If you were in Yoyogi Park this past Saturday, you may have been slightly unnerved to see the apparent signs of an impending zombie apocalypse. On Saturday May 16, I, your intrepid RocketNews24 reporter, rose up as one of the walking dead and joined other brain-hungry biters in a sunny shamble through the park.
I was born a lefty, but apparently somewhere along the way I decided that there must be something to this right-handedness thing, since 90 percent of the world was doing it. I made the switch to using my right hand for most things around the time I started kindergarten, and ever since, the unusual transition has been my go to excuse for never excelling at sports that favor precise dexterity over running into people as hard as you can.
Had I stuck with the cards life had dealt me, though, my daily life might have been different in a number of ways, as shown by this list of troubles left-handed people in Japan run into.
Nope, the above image isn’t a production still from a live-action version of The Pilot’s Love Song or Zelda: Skyward Sword. Rather, this glorious view can be seen from the popular “Sea of Clouds” (unkai) Terrace on Mount Tomamu, which is entering its ninth year of service.
Such a magnificent vista is generally the sole privilege of determined hikers, but this resort attraction in the heart of Hokkaidō delivers you to it in a mere 13 minutes, and you don’t even need an ounce of upsidasium! Whether you’re a nut for Laputa, a hardcore Bioshock Infinite cosplayer, or just a nature lover like me, you’ve got to check out this unique mountaintop experience.
You’ve probably never heard of vinyl flower vases before, but what’s not to love about them? They provide a practical, inexpensive alternative to traditional glass vases while still looking stylish at the same time. Even better, you can send them easily within a sealed envelope to a friend.
Japan is currently going nuts for these things. Join us after the jump to find out why.
We bring good news and bad news. Remember back in February when we brought you a collection of gorgeous Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist production stills? Well, Machinima, Assassin’s Fist Limited, and Capcom U.S.A. have stepped it up with an official trailer and release date, and the trailer is as awesome as we hoped it would be.
The bad news is, the release date isn’t until May 23! That’s…too many sleeps away!
The town of Hakone, located high in the mountains of Kanagawa Prefecture, is one of Japan’s most popular tourist destinations. Visitors come to enjoy its soothing hot springs, beautiful views of Mt. Fuji, and art museums focusing on outdoor sculpture installations and Venetian glass.
Hakone also happens to be home to some of the best driving roads in east Japan, too, which is why Daihatsu picked the site to show off its new compact convertible, the Copen, to fans and press.
If the thought of a prolonged hospital stay or the sight of common doctors and nurses terrifies you, you might consider moving to China, where one hospital has taken it upon themselves to dress their nurses up like flight attendants – presumably to help patients forget, at least momentarily, that they’re in a healthcare facility.
We imagine the planning stage for the idea went something like this: 1) Dress nurses like flight attendants, 2) ???, 3) profit!
Ehime Prefecture on the western coast of Shikoku is known all through Japan for its tasty mikan, or satsuma oranges. Although the fruit is delicious enough on its own, the people of Ehime love to think up new ways to enjoy the fresh taste of a local orange. In the past, we have seen funny-shaped oranges and even citrus-flavored fish, but now there’s a new way to get some vitamin C in your life: orange-flavored rice balls.
We dropped by a shop near the hot springs that inspired Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away which sells the rice balls. But these little delicacies are only available for a limited time, so click below to find out more about this surprisingly delicious culinary creation!
The times they are a changing again. Back in the day, young men would dream of getting a stylish ride in the hopes of raising their status and ultimately win the affections of the women around them.
However, now it seems that youngsters in Japan are no longer interested in paying large sums of money to strap themselves into large decorated pieces of metal and move around at high speeds with hundreds of other random strangers also piloting lethal projectiles.
Where did we go wrong?
Most couples would jump at the chance to have a free professional portrait taken, but what if the price for the picture was being put in a vacuum-sealed bag by someone you just met in a bar?
Seems like that would be a hard sell, but apparently Haruhiko Kawaguchi, otherwise known as Photographer Hal, has a way with words, because he’s photographed hundreds of strangers sealed in plastic on his search to capture the greatest theme in human life: love.
