Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Have you ever wondered what happened to Anna after the Disney movie Frozen ended? Well, according to one iPhone app maker, Anna married her new beau Kristoff and immediately got pregnant. She’s nine months in and in need of a C-section. But who will perform the surgery?! You will, with this silly new app available on the Apple app store.
If you’ve had the pleasure of shopping at Daiso, you know Japan’s biggest chain of 100-yen stores sells just about everything. An array of kitchenware, school and office supplies, and even basic articles of clothing such as underwear, neckties, and belts can all be yours for just 100 yen (US$0.84) each.
Daiso even sells food and beverages, with seasonings, snacks, and soft drinks lining the shelves. This is common knowledge among thrifty shoppers looking for a cheap place to stock up on snacks, but if you’re searching for something stiffer than a bottle of tea or cola, a trip to the convenience or liquor store is still in order, right?
Not necessarily, as we recently discovered that some Daiso branches now sell wine. As big of a surprise as that was, we were in for an even bigger one once we poured ourselves a glass, because it’s actually pretty good.
A portion of Tokyo’s world-famous Tsukiji Fish Market is expected to move to the Toyosu neighborhood in 2016. While part of the retail market and many restaurants will be sticking around, the upcoming relocation of the wholesale operations makes 2015 the last full year to enjoy Tsukiji as the absolute center of the sushi world.
In other words, if you’re looking to make a trip to the area to see it at its peak, now’s the time. And while there’s always something to be said for discovering a largely unknown restaurant with delicious food, on our Japanese-language correspondent Nakano’s visit to Tsukiji, he decided to dine at what travelers have voted the best sushi restaurant in Japan, Sushi Dai.
Recently a Japanese TV program highlighted an interesting bit of historical trivia: The most common type of revenge killing in the Edo period was between gay lovers. It’s a statistic that shocked many viewers in modern Japan, but there is ample evidence to support that a whole lot of gay sex was going on in the country from between 1400 and 1900.
It was at first a playful fancy of the ruling classes but then grew into a cold yet efficiently run military system of battlefield man-pleasuring. However, as we can see from the previously mentioned little factoid, once guys start letting emotions get involved, the whole thing starts to fall apart.
That’s it, we’ve seen it all now! The lead song, “Let It Go!” from Disney’s Frozen has really taken over Japan now (in case you weren’t already 100 percent positive that it had)! We already knew that it was the only song to breach the top 20 karaoke list for all age groups in 2014, it was translated into regional Japanese dialects, and even an NPO used it to advertise a serious cause. But the latest news about Japan’s beloved “Let It Go~ Arino mamade” might surprise you; the song was chosen for the opening ceremony of the 87th annual “Spring Koshien” high school baseball tournament.
In a lot of ways, convenience stores in Japan are more like miniature supermarkets. So while they still sell a lot of the candy and canned beverages their counterparts in other countries specialize in, you can also find plenty of edible, even gourmet-sounding food.
For example, the chain FamilyMart sells pouches of fried scallop meat, specifically the mantle, or part of the animal that attaches it to its shell. There’s a certain level of risk that comes with eating any mass-produced foodstuff, though, as one customer found out when he found what he felt was a foreign object in his pack of marine mollusks. And while generally the only thing you want to find in your food is, well, food, we suppose if we had to find something else mixed in there, we’d want what he discovered hiding in his snack: a pearl.
Mari-chan might be “the meanest dog in Japan,” but we still can’t help but love her. We’ve seen her before “helping” her master study by spraying him with water, comically refusing his desperate advances for doggie kisses, and even going so far as to nonchalantly knock away his crutches and life preserver rope.
But now Mari-chan has decided to move on: she’s gotten a real job, as a construction worker. Her latest YouTube video shows her first ten days as the newbie at work, learning the ropes and causing plenty of adorable mischief.
HTC is planning to announce a new smartphone and smartwatch at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona on March 1, according to a report from Bloomberg.
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who moved to Japan and stayed for exactly two years. Most of the study and work opportunities that initially bring people here are 12-month programs, and while plenty of people decide that’s enough Japan for them, most people who manage to adapt and thrive during that first year reup for an even longer stay.
One such example is Canadian Thomas Simmons, who’s now been in Japan for four and a half years and counting. Given the country’s relatively small geographic size, you might think that’s enough time to see everything, but as the powerful video Simmons created about his experiences so far shows, he’s just getting started with his life in Japan.
