Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
This winter has seen some astonishingly low temps and heavy snow even in places that normally enjoy mild winter weather. In fact, the chilly weather has even stopped one finicky feline from pursuing her favorite pursuit: meowing to be let out and then meowing to be let back in.
More than likely, you’ve heard of the legend of the ninja, the stealthy hired hands and spies for regional warlords in feudal Japan. But considering how popular ninjas are in the modern world, from video games to ninja-themed American bars, it can be pretty hard to separate historical fact from fiction. And today we have three stories for you about this secretive bunch that may help to give a little more light to the mythos surrounding ninja and the truth behind some of these larger-than-life tales. Click below to read three anecdotes (of varying veracity) about what made ninjas into the legend they are today!
Quick, what color means “go” at a traffic signal? If you speak English, odds are you just said “green” (and if you don’t speak English, why are you here? The articles with pictures of cute girls and cool robots are in a different part of the site).
On the other hand, in Japanese that same light is considered ao, which translates as “blue.” Crazy as it may seem, the Japanese concept of the color extends all the way down to the hues of traffic signals and mountain forests. It’s just one example of how the same word can have different meanings in different cultures.
OK, so that may be true for artsy fartsy things like colors, but surely this kind of linguistic flatulence isn’t present in the world of business, right? Wrong. Even seemingly simple things like the term “quality” can have vastly different meanings depending on the nation, as one expert demonstrates by explaining the differing definitions consumers in the U.S., Japan, Korea, and China have for it.
Last week, I was riding the train home from one of the luxurious adventures that define my jet-setting expat lifestyle (swimming at the public pool, which had been half-filled with elderly women doing water aerobics). As I sat down on the bench seat, I noticed a girl sitting opposite me, wearing the uniform of either a middle or high school student.
After a few stops, a man in his 30s entered the car and without hesitation sat down next to the girl and began talking to her. The girl turned her face away and did her best to ignore the man, yet, undaunted and now leaning closer to her, he continued jabbering away, occasionally pausing and waiting in vain for some sort of response. At this point there were at least a half-dozen other people on the train watching this uncomfortable scene unfold, and yet no one had made a move to intervene.
This internal struggle between lending a helping hand and not getting involved in others’ business isn’t an entirely unusual problem in Japanese society, as illustrated by a recent Twitter debate that flared up over one man’s quandary about how far to go in helping a distraught little girl he saw wandering the streets alone at night.
The internet is a vast ocean of small infographics, flow charts, and images with the aim to succinctly present the truths of life to the masses. However, not every clever doodle is worth being held in our hard drives to be pulled out during a relevant discussion later on. These images sink into the deep abyss of the internet ocean, only to be found when James Cameron finally gets a good enough sub.
Let’s watch as one humble netizen submits their typical Japanese university seating arrangement to others. Will the chart hit home with other students, or will it fall flat? First let’s look at an English translation of it.
Namco Bandai Games began streaming the fourth promotional video for its J-Stars Victory Vs.”team battle action” video game on Tuesday. The 158-second video features the new theme song “Fighting Stars.”
Häagen-Dazs is one of the most luxurious ice creams you can find in a grocery store freezer. It doesn’t matter if you eat it as is or pile on a bunch of toppings, the dessert is always delicious. But did you know that in China, you can actually order Häagen-Dazs hot pot? How can you have cold, meltable ice cream and hot soup? We just had to send one of our reporters to check it out.
Live-action adaptations of your favorite anime series are sometimes painful to watch. On rare occasions, they’re actually pretty decent, even though stories with supernatural or sci-fi elements tend to be especially difficult to reproduce faithfully in real life…or so we thought until now. Before now, many people have commented that a live-action version of the insanely popular Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人) would be impossible to execute well. But a group of enthusiastic German fans have proven everyone wrong with their amazing video which runs like a movie trailer! This production has truly raised the bar for fans around the world. One more important detail: they have real horses!
Pickpockets are famous for their nimble fingers, but the drawback of that approach is that they have to actually get close enough to get their grubby fingers in your pockets. Unless, of course, the pickpockets are using chopsticks to grab the goods. Or at least they are trying to…
Having learned the hard way that some TV series exist simply to keep viewers hanging for years (yes, Lost, I am looking at you), I have to admit that I gave the TV adaptation of Game of Thrones a wide berth for quite some time after it first aired. A few months and the contraction of a very nasty cold later, I found myself in bed with a heap of medication, a DVD box-set and little else to do. By the time I was back on my feet, I was a huge fan of the series (and may have run “Game of Thrones blonde girl” through Google a couple of times) and swallowed, along with the last of the medicine, my usual stubborn pride by telling friends that I was ready to join in their nerdy conversations and even read the books that they had all finished with years ago.
