any park in China you’re bound to see people exercising, whether it’s by jogging, dancing, tai chi, or downing unmanned aircraft. But just when you think you’ve seen it all, a whole new way of working out gets born. The basic philosophy is “Why walk on only two legs, when you have two perfectly good arms as well?”
And so, recreational crawling was born. At the moment it seems to be practiced mainly by a small band of people in Henan Province, but numbers are growing. It’s also said to have health benefits beyond that of regular bipedal walking.
Japanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
Coco’s Japan is very confident in their chilled ramen, but should they be? [Taste test]
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Tokyo’s Haneda Airport airlines announce stricter luggage check-in deadline for domestic flights
Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters
Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
Is covering your entire upper body with cooling strips enough to fend off Japan’s summer heat?
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store sandwiches with a wild new choc-mint variety
Sanrio characters join forces with your favorite Japanese snack mascots as prizes at Family Mart
Toyota Museum’s international retro vehicle parade returns to Aichi this autumnAir-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]Japanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever gacha capsule toys, featuring iconic menu items as plush coffee charms
7-Eleven Japan adds new chocolate fruit gummies to its sweets range, but are they worth the hype?
Kyoto receives more foreign tourists than ever before, but fewer visitors say they’ll return
7-Eleven Japan now offering baked-in-store pizza by the slice with two very different topping sets
Starbucks Japan opens new store inside historic seaside quarantine station near TokyoStudio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
Foreign tourists in Japan eat far more rice than previously thought, according to new data
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attractionAir-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in TokyoStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
Is covering your entire upper body with cooling strips enough to fend off Japan’s summer heat?
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store sandwiches with a wild new choc-mint variety
Sanrio characters join forces with your favorite Japanese snack mascots as prizes at Family Mart
Toyota Museum’s international retro vehicle parade returns to Aichi this autumn
Sweet dreams are made of cheese at this all-you-can-eat cheese and doria restaurant
7-Eleven Japan adds new chocolate fruit gummies to its sweets range, but are they worth the hype?
Japan’s favorite popsicles add multilingual packaging to better connect with foreign tourists
Japan’s Super Volunteer, 86-year-old Haruo Obata, heads to the Kumamoto earthquake site
Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
We tried Starbucks Japan’s new coffee for people who don’t drink coffee
Daiso now sells stress-relief punching bags, but are they worth beating on?
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]