The official Sailor Moon YouTube channel began streaming a clip from the musical Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Petite Étrangère. The clip features the main cast singing the song, “Ai no Starshine” (Starshine of Love.)
Whether you love ‘em or hate ’em, false eyelashes have become a mainstay of the Japanese makeup arsenal and are readily available in a fluttery profusion of designs at every drugstore and hundred-yen shop. One survey from 2012 revealed that 58 percent of teenage girls and 74 percent of women in their twenties have used them, some relying on their magic daily rather than reserving them for special occasions.
They became the sole subject of a chart-topping single by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, have been turned into alluring decorations that anthropomorphize your car, and even became a way to have harmless fun with your pet! But what do you do when you have so many falsies that you run out of storage space or are just too darn lazy to put them away properly? Attach them to cute plushies and manly figurines, of course! So even if your Sasuke isn’t asking to channel Elvis and his fringes, this chuckle-inducing photo collection may give you some ideas for the next time you party too hard and can’t be bothered with those pesky plastic cases.
It’s kind of ironic that the hamburger gets saddled with a stigma as the lowest rung of entrées. Sure, it’s a staple of cheap, low-quality fast food chains, but it’s also beef, the highest form of our three most commonly eaten meats, and as such deserves a certain measure of respect.
That goes double for the newest hamburger from Japanese hamburger chain Lotteria, since it’s made with the most respected beef of all: Kobe beef.
When we think of Chinese food in the West, we usually picture boxes of delicious takeout that are perfect for a mid-movie marathon feeding frenzy, and even better for breakfast the next day. Sure, over-consumption might lead to intense MSG-related headaches and general feelings of bloatedness and guilt, but in general we don’t really think of Chinese food as something that’s likely to kill us. But then again, maybe it’s because we don’t import tons of frozen foodstuffs from China like they do in Japan, where fear of Chinese-produced food is an ever-present topic that regularly pops up to scare the beejeezus out of people and ruin their enjoyment of chicken nuggets forever.
But is there anything to fear, or have people just got their knickers in a twist over nothing? Well, a shocking new report claims that up to 48 percent of ALL the food China produces for export contains stuff that’s almost guaranteed to make you sick. Yikes.
A video purported to have been made by Islamic State militants showing a man dressed in black standing over two Japanese hostages has been released online. The video addresses both the Japanese government and Japanese public directly and demands a ransom of US$200 million, to be paid in less than 72 hours.
If you’re a fan of mecha anime, you’ll know all about towering robots and the impressive displays of power they show during large-scale, epic battles. One of the titans of the mecha world, Gundam, is so revered in Japan he’s been recreated to scale and stands looking out over Tokyo Bay, wowing crowds with his strength and height.
Gundam might not be so happy, however, to learn that a picture doing the rounds on the internet is making him look tiny when compared with his peaceful brother from another otherworldly realm. To be fair though, not much can compete with Ushiku Daibutsu, the tallest Buddha statue in the world, who lives just a 90-minute train ride from Narita Station.
As odd a concept as it may sound to some, had the 1991 deal between Nintendo and Sony gone off without a hitch, not only might the PlayStation brand as we know it today not even exist, but gamers the world over might be able to play titles like Super Mario 3D World and Wii Sports on Sony-made hardware. Instead, with Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all vying for our hard-earned cash, console gamers are faced with a choice: choose a platform to invest in or live on nothing but baked beans for a year and buy them all.
If you’re a Sony fan and have already picked up a PS4, no doubt you’re as pleased with your purchase as we were with ours. But there’s no denying that Nintendo’s creations have a certain appeal to them, and few of Sony’s first-party characters could ever compete with Mario et al. Thankfully, third-party retailer LUCKY D has you – and your PlayStation – covered, as they’re selling sticker skins for PlayStation 4 featuring everything from Pikachu to Evangelion‘s Asuka.
Many animal lovers are already familiar with Akita Inu and Shiba Inu, Japan’s two most prominent breeds of dog. But while they’re both popular choices as pets, there’s another special type of pooch in Japan, the Kawakami Inu.
Extremely rare, the Kawakami Inu are said to be descended from Japanese wolves. And while they have the courage you’d expect from such lineage, that doesn’t mean they’re not also adorable as puppies.
Tired of being called “uncultured” by those around them, our reporters Mr. Sato and Yoshio made a road trip to Iwate Prefecture and all of its historical sites such as the Chusonji Golden Hall and Kenji Miyazawa Fairy Tale Village. It was the perfect place to learn more about Japan’s rich cultural heritage.
