Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Earlier this year, we stopped by Artnia, the café run by video game publisher Square Enix, to munch on buster sword chocolates and drink material cocktails. Just as you’d expect from the company behind some of Japan’s biggest RPG franchises, though, there’s now an upgraded sequel, the Eorzea Café, with an even larger menu of Final Fantasy themed foods.
Led by our sense of adventure and gnawing appetite, we journeyed to the strange and wonderful land of Tokyo’s Akihabara to check it out.
It may come as no surprise to learn that here at RocketNews24 we are big fans of cats. Whether they’re perched on top of model sushi or roaming the mean streets of Japan, there’s little they can do that doesn’t bring us out in a “awwwwwwwww”.
But just occasionally, even our beloved feline friends can do things that perplex us and make us sad. Like when they break our treasured possessions and show no remorse. Or, when they bring home a still-twitching little creature and expect us to be happy about it. But why do cats do this? It’s often said to be a “gift”, as your kitty shows you they love and adore you. But Japanese site MyNavi News says there’s more to this oddball behaviour than meets the eye…
It’s already October, which means Halloween is right around the corner. Have you picked out your costume yet? Trick-or-treaters in Japan were treated to some extra inspiration by Daiso, a discount store where everything is 100 yen (US$1), in the form of an impressive variety of Halloween lashes featuring cobwebs, haunted houses, and swirly stars. Early wearers of these accessories have been praising them for their high quality (but really, would you expect any less from Daiso?). Let’s take a closer look at these outrageous falsies!
Athletes who compete in amateur sports have one of the most difficult tasks. To compete on the world level, these athletes have to train their butts off and since they aren’t paid to compete, have to hold down a job as well. What they are able to accomplish when facing severely stacked odds is pretty spectacular.
With the conclusion of the 2014 Asia Games, Japan has once again had the chance to cheer on their storied athletes. It’s important to see these sportsmen in high level competitions because they inspire an entire generation of young athletes to continue to do what they love. A commercial airing during the television broadcasts for the Asia Games is also showing the incredible hearts of these great athletes. Find out who is giving back and what their special message is after the jump.
Christmas cakes (yes, it’s already time to start thinking about the holidays) come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s not surprising at all to see our favorite feline character and international celebrity Hello Kitty turn herself into one. But this “Hello Kitty Face Cake” requires just a little bit more artistic creativity from you than the average cake. You see, the cake doesn’t come looking like the picture above — you actually have to make it into its Hello Kitty form!
The reputation of Japanese customer service speaks for itself, but among the various businesses in the country certain establishments stand out even more for making patrons feel at home. Recently, President Magazine conducted a survey of over 1,000 men and women to find out which eating and drinking establishments made this grade.
Restaurants are often ranked in terms of delicious food, variety, and value, but this time we’re going to see which eateries people feel most comfortable going into and which ones have all the charm and ambiance of a prison chow hall.
Namco‘s indoor theme park, Namjatown, is collaborating with Attack on Titan and getting them into the Halloween spirit with adorable cat ears.
The picture above looks like it could have been taken at the set of a cute children’s fantasy movie. Or perhaps a theme park. If not those, then maybe a really expensive themed restaurant. In fact, none of those would be correct. These are apartments in Japan. Yes, you can live in them.
Join us after the jump for a beautiful collection of fairy tale-like houses and cafes to delight your inner child.
Back in the spring, we got an eyeful of a series of drawings from manga artist Osamu Tezuka, in which the multi-talented legend showed off his skill at drawing mice and snakes with sexy curves. Being the open-minded creator that he was, though, Tezuka didn’t limit his sensual sketching to rodents and reptiles, and next month fans will get to see what the God of Manga could do with the naked humans, at the Beautiful Women of Osamu Tezuka Exhibition being held in Tokyo.
Heads-up if you’re at work! Manga nipples coming after the jump!
In college, I had a classmate who, almost every day, would talk about the list of tuning mods he had planned for his car. Sometimes, he’d talk about his plans to order some sweet JDM parts from Honda’s in-house aftermarket division, Mugen, and you can’t imagine how much it drove me up the walls.
