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Calling all retro gamers! 1,000 Nintendo consoles up for grabs on Yahoo! Auctions

Philip Kendall
Jul 13, 2013
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Launched in 1983 in Japan, Nintendo’s Family Computer, or Famicom as it is more fondly known, quickly became a household name thanks to titles like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. Strikingly different in design to its Western counterpart, the NES, the Famicom’s low profile with its multitude of buttons and ridges and docking slots for a pair of gold and burgundy controllers is now considered to be an iconic piece of video game hardware, frequently bought and sold at auction or at used game stores.

While many gamers would no doubt quite like the idea of picking a Famicom up for themselves and reliving a few 8-bit classics, we’re not entirely sure how many people would be in the market to buy 1,000 of the things all at once…

Tokyo heat melting food samples, you could be next

Mike
Jul 12, 2013

If it isn’t already clear from the sudden influx of summer heat-themed RocketNews24 articles over the past few days, summer is officially upon Tokyo and this year she’s out for blood.

At time of writing, the temperature is expected to reach a high of 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), the streets empty as the oppressive heat drives everyone indoors like so many ants scrambling from a magnifying glass beam.

Don’t believe it? No worries, we’ve brought photographic evidence:

Omiyamairi: How Japan welcomes babies into the world

Master Blaster
Jul 12, 2013

In Japan, there’s a saying that goes: “Japanese people are born into Shintoism, get married as Christians and die as Buddhists.” Usually it’s meant to be a comment on Japan’s laissez-faire attitude towards religion. However, having experienced all three of these life events in Japan, it’s a surprisingly accurate aphorism.

In the case of birth, after one month it’s common practice in Japan to take the baby a Shinto shrine for its Hatsumiyamairi (literally “first shrine visit”) often shortened to Omiyamairi. Like weddings and funerals, these ceremonies can differ greatly depending on the region, so I thought I’d share my own recent experience at an Omiyamairi to shed some light on this lesser-known Japanese tradition.

Hot steamed buns are a great way to cool down in summer, says our slightly crazy Japanese reporter

Mike
Jul 12, 2013

I used to have a co-worker who, on the hottest of summer days, would drink a pint of hot water through a straw and claim it helped cool her down. Naturally, everyone thought she was insane or belonged to some weird religion, or both, and would try to avoid working a shift alone with her.

But it looks like her weird sect of Scientology or whatever it was may have been onto something, as our Japanese reporter swears by eating microwaved steam buns to cool off in the summer.

Akasaka’s totally non-creepy android maid cafe

Cara Clegg
Jul 12, 2013

Business district by day, at night Akasaka in Tokyo transforms into an area of dazzling nightlife, a hip and happening place where the local execs can easily spend their hefty paychecks. But among the trendy neon-lit clubs, there’s one café that doesn’t quite fit in: The Android Idol Caffe.

Hello, School Nurse! Japanese website lets you exchange emails with licensed youth caretaker

Casey Baseel
Jul 12, 2013

There are certain trappings to the ideal vision of high school in Japan. A schoolhouse with surprisingly lenient rooftop access policies is one. A bevy of beautiful, earnest coed equipment managers cheering you on in the big game is another. And no set of rose-colored school days is complete without a kind, patient, nurturing school nurse.

If you’re past your teens, most of these are now out of reach. Contrary to what anime and TV dramas have shown us, Japanese educational institutes don’t even let their own students eat lunch on the roof, much less some random guy trying to turn back the clock. Putting your grown-man strength to use in youth athletics is similarly out of the question.

Thanks to a new website that launched this month, though, it’s not too late to have another chat with that school nurse.

French fry responsible for cracking a train’s window and disrupting the service on JR Oji line?

Andrew Miller
Jul 12, 2013

According to a recent Twitter post, a train on the JR Oji line came to an emergency stop after a single French fry broke through a window. The topic has become the subject of great debate online, with many speculating as to how a mere strip of potato could have penetrated solid glass.

Yamagata fireworks show to introduce new mascot, Hanapon the halo of exploding cherries!

Master Blaster
Jul 12, 2013

This 14 August, Yamagata City will be holding its 34th Yamagata Fireworks show, one of the biggest in the Tohoku area. This year the festivities will be represented by Hanapon, the new yuru-kyara (costumed mascot) on the very crowded block.

People of Thailand prepare their bellies for the nation-wide meat eating contest

Rachel Tackett
Jul 12, 2013

In Thailand there is a chain of conveyor belt sushi and shabu shabu restaurants called Shabushi, operated by the company Oishi Group. Shabu-shabu is a Japanese dish similar to fondue, where vegetables and wafer-thin slices of meat are cooked in a pot of boiling broth at the table. One week ago, on July 4 at the Central World trade facility in Bangkok, Oishi Group held the opening ceremonies for their second annual Shabu Lympics, a shabu-shabu eating contest taking place at select branches of Shabushi nation-wide.

No need to fear dark and stormy nights with this light-up umbrella

Casey Baseel
Jul 12, 2013

A common image of the Japanese city is a concrete jungle of towering skyscrapers, tinting the night sky with the vibrant light from countless neon signs. But while you definitely can find those urban landscapes in downtown districts like Tokyo’s Shinjuku and Osaka’s Namba, take a short train ride into the suburbs and things can be very different.

My own apartment is in the most populous ward of Japan’s second biggest city, but one block away from the shopping arcade there are no sidewalks to be found, and street lights are few and far between. Add in a storm that cuts down visibility even more, and a walk home from the station can be a little unnerving.

