Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki is in Los Angeles right now, as he’s making a rare trip to the U.S. to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. While we’re sure plenty of fans are excited to see Japanese animation’s most respected figure receive such a prestigious honor, there’s something else for them to be happier about: Miyazaki’s statement that he’s not even close to done making anime.
Employees at the campus co-op store at Nihon Joshi Daigaku may work at Japan’s oldest private women’s university, but when it comes to making their special offer displays, their attitude is anything but old-fashioned. Their witty, super-honest pricing displays regularly have the Japanese Twitterverse in stitches.
Join us after the jump for six of the best!
Why should Pepsi Japan and their wacky flavors like Pink Strawberry Milk and Salty Watermelon have all the fun? Coca Cola Japan decided to shake things up in the flavor department and released Coca Cola Orange. Sure, it’s not as exciting as the crazy concoctions thought up by Coke’s competitors, but Japanese consumers sure seem to love it.
Lenovo, which happens to be the fourth-largest smartphone vendor in China, just released a new phone that looks almost identical to Apple’s iPhone 6.
The Lenovo S90 Sisley features the same metal unibody design and curved edges as the iPhone 6. The speaker placement is even exactly the same, as shown in photos obtained by tech blog Gizmobic (via Android Authority).
Anyone who has watched even a handful of episodes of Japanese anime will have heard the words “suki” or “daisuki” at some point. Literally meaning “like” and “like very much” (daisuki is, after all, written with the characters 大 “big” and 好き “like”), these two words are used not just when describing one’s preference for a particular pokémon or pizza topping, but when declaring deep, “more-than-friends” feelings for someone.
It would seem, however, that staff at Japanese fast food chain Yoshinoya have recently been unwittingly handing declarations of love to especially peckish patrons following the arrival of a popular seasonal dish, with these handwritten love letters becoming the subject of great amusement online.
Sometimes, you’re surfing around on the Internet to find weird Japan news to write about and can’t seem to find anything except one of those old “I thought this thing was that thing, but it was another thing,” Twitter comparison pictures and you kind of just have to run with it. I know, oddly specific scenario, but we’ve all been there, right?
Like, check out this thing that looks like a bird. We already know it’s not a bird, but can you use some of the clues in the photo to figure out what it really is?
The Japanese fruit-chew candy, Hi-Chew, is getting more and more popular these days and it can be found all over the world, even in the Boston Red Socks’ locker room. Some Japanese consumers, however, seem to be sick of the same-old rectangle shape and chewiness and are starting to find new ways to eat it.
Many of our readers have probably figured out by now that we’re quite fond of tasty sweets here at RocketNews24. Now, that means we (well, this writer at least) are big fans of the international cinnamon roll bakery Cinnabon. I mean, the rich smell of their rolls alone is enough to drive me mad with craving! So when we heard that Cinnabon came out with a completely new product last month, you can bet our interest was definitely piqued. And to our delight, we recently had the chance to try the new item. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the Cinnabon Gourmet Popcorn, a treat that is so far only available in Japan!
Almost all of my time behind the wheel has been in a small, two-seat convertible. This has really spoiled me, in that whenever I find myself in the driver’s seat of a fixed-top, full-sized car, I can’t help but wish for better visibility because of how many lines of sight get cut off by the car’s structure itself.
A team of Japanese researchers has solved this problem, though, with a clever system that allows the driver to see right through a car’s side panels and back seat.
Nowadays with discount airlines, hybrid cars and night buses, it’s easy to get where you want to go quickly and cheaply. Of course, in Japan trains are probably the most utilized mode of transportation. Some train companies around Japan, however, have really taken to heart the idea that “Life is a journey, not a destination,” as there are many train lines which are designed as sightseeing trains, or just happen to pass through beautiful scenery and let you enjoy the journey – the beautiful forests, the stunning seaside, sometimes even the trains themselves are part of the experience.
Recently Rakuten Travel announced its top 10 list for the best local trains around the country. Let’s take a look at what these train lines have to offer after the jump.
