Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Here at RocketNews24, we’re no strangers to the culinary charms of extremely meaty hamburgers. Time and again, we’ve seen chefs in Japan push the burger envelope by offering increasingly massive sandwiches.
Today, though, we’re looking at the polar opposite: a bun-based sandwich with no meat at all. While a lack of beef may run counter to our baseline burger beliefs, there’s one important detail that turns this from sacrilegious to scrumptious.
The patty has been replaced by potato chips.
The beds and couches at Ikea are communal nap spots in China. Photographer Kevin Frayer captured the phenomenon for Getty Images.
Eight of the world’s 10 biggest Ikea stores are in China, where the home goods store is expanding to accommodate the growing middle class.
“The stores are designed with extra room displays given the tendency for customers to make a visit an all-day affair,” according to Frayer. “Store management does not discourage shoppers from sleeping on Ikea furniture, even marking them with signs inviting customers to try them out.”
The stores are a refuge in the summer heat.
Seoul, South Korea’s War Museum announced on Thursday that it has cancelled a planned exhibition centered around Eiichiro Oda‘s One Piece manga due to protests of the Japanese flag appearing in art being displayed, among other reasons.
What child hasn’t run around swinging a giant sword at imaginary enemies? We did it when we were kids and we’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that you did too! It’s just too bad that you can’t do it as an adult–at least not without someone calling the police! (Don’t ask how we know.)
Except that you totally can! Iaido, a Japanese martial art which uses real swords, is all about swinging blades at imaginary enemies–and it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Of course, most iaido schools don’t use “giant” swords, since, in reality, an arm can only stretch so far. But certain styles have told reality to go jump in a river and given practitioners swords big enough to make Sephiroth blush.
Check out the awesome “giant sword” videos taking the Japanese Internet by storm below!
Following the first semifinal game of the World Cup, German football fans draped in black, red, and gold were seen celebrating in Japan’s busiest intersection, the Shibuya scramble crossing. And they sure had a lot to celebrate about.
The blowout match against Brazil saw seven goals scored by the German team, four of which came within six minutes. Most of the action took place nearest Brazil’s keeper who had to try and fend off the German forwards who were crossing the ball multiple times in front of the net as if the Brazilian defense wasn’t even there. So yes, their team through to the championship match, these German fans had every right to be celebrating and Japanese Twitter users were quick to upload their elated antics.
It’s no secret that Japan is seriously into cuteness. Accordingly, in most situations, deeming something kawaii, or cute, is seen as high praise.
This is especially true when it comes to women. Whereas in English-speaking countries some may take issue with what they perceive as a diminutive or demeaning connotation to the word “cute,” in Japan, calling a girl kawaii is almost universally considered a compliment. Even actresses and models who would ordinarily be described as “beautiful” by English speakers earn kawaii cred if they have a kind smile, or any other sort of soft warmth to the aura they project.
But while just about any Japanese woman is happy to be called kawaii, things aren’t quite so simple for men.
Every gamer knows that good video game music can make or break a game. This is especially the case in RPGs where players spend a lot of time walking across the world; those light-hearted melodies accompany you as you perform the often tedious task of moving from town to town. Background music is also immensely important to platformers like Super Mario and Sonic. That music better be catchy because you are going to be hearing it again and again when you keep missing that third jump off the floating platform!
RocketNews24 has brought you the video game a-cappella styles of Smooth McGroove before. Well it’s been almost a year since then, what has he and his super chill cat been up to?! Among other things, turns out he’s been traveling through Kanto and the world of Pokémon!
With the recent premier of Sailor Moon Crystal, anime’s most famous magical girl is back in action. But while the basic premise is largely the same as it’s always been (klutzy girl and her friends team up to fight evil while wearing pleated skirts), the characters look noticeably different than they did in the previous anime from 1992, as we recently saw in a side-by-side comparison.
