Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Every once in a while we experience pleasant beauty of synchronicity in life, whether it’s listening to Pink Flyod’s Dark Side of the Moon while watching The Wizard of OZ or just listening to The Police’s Synchronicity.
Another such case is the uncannily fitting combination of a North Korean calisthenics video for children with the background music to a Final Fantasy IV boss battle. A video of it was posted on YouTube quite a while ago, but it’s worth revisiting again and again.
We were already perfectly full and happy having had a chance to try Japan’s new bakeable Kit Kats, and felt that the chocolatey snack had been taken about as far as it ever could. But apparently there’s still more to look forward to from these unique Kit Kats than just the novelty of “toasting” them at home: Kit Kat pizza!
That’s right, several pizza and cafe chains in Japan will be offering special menus for a limited time using the “Bake ‘N Tasty Mini Kit Kats Custard Pudding Flavor” (Kit Kat Mini Yaite Oishi Purin Aji), and we have to say, they look pretty darn sweet.
The only thing we love more than videos about our favourite forms of entertainment are crossover videos that bring them together in one place. Doing precisely that, a talented British animator has just made our Monday that bit more bearable by posting a video titled “Ryu VS Jesse” to YouTube, which combines the worlds of much-loved video game Street Fighter and smash TV show Breaking Bad. And the result is simply awesome.
Full video after the jump.
Japan knows a thing or two about human billboards. And now, from the PR company that brought the world adverts stuck to girls’ thighs on the condition that the girls wear short skirts and knee-high socks, comes a brand new marketing idea: Candy Crush are sponsoring this girl’s fingernails, with a wacky, candy-based design that’s as bold and colourful as the game itself.
It’s always nice to be number one for something, even if it is number one in the “cities where the earth is most likely to kill you” ranking. That’s why we’re proud to announce that Tokyo and Yokohama were declared the cities at highest risk of natural disaster by Zurich-based Swiss Reinsurance (Swiss Re) in a 2013 study, whose findings were recently announced.
With only a day left before the dreaded sales tax hike in Japan, this is truly the zero hour for you to get your last-minute impulse buys in. And what could be more impulsive than buying this lobster-shaped clutch bag for the low low price 50,400 yen (US$490)!?
It’s not getting any cheaper folks!
If any Hatsune Miku fans find themselves in China’s Guangxi Province, they might want to stop by the city of Yulin for an unexpected surprise, because it’s in this city that the Vocaloid singing sensation has gotten a fast food restaurant dedicated to her, though likely not in any official capacity.
The samurai are one of the most enduring icons of Japanese culture. While anime, manga, and Godzilla are obviously all huge parts of popular Japanese culture that have received attention overseas, the old-school warriors continue to fascinate people of all ages and nationalities. Unfortunately, the real samurai haven’t existed for quite some time, and we’ll never get to see them in action again.
Or will we?!
Getting a haircut in another country – in a foreign language – can be a daunting experience. We’ve all heard stories about that one unfortunate soul who, just wanting a trim, indicated a few centimetres between thumb and forefinger, only for the hairdresser to think that was how much they wanted to remain on their head and start lopping off hair left, right and centre.
Japan being Japan, of course there are a few surprising and funny things they do at salons that are different from back home too! But with some simple words and phrases under your belt, you can visit a Japanese hair salon with confidence. Join us after the jump for a guide to surviving – and hopefully enjoying – a haircut in Japan!
A few months ago we mentioned the various health benefits a daily dose of the Japanese condiment wasabi has to offer. Afterwards, I was intrigued by the potential anti-aging and cancer preventing effects that five grams a day could bring.
However, eating that much wasabi every day is easier said than done. As small as it is, that little ball can pack quite a punch if eaten all at once. Other more traditional uses of wasabi like on sushi are small and require you to eat a lot every day.
Luckily, there actually are quite a few ways to try and enjoy wasabi without feeling its notorious sting. If you can get past that, then you can enjoy what a delicious root it truly is.
“Add a lot of cute decorations to the room we’re staying in!” says the blue goldfish with a matching blue tiara. No this isn’t a joke; uncommonly cute anthropomorphic goldfish are just a part of the marketing campaign for a completely customizable fish tank aimed at young children in Japan. With a fancy backdrop and jewels galore, it’s a far ways away from the plastic aquatic plant or bubbling clam shell in typical aquariums.
April Fools’ Day is just a few days away! Are you prepared for it? Perhaps the pranks we picked out earlier this week were lacking some impact. Well, that’s because we kept the best for last!
If you’re looking for something that will shock the entire family or add a little excitement to your otherwise boring workplace, check out this homemade head in a jar! Be it for April Fools’ or for Halloween, this creepy artifact is bound to raise some hairs, and the best part is, no blood is involved in the making. Instructions after the jump!
In our modern world, with the sometimes questionable motives of our political leaders and the abundance of often conflicting information available online, it’s perhaps not surprising that countries’ armed forces have a hard time finding new recruits.
While the United States Army opted to take a rather gung-ho approach to recruitment by releasing a free-to-play tactical first-person shooter video game in the form of America’s Army, Japan – who, following its defeat in World War II, is permitted only to have “Self-Defense Forces” that remain on Japanese territory – has its own methods of rallying support and enticing potential new recruits. Its latest recruitment drive, for example, is so fantastically quirky that is positively screams “Japan”.
