SoraNews24 -Japan News-

Featured

Hiroshima’s crème marche is half cream puff, half custard cone, and all delicious

Casey Baseel
Jun 6, 2014
Tweet

Even under normal circumstances, we’ve got nothing against desserts, whether they be in parfait or donut form. So when we got off the train at Hiroshima Station, stepped through the ticket gates, and saw a newly opened pastry shop, we knew a detour was in order before we headed to our hotel.

Of course, we’d just spent two days biking the 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) across the Inland Sea on the Shimanami Kaido cycling course, and no dinky dessert was going to satisfy the appetite we’d built up. Thankfully, the shop had something special in its display case: cream puff custard cones.

Become MASTER OF NUGGETS with this heavy metal recipe book

Fran W
Jun 6, 2014

Have you been looking for a way to combine your love of thrash metal with your enthusiasm for trying new food? As you may know, we at RocketNews24 are always looking for ways to mix up new musical experiences, so we were tickled to discover Metal-Meshi, a tour through headbanging history told through metal-inspired recipes!

The brainchild of Tokyo-based foodie and blogger Yasunario, Metal-Meshi takes its name from “meshi”, a slightly slangy, rough-sounding Japanese word for hearty food.The book offers up over 60 mammoth-sized dishes that put some of Japan’s other Americana offerings to shame! So what kind of gastronomical excitement has Yasunario come up with?

The number 1 ‘most satisfying’ city in the world is….TOKYO!!!

KK Miller
Jun 6, 2014

The world is a huge place, and where you spend your hard-earned money and time off is a big decision. With so many fabulous locations around the globe, how do you choose what is the best destination for you? The answer seems obvious: ask the people. With tools like Yelp and Wikitravel, crowd sourcing your best vacation spot is easier than ever.

One of the most popular travel sites, Trip Advisor, has released a survey asking its users to rank its top 37 cities, and Japan has something to celebrate before the World Cup even begins: coming in at #1 in the world!

Suicides drop for second year in Japan, still leading cause of death among young adults

Casey Baseel
Jun 6, 2014

The Japanese government recently released its 2014 white paper on suicide in the nation. While the continuing downward trend in the number of people taking their own lives is encouraging, the statistics also revealed the sobering and troubling fact that suicide is the leading cause of death among Japanese aged 15 to 34.

These awesome university dining hall breakfasts only cost 100 yen

Angelina Lucienne
Jun 6, 2014

When was the last time you spent 100 yen (US$.98) on breakfast and felt satisfied? Sure, your dollar menu Sausage McMuffin tasted good, but after hitting your stomach like a greasy, calorie-laden brick, did it really keep you going until lunch? I thought not. Prepare to be jealous (and perhaps say “OC desu!“) of the following parade of filling breakfasts purchased at Japanese university dining halls, each for an unbelievable 100 yen.

Viral zoo video of ‘headbanging’ bear hides a dark, sad truth

Preston Phro
Jun 6, 2014

Most of us have been to a zoo at least once. As children, it’s often the highlight of a weekend–watching the prowling big cats, hearing the bellowing elephants, and petting the adorable rabbits–it’s almost too good to be true. Unfortunately, “too good to be true” may be more accurate than we want to admit.

In fact, a certain Japanese video that has recently gone viral due to its “cute” footage shows just how traumatizing zoos can be for their animal residents.

A Chinese airline might start letting flyers bid on seat upgrades

BUSINESS INSIDER
Jun 6, 2014

It’s time to bid goodbye to discomfort while flying.

Chinese airline Cathay Pacific is considering starting an online auction program where customers could place bids to upgrade their seats, according to the South China Morning Post.

TRANSFORM! And write while you’re at it, too — with these cool shape-shifting Transformers pens!

Kay
Jun 5, 2014

Okay, so the type of pen that you use in your daily routine may not be the most important detail in your life. But when you have a fun and attractive pen to write with, it helps to make your day just a little bit brighter, doesn’t it? In that spirit, we’ve already introduced you to a line of lovely Sailor Moon pens in one of our past articles, but this time, we’ve found some pens that may be a delight for those of you more into the robot/mecha genre. They’re Transformers pens, and yes, they actually change shapes — so Transformers fans, get ready to “transform and roll out” the letters!

JR unveils amazing luxury train that we’d like to live in like high-class hobos

Casey Baseel
Jun 5, 2014

Last spring, Japan Railways, operator of Japan’s fabled bullet trains, unveiled its design for a new Shinkansen that will whisk travelers to northeastern Japan as they relax at the onboard foot baths. Then came the announcement of an overnight train servicing Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima with amenities rivaling those of a fancy hotel.

Now, it’s east Japan’s turn, as JR East has released new images of its upcoming luxury sleeper train for the region, plus its passenger suites that look genuinely large enough to live in.

Coca-Cola giving away specialty bottlecaps in Vietnam to promote reusing their plastic bottles

Master Blaster
Jun 5, 2014

You have to hand it to Coca-Cola. Despite being the best-selling cola brand and one of the biggest companies in the world, they certainly don’t seem to rest on their laurels. Like a hungry up-and-coming business, they’re always coming up with new gimmicks in each of the 200 countries they operate in, whether it be personalized bottles in Japan or, like now in Vietnam, a set of functional caps which can transform your empty bottle into a water gun, pencil sharpener, night lights and more after you’re finished with it.

【TBT】A day in the life of a Japanese anime director

ロケットニュース24
Jun 5, 2014

If you thought being an anime director was all cosplay groupies and cool action figures, think again. Turns out it’s long, long hours in front of a computer, less-than-fancy convenience store dinners and tons of office all-nighters.