I didn’t begrudge the guy his daydream, but what I couldn’t take was the way he pronounced it “Myu-gen” instead of “Moo-gen,” adding in a phantom Y sound that has no place in the Japanese word for “without limits.”
But hey, a lot of people in the U.S. mispronounce it that way, and can you blame them? Pronouncing foreign words can be tricky, which is why there’s now a video which will teach you the correct way to pronounce the names of all of Japan’s major car makers. And, once you’ve mastered them all, we’ll even explain what they mean.
Conveyor belt sushi shops are a cheap way to grab some raw fish or fried food on rice. They are widely known for being clean, efficient, and the perfect way to get exactly the amount of food you want. However, as a few surprised Twitter users have shown us, when you combine speedy food with revolving belts, sometimes things go wrong. From oddly shaped eggs to food that’s not even on a plate, take a look at these conveyor belt sushi disasters and mishaps.
On Monday night about two dozen journalists, steak-enthusiasts and all-around hungry people gathered in a private room at Old Homestead Steakhouse in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District to enjoy an experience months in the making.
For the first time ever, Americans were about to dine on the highest quality Japanese Wagyu steak purchased at one of the country’s exclusive beef auctions. Greg Sherry, a co-owner of Old Homestead along with his brother Marc, traveled to Japan’s Gunma prefecture to bid on some beef and bring it back home.
Living in Japan, we realize we’re pretty blessed when it comes to special burgers and cool comic book fast food tie-ins. But while we’re deeply grateful for our black burgers and giant-sized Attack on Titan French fry buckets, today, we’re not hiding our envy of Hong Kong’s fast food scene, since right now, that’s the only place where you can get a Batman Burger.
Imagine for a moment that you’re a man with unlimited wealth, who no longer has to do anything for himself. Your financial planner manages your investments, freeing you from having to do any sort of day-to-day work. Likewise, your personal assistant handles all of your shopping and household maintenance needs.
But being filthy rich is no excuse for being filthy dirty. Of course, given your economic status, personal grooming seems just a little below the tasks you should be required to perform, doesn’t it? The only sensible thing to do is to employ a team of beautiful models expressly for the purpose of giving you a shampoo while they whisper suggestive nothings into your ear.
Okay, daydream’s over. Time to go back to reality…or is it? If you’re in Tokyo this weekend, and feeling like your scalp could use a good scrub from some scantily clad women, there’s an event where you can live out that exact fantasy.
When you speak to foreign English educators in Japan, one thing becomes crystal clear: English education in Japan isn’t working. It’s just awful. While English classes are mandatory in Japanese schools, the percentage of students who emerge with actual English abilities are surprisingly low. Students in China, Korea and Japan are in an arms race to see who can produce students with the best English, and Japan seems to be trailing far behind in third place.
With the Olympic Games coming up in 2020, the Japanese government has proposed changes to increase the level of English ability in their students. Changes like starting introductory English classes in 3rd grade elementary school and making the subject compulsory from the 5th grade. Are these changes really going to help? We’ve gathered opinions from both foreign teachers and Japanese citizens about issues with the system and what might improve it.
Just days after their launch, a handful of somewhat worrying images appeared online showing iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones which had bent, apparently after having been kept in their owners’ pockets while sitting. Both Apple and independent reports have suggested that cases of bending are extremely rare, but even so, “bendgate” continues to play on consumers’ minds, no doubt in part due to Apple’s competitors playing it to their advantage and a few overly zealous Android fanboys sharing images of bent iPhones with such frequency that you’d swear they were on Samsung or HTC’s payroll.
