Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Twitter was set ablaze last night after dozens of people shared photos of “a beautiful foreigner walking a polar bear” between throngs of pedestrians at the world-famous Shibuya Scramble crossing in Tokyo.
Join us after the jump to see a video captured by an onlooker and learn more about the group to which this mysterious bear-keeping stranger apparently belongs.
For the ultimate Japanese food experience, sushi or ramen are certainly the top picks. And while sushi covers all the flavors of the ocean and even some less traditional meaty options, ramen remains a steady choice between four main soup stocks: miso, soy sauce, pork and salt.
Of course, more individualistic and unnatural ramen shops exist around Japan, but never before had we heard of a ramen restaurant specializing in sea urchin ramen.
Until now.
You can find some pretty strange stuff in Japan’s gachapon toy capsule vending machines, like futons for your smartphone or doggy bread figures. But one set of gachapon goodies from manufacturer Epoch is so odd because of how amazingly mundane it is: a series of folding chairs and school desks.
But why did Epoch decide on such a down-to-earth muse, and why have people been snapping them up? We went straight to the source and talked with two members of Epoch’s development team to find out.
Deep beneath the ground, 19 miles north of Tokyo, lies a truly incredible feat of engineering. The G-Cans Project is the largest storm drain on earth, a colossal series of underground silos and tunnels, built to protect Tokyo from flooding during typhoon seasons. Its main hall (actually an enormous water tank) is held up by 59 columns each 25 metres high, and is known as the “Underground Temple”.
The facility is free to visit by guided tour, and the folks at Another Tokyo, a Japanese website introducing off-the-beaten-track places from around the country, recently went to check it out. This is what they found!
For most people, getting to fly first class in an airplane to some far off destination is a fleeting dream, too expensive to actually accomplish. So for those of you wishing you could enjoy free slippers and a dedicated cabin attendant but don’t want to shell out half a year’s salary to do it, look to the first class section of the shinkansen, Japan’s high speed bullet train.
One of our Japanese reporters took a ride on the Hayabusa E3 Shinkansen in “Gran Class” from Tokyo all the way up north to Aomori and documented his luxurious trip. Take a look inside his first class cabin experience!
Every gamer knows that one of the best ways to get another gamer frustrated and seeking sweet, bloody in-game revenge is a well-placed “your mom” joke or other taunt or insult involving one’s relatives, girl/boyfriend, dog, cat or the size of certain parts of the target’s anatomy.
Which might mean that this Kobe video game arcade – which, remember, are still quite popular in Japan – may have struck marketing gold with this new ad campaign featuring insulting posters plastered all over the subway.
In Japan, it seems like almost every time I see a dog owner out for a stroll with their pet, it’s wearing some sort of clothing. It always strikes me as a little weird, since dogs are already covered with fur, and for most of the year, Japan doesn’t really get cold enough to warrant an extra layer to keep them warm.
Still, I guess the owners get a kick out of it. I do feel a little sorry for the dog sometimes, though, especially if he’s been stuffed into some cutesy, frilly costume. Wouldn’t he be happier in something more masculine, like a suit of doggy armor?
You could make the argument that Nintendo is the most “Japanese” of the major video game companies. Obviously that’s a label you can’t apply to Microsoft, but even compared to internationally focused Sony, with design studios and production teams all over the world, more of Nintendo’s products are developed domestically, and many in Kyoto, the quintessential Japanese city.
So it’s kind of ironic that the company’s best-known character, Mario, is Italian. Still, the video game hero is one of the best choices for a symbol of Japanese pop culture, and now he’s been combined with Japanese traditional culture in an awesome Mario kimono.
It might sound strange, but in a lot of Japanese households, the use of first names tends to become increasingly rare after the arrival of children and grandchildren. Although plenty of parents in the western world will also refer to each other as “Mommy” or “Daddy” in an effort to help their newborn or toddler pick up the words, or sometimes just to be cute, a man calling his wife “Mama” or “Okaasan” even after their kids have long flown the nest is perfectly common in Japan.
But what happens when a husband suddenly starts calling his wife by her first name, just like when they first started dating or had not long been married? Japanese cosmetics company Pola recently conducted an experiment to find out how simply being called by their first name can affect the health and physical appearance of young women who have over the years come to be known simply as “Mama”.
