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University students start a JK fan club, confuse twitter users everywhere

Oona McGee
Dec 2, 2013
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Clubs are a big part of student life in Japan. From junior high school all the way through to university, students spend hours away from home with their classmates, immersed in an extra-curricular endeavour of choice. While sporting clubs, music clubs, and culture clubs are common, it’s not everyday you come across a JK club. So when a group of university students posted their pamphlet for new recruits online, even Japanese netizens were left scratching their heads. Could this be a group of JK Rowling enthusiasts? A Japan/Korea appreciation society? The real answer turned out to be just as perturbing, with Japanese commenters still wondering why.

7 odd and uniquely Japanese restaurant experiences

Scott R Dixon
Dec 2, 2013

Although visitors to Japan routinely compliment the country for its world-class hospitality and excellent customer service, dining in Japanese restaurants can be a confusing experience for tourists and residents alike. Even the most seasoned long-time expats can still be put off by some of these strange behaviors. Of course, everything is relative as Japanese tourists overseas complain about the opposite, but click below to find out seven ways that a visit to a Japanese restaurant may surprise you!

Anime fans ecstatic over Taiwanese fan-made short “Attack on Railgun”

Scott R Dixon
Dec 2, 2013

A Taiwanese film production group has released their short film Attack on Railgun, which merges two popular anime series into an incredibly well made and high quality homage. The short combines the worlds and characters from Attack on Titan and A Certain Scientific Railgun to create an exciting new story in the live action movie. Japanese fans of the anime series have been impressed with the CGI, the plot line and especially the fact that all of the actors speak Japanese in the short film!

PM Abe depicted as Charlie Chaplin in protest of Secret Protection Bill

Master Blaster
Dec 1, 2013

If you happened to have been around the West Exit of Shinjuku Station this week you might have seen this poster hanging around. In it we can clearly see a photo of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe done up to look like Charlie Chaplin in the film The Great Dictator. Around him are the words “Take back Japan” and “Prewar.”

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The top 10 baby names in Japan 2013

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Dec 1, 2013

The name you give to your child will stay with them for the rest of their life, so parents are always careful to choose one that will stand the test of time and carry them through to adulthood. In the United States, Sophia and Jacob took the top spots for baby names in 2013, while Ava and Noah took first place in the UK (depending on which site you consult). Let’s take a look at this year’s top 10 baby names in Japan as reported by Japanese pregnancy and parenting site, Tamahiyo.

The adventures of Mami in the land of picture books at Pennennenemu Green Café

Master Blaster
Nov 30, 2013

Once upon a time in the magical kingdom of Japan there lived a young girl named Mami. Always she would ask her parents to read a children’s book by the name of Guri & Gura in which two field mice share good times together. Her most favorite story of all was the one in which Guri and Gura find a large egg and make a big fluffy cake out of it. However, as the years passed by and Mami grew into a woman, she gradually stopped reading the adventures of Guri and Gura and eventually went to work as a reporter for RocketNews24.

One day, her wicked step-editor called out, “Maaaaamiiii! Write me something about food! I’m hungry!” Checking the internet for something to write about, Mami learned of a famous café in Osaka. Other women wrote marvelous things about it saying, “It’s a real picture book world!” and “Everything about it is cute!” Thinking this was a nice place, Mami boarded a train for the land of Umeda not knowing what was waiting in store for her.

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Subway train driving on the streets of Tokyo 【Video】

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Nov 30, 2013

Have you ever seen a subway train driving on the street? One of our Tokyo-based reporters did and it was the first time he’d ever seen anything like it. It all started on the night of November 26…

Samsung’s naughty ad: When autocorrect strikes back

Scott R Dixon
Nov 30, 2013

Typographers and moral crusader beware! A risqué Samsung billboard promoting their Galaxy 3 notepad has been, ahem, erected in four countries, leaving the South Korean company with a potentially embarrassing public relations mess. The offending ad must have been designed by someone who forgot to turn off the autocorrect feature before editing, making for an unintentionally hilarious billboard. Click below to find out what the racy sign says!

Hokuto City chooses developmentally challenged sushi as new mascot

Master Blaster
Nov 30, 2013

Every once in a while we report on the bustling mascot business in Japan, especially regarding the regional cute mascots known as yuru-kyara. Often these characters are chosen to represent a city, prefecture or even neighborhood by way of election.

This was also the case in Hokkaido’s Hokuto City as they took votes for their new representative character. Thousands of citizens cast their votes for whom they felt best represented Hokuto life and culture, ultimately choosing… that thing above.

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Girl builds herself a boyfriend out of soap bubbles

Philip Kendall
Nov 29, 2013

“I’m taking a bath with my boyfriend,” tweeted one Japanese netizen going by the name of Machiko, uploading a photo with her message. Despite the suggestion of sauciness, however, rather than being something that moderators would quickly remove or fellow users would tag as inappropriate, the image was retweeted and favourited thousands of times in just a few short minutes.

After all, it’s not every day you see a life-sized boyfriend made entirely out of soap bubbles…

Looking for a new pad? How about living in a refurbished love hotel?

Philip Kendall
Nov 29, 2013

When it comes to finding a new place to live, most people spend weeks, even months trying to find somewhere that’s just right for them. In urban Japan, where rented accommodation is usually both more compact and in higher demand than in the West, finding an apartment can be even trickier, and prospective renters often have to make snap decisions or risk missing a good deal; opting for a ground-floor apartment and paying a little less; choosing a place with an all-in-one bath, sink and toilet unit rather than separate facilities; getting a place a little further from the station if it means living in a nicer area–you see “close enough” and you grab it.

