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Try some piranha à la meunière at the Suma Aqualife Park in Kobe!

Kay
May 1, 2014
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When you hear the word “piranha,” the image that comes to your mind may be of hordes of vicious fish with razor-sharp teeth stripping you down to your bones in a matter of minutes. But it seems the tables will be turned for a limited time at the Suma Aqualife Park in Kobe, where guests will have the chance to chow down on these predators from the Amazon. And as you can see from the picture, yes, the infamous carnivorous fish look ferocious even when they’ve been turned into a tasty French-style dish!

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Chirin-chirin ice cream: The frozen treat that sounds like a bell and looks like a rose

Michelle Lynn Dinh
May 1, 2014

You’ve never seen ice cream like this before…that is unless you’re from Nagasaki. The delicate frozen petals of the rose seen above were skillfully set into place one by one to create what’s known as chirin-chirin ice cream. Let’s take a closer look at this popular dessert with a long history and a silly name.

Rising sea levels could cause staggering damage to these cities

BUSINESS INSIDER
May 1, 2014

Sea levels may rise by about one meter by 2100 if carbon emissions continue unchecked, according to a recent survey of experts, and the effects on coastal cities could be devastating.

A 2008 report from the OECD ranked the most exposed cities, identifying areas that would be exposed if sea levels rose 0.5 meters by 2070 and there was a once-in-a-century storm, accounting for larger storms in some areas (raising water an additional 0.5 meters to 1.5 meters), natural and artificial land shifts, and urban growth.

Calcutta, India could be hit hardest, with 14 million people and $2.0 trillion in assets exposed in 2070 — and the problem could get even worse by 2100.

Food and decor at Kiki & Lala Cafe in Shibuya is sure to melt your heart, despite long wait time

Krista Rogers
May 1, 2014

Earlier this month we posted an announcement about a special limited-time Kiki & Lala Cafe in Tokyo’s trendy Shibuya district. The photos from the preview were just so adorable that we almost had little hearts spilling out of our eyes, and had to send a writer from our Japanese sister site Pouch over to get the inside scoop. After four failed attempts, she finally managed to make her way inside and discover the magical secrets within for herself. The reason it took so long for her to get in? It’s because the place is just too darn popular!

If you’re a fan of Sanrio’s cute characters and are anxious to go for yourself but are a bit hesitant about the long wait, you’ll definitely want to check out our writer’s comments and eight practical tips for planning a visit.

Devastatingly cute otters strike again — this time they’re just little babies!【Pics and videos】

Kay
May 1, 2014

All right, we admit that here at RocketNews24, we’re more than slightly fond of otters, simply for no other reason than that they’re, well … just so darn cute (and even more so when you can actually shake hands with them)! And, yes, we know we recently brought to you an otter-related story about the 33-hour live-feed internet otter-cam broadcast, but now, some pictures have come out of Taiwan that are so devastatingly adorable that we simply couldn’t bear not to share them with you. So, without further ado, here are the two baby otters who were brought to the Taipei Zoo in Taiwan about a month ago, whose pictures we suspect have been causing many squeals of delight around the world. Now, look at them and tell us they don’t completely melt your hearts!

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Traffic accident scammer caught on CCTV in China, ends up having to pay fine himself 【Video】

Philip Kendall
May 1, 2014

If you’ve ever wondered why so many people are mounting cameras on their car’s dashboard recently, you might want to take a look at this short video. In it, we witness an increasingly common sight in mainland China: a scammer throwing himself at a moving vehicle in the hopes of receiving reparations for (often non-existent) personal injury.

This time, though, the scammer was caught in the act by a surveillance camera positioned directly above the junction at which he chose to try his little scam, and as a result had to cough up some cash of his own.

We visit the limited-time IKEA café in Tokyo

KK Miller
Apr 30, 2014

IKEA is a shopper’s paradise. The colors, the designs, and the price all work together and the impeccably presented showrooms make you want to recreate them in your own home. In Japan, there is the extra bonus of that “European style” that really speaks to some shoppers. IKEA is also well-known for its restaurant, where customers can relax and daydream about the new layout of their rooms while stuffing their face full of meatballs. For a limited time in Tokyo, IKEA has made it possible for you to experience living in a space all decked out in IKEA goods and stuff your face with Swedish meatballs at the same time!

Japanese photographer captures tiny whimsical water worlds in macro【Photos】

Jessica
Apr 30, 2014

Photographer Miki Asai lives in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands. It’s an area known for its expansive natural beauty, and although Asai does sometimes turn her lens to the broad vistas Hokkaido has to offer, some of her most engaging work focuses on much, much smaller subjects like beads of water, bits of dandelion fluff and even the humble ant.

Says Asai, “Through a macro lens, I am trying to show the beautiful world of the small. I am always surprised when I look through the camera’s viewfinder to see things normally unseen.”

Free highway bus for students connects Tokyo and Fukushima for business or pleasure

Jessica
Apr 30, 2014

In Japan, the job hunting season is under way. From late December to April or May, students who will graduate in the coming year search for jobs en masse. Companies are busy trying to recruit the best and the brightest to apply to their firms, while stressed students rush here and there attending loads of job fairs, company briefing sessions and employment seminars.

For companies in Fukushima Prefecture, still recovering from the 2011 disaster and subsequent nuclear meltdown, recruiting new applicants is doubly hard. They have to contend with the usual tides of urban migration as well as the negative associations now attached to the area, but one local company, Niraku Corporation, has hit upon an idea to help bring young job seekers in: bus them in for free.

The humane (and adorable) way to make a flat hamster 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Apr 30, 2014

Like most kids, I went through a period where I incessantly bugged my parents to let me have a pet, and like most parents, once they said OK, they ended up doing most of the work taking care of it.

