Featured

We eat the Attack on Titan instant curry, plus make our own edible Titans

Sometimes, you don’t realize how much you’ll miss something until it’s gone. A few months back, hungry Attack on Titan fans could get both hamburgers and bento boxed lunches inspired by the hit series. They were only available for a limited time though, and both are gone now, leaving us without a way to simultaneously satisfy our cravings for giant-fighting anime and a quick, hot meal.

That is, until the release of a new line of Attack on Titan instant curry. We got our hands on a pack, then created a batch of edible Titans to go with it.

Read More

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the baldest of them all? Japan top for male baldness in Asia

There are a number of theories regarding the causes of male pattern baldness. Some suggest that one’s diet and stress levels play key roles. Others feel that regular exercise will help keep locks thick and plentiful until well after retirement. Most would agree, though, that our genes hold the most sway, and if a man loses his hair then chances are his son, too, will have increasingly more face to wash as he ages.

Baldness affects some more than others, however, and a survey by Trip Advisor Japan has revealed the countries where male baldness is most common, with Japan found to have more bald men than any other Asian country.

Read More

Cultural differences spoiling the sing-along version of Frozen for some fans

Disney’s Frozen is a big hit in Japan, where it’s known as Anna and the Snow Queen. It’s not such a big surprise, as Japan’s always had a soft spot for Disney and stories about the power of friendship and family, and the film’s lack of dramatic, showy romance also fits in nicely with Japanese narrative sensibilities.

So when Disney decided to bring the sing-along version of Frozen to theatres in Japan, a country where you’re never more than a few minutes from a place to sing karaoke, you’d think it’d be an amazingly enjoyable experience for moviegoers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s always the case.

Read More

 

In any endeavor, you can’t overstate the importance of making preparations in the proper order. For example, it’s best to plan out what you’ll say for your sales pitch prior to sitting down face-to-face with your customer. Likewise, even if you’ve made dinner reservations and meet your date at the exact time the two of you agreed upon, your courtesy and punctuality won’t be particularly appreciated if you neglected to put on a pair of pants before arriving at the restaurant.

Also, should you want to knock over a convenience store, you should actually secure a weapon before you threaten the clerk and ask for the money. Otherwise, your victim might not even realize she’s being robbed, which is what happened to one would-be criminal mastermind in Osaka.

Read More

If you want to explore the Hermit Kingdom of North Korea, there’s an app for that

For everyone dreaming of the chance to visit North Korea, you’re in luck. There is now an app for that. 

The North Korea Travel app, released on Wednesday, promises to be the most comprehensive guide ever created for tourists to the Hermit Kingdom.

The app, which will be available through both the App Store and Google play, will feature information on over 350 locations throughout the country. Each location will feature “Tour Guide Tips” provided by Simon Cockerell, who works in the North Korea travel industry and has visited the country over 120 times.

Read More

Less than 10 percent survived the first Attack on Titan Real Escape Game

The first first Attack on Titan-inspired “Escape from a Certain Fortress Town” Real Escape Games took place this past weekend at Yokohama Stadium. Of the 1,600 participants who signed up for the event, only 120 “escaped” within the allotted one-hour time limit.

Read More

27-year-old in Japan arrested for 3-D printed pistol, says he didn’t know it was illegal

We live in a brave new world where cars wash themselves and a customized 3-D figure of your very likeness can be bought for just under US$100. It’s also a world where anyone can literally download 3-D printer plans for automatic gun parts–which, depending on which side of the barrel you’re standing on, might not be such great news.

But while printing off a full assault rifle still isn’t quite within the realm of possibility, it looks like you can use a 3-D printer to make a revolver strong enough to fire actual bullets. Which, in Japan at least, is completely illegal. One 27-year-old Kanawaga resident found this out the hard way when he was arrested this Thursday for doing just that.

Read More

What type of girlfriend are you? Wait a minute, let me check your bangs

When you’re a little unsure about your love interest, what or who do you turn to for advice? Most of us have read one of those horoscope love readings at least once in our lifetime. In Japan, many people believe that a person’s blood type has influence on their personality traits. This may sound slightly silly, but blood type is a factor some Japanese consider when choosing a date.

Recently, however, a new personality prediction trend has been getting popular among girls in Japan. It seems that the way a girl styles her fringe (or bangs) gives away hints about her relationship personality! Guys, you might want to pay more attention to your love interest’s hairstyle from now on!

Read More

【TBT】Learning language through nonsense – Japanese author of “Unusable English” speaks

Fantastic octopus wiring!

My brother has been observing the slugs since he got divorced.

Let’s start from where we left off yesterday. Get down on all fours.

No, these aren’t the ramblings of a man with concussion; these are genuine excerpts from Twitter feed and study guide “Non-essential English Vocabulary: Words that will never come up in tests”, a language resource for Japanese students of English that presents entirely useless but infinitely memorable phrases.

With more than 40,000 Twitter followers so far, Twitter feed curator and author Nakayama-san (otherise known as @NISE_TOEIC)’s cheeky tweets are clearly resonating with English learners here in Japan, but why, when the rest of the nation is busy with earnest study, would someone take the time to create a Twitter account dedicated entirely to unusable English? Japanese website Excite Bit sat down with the Nakayama-san to pick up a few study tips and learn little more about the thinking behind the bizarre project.

Read More


  • May 8, 2014

Baskin Robbins Japan gets into the FIFA World Cup spirit — with colorful Brazilian-themed sherbet!

So, is everyone excited about the FIFA World Cup in Brazil coming up next month? While Japan is practically on the opposite end of the world from Brazil, there’s sure to be plenty of devoted soccer fans here who will be watching the World Cup games intently. And just to make sure everyone in Japan gets even more excited about the event than they already are, Baskin Robbins Japan is coming out with a new, colorful sherbet flavor — the “Trio de Janeiro“!

