Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
When we’re down in the dumps, there’s nothing like a cute animal to get us back in a good mood. While cats are the undisputed overlords of internet animal therapy, there’s one little bunny that’s bringing a smile to thousands of Twitter users in Japan with nothing but some adorable dancing skills and a pole.
Yaki udon, a Japanese stir-fried noodle dish made with thick, flat wheat noodles, is a popular and much-loved staple of Japanese cuisine. Both yaki udon and yakisoba—a similar dish which uses a thinner buckwheat noodle instead—are cheap, tasty, and readily available from many street food stalls and Japanese-style pubs). So when one of our RocketNews24 Japan reporters read that not only had a yaki udon restaurant opened up in Kenya, but that it was that it was a huge hit with the locals, he just had to check it out for himself.
Read on for our Japanese reporter’s restaurant review as he travels halfway across the world for a bowl of noodles.
Do you know what day October 21, 2015 is? It’s the day that Marty and Doc come to the future from 1985! But, sorry Marty, hover boards aren’t quite what they were supposed to be, and we barely made it to five Jaws movies, let alone Jaws 19. One of the only prophecies that may still come true is the Cubs winning the World Series, but even that seems doubtful.
Okay, so Marty might not be overly thrilled with this real version of 2015, but hey, at least he’ll get to go to the limited time “Back to the Future” Cafe if he stops by Hill Valley Ikebukuro in Tokyo.
Maybe Zooey Deschanel was on to something after all. Last year, pictures surfaced of the Hollywood actress wearing a randoseru, the type of Japanese backpack that for decades has been exclusively used by elementary school kids.
This had many in Japan chuckling, but when you think about it logically, the randoseru is a sturdy, practical, and elegant design. What’s more, ones that are made to quality standards can last for years, so this Japanese company has decided to release a line of randoseru for adults, which it says are sophisticated enough for formal business situations.
The creative team at Bibi Lab have been at it again. The inventive brand dedicated to bringing weird and wonderful items out into the world have delighted us with life-sized human-shaped pillows, mosquito net jumpsuits and even sailor-style schoolgirl uniforms for men.
Now there’s another item we’ll be adding to our growing collection of Bibi Lab products: the giant anime-style pigtails pillow.
Fans of hit anime Evangelion are used to having their patience tested. Almost three years after the Japanese theatrical release of the Evangelion 3.0 feature film, the movie still isn’t available on home video in North America. Meanwhile, the fourth, and reputedly final, chapter of the Rebuild of Evangelion film series remains without a release date.
But if there’s one thing Japan demands punctuality from, it’s the country’s trains. So with the Evangelion Shinkansen scheduled to go into service next month, the anime-themed bullet train is practically complete and recently made its public and video debut.
Video game developer and publisher Konami denied an earlier report by The New Yorker that Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima had left Konami. Konami stated that “Kojima is currently taking an extended vacation, and is currently still registered as an employee.”
The live-action Attack on Titan movies may have been a bit of a disappointment, but we’ll always have the glorious anime. And now the animated protagonists from the acclaimed series are bringing their world into ours and guiding us around it with an amazing new tablet and car navigation system.
Filled with special extras including the opportunity to “rank up” according to distances travelled, a choice between “return to the wall” or “Survey Corps outer expedition” route views, and an appearance from a Titan when we pass through convenience store checkpoints, it’s bound to make trips to the grocery store much more exciting!
Japanese commercials are known all over the world for being just as entertaining as the programs they interrupt. Whether they’re ridiculously cute, heartbreakingly sad, a little confusing, or nightmare-inducingly bizarre, most commercials have something special going on.
So what about this commercial? It looks so normal at first; it’s just a bunch of high school girls hanging out in a classroom, playing a guitar, reading, whatever. But then, right in the middle, something happens. Watch it for yourself and see if you can figure it out before the reveal!
It’s been one month since Nakazawa, who’s also a guitarist for two bands, joined the Japanese RocketNews24 team. On a recent day, our veteran reporter Mr. Sato told Nakazawa to follow him as he ventured into the outside world. When Nakazawa asked where they were going, Mr. Sato coolly replied: “To a good place. I’m going to make you happy.”
Not one to argue with a perpetual fan-favorite reporter, especially as a new recruit, Nakazawa obediently agreed.
Two short train rides later, our two adventurers finally arrived at their destination: a collection of bars and other late-night eateries near Tokyo’s Kita-Senju Station. Nakazawa followed Mr. Sato silently until the expert reporter suddenly stopped in his tracks. “We’re here,” Mr. Sato announced. Nakazawa looked up and was shocked to discover that they were standing in front of what looked like a hotel—and not just any hotel, but a LOVE hotel!
One of the great things about travel is that sometimes the best laid plans completely fall apart and then you discover something unexpected and even more amazing than the thing or place you originally intended to visit.
That was the case on a recent trip to Indonesia when our plans to go to the Banda Islands, some of the famed spice islands, fell through and instead we found ourselves sleeping above a coral reef, hanging out with sea turtles and stuffing ourselves silly on fish and spicy chollo chollo in the tiny town of Sawai.
Beloved by fans as it may be, the 1998 space cowboy anime Trigun isn’t completely beyond criticism. The pacing is uneven, and the production budget clearly isn’t large enough for the animators to effectively realize their artistic ambitions.
But Trigun hits its target dead center in creating two instantly memorable male leads: disarmingly happy-go-lucky gunslinger Vash the Stampede, and itinerant, heavily armed clergyman Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Both characters ooze coolness and presence from their heads to their toes, and now you can have some of that style for your own feet with two pairs of Trigun sneakers.
