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Starbucks sakura series 2015: Caramel, chocolate and a flowery chiffon cake

Oona McGee
Feb 19, 2015
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With Valentine’s Day out of the way, and plum blossoms still in bloom, it’s time for early spring marketing to burst onto the scene in Japan. Leading the pack, as it does every year, is popular coffee chain Starbucks, with the nation’s other favourite flower, the cherry blossom, taking centre stage in their annual line-up of sakura menu items and merchandise.

This year, the humble cherry blossom meets caramel and chocolate in latte and Frappucino forms, and also finds itself in a beautiful pink and white chiffon cake. Curious to know what sakura tastes like when blended with such sweet partners? Join us as we bring you all the photos and flavours from our recent visit.

Want to be a professional gamer? Time to go to school!

KK Miller
Feb 19, 2015

Children growing up around the world these days are asking the same question, “How do I become a pro gamer?” In the past, all you could do was find a game you were good at, become really good at it, and then hope someone would pay you for it.

These days, the professional gamer has many avenues to explore. There are plenty of games out there that have a thriving professional circuit. If you like first-person shooters (FPS), you could get into Call of Duty. If you’re more of a real-time strategy game fan perhaps Starcraft II will be your thing. The versus fighting game scene has always been extremely competitive, and multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBA) like Dota 2 and League of Legends are breaking player and viewership records. But can you really say that those professional gamers are actually “qualified”? Well, if you’re looking for a school in Japan, you could become a qualified pro gamer with a pro gamer degree!

Craft brewer releases beer made with cherry blossoms, just in time for sakura season

Casey Baseel
Feb 18, 2015

Japan’s cherry blossoms are beautiful enough to enjoy without any alcoholic accompaniments, but it’s a fact of life that for many people the drinks are the real draw of a sakura-viewing party. Yet while there’s definitely a certain charm to knocking back a few cold ones in the park with a group of good friends, it does seem like a waste to take the focus off the flowers, since they bloom for such a short time.

That doesn’t mean you need to slow down your drinking to maximize your appreciation of the cherry blossoms, though. It just means you’ll need to pick up a few bottles of this special beer that’s made with sakura petals.

Honest Tokyo: 3.3 billion yen of lost cash handed in to police in 2014 alone

KK Miller
Feb 18, 2015

Imagine this. You’re at a fireworks festival with almost one million people in attendance. Everyone is scrambling for a place to sit and stampeding for the exit when it’s over. In between standing in line for a tasty treat and being dazzled by the fireworks spectacle, you realize something terrible. You’ve lost your wallet. Now what?

In Japan, you just go to the nearest police box, or koban! In 2014 alone, a stunning amount of cash and lost possessions was turned into police stations around Tokyo. In cash alone, over 3.3 billion yen was turned in. That’s a whopping US$27.8 million picked up and taken to the authorities. Could that happen anywhere else in the world?

US kids react to breakfasts from other countries, and it’s equal parts cute and hilarious 【Video】

Meg Murphy
Feb 18, 2015

One of the best parts of traveling to other countries are all the new and exciting (and sometimes even gag-inducing) food experiences that come with it. While some may turn up their nose at something like fermented cabbage, fish eggs, or animal innards – something which is strange and exotic to one culture but a completely normal food to another – these likes and dislikes really have little to do with personal tastes, and everything to do with upbringing.

I believe that it is very important for kids to be introduced to many different cultures from a young age, to help give them a better understanding of and respect for the world around them, and what better way to do that than by introducing foods from other countries? That is what the people over at YouTube channel Cut Video did, when they created their video “American Kids Try Breakfasts From Around the World”.

As we all know, kids can tend to be picky eaters, so introducing them to unknown foods is sure to bring a few sour faces, as you can see in the video after the jump!

Tokyo Chocolate Round-up: 2015 Valentine’s Day! 【Photos】

Kay
Feb 18, 2015

If you love sweets — chocolate in particular — Japan in the weeks before Valentine’s Day is definitely a great place to be. Ever since chocolate makers in Japan managed to make it a widespread tradition for women to give chocolates to men on Valentine’s Day, it’s become an annual event to see chocolates being sold at shops everywhere starting in late January, with numerous special promotions and appearances by “celebrity chocolatiers” to heighten the excitement leading up to the big V-day.

Yes, for chocolate lovers, it’s a blissful time of year — there’s nothing quite like stepping into a department store and seeing a huge space filled with chocolates of all shapes and sizes while being surrounded by the rich, earthy scent of cacao. But now that Valentine’s Day is over, we may be developing a case of the post-Valentine’s blues, so to console ourselves, we’ve put together a collection of photos showcasing some of the most memorable chocolate items we saw this Valentine’s season in Japan.

