Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Dr. Timothy Mousseau, professor of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina and researcher for the Chernobyl and Fukushima Research Initiative, presented new findings to the International Ornithological Congress in Tokyo last week that suggest radiation contamination around Fukushima Daiichi, even at low levels, is negatively impacting biodiversity and wildlife populations.
Nintendo announced during the “Monthly Famitsu feat. Pokémon Special” live-streamed program that an action/fighting game titled Pokkén Tournament (Pokkén being a pun on the words Pokémon and ‘fist’) will be released for Japanese arcades in 2015. Bandai Namco Games is collaborating on the development of the project.
We know what you are thinking: “Really? There’s a Banana Day?” In Japan there is! It comes from the date “August 7” and the way you can pronounce “8” (ba) and “7” (nana) in Japanese. The two of them read together become Banana Day, an informal holiday where the amazing powers of bananas are reviewed and admired, which is mostly achieved through nutritional campaigns that teach you fun facts like “bananas are high in potassium” and “they are good for giving you a quick boost of energy”.
In fact, an elementary school in Kanagawa Prefecture took advantage of Banana Day to squeeze in a nutrition class and, surprisingly, the kids didn’t go bananas because they had to go to school during summer vacation. Instead, the students took the day to its most artistic and clever form yet by creating a stunning video that all banana lovers should watch.
In some ways, the huge amount of vending machines in Japan seems like a win-win situation. In a country that gets incredibly hot and sticky in the summer, it’s nice to never be more than a few minutes’ walk from a cold drink, and for beverage companies like Coca-Cola, the machines are a huge source of income.
That said, all of those vending machines are essentially coin-operated refrigerators, collectively sucking up a huge amount of electricity. In an effort to cut down on their energy consumption, Coca-Cola has developed a new type of unit that spends as much as 16 hours a day not using any electricity at all to keep its products nice and cool.
With beautiful natural scenery, delicious food, and an unhurried atmosphere, Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido is one of the country’s most popular vacation spots. There’s one big drawback, though, which is that airfare to and from Hokkaido can eat up a big part of your travel budget, leaving you less cash to spend on a hotel with nice amenities or local delicacies like fresh salmon roe and scallops.
Recently, though, we found a hotel in Hokkaido that offers it all, with soft beds, all-you-can-eat seafood, an all-night hot spring, and even a price that makes it a very affordable luxury.
This fire safety poster was tweeted recently and scored a whopping 21,000 retweets in only a couple of days. It’s an impressive feat for a public service announcement by the Nakagyo Ward Fire Department, but why?
The caption reads: “In life and fire, the reset button doesn’t work.” Okay, class, who can tell me why the reset button doesn’t work? Don’t all answer at once now… No, not because the cable’s on fire. This controller clearly has wireless capability. Oh, I see the person who tweeted this image has their hand up.
Back in January this year, we brought you news of an emerging J-pop group going by the name of Chubbiness. The idea behind the outfit was that, as well as being accomplished singers, the members were all “puniko“, or slightly chubby girls. Compared to most J-pop groups, which are very often populated with girls who are all pointy elbows and shoulder blades, Chubbiness just about lived up to their name, but few Westerners especially would ever think to call them “chubby”.
Eight months later, Chubbiness have launched their first official song, complete with an accompanying music video which shows them tucking in to a table full of sugary treats while singing about how there’s nothing wrong with being a bit on the big side.
The only thing is, after watching the video a handful of times, we can’t help thinking that if anything the Chubbiness girls actually look even slimmer now than when they were first introduced to us…
For serious cat lovers, it’s hard to be apart from their beloved animals for even a moment, but there are some places, like offices or restaurants, where you just can’t take your pet with you. If you’re looking for a way to always feel connected to your kitty, we suppose you could make a sweater out of its fallen hair, but before you grab those knitting needles, there’s an alternative that’s a little less labor-intensive (not to mention a bit less crazy).
All you need to do is snap a photo of your cat, and have it made into a pair of custom-crafted earrings from this Japanese online store.
How would you like to receive a villa, cars, health care, education, and other services virtually for free? That’s all part of the deal if you happen to be one of the lucky citizens of Huaxi Village, China.
Huaxi Village (華西村, or 华西村 in simplified Chinese) of Jiangyin City is located near the east coast of China and a slightly northwest of Shanghai. It’s famous for supposedly being the richest agricultural village in all of China, though it wasn’t always that way. All of the approximately 2,000 registered citizens in the village are said to have an annual income of at least 100,000 euros (US$131,830), and are able to enjoy the full perks of living in such a wealthy area. Even Japanese citizens have been taking note of some of the jaw-dropping features of this village–wait till you see the pictures for yourself!
Memes tend to come and go (other than the almighty Shibe Doge), sometimes blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fast, so it’s always a little hard to keep track of what’s really popular and cool on the Internet and what isn’t. Right now, the meme of the nanosecond is “Makeup Transformation,” where Net users pose for a few photos in a tiled frame putting makeup on, and are then “miraculously” transformed into a celebrity, or a movie or video game character.
So quick is the turnaround on Internet memes that by the time people in the Philippines caught on to the Makeup Transformation phenom, it was already pretty much played out – despite it only having been in vogue for, like, a day or two in the U.S. For what it’s worth, Philippine netizens are doing a pretty good job of keeping the meme going, despite stupid people like this writer having basically no idea who most of the transformations are supposed to be.
The official Sailor Moon YouTube channel began streaming a digest video on Sunday from the opening night of the stage musical Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Petite Étrangère. The video features clips from the live show.
I’m sure we’ve all been there: knowing that you’re bound to bump into your crush at some point during the day, you prepare a few witticisms in advance, make sure to brush your teeth extra well and pick out an outfit that strikes the perfect balance between casual and “holy crap I’m sexy”. And then, when the object of your affections comes within a few feet of you, you blurt out some nonsense about having seen a really big pigeon on the way there and manage to spit all over yourself. Oh, just me?
