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The complete guide to sushi in one handy picture

Japanese food is becoming more and more common outside of Japan. In fact, many people enjoy it because of the use of fresh fish and lots of vegetables. Those who get the craving have also discovered that it’s pretty easy to find a Japanese restaurant in their town, but there are still some people who find the idea of raw fish and sushi intimidating. There is so much information out there for the sushi novice that even figuring out where to begin can be daunting. Just as we brought you the handy “counting in Japanese” infographic, we have found a useful guide that assembles all the sushi basics in a really easy to understand fashion. Sit back and get ready to scroll through Sushi 101.

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Japan’s largest all-you-can-eat-and-drink offer spans eight different restaurants in Osaka

Since 1 July, a small corner of the Chayamachi district in the downtown Umeda area of Osaka has been holding a huge deal: All-You-Can-Eat-and-Drink Alley. For a flat rate of 3,500 yen (US$28) you can have three hours to run wild and eat as much as you want from eight different restaurants in the alley, going back and forth among them freely.

Still not enough? Okay picky pants, how does also having all-you-can-drink of any drink from coffee to wine sound? We thought that would convince you! Let’s take a quick look at what’s in store (or stores rather) for you there.

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Five things you need to know about Obon–one of Japan’s biggest holidays 【Videos & more】

If the idea of your loved ones leaving this earth never to return again seems unfair, then you should consider the Japanese view of the afterlife. While nothing can change death itself, it is comforting to know that in Japan there is a special time of the year when the souls of the dead come back to visit the living. This is called Bon (or Obon using the honorific “o”) a holiday period from August 12-16 (exact dates may vary depending upon location), a time when the entire country takes a break to celebrate the “festival of the dead.” It’s a lively few days when the living and the dead can once again unite to eat together, drink together and share good times.

The Bon tradition gives the country some of the unique dances that Japan is so famous for. Tokushima’s Bon dance, called Awa Odori, for example, draws over one million tourists every year. Traditional Bon entertainment is so lively, colorful and intriguing that a Bon dance is a must-see on every traveler’s itinerary.

Today we’ll introduce you to a five things you should know about Obon. Needless to say, it’s a very exciting time to be in Japan as a tourist!

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Got a bunch of old rice lying around? Let us show you how to revive it!

Most of the food you find in supermarkets in Japan comes in small packages, and people tend to buy just enough for a few days. You won’t find many supersized, bulk discount items at the local grocery store, with one big exception: Rice! Many families eat bowls of rice with most of their meals, so it’s easy to go through a few pounds a week.

But what happens when you overestimate and end up with bags of rice that go untouched for years? While it won’t exactly “go bad,” it will end up pretty stale. You could throw it out, but what  a waste that would be. Instead, try our lifehack to get your old rice tasting fresh and yummy!

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The corporate culture at RocketNews24 is pretty casual, but before I joined the team I spent several years working in the service and hospitality sectors. As a country that takes both work and etiquette very seriously, it’s probably not a surprise that Japanese business etiquette has a detailed code of proper conduct, all in an effort to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and smooth cooperation.

Still, even for some people born and raised in Japan, the list of dos and don’ts can feel a little too long, and those who’d rather not have to stand on ceremony compiled a list of their own of the top 10 Japanese business manners young adults could do without.

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  • Aug 8, 2015

Prestigious Japanese university comes up with cheesecake … made with Gorilla bacteria!

Alongside the famed Tokyo University, Kyoto University is definitely one of the top universities in Japan, known in particular for their innovative scientific research. It so happens that the university is currently holding its annual Open Campus event from August 6 to 8, and many prospective students are sure to be visiting for a chance to take a look inside one of the most prestigious institutes of learning in Japan.

Visitors to this year’s event may be surprised to find out, however, that they’ll be able to try a dessert made using a very unique ingredient indeed, and one that was discovered by one of the university’s own research teams — a bacterium found in the gut of gorillas!

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Shima City’s new ama girl mascot faces backlash from real-life deep sea shellfish divers

Last November, a quiet little town in Mie Prefecture asked locals to name their newest anime mascot character, a cute shellfish diver that represented the industry the town of Shima was famous for. The name with the most votes was Aoshima Megu and thus Shima City had its brand new, super popular city mascot.

End of story, right? No quite. Unfortunately for the city, concerned citizens are now publicly airing their issues with the 2D mascot, and the criticism is originating from the women on whom the mascot is based – the female freediving experts themselves.

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Cardcaptor Sakura becomes Day Planner Sakura with this cool anime organizer

We recently talked about an elegant iPhone case inspired by anime/manga franchise Cardcaptor Sakura, and judging from the enthusiastic response, it seems like many of you still have a special place in your hearts for creative team Clamp’s magical girl series. We couldn’t help but notice that a few of you mentioned you don’t have an iPhone to put inside the case, though.

So if you’re iPhone-less but looking for functionality in your anime merchandise, or simply prefer to keep track of your appointments the old-fashioned way, we recommend this Cardcaptor Sakura day planner.

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North Korea establishes its own time zone in order to stick it to “wicked Japanese imperialists”

Were they granted the ability to manipulate time and space, we’re fairly certain that most world leaders would choose to go back in time in order to benefit their own country somehow, replaying disastrous moments in their history and righting wrongs that would later cost them dearly. (One can only imagine a world in which the likes of Katie Hopkins and Donald Trump were never put in front of a camera…)

But today, totalitarian dictatorship North Korea declared that it would be turning the clock back by just 30 minutes, thus establishing “Pyongyang Time”, in order to mark its independence from the “wicked Japanese imperialists” who meddled with their clocks to begin with.