Bonsai and sushi are two of Japan’s most well-known cultural exports with fans all over the world. But while Japan may cling to the traditional presentation of these two icons, globalization has taken these Japanese icons and turned them into something new. Not just happy with tiny trees and raw fish on top of vinegar rice, these cultural hybrids have evolved into something far beyond their origins in the Japanese archipelago. Click below to see some very creative bonsai as well as some food that really stretches the definition of “sushi.”
Most if the time, video games and sports cars are two of the more trivial things in life. That said, sometimes it’s those non-productive luxuries that give us the recharge we need to be industrious in our daily grind. Some people draw energy and inspiration from an afternoon spent with a good book or favorite album, others get it from a few hours working a PS4 controller or rowing through a crisp-shifting gearbox.
Competitive gaming and motorsports are getting another boost in legitimacy this summer, as the first has led to a job for some talented virtual racers, and their team’s car is helping pave the way for cleaner, more efficient engines.
Sure, we’re crazy about cats and otters and penguins here at RocketNews24, but we’ve got to admit, pandas are pretty darn cute too, whatever form they come in (even when they’re not actual pandas but an entirely different animal in disguise) . This time, the pandas come in an edible form that’s sweet to both look at and eat. They’re the “Fluffy Panda Rolls” (Funwari Panda Roll), and like the countless other panda products out there, they’re utterly adorable!
Anyone who loves manga has surely dreamed of the day they could quit their jobs and get paid to put the stories in their head on paper. Unfortunately for many of us, even drawing a simple rough-draft has proven nigh impossible, so we’re forced to admit that maybe we’ll need to come up with more realistic dreams. At least we can still read all the great stuff others produce, right?
However, creating stories isn’t the only great perk of being a manga artist–it turns out you also get to meet all those other really cool artists out there! Like up-and-coming artist Okushou who bumped into Hajime Isayama, creator of Attack on Titan, at the publisher’s office the other day and got a personalized sketch from the world-famous Isayama. Bet you wish you could draw now, don’t you?
It’s been seven hours and 473 days since they took your love away, Mega Mac. And now the McDonald’s Japan hit taste of the month in the form of an oversized Big Mac has returned. Starting 19 May McDonald’s outlets across the land will again begin serving up the Mega Mac to gluttonous fans (including half of our writing staff) left wanting more back in January ’13.
When you think about fashion, there’s a good chance that the first place you think of is Paris–and with good reason! France is certainly one of the leading fashion centers in the world, but Tokyo isn’t far behind. Though it may not be at the very top of the list of fashion cities, we’d reckon that the Japanese metropolis is at least in the top ten. So, it’s hardly any surprise at all that Hermès, one of France’s most celebrated fashion companies, has over ten locations in Tokyo proper alone, with a few more in Narita and Haneda airports as well.
Of course, high fashion is an art form, so it’s only fitting that Hermès stores also feature eye-catching displays to match their mesmerizing goods. But we think they might have gotten a bit too eye-catching with a few of these showcases…
It’s no surprise that in the field of entertainment many talented individuals have found work in Japan and many more have expressed an interest in Japanese culture. But beyond those who stop by Japan and utter a simple “oishi” in a beer commercial or create a music video wearing a cupcake skirt, are a select few who have learnt or are well on their way to learning the Japanese language. Here are a few of them representing the fields of film, sports, and music.
It seems the Chinese countryside isn’t exactly a friendly place for people who are afraid of heights. We already talked about the horrifying Huashan path that winds up a cliff side and sometimes narrows to barely perceptible wooden planks hovering out of the fog, but it turns out life-endangering attractions involving great heights are all the rage in China.
This is the cliff-side Fangweng Restaurant, located just north of Yichang City.
Heads up everyone, Mister Donut Japan is launching yet another cute collaboration that will have you stuffing your face with donuts in order to get your hands on some exclusive and limited merch.
In 2013, a grand total of 10,363,904 foreign tourists visited Japan! That number surpasses the goal of the Visit Japan Campaign, which began in 2003 with a goal to increase the number of overseas visitors to 10 million.
The Japanese language version of popular travel planning and information website TripAdvisor was quite excited by this news, and recently produced their own visual graphic detailing some fun facts about foreign tourists in the Land of the Rising Sun during 2013. Can you guess which country most of the visitors came from, or which country had the highest percentage jump in visitors? How about the most popular tourist destinations for foreigners traveling in Japan? Find out all that and more after the jump.