Thankfully, for those who find themselves completely tongue-tied when faced with their dream guy or gal, there’s a new…invention that enables the wearer to express their feelings of admiration without saying a word. And it looks wonderfully ridiculous.
As of August 25, 2014, the ALS Ice Bucket Donations have reached a whopping US$70.2 million. The challenge has made it across the globe, with participants ranging from Benedict Cumberbatch to Kumamon. While the challenge is raising awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), new participants are finding their own ways to make the challenge more interesting.
One Korean-American rock band has challenged the leaders of three Asian countries to pick up that bucket and do their part to raise awareness and money for the neurodegenerative disease.
Until last night, I had never used a face pack. In fact, aside from the fact that they go on your face, the only thing I knew about face packs is that many women use them because…skin. Or something.
But all that changed when I discovered my wife grinning at me and waving a white cardboard envelope around. “It’s time!” she told me. Pure panic hit me before I’d remembered I’d agreed to do…something. What was it? Oh, right, put on a kabuki face pack. “But first, let me get the camera,” she said…
For hardcore video gamers, life is a never-ending series of battles as they try to overcome the next boss, unlock achievements, or climb up the online leader boards. And for some of their parents, life is a never-ending series of battles as they try to get their kids to stop doing all that and study.
While more honorable gamers limit themselves to utilizing the best in-game equipment, some give in to the temptation to use hacks to gain an advantage over their adversaries. Recently, one education-minded mother in China adopted the same tactic by hacking her son’s online gaming accounts, then deleting them.
Life insurance commercials from Thailand have been doing the rounds on social media lately, impressing everybody with their beautiful images and moving storylines. Now there’s a new ad from Thailand pulling at our heartstrings, but this time it has nothing to do with life insurance – this is a touching message from the makers of a fibre food beverage.
The short clip shows us the benefits of weight loss, by focusing on the true story of a mother who was determined to lose weight – not for herself but for her son. Why? Make sure you’ve got some tissues handy because the reason will touch your heart.
Remember the beautiful transparent water cakes we told you about back in June that we went all the way to Yamanashi Prefecture to try? Well, we might have expected it, but someone has come up with a fun, creative take on the water cake that has been delighting Japanese Internet users. And we have to say, we too are hugely impressed by the creation — Dragon Quest slime in a clear, jelly-like form!
You know what’s apparently really popular right now? That Pizza Cats thing from Pizza Hut Japan. It’s a bunch of cats unwillingly forced into cute kitty-size Pizza Hut employee uniforms doing what cats do while someone films it and tries to stifle laughter. It’s all over the Internet.
Well, at least one Netizen has decided to get on the “reluctant sentient beings doing things they don’t normally do” bandwagon by placing a not-having-it-at-all and obviously confused baby in a salad bowl with a bunch of other salad ingredients because… INTERNET!
If you’re the kind of person who likes video games and isn’t dead inside, chances are you’re looking forward to Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, due to release later this year. The comic fighting game’s creators have been teasing us for what feels like decades now by slowly revealing which characters will be available to play as, talking of trimming the fat while simultaneously revealing what appears to be every Nintendo character under the sun.
If the following “leaked” screenshots and video are to be believed, however, Nintendo’s character roster-teasing days are about to come to an abrupt end.
How would fourteen of the world’s most vibrant cities look if you asked an artist to cram everything that represents them into one explosive image? Read on below for all the wonderfully diverse pictures, and see if you can spot the hidden passenger.
Tokyo’s best museum for foreign travelers finally reopens after being closed for four years
Pokémon lacquerware series expands for Year of the Horse with new handcrafted design[Video]
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Tokyo subway and almost all Tokyo train lines now accepting credit card tap payments
50-year-old instant noodle recipe is back from the past in Japan for a limited time[Taste test]
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Uni Donuts are pretty in pink for a limited-time spring sakuramochi flavor
Naruto Shippuden x Maeda Coffee collaboration cafe event is coming to Kyoto this week
Kyoto breakfast buffet with all-you-can-eat sushi: One of the best possible ways to start a day
Black telephone like me: What if a handsome guy tries modern politics’ most famous harido?Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthdayFamous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
7-Eleven Japan releases a crazy new viral sandwich: Chocolate Sprinkles and Whipped Cream
Japan now has a “for foreign tourists only” Mt. Fuji sightseeing train[Video]
Totoro and Calcifer become little light-up lanterns for Ghibli-style excursions or at-home decor
Studio Ghibli releases the My Neighbour Totoro tea caddy, with a magical self-closing lid
Create a tiny Ghibli anime world on your bookshelf with new miniature papercraft art kits
Picturesque Tokyo park plays host to millions of flowers and soap bubbles this spring
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in TokyoUniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthdayFamous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping listKrispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
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
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
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
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Uni Donuts are pretty in pink for a limited-time spring sakuramochi flavor
Naruto Shippuden x Maeda Coffee collaboration cafe event is coming to Kyoto this week
Kyoto breakfast buffet with all-you-can-eat sushi: One of the best possible ways to start a day
Black telephone like me: What if a handsome guy tries modern politics’ most famous harido?
Say hello to Japan’s new stationmaster cat!【Video】
We caught the Angry Birds limited-time menu at McDonald’s Singapore!
Japan now sells…sake made with moth poop?!?
Studio Ghibli releases the My Neighbour Totoro tea caddy, with a magical self-closing lid
Secret staff cafeteria in Tokyo’s Kabukicho is a hidden gem you won’t find in travel guides
Japan now has a “for foreign tourists only” Mt. Fuji sightseeing train[Video]