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We try dessert sushi (with a French twist!)【Recipe】

Sushi has become well known and loved the world over. Granted, a lot of what you’ll find in your home country is altered from “traditional” sushi to cater to local tastes (and would have ol’ Jiro shaking his fist), but what food doesn’t go through a bit of change when it crosses borders?

The only thing this dessert sushi has in common with its namesake is that it contains rice. But that doesn’t change the fact that it looks absolutely delicious and that you should get in your kitchen and go try making it right now!

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Live-action Attack on Titan director teases Godzilla plans

Coming off mixed reviews of his live-action Attack on Titan film, fans may recall that Shinji Higuchi is also tasked with directing TOHO‘s upcoming Godzilla film with fellow tokusatsu lover Hideaki Anno. Helming the first Japanese Godzilla film in 12 years is no small feat. In fact, Higuchi almost turned down the offer because of the sheer amount of pressure that comes with directing such an iconic monster.

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Exquisitely blown Japanese beer glasses create serene landscapes while you drink

Everyone knows that the best way to drink beer is either from a bottle or poured into a glass, yet more often than not you will find beer packaged in a can at the store. Cans make economic sense since they are cheap, can be crushed down to save space and they float in water if you happen to drop them while you are out having fun. However, all beer drinkers know that drinking from the can tastes horrible compared to drinking from the glass.

There are plenty of beer glasses to choose from, but a beautiful glass strangely makes the beer taste even better, and one Japanese crystal company has some of the greatest glasses for your summer drinking. Fired by the Joetsu Crystal Glass Company, the Tsukiyono Kobo line features fantastic glasses that cast your beer drinking in a much more beautiful light.

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As in most countries, magazines aimed at young adults in Japan spend a lot of time talking about the opposite sex. Just as publications aimed at men often wax poetic about their image of the ideal woman, so too do women’s magazines write up collections of traits of desirable guys.

But one recent list has Japanese Internet users scratching their heads over its oddly specific list that includes such minutiae as foot size and social media preference.

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If you’ve ever spent the summer in Japan, you know that it’s not the heat, but the humidity that makes many people want to take refuge indoors with the air conditioning blasting. But the silver lining to this cloud is the clouds themselves, as all that moisture in the air can turn Japan’s summer skies into a stunning puffy white landscape.

On the evening of August 5, skywatchers in the Tokyo/Yokohama area that turned their eyes to the west saw a towering, lightning-spitting thundercloud so powerfully majestic it immediately drew comparisons to one of Studio Ghibli’s most beloved anime.

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70 years ago today: The moment the US deployed the most powerful weapon known to man

Released from B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 a.m. (Japanese time), the world entered the unprecedented atomic age with the deployment of the most powerful weapon known to man.

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Evangelion lingerie is sure to help your otaku partner get into Beast Mode

No anime in history has generated the amount of discussion that Evangelion has, as audiences have now been debating the finer points of the franchise’s content and production for two decades. Was the TV series’ unorthodox ending strictly a case of budgetary constraints, or is it the purest version of Eva’s true message? In the closing scenes of End of Evangelion, has protagonist Shinji accepted or rejected the rest of human existence? Is creator Hideaki Anno ever going to actually make that fourth, and supposedly final, Rebuild of Evangelion theatrical feature?

For today, though, let’s brush aside those nebulous issues, and instead look at a question that has a definite answer: What would official Evangelion lingerie look like?

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Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ earns $1.97 million to rank #6 on U.S. opening night

Box Office Mojo reports that Funimation‘s limited theatrical run of the Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ film earned US$1,967,626 on its opening night on Tuesday. That gives the film a per-screen average of US$2,198, the highest among the top 10 movies playing in the United States on August 4.

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Let the rejoicing begin: Someone has made a sumo musical and the trailer is amazing! 【Video】

Adding “musical” to the end of any idea is an easy but effective way to come up with concepts for new creative properties. Foul-mouthed muppets plus musicals gave us Avenue Q and anime plus musical has given us a surprising number of stage productions! But one combination we’d never even dreamed of has now seen the light of day: A sumo musical.

Titled Dosu Koi Musical, this sumo musical isn’t actually a stage production, but it does star none other than Taiwanese singer Lin Yu-chun, whom you might remember killing it on America’s Got Talent in 2010. Maybe if we’re all good boys and girls, this will be turned into the next Broadway hit starring Lin and Neil Patrick Harris!

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Microsoft’s Windows 10 ads inadvertently ruffle feathers in Korea with… a bad choice of font?

American tech giant Microsoft apparently has some explaining to do to Korean Windows users.

That’s because a television commercial announcing the recent release of Microsoft Windows 10, the latest and blessedly less-infuriating edition of the company’s flagship operating system, apparently commits an unwritten faux pas by way of a text font displayed in the ad.

And if you’re as baffled as we initially were about how a simple, commonly used font could be so offensive, well, let us tell you a little story about Japan-Korea relations…

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Chilled, green tea, sweet potato and more mark 40 years of Japan’s Hi-Chew candy

Morinaga’s Hi-Chew is one of Japan’s favorite candies. Its popularity has spread across the world and you can often find different flavors of Hi-Chew at your local store. Fans have gone to great lengths to show their appreciation for the flavorful chewy snack over the years, including our Japanese team who once even created their own giant Hi-Chew, thus disproving the old adage that “bigger is better”.

Now, to celebrate the candy’s 40th anniversary, Morinaga is releasing some special new flavors and an extra-special version of their most popular flavor that will become the first refrigerated Hi-Chew in history.

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