While much of the world is celebrating Marty McFly coming back to the future on October 21, 2015, some of us are taking a look back to the past. A Chinese newspaper recently republished a batch of famous photos by French photographer Louis-Philippe Messelier depicting 1930s Shanghai, bringing them back into the limelight.
It seems like we’re constantly being bombarded with tips and tricks about how to make our lives better or how to improve our quality of life. We’re always being told to change the way we eat, the way we sleep, include some daily physical activity, and re-organize our lives. Everyone has something different to say, but one thing they seem to have in common is the positive spin they put on their life improvements.
That’s not strictly true for Japanese television though. One recent program seemed to be taking a cue from the fear-based strategies of American TV, and spent an entire segment talking about habits in your household that are likely to decrease your lifespan.
Find out the five habits you should be wary of, apparently, after the jump.
Michael Jackson‘s popularity remains strong world-wide despite his death six years ago, and that includes in Japan. There is no shortage of MJ fans in the country, and many still consider him one of their favorite artists. Of course, with a discography as massive as his, it’s nearly impossible to choose one “most famous” Michael Jackson song, but “Smooth Criminal” is certainly a strong contender. This has resulted in the tune being covered in nearly every genre imaginable, but there’s always room for one more. Especially when it’s played on shakuhachi and koto…even more so when it’s played this well!
The robot revolution is coming, and when it arrives, they’ll have an awful lot to be mad about, like making them dance for our amusement. But that’s still a long way off as far as we can tell, so we might as well get as much enjoyment out of our synthetic minions as possible now!
DMM is one of Japan’s most well-known technology companies, and considering everything they do, it’s easy to see why. From steaming video services to retail to friggin’ robots, they have a lot of thumbs in a lot of pies. But the pie that’s sure to infuriate our future roboverlords the most is probably DMM’s new Premaid AI—robot idols that will do dance whatever dance you want on the tabletop of your choosing.
Potato chips and matcha green tea seem like the opposite endpoints of the refreshment spectrum. Matcha is a refined, high-class drink meant to be sipped and savored in a quiet moment, whereas potato chips are often most enjoyable when scarfed down by the handful while watching sports or playing video games.
But sometimes the best way to find balance in life is with contrasting extremes, like the matcha potato chips that are about to go on sale in Japan.
It’s turning out to be an interesting post-season in Major League Baseball. In the American league we have the Toronto Blue Jays coming off a stellar late regular season and into their first real World Series attempt since the 90s. Meanwhile, over in the National League the Cubs are inching closer to a possible first World Series win in over a century, made even more eerie by its prediction in Back to the Future II (minus the Miami Gators).
As an added bonus, more games for Toronto means more interviews with infielder Munenori Kawasaki. Charged up by their victory over Texas in the AL Division series, Munerin was in rare form.
Different people have different concepts of Japanese automaker Subaru. For motorsports enthusiasts, the first image that comes to mind is the company’s all-wheel drive cars doing sick jumps on rally gravel stages. Technology buffs, meanwhile, may think of their EyeSight automatic braking safety system.
Japanese animation fans, though, may best know Subaru as the major sponsor of animation studio Gainax’s celestial-themed magical girl anime Wish Upon the Pleiades (known in Japanese as Hokago no Pleiades). And while the series’ TV run is over, that doesn’t mean Subaru’s love for the anime has expired, as the car manufacturer has created, and is selling, an official Wish Upon the Pleiades itasha covered with graphics of the show’s cast.
It’s widely known in Japan that idol singers are often contractually prohibited from engaging in romantic relationships. The reasoning goes that if word gets out that an idol singer has a boyfriend, her fans will feel betrayed that she isn’t solely devoted to her role as a musician and entertainer, and thus stop buying her CDs (there’s also the unspoken implication that openly dating someone will destroy the fantasies of individual fans that would like to date the singer themselves).
A signed contract isn’t always enough to keep young love and hormones in check, though. And when you consider that idols are almost always attractive, outgoing young women, it seems like it should be only a matter of time until they find a guy they fancy out of their swarms of would-be suitors. That’s why in addition to legal pledges not to date, the Japanese entertainment industry has a number of sneaky tactics up its sleeve to prevent its idols from falling in love or going on a single date.
Japanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
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
Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store sandwiches with a wild new choc-mint variety
Sweet dreams are made of cheese at this all-you-can-eat cheese and doria restaurant
Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
We tried Starbucks Japan’s new coffee for people who don’t drink coffeeAir-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heatTokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever gacha capsule toys, featuring iconic menu items as plush coffee charms
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 unveils exclusive new Frappuccinos limited to three regional areas
Starbucks Japan opens new store inside historic seaside quarantine station near Tokyo
Foreign tourists in Japan eat far more rice than previously thought, according to new dataJapanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
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 attraction
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
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 abroadSalomon 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】
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store sandwiches with a wild new choc-mint variety
Sweet dreams are made of cheese at this all-you-can-eat cheese and doria restaurant
Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
We tried Starbucks Japan’s new coffee for people who don’t drink coffee
Is covering your entire upper body with cooling strips enough to fend off Japan’s summer heat?
Japan’s Super Volunteer, 86-year-old Haruo Obata, heads to the Kumamoto earthquake site
Coco’s Japan is very confident in their chilled ramen, but should they be? [Taste test]
Japanese popsicle experiment says eating one before going outside in summer helps keep you cool
Godiva Japan gets into the shaved ice scene with two luxurious frozen desserts this summer
New Studio Ghibli washi tape adds anime flair to Japanese stationery
Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
Daiso now sells stress-relief punching bags, but are they worth beating on?
Kyoto receives more foreign tourists than ever before, but fewer visitors say they’ll return