Perhaps they knew things would turn out this way, which is why when it came time to choose an animal companion, they steered me towards a hamster. They’re quiet, relatively easy to care for, and pretty happy to stay in their cages, which meant we wouldn’t have one running around the house and tearing up the carpet.

Another thing that makes hamsters great pets is that they don’t take up much space. But if you still think the cute little rodents are just too gargantuan, there’s a way to make them even more compact, at least while they’re sleeping.

The 20 most popular manga of all time – How many have you read?

Jessica
Apr 30, 2014

The spring holiday known as Golden Week is upon us in Japan, and if you would like to lay claim to the title of manga super fan, you may want to spend your days off reading these canonical series. Without further ado, here are the 20 most popular manga of all time, based on publication numbers!

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New Asian Godzilla trailer teases with extra monsters, footage 【Video】

Philip Kendall
Apr 30, 2014

We’re now just a couple of weeks away (unless you happen live in Japan) from the launch of Gareth Edwards’ take on the classic kaiju movie Godzilla, and distributors Warner Bros have launched a new trailer for Asia which treats us to a few extra snippets of the beasts the titular monster will be going up against. Check it out after the jump.

Japanese online retailers looking for a change in the sales tax system before they “raise the white flag”

Master Blaster
Apr 30, 2014

So, now that we’re one month in, how’s everyone enjoying the latest sales tax increase to 8 percent? Pretty awesome isn’t it? I’ve been getting a lot more use out of those one yen coins recently.

Not everyone is as lukewarmly amused as myself, however. A consortium of Japan’s online businesses, including ebook sellers and advertisers, met on 10 April to hash out some demands for the government before they get taxed right out of the competition since business such as segments of Apple and Google aren’t necessarily subjected to Japanese sales tax rules.

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China fostering spy rings at Australian universities to monitor exchange students

Jessica
Apr 30, 2014

There are almost 100,000 mainland Chinese students studying at Australian universities, where they are no doubt exposed to ideas that might be censored at home. This fact has not gone unnoticed by Chinese intelligence professionals, some of whom have admitted to a reporter for the respected Sydney Morning Herald that they recruit networks of students to monitor the Chinese community.

Reebok trots out Gundam sneakers in classic colors

Anime News Network
Apr 30, 2014

Mobile suits come in all shapes and sizes, but none are as more recognizable, perhaps, as the original RX-78-2 from Mobile Suit Gundam. Apparently the designers at Reebok thought so too, and are honoring the classic series with a new Gundam x Reebok collaboration.

South Korean TV accused of faking footage of Sewol rescue diver

Fran W
Apr 30, 2014

Further controversy has emerged surrounding the South Korean Sewol ferry disaster, as a TV crew is accused of setting up footage of a rescue diver. Korean media reports that a member of the rescue team who was not working at the time was put in a wetsuit and drenched in water to give the appearance that he had just come back from a dive. Media crews apparently said that a dry-haired diver would not be realistic and believable enough.

Sony shows off PlayStation 4 augmented reality with rubber ducks, dinosaurs, and Hatsune Miku

Philip Kendall
Apr 30, 2014

As we’ve said before, the PlayStation 4’s PlayStation Camera is a woefully underused device. Gamers who enjoy streaming footage of the games they play often use their cameras to capture their own expressions and add real-time commentary, and upcoming virtual reality headset Project Morpheus will make use of the unit to provide additional head tracking, but otherwise it gets relatively little love.

Fortunately, Sony Japan looks to be working on content that will inspire a few more PlayStation 4 owners to plug in their cameras. In two videos released last week, Sony staff show off their experiments with augmented reality, which combines real-world footage with computer-generated images that respond to a number of stimuli. These may only be tech demos, but the sight of a miniature T-rex hiding in the darkness, a man decanting water (complete with rubber duck!) between two virtual boxes, and even a short performance from a tiny Hatsune Miku on the living room rug left us thirsty for more.

Japanese fans: New American Godzilla is “too fat”

Jessica
Apr 30, 2014

Fans of monster movies or big Hollywood blockbusters are no doubt aware that a reboot of the famous Godzilla franchise is due to hit theaters next month. As you might imagine for a movie featuring one of their most beloved pop culture icons, the Japanese are deeply interested in how America is going to bring their national kaiju to the screen.

When clear pictures of the creature hit the net this week, the response was probably not what studio execs were hoping for. Some Japanese fans are apparently calling this incarnation of Godzilla “fat”. Ouch.

What if Sailor Moon characters were lingerie models? They’d look stunning like this 【Photos】

Joan Coello
Apr 29, 2014

Remember the Sailor Moon lingerie that lingerie brand Peach John released in Japan earlier this year? Thanks to them, we were able to feast our eyes on both lovely models and amateur Twitter users posing in the novelty lingerie.

But now the tables have turned! Chinese artist SoudWrong has created a series of illustrations featuring Sailor Moon characters as lingerie models instead. If you’ve ever wondered what the ladies from Sailor Moon would look like posing in their undies (for whatever reasons, we don’t wanna know), now’s your chance!

Live otter-cam to be broadcast for 33 hours — will otters’ secret lives be revealed?

Kay
Apr 29, 2014

Okay, we’ve already shown you in the past how utterly adorable otters can be. Now, Miyajima Public Aquarium in Hiroshima Prefecture is offering the public a chance to learn more about their oriental small-clawed otters by giving us a unique, 33-hour live feed look into the otter exhibit. That’s right, it’s a live internet otter-cam that will let you see how the critters spend their days and nights, and we’re sure it will be a total delight for otter fans!