But would you really feel comfortable living in an apartment knowing that it was once used exclusively for sexy shenanigans every single night of the week? Welcome to the world of love hotel renovation!

Cute little gamer knows the score【Video】

Philip Kendall
Nov 29, 2013

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the weekend has finally arrived! We know exactly how we’ll be spending ours, and we have a feeling that gamers in Australia, Europe, Central and South America will also be spending theirs much the same way following the arrival of Microsoft’s Xbox One and, finally hitting stores outside of the US this very day, Sony’s PlayStation 4.

Of course, one little gamer already knows exactly what’s up, and despite being barely 22 months old and the PS4 having only been released a week or two ago, is already more than familiar with the hardware if this video is any indication.

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Video shows “mutant” crawling on the side of a building in Russia

Master Blaster
Nov 29, 2013

Having read comics a lot as a kid I always dreamed of having a mutation. Having my genetic material altered so that I could fly or turn invisible would have been great. However, as I grew up I realized that mutations often lead to things like health problems and considered myself better off.

Now watching this video, I may have to reconsider. According to the person who posted it on YouTube it was taken in Russia. It appears to show a humanoid creature crawling across the exterior of an apartment building.

7 things you should know before moving abroad

Jessica
Nov 29, 2013

I’ve lived abroad three times in my life. Once was a homestay in France, once was a semester studying in Germany, and now I live and work in Japan. I don’t expect that I will ever move back to the States. I love Japan and have wanted to live abroad almost as long as I can remember. Even so, it has sometimes been challenging for a girl from suburban Arizona who didn’t even get a passport until she was 18, and lately I’ve been wondering what I would tell my younger self to better prepare her for this crazy expat life.

With the help of our globetrotting friends, we’ve come up with this list of seven things you should know before moving abroad.

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We search for Japan’s best convenience store fried chicken, just in time for Christmas

Casey Baseel
Nov 29, 2013

Like many people who grew up in the US, I used to think of food cooked at a convenience store as the absolute last resort for sustenance. Things are different in Japan though, where the hygienic, attentively-staffed convenience stores are more akin to compact local grocers. Aside from a variety of boxed lunches, you can even get tasty hot food, such as fried chicken.

Fried chicken, it just so happens, is the traditional choice in Japan for Christmas Eve dinner, so with the holiday fast approaching we decided to stage a little taste test to see which convenience store’s fried chicken is the best.

To test or not to test — when knowing can become an unbearable dilemma

Kay
Nov 29, 2013

We all know that nature can be cruel at times. Even when something as wonderful as the birth of a new baby is involved, nature — in the form of genetic fate — can dole out unexpected and not always favorable challenges. And now, as technology makes genetic screening of fetuses easier than in the past, the big question more and more parents-to-be will likely be facing is, do you actively want to know beforehand if something may not be quite right with the little one you’re expecting. Here in Japan, some early data on a new prenatal screening procedure has recently been announced, providing us with some sobering food for thought, and we thought we’d share with you a summary of the reports.

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We try swapping out the hard drive of a PS4, let the Xbox One hold the beer

Master Blaster
Nov 29, 2013

Our resident food writer Kuzo loves travelling the world in search of new and exotic McDonald’s food. However, he’s also been known to experiment with game consoles in between meals.

When the Nintendo Wii U came out he tested its online capability while riding nearly 300 km/h on the Shinkansen. Now with his newly acquired PS4, he’s going to attempt to upgrade the built-in hard disc drive (HDD) with a faster solid state drive (SSD). The following is his report.

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Tamagotchi is back!!! My 8-year-old self rejoices!

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Nov 29, 2013

I remember the days of Tamagotchi (and the far less cool NanoPet) and how our teachers always struggled to keep us from feeding or picking up after our little digital creatures during class. The Japanese gadget was a hit with us 90s kids and will forever be one of the coolest toys of our childhood. And now, Bandai is back with a new version of Tamagotchi. But this new installment of the portable digital pet, called Tamagotchi Friends, has a new social media twist.

Doggy bread, the newest, cutest gachapon to win our hearts!

Preston Phro
Nov 29, 2013

It’s fairly common knowledge that Japan is overrun with vending machines. If they ever gained sentience and decided to go on the offensive, the country would be pretty much screwed as far as we can tell. Fortunately, maniacal wizards don’t seem to be real, so we can keep them around to serve us drinks and snacks without having to worry about being attacked by vicious Coke machines.

Of course, there are tons of different vending machines in Japan, but the most popular must be the gachapon ones. The toy dispensing machines are fun for everyone with an addiction to collecting, from children to adults. The recent trend for gachapon machines seems to be dogs, but today we found an utterly bizarre–and adorable–take on the theme: “Inupan” or “Doggy Bread!”

Curved screens and bendable batteries: Say hello to the gadgets of the not-so-distant future!

Philip Kendall
Nov 29, 2013

No matter how shiny and slim your new smartphone is, no matter how high-definition a display it has, it’s still very much a slab of plastic and metal with a screen sitting in the middle. But what if your phone’s screen could wrap around the sides? Imagine if the edges of your tablet computer could also be used as a touch screen, removing the need for physical buttons entirely. Or how about a wrist watch whose strap could also function as a display?

Imagine no more: Japan’s SEL is already producing that very technology, and it’s positively droolworthy.