The Toyota Isis: The car with the most unfortunate name in Japan

Casey Baseel
Feb 18, 2015

Toyota, being the largest, most internationalized of Japan’s automakers, tends to do a pretty decent job steering clear of picking car names that sound weird or shocking to non-Japanese consumers. Sure, its product lineup briefly included the Emina, but that only sounds gross if you’re too impatient to carefully read the letters in order.

Until now Toyota hasn’t had anything as unintentionally startling as the Mazda Bongo Friendee, Daihatsu Naked, or Nissan Fairlady. But if you’ve taken a look at Toyota’s Japanese website recently, you may have found yourself doing a double-take as you noticed one of its current offerings seems to share its name with a well-known jihadist rebel group.

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the Toyota Isis.

The real story of Nintendo’s Mario

Hayashi 'Fang' Hougi
Feb 17, 2015

Ever since Mario first appeared in Nintendo’s Donkey Kong in 1981, he has been a fan favorite in the world of video games. Over the past three decades, Mario has appeared in over a hundred titles on numerous platforms as fans grew up alongside their favorite bearded (well, most of the time) Italian plumber.

For many casual Mario players, it seems like each game is an independent story filled with action and adventure. However, the hardcore players at Scorpigator Films have put together a Super Mario Timeline using clues from the various games to tell the full biography of Mario, the hero of Mushroom Kingdom.

New “drag queens and cross-dressers” locker room and changing facility opens in Shinjuku

Meg Murphy
Feb 17, 2015

By day you’re just another hard-worker in your Japanese office, donning the same, typical business suit as every other salaryman in the city. But by night, once work is over, you need to shed that suit and all that’s associated with it, put on a dress and some makeup, and let the other you take over.

Well, if you’re living in Tokyo, there’s a place just right for your needs in the Shinjuku neighborhood – Josokko Kouishitu, a locker/changing room especially for drag queens and cross-dressers!

7 surprising images of Tokyo without its billboards and neon signs 【GIFs】

Oona McGee
Feb 16, 2015

If you’ve ever walked the streets of Tokyo, you’ll know how the buzz of people, street signs and giant screens can heighten all your senses and fill you with a rush of excitement that stays with you well after you’ve returned back home. While travel brochure photos can never truly prepare you for the dense onslaught of visual and aural stimuli that envelop you when you visit the megalopolis, one creative photographer has come up with a clever way of highlighting the main features of the city by showing us just how bare the city landscape looks without them there.

Come with us as we take a walk through day and night in Tokyo and see just how different the place looks when the neon signs and billboards are taken away. You’ll never see Tokyo in quite the same way again.

Cute animals in powered exoskeletons: 6 wondrous items from the 2015 Wonder Festival

Oona McGee
Feb 16, 2015

The latest edition of Japan’s bi-annual Wonder Festival brought out both male and female cosplayers, plus Sailor Moon figurines, which are well-known stalwarts of any good event celebrating anime and the creative arts. But what about the actual handmade models that put the wonder into the festival?

Amateur hobbyists converge at the event to display and sell unique goods, resulting in an array of never-before-seen models and items that can’t be found anywhere else. From ramen kewpie dolls to seductive vegetables, we’ve got photos of the most imaginative and eye-popping goods you’ll see this season.

We made world-famous French toast in our office, and so can you! 【RocketKitchen】

Scott Wilson
Feb 16, 2015

Have you heard of the Hotel Okura in Tokyo? It’s recognized as one of the top hotels in the world, often housing rich business travelers and foreign heads of state visiting Japan. Every U.S. president since Richard Nixon has stayed there, and even James Bond has been a guest!

But despite all that, the Hotel Okura is best known among us mortals as “the home of the most delicious French toast in the world.” It’s been praised by innumerable websites and reviews, turning the small, simple breakfast dish into a 1,840-yen (US$15.50) delicacy. With a price and reputation like that, you wouldn’t expect us to be able to make the exact same thing in our office kitchen. Right?

Well, we did. And so can you!

Tokyo Disneyland Hotel set to enchant guests with new character themed rooms!

Kay
Feb 16, 2015

We all know that the people at Disney are masters of enchantment and magic. Well, it seems they’ve done it again, this time putting their formidable powers of imagination to full use to renovate part of their rooms at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. For the first time since its opening in 2008, rooms at the iconic hotel have been redone and were opened to the public this week. As you might expect, the new rooms indeed look magical, worthy of the Disney reputation for turning fantasy into reality. So, let’s take a look at the lovely rooms designed to make guests feel like they’ve stepped into a Disney story!