Promo or not, the effect was surprisingly powerful.
It’s been just a little over a month since the deadly landslides brought about by a powerful storm hammering Hiroshima City. Soon after the disaster struck, rescue crews sprang into action, providing shelter and medical assistance to victims.
We’re sure the residents are deeply grateful for the service of those who came to their aid, and while every man and woman who did is no doubt courageous and caring, the cutest of all was probably rescue dog Yumenosuke.
As we’ve previously discussed, Japan is chock full of cool little cafes. Obviously, not every single cafe in the country is going to be spectacular, but we have to say that we have found no end of fun places to sit down and order a coffee. But if you’re a Sailor Moon fan, we may have found the ultimate place to enjoy a latte: Cafe Talisman.
Back at the start of the year, we all had the urge to go out and fight some monsters when we saw Hollywood blacksmith Tony Swatton recreate the massive sword wielded by Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth. Of course, Sephiroth is just one member of the gigantic collective cast of the long-running video game franchise. With so many more iconic weapons to choose from, it was only a matter of time until craftsmen went to work on armaments from the other games in the series, and next up is a real-life version of Squall’s gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII.
This limited edition 2014 Rilakkuma onesie might just be the most outrageously warm and snuggly thing we have ever seen. It also answers the burning questions that fans of the character have been wrestling with for years: if Rilakkuma is a bear, why does he wear a bear suit? Is he even a bear at all?
Sure, you could wrap yourself in a blanket to keep warm this winter. Or, you could become Rilakkuma with this luxurious loungewear. Wrap yourself up from head to toe in furry goodness, and solve the mysteries of the cartoon bear universe at the same time.
Wednesday has to be the least exciting day of the week. Your energy boost from the weekend is likely spent, and you’ve still got a couple more days of work until your next chance to cut loose and have some fun.
At least, that’s how things generally are. This week, we’re psyched about Wednesday, because October 8 is bringing a lunar eclipse to Japan, and as part of the celestial show, the moon is turning red.
If you’re like us here at RocketNews24, you probably don’t spend a lot of time sitting in first class on airplanes. The cabin attendants always seem so grumpy when they have to come around with brooms and shoo us to the back of the plane where our seats are.
Aside from the legroom and complimentary champagne (or whatever first class fliers get), there is one other big difference between sitting at the front and in the back in economy: Your fellow passengers. Now, don’t get us wrong, everyone cramped in the back with us is great…but have you ever wondered what those fancy-shmancy passengers are like? Well, wonder no more! A Japanese cabin attendant has dished on the top six things she’s noticed about the wealthier passengers. And none of them are what you might be expecting.
In some ways, Sailor Moon is a strange choice for a character to build an anime franchise around. Her natural tendency is to be lazy and whiney, which isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a magical heroine.
But what endears Sailor Moon to so many fans is that, when the chips are down, she’s loyal and brave. Whether you’re being attacked by monsters or just feeling down in the dumps about bombing your math test, she’ll be with you through any rough times.
That’s a promise that even extends to when you’re on your period, thanks to new Sailor Moon menstrual pads. No, seriously.
Every once in a while we at RocketNews24 like to bring you some instructional pieces on how to perform traditional Japanese practices such as drinking green tea, eating sushi, butchering a wild boar and seppuku. However, even with handy instructions some of these practices require rigid discipline and considerable practice. Interestingly enough, we get the fewest complaints of failure from the seppuku piece, but the ones we do get seemed to be the most angry.
This time however, we have a traditional Japanese guide that not only is easy to perform but is perfect for Halloween, which is fast approaching. So get ready to learn how to properly wrap a ninja hood around your head!
A marriage proposal is supposed to be a special personal thing, it’s the chance to ask your significant other if they will be with you until the end. You want to make it an intimate and unique occasion, and do we have to mention again, personal. But with the advent of the Internet, more and more marriage proposals are going public as everyone tries to show how clever they are.
For as many amazing proposals there are nowadays, there should be an equal number of heartbreaking rejections out there. You probably don’t see many of them because no one wants to publish their failure online, especially after your heart was just put through a giant wringer. Unfortunately, if you propose in public, you don’t have a choice to share your moment or not, since any random bystander can take pictures of you popping the question. And as you will see, sometimes the results aren’t pretty.