How can anyone not love Kyary Pamyu Pamyu? She’s cute, kooky, and occasionally ooky – and she recently dressed up as Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride! Kyary shared several snaps on her official Twitter account of herself getting made up as the Corpse Bride, hitting the streets for some spooky fun, and even meeting the great man himself!
This year’s 50th issue of Shueisha‘s Shonen Jump magazine is a legendary one with the final twochapters of its mega-hit series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. In this issue, the 766th chapter (“Smile”) of Eiichiro Oda‘s One Piece manga seems rather normal. However, fans have found a secret message embedded into the One Piece chapter’s title page.
By nature, humans can’t help constructing rules to live by even in the most innocuous situations like choosing the passenger seat of a car (rock-paper-scissors: best of three). Without any official governing body over how many times you should let a phone ring before hanging up (seven), we are left to establish unwritten social rules naturally agreed upon and often followed to the letter.
A survey by MyNavi recently asked Japanese people which of these tacit rules should be called into question. As we will soon see, although these laws are mysterious in their origin, many of them tend to be quite practical and worth sticking to.
Bento, Japan’s multi-dish boxed lunches, come in a variety of styles. While it’s most common to make your own or pick one up at a cheap takeout joint, there’s also a whole sub-industry of high-class bento delivery services that cater business conferences and other high-rolling events.
Of course, rich and powerful clients tend to have demands as high as their positions on the corporate ladder. They expect the food to be delicious, the service to be impeccable, and now, with Platinum Lunch, they can expect their bento to be delivered by beautiful models and actresses.
When the subject of how men can attract women in Japan comes up, there are some pretty dubious sources of advice out there. Rather than apply twisted logic to gain twisted insights on how to pull women closer to them, guys have a better chance of success by putting their efforts into becoming the kind of people women are drawn to without any special prodding.
But what exactly do women want? Well, that’s an answer that of course varies from person to person, but if you’re interested in playing the percentages, a recent poll of women in Japan indicates four things to strive for.
Part of the excitement of traveling is trying foods that you have never seen, heard of, or even contemplated before. So when our lodging in the wilds of Nikko offered roasted salamander for dinner, I had to give it a try. Not just to satisfy my curiosity and my pride, but to report back to you, dear reader, about what amphibi-lizard on a stick tastes like.
Hop on a train to off-the-beaten-path Yamagata Prefecture any weekend from September through November, and you’re bound to see crowds of people congregating and cooking pots of something delicious by the local river. Yup, imoni-kai season is in full swing!
Imoni (芋煮) is the name given to a taro root stew native to the Tohoku region of northern Japan. Apart from its delicious taste, imoni is also famous for the social aspects of its creation. Families traditionally congregate on a riverbank (the practice of which is known as imoni-kai, literally, “imoni gathering”) and cook the stew from scratch over a fire pit. In that sense, you can think of it a bit like an autumn version of o-hanami, the popular Japanese tradition of viewing cherry blossoms in the spring.
Join us after the jump for a glimpse at a unique cultural tradition of northern Japan which many Japanese people in other parts of the country have never even heard of!
There’s something deeply satisfying about watching someone do their job incredibly well. Whether it’s a master chef putting together a mouth-watering meal, a talented musician making an instrument come to life, or a pro athlete performing at the highest level of the sport, you find yourself unable to look away, both because of how soothing watching things go perfectly is, and also for fear of missing whatever amazing feat they’re going to pull off next.
So if you’re craving that special mixture of relaxation and inspiration, take a few minutes to watch this video of a master craftsman transforming two hunks of wood into a beautiful kokeshi doll with a literally unique twist.
A man was arrested in Beijing last week on charges of voyeurism and taking illicit images of several women. The man, a landlord of an all-female residence, went to extreme measures to spy on his victims in their rooms, including installing hidden cameras and, unbelievably, a 2 metre tall one-way mirror of the type used during police interrogations. Which, ironically is what he had to face up to, once he was busted by one of the tenants who happened to spot snaps of her roommate on his phone.