Little did I know, though, that the TV show could be made all the more awesome by recreating some of its more memorable scenes in the style of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, with all of my favourite characters looking like they reside in feudal Japan rather than Westeros.
Daikon radishes have been really stepping up their game lately and upping the cuteness to a solid 11. First, we saw these adorable mounds of grated daikon capybaras swimming in soup. Now, a little old lady has grown a daikon that bears a striking resemblance to a Pokemon character. More on where the little guy was found and how it came to be after the break!
International hacking group “Anonymous” has stated that it breached and shut down the official Wakayama Prefecture website earlier today as a taste of what may come should local fishermen continue to hunt dolphins. The prefecture is home to Taiji, the coastal town that shot to infamy in 2010 following an exposé in the film The Cove, which documented the mass slaughter of thousands of dolphins that takes place in the area each year.
Mothers and fathers of the world, have you ever had a washing machine accident where your laundry ended up, well, incredibly lumpy? That lumpiness might have been caused from accidentally putting in a disposable diaper, which has superabsorbent polymers that can be great for soaking up wet messes from your kids, but can be a real pain in the wash. Recently, a Japanese twitter user put out a very handy lifehack for parents out there. Click below to find out this nifty little trick to get your laundry back to normal!
Declaring your love, or even just your like, for a boy or a girl in Japan can be a pretty big deal. While we don’t think most people’s stories are quite as dramatic as in anime, with characters struggling for seasons just to admit their fond feelings for another, it’s certainly true that many Japanese people are pretty shy about asking each other out.
While it’s kind of cute and kind of frustrating if you’re used to a more forward culture, is it really that different from other countries?
You may be aware from our past articles that Hello Kitty has a very special year ahead of her with her 40th birthday coming up on November 1. Well, it so happens that Japanese toy maker Bandai’s popular chogokin (super alloy) series of mecha and robot toys is also turning forty this year, and never one to miss an exciting business opportunity, Ms. Kitty has joined forces with Bandai to celebrate both their anniversaries the way she knows best — with a collaboration, of course! This time, she’s turned herself into robot action hero, Super Alloy Kitty, and she’s even come out with a super-cool, short animated video to promote the collaboration!
We’re sure most of you have already seen photos of the little capybaras bathing in their own private onsen hot spring at the Izu Shaboten Park in Shizuoka, Japan. Now with a little creative food play, you can put your very own capybara in hot water…and eat them too. But what are they made out of?
Although, Japan is still something of a smoker’s paradise compared to other developed countries, there are signs that times are a’changing with an increase in prices and no-smoking areas sprouting up across the land.
Anti-smoking groups often use dramatic stories and images to try and frighten or disgust people out of smoking tobacco. However, one simple poster hanging in a smoking section in Shinjo City, Yamagata Prefecture sends a chilling message of love to all their nicotine addicts.
Not so long ago, if you were travelling overseas and someone swiped your bag or camera, you pretty much had until you left the country to crack the caper. Unless you happened to be carrying a cargo of priceless gems in your tote bag, the local authorities weren’t going to coordinate an international search and recovery operation with you once you’re back in your home country.
Things are different now, when so many of the gadgets we take with us on vacation are linked to cloud storage services and social media accounts. Such was the case of one Japanese traveler who goes by the Twitter screen name Matsumoto Hiroki. Matsumoto, who lost his iPhone on a trip to Bangkok, was able to track down the person using it through iCloud, which is when his story got really interesting.
A calm atmosphere, free Wi-Fi, and decent coffee – what’s not to love about Starbucks (unless you’re a staunch New Englander who swears by Dunkin’)? If you walk into any branch, you will see a line of people waiting to grab their favorite caffeinated pick-me-up. You’re also likely see a bunch of people hunched over their laptops typing away furiously, either by themselves or huddled together in groups. The laptop of choice to go with their steaming mug of coffee? From what we’ve seen, it seems to be a MacBook Air.