Readers in the West may not have heard much about it, but the 17th Asian Games were held between September 19 and October 4 in Incheon, South Korea. As the largest multi-sporting event after the Olympics, the Asian Games bring together athletes from all across the Asian continent only once every four years. By the end of this year’s competition, China had racked up the highest medal count, followed by host South Korea and Japan. However, this year’s Games were also plagued by rampant rumors of suspicious refereeing, fixed matches, and host country favoritism, leaving many nations with a bitter aftertaste upon their conclusion.
In response to the multiple stories of alleged corruption, one irate Thai viewer created a parody video to vent his frustrations. As of this writing, the video, with its scornful lyrics yet surprisingly bubbly nature, has been replayed over 2 million times on YouTube, despite having been published less than a week ago. Judging by the comments, it seems the rest of the world seems to sympathize with its message…
Fast food chains are always on the lookout for ways to steer us into their open arms, with limited edition burgers, unusual collaborations and exclusive accessories all weakening our will at some point, despite quiet pleas from our inner selves to look the other way.
Lotteria is one of the unabashed leaders in the field, offering us burger towers of mammoth proportions that have us handing over money just to lay eyes on the meaty beasts. Now they’ve unveiled two life-size versions of their famous multi-patty behemoths. But this time, they’re adorable USB memory sticks.
One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Flying dango: Unique tourist site where Japanese sweets are flown to you over a gorge
Cheeseburger rice bowls arrive at Japanese beef bowl chain Matsuya, and in our stomach【Taste test】
Mario Kart Happy Meal toys arrive at McDonald’s Japan, and SoraNews24 has the whole set!【Photos】
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
New Mario Kart Happy Meal toys are racing up to McDonald’s Japan【Video】
History’s highest sumo wrestling and geisha dance to take place at Tokyo Skytree observation deck
Tokyo restaurant isn’t kidding about the name of its overflowing rare wagyu-ju【Photos】
Is Mario’s Birdo a boy or a girl? Years after her first appearance, the debate rages on
Burger King Japan creates Kyoto Whopper, its most Japanese burger ever, with Kyoto rice merchantOne of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippersGhibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】Mario Kart Happy Meal toys arrive at McDonald’s Japan, and SoraNews24 has the whole set!【Photos】
New Ghibli papercraft kit gives you a little Princess Mononoke forest on your desk【Photos】
Beautiful Japanese garden green tea crepes waiting in Tokyo’s historical Asakusa neighborhood
Tokyo park’s sea of clouds, nighttime illumination, and cosplay days make now perfect time to visit
Samurai ritual suicide contest cancelled by organizer in west Japan
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
Tokyo Disneyland loses top-attendance crown for Japanese theme parks for second year in a rowOne of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Ghibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle themeGhibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in Japan
What’s the deal with akebi, the perfectly purple, alien-like fruit that’s in season now in Japan?Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve tooJapanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
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
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 design
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
New Mario Kart Happy Meal toys are racing up to McDonald’s Japan【Video】
History’s highest sumo wrestling and geisha dance to take place at Tokyo Skytree observation deck
Tokyo restaurant isn’t kidding about the name of its overflowing rare wagyu-ju【Photos】
Is Mario’s Birdo a boy or a girl? Years after her first appearance, the debate rages on
Burger King Japan creates Kyoto Whopper, its most Japanese burger ever, with Kyoto rice merchant
Our male reporter transforms into a beautiful Japanese courtesan at Tokyo photo studio
Häagen-Dazs Japan’s delicious mochi ice cream makes a comeback this fall
Japanese special edition Metal Gear Solid V buyers get a Diamond Dogs jacket
New Ghibli papercraft kit gives you a little Princess Mononoke forest on your desk【Photos】
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Beautiful Japanese garden green tea crepes waiting in Tokyo’s historical Asakusa neighborhood
Häagen-Dazs brings back its popular mochi ice cream line with two classic, luxurious flavors
Legendary shojo manga classics get reprints as miniature capsule toys with full-volume contents