Steam Garden 8: Travel through time at Tokyo’s premier steampunk event 【Photos】

Preston Phro
Feb 14, 2015

As we promised a few weeks ago, we swung by Steam Garden 8: Meiji Democracy and took in the sights and sounds! With more photos than your Facebook feed after a weekend of drunken revelry, we are happy to report that Steam Garden is both an amazing way to spend a Saturday, and an event you’ll definitely want to check out as soon as you can.

Click below for some highlights of the steampunk event and tons of fashion and cosplay photos!

Still no hoverboards, but 2015 has now given us this cool Back to the Future Delorean iPhone case

Casey Baseel
Feb 14, 2015

Now that 2015 is upon us, futurists and move fans alike are up in arms about all the cool things Back to the Future II promised we’d have by now, but still don’t. Where are our self-lacing shoes, they ask? When can we except to be devoured by holographic advertisements, huh? And what in God’s name is the holdup with the hoverboards?

What all these complaints fail to recognize, though, is all of the other amazing stuff that’s become part of our daily lives. For example, not only do we have the Internet and all the wondrous knowledge it provides, but we can access it from our mobile phones! That’s something even Back to the Future II couldn’t imagine, which is why it’s taken until the real 2015 for someone to make these sweet iPhone cases modeled after the film’s iconic Delorean time machine.

Pot-sticker paradise, hot-spring hotel just outside of Tokyo makes for a tasty retreat

Meg Murphy
Feb 14, 2015

Ask a Japanese person to give some examples of Chinese food, and they’ll likely reply with things like chaahan (fried rice) and the quintessential gyoza (pot-stickers). With their crispy fried outsides and juicy, flavorful insides, you can’t go wrong with gyoza, and many would say that Chinese food chain GYOZANOMANSYU (餃子の満州), based in the Kanto region of Japan, is the leader of them all.

Those wishing to take the gyoza experience a bit further can visit the hot-spring hotel Toumeikan in Gunma Prefecture, managed by GYOZANOMANSYU, and for a mere 5,900 yen per night (roughly US$59) you can stay in one of their cozy Japanese-style rooms, take a relaxing soak in the onsen hot springs, and get your fill at their breakfast buffet. Located deep in the mountains of Gunma, yet within a two- to three-hour drive from Tokyo, makes this a great place for a weekend getaway. Albeit one involving lots of garlic and chives.

After 23 years, Sailor Moon figures are more amazing than ever at Wonder Festival 【Photos】

Casey Baseel
Feb 14, 2015

We recently made the trip out to Chiba Prefecture for the winter 2015 iteration of Wonder Festival, where we could have spent all day admiring the awesome anime, video game, and movie cosplay going on. But as eye-catching as the outfits were, Wonder Festival is actually an event for showcasing new figures and models, and taking a look around the booths taught us something about the anime industry.

Trends may come and go, but Sailor Moon is here to stay. More than two decades after the phenomenally successful magical girl series made its anime debut, modelers are still making new figures based on its characters, and they’ve only gotten better in the twenty-plus years they’ve had to practice.

Attack on Titan gets arcade game by Capcom

Anime News Network
Feb 14, 2015

CAPCOM announced at Japan Amusement Expo 2015 on Friday that it has an Attack on Titan arcade game project.

Owner wins damages after Chihuahua dies following encounter with German Shepherd in the street

Evie Nyan
Feb 13, 2015

In a landmark case, the owner of an elderly Chihuahua who tragically died on an everyday walk in Osaka has successfully received 220,000 yen (almost US$2,000) in damages from the owner of a German Shepherd alleged to have brought about the death of their pet.

But what exactly happened that day, and was the German Shepherd – or rather its owner – really to blame?

“Feel” and experience Kyoto’s Kiyomizu Temple from afar via Tumblr

Audrey Akcasu
Feb 13, 2015

Last month we were delighted to hear that one of Kyoto’s most famous sight-seeing spots, Kiyomizudera, has an Instagram account. The thing about Kiyomizudera though, is that it’s not really just a tourist spot, it is a functioning temple serving hundreds of people every day and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site. The site’s grandeur expands past the temple itself, to the beautiful surrounding scenery and view of the Kyoto cityscape, which can be enjoyed from the temple’s location, perched atop Mt. Otowa. Even the everyday religious events around Kiyomizudera are worthy of appreciation.

With all of this in mind, the temple has come out with an official Tumblr website, which they hope will allow viewers to not only see the temple through pictures, but to really feel and embrace its atmosphere.