Thankfully, PC and cell phone peripheral manufacturer Century has a solution for both problems with their light-up umbrella.

10 tips to help you survive the Japanese summer

Philip Kendall
Jul 12, 2013

Hot enough for ya!? Despite having enjoyed an extremely mild spring, summer in Japan has kicked off with the ferocity of a right-wing tiger with a bad case of hemorrhoids and a stinging mouth ulcer. If you’re from more tropical climes and currently living in Japan you’re likely wondering why everyone keeps moaning “atsuiiiii” (“It’s hoooot!”) and dabbing their faces with handkerchiefs like politicians struggling to explain cross-dressing photos published online. For the rest of us, though, summer is a sweaty nightmare than can not so much be beaten as endured.

Thankfully, we’re here today to help you out with 10 tips for getting through summer without melting into a sad little puddle. Read on, my sweaty friends.

Don’t quit meow! A compendium of cat GIFs to get you to the weekend

Jessica
Jul 11, 2013

The weekend is so close you can taste it. Just a few more hours of starting blankly at a screen, trying to explain the interwebz to old ladies, or handing out restaurant flyers dressed as a vegetable. Whatever your particular torture of employment is, you are almost free of it for two whole glorious days! To help you get there without wishing for the sweet oblivion of death, here’s some cat GIFs illustrating all the fun things you can do this weekend.

Three nations come together in friendship to share their dumpling wrapping skills

Casey Baseel
Jul 11, 2013

The dumplings known in Japan as gyoza are typically filled with diced cabbage and pork. Most of the time they’re also packed with enough garlic to make them as dangerous a temptation for office workers on their lunch break as a frosty mid-day beer.

Even though China, Japan, and Korea all have distinct food cultures, being so close to one another on the map means that some things are bound to cross borders. Case in point: all three countries love gyoza, and rightly so!

But while they’re united in their love for the food is universal, it turns out each nation has its own unique way of wrapping them, as our Japanese correspondent living in Germany recently found out.

Little fat hamster just trying to keep cool in danger from hungry Japanese

Cara Clegg
Jul 11, 2013

Summer has come early in Japan this year and everyone’s doing their best to stave off the heat in temperatures that have reached up to 40°C in some parts of the country.

In the midst of all the sweat and suncream it looks like this little guy’s found a novel way to keep cool. The added bonus is that he looks absolutely adorable, but the downside is that, at least to Japanese people, he seems positively edible!

Japanese driving pet peeves: Not so different from other countries!

Preston Phro
Jul 11, 2013

If hell is other people, then the worst thing about driving is other drivers.

Have you ever noticed that? No matter what happened, I guarantee it’s the other drivers’ faults, not mine. If you don’t believe me, look at my driving record! Not a single ticket, citation, or even a traffic stop in Japan! (Okay, I admit, I’ve never actually driven here.)

But what bugs Japanese drivers the most?

Pay it forward and experience the kindness of strangers at Tokyo’s Karma Kitchen

Rona Moon
Jul 11, 2013

Have you seen the movie Pay It Forward? The one where 11-year-old Trevor has an idea to change the world for the better by, rather than repaying a favour like a debt to the person who did you that favour (pay back), the idea is that you “pay it forward” by doing something for someone else just for the sake of it. In the movie, the result of paying it forward was a miraculous chain of giving.

As great as it seemed in the movie, in practical terms it’s difficult to pay it forward and know that the kindness is passed on. But a small restaurant in Tokyo has embraced the idea and allows customers to literally pay their kindness forward to the next guest. Our Japanese reporter headed over to Karma Kitchen to gave it a try!

US$125,000 power suit lets you battle Kaiju, snack without getting Cheeto fingers

Mike
Jul 11, 2013

Meet the Powere Jacket MK3, an elaborate power suit clearly inspired by anime and hitting the market just in time to ride the wave of excitement over Guillermo Del Toro’s Kaiju Vs. Robots monster movie, Pacific Rim.

Though the power suit is far less impressive than the towering robots of the film, according to the below video, it lets you achieve all kinds of superhuman feats, including running at faster speeds, lifting heavy objects, and eating Cheetos without getting orange powder all over your fingers.

Bus window in China suddenly explodes, operator claims it to be a first

Andrew Miller
Jul 11, 2013

It was recently reported in the Chinese media that the window of a bus traversing the streets of Wuhan Province suddenly exploded while the vehicle was in motion. One of the left-hand side windows is thought to have shattered without warning, terrifying the passengers on board at the time.

Head patrol officer goes on a molesting spree, ‘Just couldn’t forget the soft, tender feeling’ of a woman

Rachel Tackett
Jul 11, 2013

Last month a man was caught red-handed groping an innocent office lady on a train in Kyoto, in violation of the region’s laws against causing public disturbances. The man was put under immediate arrest, and while this admittedly unfortunate event may seem a bit too tame to be newsworthy, the offender was none other than the head patrol officer of Osaka’s police force! Apparently, this groping incident was far from the first for this once-respected officer.

Mt. Fuji’s World Heritage status provides fame for associated moe character Saori

Master Blaster
Jul 11, 2013

With the announcement of Mt. Fuji joining the ranks of UNESCO’s World Heritage, there has been a sudden swell of attention paid to the iconic mountain. Merchandise has been coming out fast and furious, but the popularity explosion has unexpectedly struck the cute anthropomorphic Mt. Fuji moe character Saori with some of its shrapnel. However, while people were coming for the name association, a steady fan-base is building as we learn a little more about Saori’s personality.