Featured

The Mid-Autumn Festival: It’s mooncake mania in Singapore!

Perhaps many of our readers are aware of the Mid-Autumn Festival which is celebrated each year around late September in China and other parts of Asia. The festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, and as such, the actual date varies slightly from year to year, but it is usually around the time of the autumn equinox and is timed to coincide with the full moon. Traditionally a festival to give thanks and pray for a bountiful harvest and also to worship the moon, it is still today a huge event involving the gathering of family and friends, viewing the moon and, of course, sharing the special confectioneries known as mooncakes.

As it happens, just last week, I had the chance to visit Singapore right at the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was on September 19 this year. Now, I knew that the festival would be going on during my trip, and also that the celebration involved mooncakes, and lots of it too — I just had no idea how much! Read More

00

Autumn style: Hair and cargo netting together at last!

Tired of the same old hairstyles? Twin tails just not rocking your socks any more? Well how about hairdo that could also be used as a weapon or a means of catching your next meal?

Read More

00

Koreans angry as iPhone’s new iOS 7 displays disputed islands as Japanese territory

Released earlier this month, the latest iteration of Apple’s operating system for mobile devices, iOS 7, boasts a sleek, vivid interface that is certainly quite a departure from previous iPhone software. Although the majority of Apple’s customers will likely be more than satisfied with both the OS’s stylistic and functional changes, some Korean citizens have taken issue with iOS 7’s Maps application, which refers to the islets located between Japan and Korea – over which there has been much debate – by the Japanese name of Takeshima.

Read More

Pins ‘n’ peel: This banana art will blow your mind

We don’t know about you guys, but when we were kids our parents always told us not to play with our food. Judging by the number of “banana tattoo” photos doing the rounds on Twitter today however, it looks like there are plenty of people here in Japan prepared to ignore that particular piece of parental advice in the name of art.

Read More

How awesome is the sight of 974 Marios running through the same level at once? (Answer: Very)

It might be nearly 30 years old, but the original Super Mario Bros. remains one of the most beloved and played old-school platformers in the world. There’s something about goomba stomping, block smashing and Bowser boiling that people just can’t seem to get enough of, and modders continue to tinker with the basic gameplay and build original levels to this day.

The following video, apparently taken at Gamescom last month, shows the efforts of 974 players as they sprint through a custom-made level against the clock. Combining their runs into a single video results in what can only be described as an 8-bit river of Marios, cascading over pipes and mushrooms, hell-bent on reaching the princess, and it makes fantastic viewing.

Read More

All-you-can-eat cookies!!! Aunt Stella’s cookie buffet opens in Ikebukuro Station

Japan is wild about dessert cafes and pastry shops. From donuts to pretzels to cakes, the nation’s sweet-tooth knows no bounds, and you’ll find baked sugary treats almost anywhere in the city. “So what makes this new store special?” you ask. Well, it’s not your typical sweet shop, but in fact an all-you-can-eat cookie buffet!

This Wednesday, a new location for the popular dessert chain Aunt Stella’s Cookies opened up in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro. And Aunt Stella has cooked up a bunch of tasty specials to celebrate the move!

Read More

Star Trek fans will either laugh or flip out after watching Japanese Spock sell anti-rust spray

KURE 5-56 is Japan’s version of WD-40. It’s hard to make a connection between a lubricating spray and Star Trek, but one Japanese company managed to do just that, incorporating clips from the newest movie, Star Trek Into Darkness, into a commercial. The company also gave rise to their own version of first officer, Mister Spock, and he’s…interesting.

Read More

Like many members of the RocketNews24 team, I met the love of my life after arriving in Japan, and just to be clear, I’m talking about my wife, not a cold can of crisp, delicious Ebisu beer. There’s a lot to be said for an international marriage, whether it’s the chance to learn about another culture in the most in-depth way possible, or simply the opportunity to dazzle your spouse by cooking food from your home country, even at a quality that would have your friends and family back home hitting the speed dial button for the local pizza delivery.

Of course, Japan, like any society, has its own baseline attitudes about married life, some of which can be startling for foreigners with a Japanese spouse. Blogger Madame Riri has composed a list of marital quirks to be aware of and think through together with your Japanese sweetheart before the two of you say “chikaimasu” (“I do”).

Read More

Why reading their own language gives Mongolians a headache

Being able to read is something many people take for granted. I mean, English with its Latin alphabet only consists of 26 letters. Now imagine that the writing system (or script) of your country was changed for political reasons. Cities and towns across the border share almost the same spoken language, but with a totally different way of writing it down. This has been the situation in Mongolia. Drastic changes in scripts throughout the twentieth century have led to recurrent headaches for native readers.

Read More

00

Osaka unleashes another adorable dessert with hotel’s bathing bear ice cream

While Tokyo remains Japan’s largest and most internationally well-known metropolis, the city of Osaka is no slouch either. Osaka is known for its simple, tasty grub, such as takoyaki octopus dumplings and kushiage, basically deep-fried anything on a stick.