Read More

Go fly a (humongous) kite: Zama’s Odako Matsuri【Photos】

If someone in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, tells you to go fly a kite, don’t be hurt. They are probably just inviting you to the Odako Matsuri or Giant Kite Festival! And with hundreds of years of history, 13-meter paper and bamboo kites, and a bonfire using said kite as the finale, you’ll be glad you were invited.

Read More

00

“3 bottles available” – Life’s Good when you can mail your fridge to ask if there’s any beer left

Electronics giant LG has announced that its line of “HomeChat”-enabled appliances — a refrigerator, washing machine, and Lightwave oven that can be communicated with and operated via messaging service Line — is now available to buy in its native South Korea.

By using the popular smartphone app, users can chat with their various gizmos as if they were ordinary human contacts, asking them questions as well as providing additional information to alter their functions. Thanks to the technology built into the appliances with which the app communicates, it’s possible not just to remotely check the temperature inside the fridge or put on a load of laundry, but to find out how many beers you have or delay your usual wash cycle by 30 minutes simply by telling the machine you’ll be home late.

Read More

Return of the 3-D figure! It’s cheaper and easier than ever before!

Back in 2012, we brought you news about Omote 3D Shashin Kan creating extremely detailed figures of yourself! We brought you the story from the store opening, to our intrepid Mr. Sato’s visit, and the final unveiling of the mini-Sato! For those who were interested in getting their own figure, but didn’t live in Japan, or couldn’t book a reservation in time, or thought it was too expensive, we’ve got some great news for you! And believe us when we say, it might be your wildest dreams come true!

Read More

A Warm Notice from your friends at Star Hotel

When traveling abroad it’s always advised that you look into the country’s rules and regulations before departing. You never know what activity, considered perfectly acceptable in your homeland, might turn out to be taboo or even a crime in another.

So it’s nice when your hotel sends you a “Warm Notice” like the Star Hotel in China had, which outlines what you may and may not do in your room. The note is dated from 2013 but it was recently posted on Imgur where it gained a lot of attention for it’s simple but important message…

Read More

Books meet beer – Man achieves dream of opening “night library” with help from crowdfunding site

There are few things better than curling up with a good book, but one of them is doing so with a nice glass of wine or beer. There’s something about spending an entire afternoon reading that is so much more forgivable than losing the best part of a day to video games or sitting in a darkened room watching movies, and so even the addition of a cheeky alcoholic accompaniment – so long as you put a stopper in it before the words start to swim about on the page – barely registers as a sin.

A man who knows the pleasure of getting lost in literature is Shunsuke Mori. Since his junior high school days, he has dreamed of having his own private library and being surrounded by books. Now an adult, his vision has grown with him, and he has decided to open up a special “night library” in trendy Shibuya for grown-ups only to enjoy with, of course, a tipple or two to help them unwind. And thanks to like-minded netizens, his dream will soon be a reality.

Read More

Tokyo’s two most compelling yet conflicting traits, the energy from its sheer number of residents and the solitude of its back alleys, are both best appreciated from ground level. The metropolis’ scale can only truly be appreciated from high above, though, which is why Tokyo has no fewer than five major observation decks within the city limits.

As the newest and tallest of the group, the Tokyo Skytree, which opened in the spring of 2012, is by far the most prestigious of the group, and it has quickly become a more vibrant symbol of Japan’s capital than Tokyo Tower itself. But even with the millions of visitors the Skytree saw last year, the attendance was still below what was expected.

Read More


  • May 8, 2014

Let’s go to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant — to enjoy delectable desserts!

Conveyor-belt sushi, or kaiten-zushi, as it’s called in Japan, is a popular and casual way to enjoy both traditional and not so traditional sushi. Unlike some of the upscale sushi establishments, you know exactly how much you’re paying for each plate, and you can choose from a wide and fun range of sushi, some of them even involving tempura or grilled meat. Recently, though, more and more people seem to be going to kaiten-zushi not just for unique sushi, but to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Yes, according to a recent post on information compilation site Naver Matome, desserts are increasingly becoming the big attraction for diners going to conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, and we have to agree, the sweets do look seriously tantalizing. So, why don’t you join us for a look at the treats available at some of the popular kaiten-zushi chains in Japan? They certainly aren’t what you would expect as a typical item on a sushi restaurant menu!

Read More

00

Japanese netizens share tips on how to be the ultimate bathroom creep

While men and women may not ever agree to how to use the toilet or what the length of an appropriate bathroom visit is, we can probably all agree that nothing is worse than someone is standing right outside the bathroom door waiting for your visit to the porcelain throne to end. Yet, somehow a group of Japanese netizens have found several ways to make that terribly awkward moment even worse.

These netizens recently held an impromptu “contest” to find out the creepiest thing a man could say to a woman after she came out of the bathroom. Click below to find out who managed to come up with the worst phrase and why the only “winner” of this contest was bad taste.

Read More

The Pope might just be a Final Fantasy character

After pictures of the Pope at the weekly General Audience were circulated online, internet users everywhere have noticed something peculiar: it looks eerily like the entrance of the last boss in a Final Fantasy game. If you don’t believe me, read on!

Read More

Super cute Rilakkuma, Totoro and cat macarons! Can you bear to bite into them? 【Pics & Video】

We here at RocketNews24 are completely amazed by all of the cute food that comes from Japan. From character donuts to hotcakes loaded with tiny cats, they’re constantly surprising us with doses of cute in the most unexpected forms, even in little bite-sized sweets such as macarons!

Read More

  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 1402
  5. 1403
  6. 1404
  7. 1405
  8. 1406
  9. 1407
  10. 1408
  11. ...
  12. 1642