Japanese designer and photographer Tatsuya Tanaka, however, is so confident that his iPhone 6 won’t bend that he enlisted the help of 100 tiny friends to put it to the test. As it happens, Apple’s newest smartphone can even take the weight of a zebra, giraffe, polar bear and elephant before it comes anywhere near to getting a case of the bends…
La Cigale is a family-run cafe located in the heart of the largest of the Oki Islands, but it’s much more than a place to get a thoughtful cup of coffee. La Cigale is a hub for the community that supports local events and hosts field trips to teach children about sustainable farming. It’s also a place where neighbor kids gather to help pick vegetables or collect shiitake mushrooms in the nearby mountains. So while we thoroughly enjoyed the coffee parfait we indulged in at La Cigale, we were completely taken with the cafe’s farm-to-table philosophy and the intriguing history of its proprietors.
There’s just something about young men ostentatiously showing off their expensive wheels that gets to us. And then some of them have to go that extra mile and start doing things like frying eggs on their million dollar cars, just because they can.
Usually, Jesus limits his food-based appearances to grilled cheese and Cheetos in certain—shall we say—conservative areas of North America, but it seems like he is making inroads to Asian pastries with an appearance in a dessert offered by Japan’s popular Komeda Coffee chain. And not just that, he decided to present as a famous recent incarnation: the monkey-faced botched restoration of Ecce Homo!
Pizza Hut adds a “Guilty Secret” sandwich to its menu for a limited time
Studio Ghibli releases new Totoro and Jiji blankets to keep you cosy this winter
The official cosplay booth models of Tokyo Game Show 2024【Photos】
Right now is the peak time to go to Tokyo’s most-beautiful-view beer garden【Photos】
Game over for Classic Mini Famicom and Super Famicom as Nintendo announces end of repairs
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Japan’s super-cheap corn snacks apologize for second-ever price increase in 45 years
Nintendo Museum’s official merch includes awesome giant controller cushions【Video】
Eat Japanese prison food at this unique cafeteria in Abashiri
Kyoto becomes City of Yokai, with Night Parade of One Hundred Demons festival this autumn
New Jimmy Choo x Sailor Moon collaboration brings anime magic to bags, shoes and accessoriesRight now is the peak time to go to Tokyo’s most-beautiful-view beer garden【Photos】
Starbucks Japan releases a new Matcha Latte with Reusable Cup for the tourist market
Japanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
New Japanese Food Sample Making Cafe opens in Asakusa, Tokyo
The perks of drinking root beer at A&W in Japan
Disney young adult novels get new beautiful shojo anime-style covers for Japan
Some of the best Japanese fried chicken in Japan comes from this shack in the middle of nowhereJapan’s super-cheap corn snacks apologize for second-ever price increase in 45 years
New Hello Kitty x McDonald’s Japan collaboration is like a life lesson to live by 【Video】
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Studio Ghibli lets you cosplay as Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle with cosy anime fashion range
New Hello Kitty McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys are here, and Kitty’s sister is part of the set
Starbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
Japanese government suspends plan to pay Tokyo women 600,000 to move away to get married
One of Tokyo’s most beautiful gardens gets its own moon for moon-viewing season
Starbucks Japan unveils new limited-edition Frappuccino for autumn
Matsushima restaurant offers all-you-can-eat sashimi in as many ways as you can dream it【Photos】
Super budget-friendly retro Tokyo hotel feels like having your own 1960s Asakusa apartment
Support Hayao Miyazaki’s real-world Totoro forest with hoodies featuring exclusive anime art
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label designDoraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Japan’s super-cheap corn snacks apologize for second-ever price increase in 45 years
Nintendo Museum’s official merch includes awesome giant controller cushions【Video】
Eat Japanese prison food at this unique cafeteria in Abashiri
Kyoto becomes City of Yokai, with Night Parade of One Hundred Demons festival this autumn
Japanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
Studio Ghibli releases giant Totoro plushies in Japan
London-based makeup artist wows us with her eye-popping lip art! 【Photos】
Hello Kitty isn’t a cat!? We called Sanrio to find out!
Hypnosis bar opens in Tokyo, with prizes for those who don’t fall into a hypnotic state
We try eating nothing but emergency food rations for three progressively tougher days
The 5 best Japanese bento to buy at Kyoto Station