However, as they drove along Route 4 heading for the over-900-year-old Morioka Hachiman Shrine, something unusual caught Mr. Sato’s eye. “It’s a big red Ferris wheel!” he shouted, immediately forgetting about the site where Emperor Ojin’s spirit is enshrined.
Grabbing Yoshio’s arm, he forced the car to an off ramp and closer to the Ferris wheel, which they would soon learn was not just any old wheel, it was the American World Ferris wheel!
Gomi Hayakawa, designer of “feast by GOMIHAYAKAWA,” will hold her first exhibition of lingerie for sizes AAA~A cups (referred to as “Cinderella Bust”).
Although smaller breasts may be considered less desirable by some, the lingerie maker has decided to celebrate these sizes by calling them 品乳 (“hinnyuu”), cleverly substituting the first, somewhat negative, kanji character in the word for small breasts (貧乳, also pronounced “hinnyuu”) with 品, which can mean both “goods” and “elegant” or “class.”
When Studio Ghibli’s classic anime My Neighbor Totoro first screened in the U.S., more than a few people assumed the titular forest spirit must be a traditional figure from Japanese myth or folklore. Considering how well-realized the character is, and the reverence the film treats him with, it’s not surprising that some people would arrive at that conclusion, but the fact of the matter is Totoro sprang directly from the active and ample imagination of Hayao Miyazaki.
The acclaimed director did have a little real-world help creating the film’s setting though, which is said to have been inspired by a patch of Japanese forestland called Fuchi no Mori. The forest helped light a creative spark in Miyazaki, and now he’s returned the favor by volunteering in an annual conservation event that helps keep the Fuchi no Mori green and healthy.
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Don’t judge this Kiki’s Delivery Service book by its cover, because it’s not actually a book!
Starbucks Japan teams up with Converse Tokyo for a new limited-edition collection in honour of Tanabata
One Piece docking at Round 1 amusement centers in both Japan and the USA
Studio Ghibli releases a musical diorama based on a touching anime scene from My Neighbour Totoro
Japanese overnight sightseeing train returns for summer with ramen stops and ocean views
Studio Ghibli brings Totoro Soot Sprites out of the anime shadows for a new bag and pouch collection
The quest for Dragon Quest Yoshinoya figure sets: Worth taking for fans, tricky for scalpers[Pics]
KFC Japan creates spicy summer fried chicken chips together with CalbeeSalomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenirJapan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Sanrio Character Poll announces winners, Hello Kitty absent from top 10 in many countries
Live-action Spirited Away stage play announces world tour with first-ever U.S. and Canadian datesJapanese overnight sightseeing train returns for summer with ramen stops and ocean views
Tokyo has only two barley tea makers, and we visited one to see how mugicha is made
Pikachu brings electric style to brand-new Pokémon G-Shock watch featuring every stater trio
Blind Tokyo commuter explains the easiest place for him to stand while riding the train
Sleep at Hoshinoya Nara Prison, one of the most unique hotels in Japan
Japanese man’s gross conveyor belt sushi social media prank video gets him a 500,000-yen fine
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in AmericaSalomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
Even at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in JapanJapan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Forget Tokyo go-karts – there’s a new way to sightsee on four wheels in JapanJapan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Studio Ghibli releases a musical diorama based on a touching anime scene from My Neighbour Totoro
Japanese overnight sightseeing train returns for summer with ramen stops and ocean views
Studio Ghibli brings Totoro Soot Sprites out of the anime shadows for a new bag and pouch collection
The quest for Dragon Quest Yoshinoya figure sets: Worth taking for fans, tricky for scalpers[Pics]
KFC Japan creates spicy summer fried chicken chips together with Calbee
Blind Tokyo commuter explains the easiest place for him to stand while riding the train
Foreign resident of Japan arrested after spraying bear repellant inside post office
Sanrio’s new McDonald’s Japan Happy Meals give the spotlight all to Cinnamoroll[Photos]
Japanese train company brings back beloved “patapata” departure board…with a clever digital twist
Sanrio Character Poll announces winners, Hello Kitty absent from top 10 in many countries
Japan’s new pettably fuzzy cat-shaped earbud chargers meow to let you know their status[Video]
7-Eleven Japan has a lot of famous food, but its new burrito needs to be on your radar
We try Krispy Kreme Japan’s first-ever all-you-can-eat doughnut deal
Krispy Kreme Japan adds two cute limited-edition doughnuts to its summer menu