The new artwork does look a lot closer to creator Naoko Takeuchi’s original manga, but not everyone is taken with the extremely willowy proportions and super-long shins of Crystal’s character designs. Thankfully, if you’re one of those left cold by the new look, you can always crank out a few Sailor Scouts of your own instead, with the awesome Sailor Senshi Maker.
For the past few decades, getting around Japan has been a snap using the extremely efficient rail network that crisscrosses the country. Even better, in just a few years, not only will you be able to go anywhere on the main island of Honshu by train, but you’ll be able to do it in style, thanks to luxurious new trains servicing the Chugoku, Kanto, and Tohoku regions.
Hokuriku, the part of Japan running along the central northern coast of Honshu, isn’t about to be left out though, and its upcoming train may be the most opulent of all, with an interior decorated with traditional lacquer and gold leaf.
Aaron Porter is a man on a mission. Giving up drinking in 1998 and smoking two years later, he took up running. Before he knew it, his new hobby had become his life’s passion, and he began taking part in marathons, half-marathons and ultra-marathons, running thousands of miles in a single year. Running, Aaron notes, was his recovery.
Now, though, he wants to help others recover. With the goal of running the entire length of Japan, from Kyushu to Hokkaido, Aaron is aiming to raise as much money and awareness for tsunami relief as he can. To do this, however, he needs sponsorship. Which is where you come in.
Scooters are a popular means of transportation in all Asian countries for their small size and fuel economy. In Japan not a day goes by where you don’t see a dozen or so small engine bikes puttering around the streets.
However this video taken from Taiwan is on a whole other level. What must be thousands of scooters pouring off the Taipei Bridge are simply making their daily commute. The roughly two-minute video is eerily reminiscent of the million-duck march in Thailand last month, and yet it’s also strangely relaxing to watch.
Last month a set of futons for smartphones caught our eyes. Considering all the handy gadgets do for us, we agreed it’s only fair we help them get the rest they need. After all, don’t you enjoy a good’s night sleep at the end of a busy day?
Still, you don’t want your smartphone loafing about all day. Sooner or later it’s got to get up and get to work, just like you. Of course, unless you’re a work-from-home nude model, you can’t be running around without any clothes on. Once again, it’s only fair that you apply the same standards and extend the same consideration to your phone by giving it a proper set of clothes, like this school uniform from the hit anime Love Live.
I love Tokyo’s awesome, full-scale statue of Gundam as much as anybody. I try to at least stop by and say hello to Japan’s most famous giant robot whenever I’m in Odaiba, and when time permits, I’m happy to sip a beer or munch on a pretzel from the adjacent shopping center as I stare up at the 18-meter (59-foot) tall mecha.
As I mentioned before, though, it has always seemed a little ironic that the monument is stationary. After all, the series is called Mobile Suit Gundam. Shouldn’t he be moving?
Actually, in a few years, he just might.
The brainchild of martial arts expert and lifelong Street Fighter devotee Joey Ansah, live-action series Assassin’s Fist was finally released on May 23 this year. Of course, you could stay home and watch the episodes on YouTube via Machinama‘s official channel, but if you happen to be in Tokyo on August 2, you could take in a special screening of the entire series in one night!
What’s white and sweet and makes you feel happy all over? Well, Mister Donut Japan’s new line of doughnuts that has just been released this week certainly fits that description! While Krispy Kreme Japan may have added a little zing to their doughnuts by combining them with ice cream, Mister Donut has come out with a new series of white doughnuts created in collaboration with Calpis — known as Calpico in some countries, perhaps due to its unfortunate pronunciation — the popular yogurty-tasting white drink loved by people of all ages in Japan.
So, let’s see what delectable milky-white treats Mister Donut has in store for us this summer!
From December of last year until this February, Tottori City held an open call for mascot ideas for a character to represent the Tottori Castle ruins. The ruins were named one of Japan’s 100 notable castles and have enjoyed an influx of tourists.
The mascot idea which came in second place was Katsue-san, the starving farm girl. When the announcement of Kazue hit, the internet lit up with excitement. However, she mysteriously disappeared from the Tottori City website soon after.