Say hello to the JSDF “cheerleading shout” app that allows future soldiers, sailors and pilots to take selfies and insert them into Mii-like avatars that dance around when special augment reality (AR) cards are scanned.
A week ago, we brought you news of how snack maker Calbee is pushing the potato chip with its gourmet, triple-thick slices of fried spuds. Potato chips are only one half of Calbee’s pincer attack on your salt-receptor taste buds, though, as the company also produces the phenomenally popular line of shrimp chips called kappa ebisen.
The extremely competitive nature of the Japanese junk food industry means that you have to keep innovating though, and sometimes in the process of pushing through existing boundaries, you end up in strange new places, which explains why Calbee is now selling shrimp chips covered with strawberry chocolate.
In a world with 24-hours news networks and a camera on every phone, finding fame isn’t particularly difficult. In fact, we’re all just one slip on a patch ice uploaded to YouTube away from being the next flash-in-the-pan Internet sensation. But that fame is truly fleeting–does anyone even remember “Chocolate Rain” anymore?
So if you really want to “make it” in today’s world of instant Internet glory, you’ll need to do better than getting tweeted or YouTubed–you’ll need to land on Wikipedia, the world’s greatest resource for free, possibly accurate information for high school research papers. And who is Wikipedia’s newest addition to achieve eternal glory and fame? None other than Natalia Poklonskaya, the new attorney general of Crimea we’ve talked about a few times before.
With the earliest varieties of cherry blossoms already starting to bloom around Tokyo, it’s almost time for sakura season to get into full swing! It’s Japan’s most enticing time to get out of the house and enjoy the beauty of nature! There’s just one little problem, though.
It’s still pretty cold out.
So if you’re torn between feeling immersed in Japanese culture and feeling anything in your toes, here are six Starbuck’s locations where you can relax with a warm cup of coffee while gazing at the cherry blossoms just outside the windows.
This year has already seen the Chinese media go gaga over a beautiful marathon girl, a beautiful gym babe, a beautiful university student, and a beautiful journalist. At this point, some of you have probably been making bets about who the logical next “beautiful woman” to pop up would be. Did you guess correctly?
Whether you won or lost your bet, check out this gorgeous and stylish yoga instructor who seems to blend in with any setting naturally!
Do you think Walt Disney ever scratched his butt in public?
Sure, it may not be the classiest thing to do, but sometimes when you’ve got an itch, it needs to be scratched right away. It doesn’t make him a monster, it just means, like all of us, occasionally his base urges won out against social propriety.
Still, it’s a little hard to reconcile the man responsible for Mickey Mouse having an itchy behind. Just like it’s a little shocking to learn that Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Astro Boy, kept a stash of sexy mouse drawings locked in his desk.
I’ve always maintained that, while the method may work for a very lucky few, drilling lists of words and kanji characters is like trying to commit blocks of random numbers to memory – that is to say painfully hard work, time-consuming, and not in the least bit natural or fun. Rather, a better way to approach language learning is to encounter words in context so as to easier form cognitive connections and assimilate them into that which we already know.
So when I stumbled upon Koe, an upcoming role-playing game designed to help people learn Japanese as they play, I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of excitement.
Cute, loveable, selfish, or cold-hearted, whatever you think of cats, they’re nothing but entertaining, and this little fella is no exception. Taken from what must have been hours of footage captured by its owners, these videos show one particular cat’s penchant for newspapers, plastic, bags and even plants – anything that springs back when he hits it – as he sits and paws, and paws, and paws away, never seeming to get tired.
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Should you add tartar sauce to Japanese curry rice? CoCo Ichi makes diners an unusual offer
Mt. Koya planning to instate visitor’s tax to cope with huge tourist numbers
Seaside scenery, history, and so many desserts on Yokohama’s Akai Kutsu【Japan Loop Buses】
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy day
Harajuku Station’s beautiful old wooden building is set to return, with a new complex around it
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Japan’s summertime towelket pillowcases are even better with the addition of Ghibli stars【Photos】
Smash Bros. director Sakurai stabs Kirby in the face, has delicious justification for it
The oldest tunnel in Japan is believed to be haunted, and strange things happen when we go thereForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsJapanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping center
Beautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy dayMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese thingsJapanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in TokyoMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Harajuku Station’s beautiful old wooden building is set to return, with a new complex around it
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Japan’s summertime towelket pillowcases are even better with the addition of Ghibli stars【Photos】
Smash Bros. director Sakurai stabs Kirby in the face, has delicious justification for it
The oldest tunnel in Japan is believed to be haunted, and strange things happen when we go there
Ultra-realistic cat latte art blows us away, puts us off our coffee
New smartphone game turns car models into anime girls with model-worthy looks
This Nara workshop has been making deer crackers for more than 100 years and offers tours【Photos】
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
It’s naked time: An American’s first onsen experience 【Video】
Mr. Sato goes back to the junk shops of Akihabara, where the real lucky bag action is
What happens to Cup Noodle Mystery Meat when you cook it in a rice cooker?
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Japanese breast size study shows rapid growth in previously smallest-busted region of county