Have you ever watched people when they’re silently working on a computer, wondered what they’re up to, and then all of a sudden a smug little grin inexplicably breaks across their face? This self-satisfied look is known as a doya-gao in Japanese. One of our Japanese reporters, who is a frequent patron of Starbucks, recently began to notice a correlation between the frequency of people using MacBook Airs in Starbucks and those wearing a doya-gao expression. Intrigued, she started taking notes, and discovered that there are three branches of Starbucks in Tokyo where the doya-gao phenomenon is particularly common…
With 35 years as Japan’s favorite mecha anime, the Gundam franchise has grown to include dozens of TV and direct-to-video animated series, manga comics, and video game adaptations. With such a long history, some of them are, of course, less successful than others. Certain fans shook their heads at V Gundam’s cast of middle schoolers. Others were baffled by G Gundam’s schoolgirl uniform-inspired robot designs. Even the TV series that started it all, 1979’s Mobile Suit Gundam, has more than its fair share of goofy villains of the week who come and go like so many Scooby Doo criminals.
But despite the franchise’s occasional detours into outright silliness, the 1988 theatrical release Char’s Counterattack enjoys almost universal acclaim, both for the gravitas of its story and the commensurate visuals. Which makes it all the more disheartening to see the robot piloted by the film’s hero apparently reduced to having to take a job at convenience store 7-Eleven.
Studio Ghibli releases new insect whistle necklace from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno returning to anime with new project for 50-year-old franchise
Japan’s favorite cheap sake is now an alcoholic ice cream
Studio Ghibli releases cute new blanket socks for winter
This non-sweet matcha treat is one of our new favorite Kyoto snack souvenirs【Taste test】
New marvelously mysterious mochi ice creams celebrate 40 years of Häagen-Dazs Japan
We go on our own hunt for “the biggest mountain” to climb in the style of Tokyo Swindlers
We try to buy a retro Japanese coin-operated arcade machine at this secondhand shop near Tokyo
Three beautiful outside-the-cities places to visit in Hokkaido with a connection to Golden Kamuy
New Jimmy Choo x Sailor Moon collaboration brings anime magic to bags, shoes and accessories
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Japanese government wants to acquire original anime and manga art for creation of national archive
After 21 years, Harajuku’s famous Lolita fashion and cosplay shop is permanently closingEvangelion creator Hideaki Anno returning to anime with new project for 50-year-old franchiseStudio Ghibli releases new insect whistle necklace from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Pizza Hut Japan creates Landmine-type Pizza to celebrate Japan’s dark jirai-kei fashion
KFC Genshin Impact fried chicken combo meals now on sale in Japan
Give yourself a Totoro belly with Studio Ghibli’s Marshmallow Haramaki belly wraps
Ultimate lazy sukiyaki – Can you make the king of Japanese hot pots in a rice cooker?【Taste test】
Japanese chanko ramen restaurant contains a moving relic from the World Trade CenterJapanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Studio Ghibli lets you cosplay as Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle with cosy anime fashion range
New Hello Kitty McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys are here, and Kitty’s sister is part of the set
Starbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
One of Tokyo’s most beautiful gardens gets its own moon for moon-viewing season
Right now is the peak time to go to Tokyo’s most-beautiful-view beer garden【Photos】
Pizza Hut adds a “Guilty Secret” sandwich to its menu for a limited time
Super budget-friendly retro Tokyo hotel feels like having your own 1960s Asakusa apartmentNew Jimmy Choo x Sailor Moon collaboration brings anime magic to bags, shoes and accessories
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
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
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in JapanJapanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
New marvelously mysterious mochi ice creams celebrate 40 years of Häagen-Dazs Japan
We go on our own hunt for “the biggest mountain” to climb in the style of Tokyo Swindlers
We try to buy a retro Japanese coin-operated arcade machine at this secondhand shop near Tokyo
Three beautiful outside-the-cities places to visit in Hokkaido with a connection to Golden Kamuy
New Jimmy Choo x Sailor Moon collaboration brings anime magic to bags, shoes and accessories
Japanese government wants to acquire original anime and manga art for creation of national archive
KFC will straight-up sell you a bag of fried chicken skin in Indonesia
Studio Ghibli releases new Totoro and Jiji blankets to keep you cosy this winter
Fighting mild hunger with a Japanese soda that turns into jelly in the stomach【Taste test】
Five of Japan’s best locations to ski and snowboard
KFC Japan unveils new Tsukimi Moon Viewing Burgers for 2024
This gorgeous, mouth-watering traditional Japanese breakfast…is all from 7-Eleven?!?
Completely unmanned 24-hours clothing store found in Tokyo
Japanese KitKat Bears debut exclusively in Japan, but are they any good?