Given how many passionate manga fans Japan has, it’s kind of surprising that a lot of them don’t collect every issue of their favorite series. Most titles are published once a week as part of several-hundred-page anthologies printed on cheap, quickly deteriorating newsprint. On the other hand, higher-quality collected volumes lag months behind the weekly editions.
This creates a strange catch-22 where fans who want to be up to the minute on their heroes’ adventures buy the anthologies but later toss them out. Eventually, many cherry-pick which collected volumes to purchase in order to fill in the gaps where they missed one of the weeklies, or to have a permanent copy of their favorite scenes.
Of course, a lot of incomplete sets are also the result of fans getting burned out before reaching the end of some of Japan’s notoriously long-running series. Add in the fact that storage space is at a premium in Japanese homes, and it’s a testament to a title’s staying power and ability to captivate readers when they buy it from start to finish, like so many have with these 15 manga.
What are the worst things about living in the Japanese countryside?[Survey]
Hello Kitty is now a transforming truck robot[Photos]
What’s up with the “mosquito buzz” noise at Shibuya Station?
Tifa’s Final Fantasy VII bar is going to pop up in real-world Tokyo
Looking for a Japanese convenience store souvenir? Seicomart has a legendary hit product for fans
Cosmetic wizardry: Asian women removing makeup to reveal their true selves goes viral【Video】
Tokyo big walk – Walking from Tokyo Station to the Big Sight convention center on Tokyo Bay【Pics】
What makes this new Japanese convenience store chain better than 7-Eleven?
Why is Yoshinoya called Yoshinoya?
Buddhist priest arrested for using health insurance card he found on the street
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
New Kyoto Converse sneakers celebrate Japan with traditional kimono fabrics for your feet
Studio Ghibli launches huge new anime movie T-shirt collection with special design detailsTifa’s Final Fantasy VII bar is going to pop up in real-world Tokyo
Brand-new Square Enix Cafe to open in Tokyo…and in Los Angeles too!
Japanese convenience store gives away free ice cream with creative ad at Shinjuku Station
Japan is so hungry for workers it used up its five-year visa quota in record time
Tsujihan sushi bowl restaurant goes viral with foreign tourists, but is it worth the hype?
7-Eleven Japan releases Uji matcha smoothies… but only at select locations
7-Eleven Japan’s cooked-in-store takoyaki is here! How does it fare against the street food king?
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration eventsJapan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Wisteria season starts early with blooming of Japan’s Great Wisteria in its beautiful garden
Japan’s best conveyor belt sushi restaurant of seven years ago has now, finally, come to Tokyo
Brand-new Pokémon manhole covers coming to help the recovery of a disaster-stricken part of JapanNew Kyoto Converse sneakers celebrate Japan with traditional kimono fabrics for your feet
Japan’s awesomely beautiful Alpen Route snow corridor is now open
Injuries on stairs in Tokyo highlight an overlooked design flaw
Mt. Fuji decorated with a 500,000-flower pink carpet is Japan’s ultimate spring view
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
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]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Cosmetic wizardry: Asian women removing makeup to reveal their true selves goes viral【Video】
Tokyo big walk – Walking from Tokyo Station to the Big Sight convention center on Tokyo Bay【Pics】
What makes this new Japanese convenience store chain better than 7-Eleven?
Why is Yoshinoya called Yoshinoya?
Buddhist priest arrested for using health insurance card he found on the street
Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth finds happiness in a canned cocktail[Video]
Sanrio amusement park in Tokyo to host Psycho Game horror event this summer[Video]
Temple with 600-year-old tree near busy Tokyo station is like a tranquil pocket dimension
Do you use these “Philippine English” words and phrases?
Japanese convenience store gives away free ice cream with creative ad at Shinjuku Station
Wagyu beef gacha vending machine dispenses meat at random in Japan
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]