Upcoming PS4 and Vita title One Way Trip is one of the trippiest games we’ve ever seen

Philip Kendall
Jun 5, 2014

I’ve played my share of weird and psychedelic video games over the years. I’ve flown through space firing beams of energy to create musical beats while every colour of the rainbow zips by my face, played games that have sporadically erased the contents of my inventory to make me think I was losing my mind, and intentionally touched more fuzzies to get dizzier than most would ever dare.

But One Way Trip, an indie game coming to PlayStation 4 and Vita next year, looks like it’ll be one of the craziest rides I’ll ever have the pleasure of taking without giving the police cause to visit my home.

“Is Japan racist?”: New video humorously confronts long-standing question

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jun 5, 2014

There have been several commercials pulled off the air in Japan that some have dubbed “racist” and plenty of online banter to add to the debate. But we’ve also seen anti-anti-Korean protesters in Tokyo willing to stand up against truly hateful right-wing activists and many other examples of Japanese citizens whose actions seem to show that Japan is not as xenophobic as some may believe.

So is Japan racist? It seems there isn’t a clear-cut answer, but leave it to “twin brothers” Ken Tanaka and David Ury to bring us a humors video confronting this long-standing question.

Votes are in! Taiwan chooses its top 5 girls’ school uniforms【Photos】

Fran W
Jun 5, 2014

One month and more than 400,000 votes later, the people have spoken. Taiwan has chosen its best, cutest, most wonderful high school uniforms!

The huge online election was co-hosted by Koobii magazine and Uniform Map, an online searchable map of Taiwan and Hong Kong that collates photographs of school uniforms – and the girls wearing them. The winning school polled an impressive 100,000 votes. Let’s take a look at the top five!

Keep kitty cool this summer with the nyanko nabe cooling pot

Oona McGee
Jun 5, 2014

It’s not easy being covered in fur. Especially when you have to endure the stifling heat of a Japanese summer! Now hot kitties are sure to get some respite, thanks to a new product that’s already selling out online. While it may look like an everyday bowl, this is actually a whole lot more, with a special ergonomic design that’s especially effective at supporting and cooling a cat’s body. It’s called the Cooling Aluminium Kitty-Cat Pot, and it’s sure to be your cat’s favourite piece of furniture this summer.

Tweeters urge Japanese to donate to Serbian flood relief as repayment for Tōhoku support

Cara Clegg
Jun 5, 2014

Japan is no stranger to natural disasters, and the world rose up in support after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011 left thousands dead and millions homeless. Now it’s time for Japanese people to repay that kindness by supporting one of their greatest benefactors through their own period of crisis.

Day Two of our cycling trip across the Inland Sea on Japan’s amazing Shimanami Kaido

Casey Baseel
Jun 5, 2014

Between the mentally satisfying sense of accomplishment and physical exhaustion of spending a whole day crossing three islands by bike, plus the after-dinner beer we treated ourselves to, we slept like babies after covering 30 kilometers of the Shimanami Kaido cycling course on day one. We still had more than half the distance to go before we were back on Japan’s main island of Honshu, though, and between us and our destination in Hiroshima Prefecture lay breathtaking vistas, historical artifacts, delicious food, and even a dinosaur.

We recently journeyed by rental bike across the beautiful Shimanami Kaido, the cycling road that island hops across Japan’s Inland Sea between Ehime and Hiroshima Prefectures. If you missed the first day of our 70-kilometer (45.5-mile) ride you can find it here, or read on for the second and final day of the trip.

Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell powered car ready for sale this December

Master Blaster
Jun 5, 2014

Although the technology has been talked about for quite some time now, the concept of using oxygen and hydrogen to power an automobile seems poised to finally hit the market.

According to reports, the Toyota Motor Corporation has recently declared that their sedan-type Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) will begin production at the end of this year. At the moment Toyota claims this would make them the first automaker in the world to market such a vehicle to the public at large.

10 things Japan does better than anywhere else, according to the international community

Casey Baseel
Jun 5, 2014

Advertising agency Dentsu recently released the results of its annual Japan Brand Survey, in which it asks people from around the world for their opinion on the country. This year’s study involved 3,600 men and women living in 17 different countries, whose responses were used to compile a list of 10 things they feel Japan does better than anywhere else in the world.

$2.34!? Cheapest bullet-train ride in Japan lasts 3 minutes, but memories are forever【Photos】

Megumi Matsuki
Jun 5, 2014

Ask anyone in Japan if they love the shinkansen, and they’ll probably say yes. Commonly known as the bullet train, it’s convenient, handsomely designed, and the train’s aerodynamic nose is surprisingly an artisanal masterpiece, carefully formed by hand out of numerous metal plates in order to achieve the perfect curves.

Becoming a conductor of one is a typical kindergarten dream, and while a lot of kids grow out of that phase, some emerge as bona fide train fanatics who go by many monikers: tetsu-ota, tetchan, tetsu-kichi (as in “crazy”), you name it. Unfortunately, travel by shinkansen may be fast and luxurious, but it’s generally not cheap—for example, a three-hour one-way ride from Tokyo to Ōsaka can cost around 14,300 yen (US $140).

So what’s this about a 240-yen ticket in Nīgata Prefecture that has train enthusiasts all abuzz? A seasonal train station that’s actually part of a ski resort? A place called “Cowabunga” 125 miles north of Tokyo? Let comedian and self-declared train otaku, Ayako Suzukawa, be your guide today!