As any young Japanese college graduate can attest, Japan’s hellish job hunting process can be one of the most stressful and demotivating periods of a person’s life. Numerous rejections, along with that feeling of isolation after seeing those around you get job offers, is enough to make anyone severely depressed.
So what does that have to do with a gas company, you ask? A commercial by Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. which features a girl in the midst of the job hunting process has been stirring up controversy and was even taken off the air. Why? Apparently, its portrayal of the painful job hunting process was so accurate that it left people feeling a little too miserable after seeing it.
Pop idols and boy bands are ten a penny these days, with multi-million-dollar enterprises built on farming young talent, putting it on stage in matching outfits and telling it to follow a routine. Japan has more than its share of floppy-haired boy bands and short-skirted songstresses, many of them decidedly awful and with as much charisma as an emphysemic squirrel with a penchant for racism, but a new group from Taiwan called Ice Man is raising eyebrows all over Asia this week, not just because they’re “painfully uncool”, but because they have nevertheless garnered quite the following and are already making stacks of cash.
If you live in the States, you may remember a few years ago when Congress blocked a proposal that aimed to make school lunches for children healthier. One of the provisions which stirred up considerable debate involved increasing the amount of tomato paste necessary to be considered a full serving of fruits and vegetables, but the proposal was eventually nixed, effectively maintaining that the tomato sauce used on pizza could count as a serving of vegetables.
After a Japanese news site broke the story fashionably late last month, Japanese people were incredulous to hear that from a legal standpoint, “pizza is a vegetable” in the U.S. Read on to learn more about the ongoing debate and some reactions of readers.
Hundreds of shopping malls across the U.S. have been forced to shut down following years of debilitating declines in consumer traffic.
In many cases, the shuttered malls are left to decay for years before developers or local governments raise the funds to bulldoze or renovate the space.
Pseudonymous photographer Seph Lawless traveled the country for years to find these forgotten malls and document their decay from the inside.
The photos he captured are haunting and apocalyptic, featuring dead trees and abandoned shopping carts against landscapes of broken glass and crumbling walls.
He compiled the photographs in a new book, “Black Friday: The Collapse of the American Shopping Mall,” and shared some of them with Business Insider.
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Japan has trams that say “sorry” while they ride around town…but why?
What’s up with the secret basement at this Japanese train station?
The other side of Shibuya Station has a great restaurant for trying tamagokakegohan
Fives places around Japan to appreciate the plum blossoms this season
Poop is in full bloom at the Unko Museums for cherry blossom season
Sakura Totoro is here to get spring started early with adorable pouches and plushies
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japanese motor home is like a time machine to a bubble era Tokyo private bar, on sale now【Photos】
Yakuza bosses struggling to upgrade phones from 3G
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Now is the time to visit one of Tokyo’s best off-the-beaten-path plum blossom gardensNaruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Can you eat lunch in Tokyo for less than 500 yen?Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Japan releases first official sakura cherry blossom forecast for 2026Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamedStarbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Archfiend Hello Kitty appears as Sanrio launches new team-up with Yu-Gi-Oh【Pics】Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourismTake a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning looks to be affecting tourist crowds on Miyajima
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 homeJapan’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】Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Poop is in full bloom at the Unko Museums for cherry blossom season
Sakura Totoro is here to get spring started early with adorable pouches and plushies
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japanese motor home is like a time machine to a bubble era Tokyo private bar, on sale now【Photos】
Yakuza bosses struggling to upgrade phones from 3G
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
We taste the Adult Cream Pie from McDonald’s Japan
The etiquette rules for visiting Shinto shrines in Japan
Cute coffins now available at Tokyo’s coffin relaxation salon[Photos]
Beyond Goldfish crackers – Japan getting 75 different Pokémon crackers this summer!
Tokyo’s Ueno Station has an unmanned noodle restaurant on its platform, and its no-joke good
Playing Switch 2 games with just one hand is possible thanks to Japanese peripheral maker