Osaka is also building a pantheon of cute, animal-shaped sweets, such as the platypus pastry which was on sale there until the end of last August. For autumn, there’s a new adorable dessert in town: this bathing bear made out of ice cream.

Read More

The little hedgehog that couldn’t (but it’s still fun to watch him try) 【Video】

They may not have the swoon-inducing power of 14 baby pandas in a row, but hedgehogs are nevertheless incredibly cute, and they make great little pets. They’re passive, clean, ideal for those who are out during the daytime, and, as this video proves, hugely entertaining to watch wrestle with the inside of a toilet roll.

Read More

“Taiwan is a part of China!” Taiwanese national and Chinese tourists clash

A Taiwanese man who was walking in the Alishan National Scenic Area in Taiwan was mobbed by a group of Chinese tourists after he cautioned them not to spit or throw their cigarette butts on the ground, Taiwanese media reports. The incident is believed to have taken place on September 9 when one Mr. Chin, himself a Taiwanese national, was enjoying a stroll with a female friend. The accused Chinese tourists, however, maintain that it was in fact they who were assaulted.

Read More

Time to celebrate Halloween, Japan-style with jack-o’-lantern sushi!

Unlike America and other Western countries, Japan is only starting to get into the swing of Halloween. Over the past few years the country has come a long way toward embracing this eerie Western holiday. Now when fall comes around, it’s a lot easier to find stores bedecked with black cat posters and ordinary restaurants festooned with orange pumpkin garlands. Most department stores have a token costume section on display, and sometimes bigger cities will have events for kids to wander around in costume with their parents. One district in Kanagawa Prefecture has really gone the extra mile to give people a frightfully good time this October!

Read More

Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge to turn pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Rainbow Bridge, which spans across Tokyo Bay, is usually lit up with the colors of the rainbow at night. This October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (called “Pink Ribbon Festival” in Japan), the usually multi-colored bridge will get a pink make-over to raise awareness of breast cancer.

Read More

Achieve a super saiyan style with Dragon Ball Z hair wax

Japanese beauty product manufacturer, Creer Beaute, has just come out with a new line of professional-grade hair wax with the strength to hold your hair nice and stiff, even in the midst of an hours-long death match. Their Dragon Ball Z Hair Wax promises to hold your spiky hair chunks in place throughout even the most rigorous battles and is a real must-have for any fist-fighting, world-saving hero.

Read More

iPhone5S sells for US$10,000 on eBay

Since the 20 September launch of the iPhone5S and iPhone5C some people have already purchased theirs while others remain on waiting lists. All around the world the iPhone5S is in short supply, the gold model in particular proving especially difficult to lay hands on.

So when a gold iPhone5S became available on eBay this week the bidding quickly got out of control, with the price of the phone shooting up to around US$10,000.

Read More

Japanese blogger discovers the real reason people camped out for the iPhone 5S launch

Apple’s iPhone 5S went on sale in Japan on September 20, with electronics aficionados, including our own Mr. Sato, lining up days in advance in order to purchase one on launch day.

Obviously, you have to love your electronics to be willing to camp out on the sidewalk, especially with a typhoon hitting the Tokyo area right before the new model’s release. Blogger Junichi Suzaki wondered if there might be something other than the promise of shiny new tech convincing people to spend multiple days and nights in line, though, and found a surprising motivation for the people at the head of the line.

Read More

Bacterium aspires to work in a toilet, dresses the part

You know that line careers guidance counsellors often use: “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have”? Well it looks like one bacterium with its eye on a gig in the bowl of a toilet has perhaps taken that advice a bit too literally…

Read More

Lawson gives you a taste of Japan’s prefectures with their new premium roll cakes

Each prefecture in Japan has its own claim to fame when it comes to locally produced products. Whether it’s lemons or sea salt, you’re sure to find something delicious sprinkled around the country. With this in mind, the Lawson chain of convenience stores has just announced eight roll cakes that each feature two different flavors from across Japan.

Read More

Fries missing from your order? McDonald’s Japan will deliver them to your door

We have all experienced it before. You’re too tired to cook, but also too tired to go sit down at a restaurant. You want a quick meal that takes no effort at all and you want to just veg out on the couch while you eat. Off to the McDonald’s drive-thru you go to order yourself a BigMac meal. You finally make it home, park yourself in front of the TV and peel open the greasy bag only to find that THEY FORGOT YOUR FRIES!!! Exhausted and completely famished, you bitterly bite into your BigMac which somehow doesn’t taste as good without a fry chaser.

But if you are in Japan, you can call up the McDonald’s you ordered your meal from and they will deliver the missing item…for free.

Read More

  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 1510
  5. 1511
  6. 1512
  7. 1513
  8. 1514
  9. 1515
  10. 1516
  11. ...
  12. 1643