Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
As the end of the week closes in, it’s time to slow things down a bit and unwind. It’s been raining in Tokyo for the past couple of days, and we all know what cool, rainy weather does to us, right? It makes us feel oh so sleepy… like these fluffy… real-life Pikachus…
W-what? Did I just say Pikachu? I mean, Viscacha! Just look at them dozing off on the rocks!
With her unique mix of weird and cute, you’d be hard-pressed to find an animation fan who doesn’t recognize Ponyo, the fish-girl from legendary director Hayao Miyazaki’s 2008 film of the same name. On the other side of the Pacific, justabout anyone with even a passing interest in comics at any point in the last 40 years knows who Marvel’s Wolverine is.
While one character is a symbol of innocence and whimsy, and the other of machismo and toughness, Ponyo and Wolverine’s paths have actually crossed, in a small fishing port called Tomonoura, where the mutant superhero made such an impression on the locals they named a rose after him.
And no, this isn’t fanfiction we’re talking about.
As we’ve declared before, convenience stores are one of the many things Japan gets awesomely right. And out of all the conbini in Japan, one of the greatest things housed within the walls of popular convenience store, Lawson, isn’t found on the shelves, but nestled safely behind the counter. Yes, their perfectly plump, consummately crispy fried chicken dubbed “Karaage-kun” costs a mere 210 yen (US$2.05) for hot, salty bliss. With a heart full of love for Karaage-kun, we could barely contain our jealousy upon learning that Mr. Sato, the most…unique reporter from our Japanese site, was invited to the Lawson headquarters to try out their new grilled Hokkaido corn-flavored Karaage-kun.
And so Mr. Sato marched down to crispy chicken HQ, still rocking his post-apocalyptic haircut, to try our most favorite convenience store snack. Little did he (or we) know that he would also be presented with an ultra-top-secret fried chicken unfit to be consumed by children younger than 15 years of age.
Have you ever wondered what Sailor Moon soldiers would look like if they travelled to an alternate reality and were drawn by a western hand? Well, thank goodness for fan art because one clever artist has delivered the fantasy. This unique collection of Sailor Moon pictures has the scouts looking more like Disney stars rather than sparkly-eyed anime characters, and with heartbreaking back-stories in each beautiful portrait, you’ll be seeing the girls in a totally new light.
Crossdressing and genderbending are not only long-time staples of Japanese anime and manga, but also of TV and celebrity culture. From this, anyone would think that Japan was one of the most open and accepting countries when it comes to people who don’t fit into traditional gender roles or relationships. However, the reality outside of media and entertainment is often quite different. Family and work life are both still clearly divided down gender lines, and men who engage in anything that blurs or crosses these lines are generally shunned. But could the girl who dumps a guy just because he turns up to a date in a dress be the one who’s really missing out?
While people around the world are still in love with Disney’s Frozen, in Japan it’s all about Anna and the Snow Queen. The Japanese title for the animated movie puts the focus firmly on the two heroines at the centre of the story, and whether you’re a fan of Elsa, the Snow Queen with the X-Men-like ability to create snow, frost and ice, or Anna, the younger, darker-haired sister, you’ll be in awe of the dedication this Japanese netizen shows to her favourite Disney princess. With some clever hairstyling and awesome makeup, it’s like Anna stepped out of the frozen kingdom and into the real world!
There are so many 2-D girls out there with different hairstyles and colours, body shapes, and personalities, although they do all share the same big googly eyes. And apparently the sexiest of them all share something else in common too. Did your waifu make this list of the top 10 sexiest female anime characters?
Yes, we Japanese love our beer. In fact, many a drinking session in Japan is begun with someone literally saying, “Let’s start with beer, shall we?” So it’s not really surprising to see Japanese beer companies come up with interesting beers to catch the public’s attention.
But we have to say this particular beer produced by Sapporo Breweries is truly one-of-a-kind. The limited edition beer, which will become available for pre-order online later this month, is made using a very unique ingredient — obtained with the help of some small, hard-working winged critters. It’s the Ginza Brown beer, the only beer in the world made from honey bee yeast!
Whenever a suspicious person is reported to the police it gets up loaded to the Zenkoku no Anzen/Anshin Mail (National Safety/Security Mail) website accessible anywhere in Japan. However, every once in a while a “suspicious person” added seems suspiciously not suspicious.
Such is the case of a student who was approached by a middle-aged man and forced to go to the police after being asked “Where is a bathroom?”
The majority of popular manga and anime are filled to the brim with characters that have ridiculous special moves. But while fans with a reasonable grasp on reality know they can’t possibly recreate Goku’s Kamehameha beam or Attack on Titan’s gravity-defying leaps, part of the appeal of action sports manga and anime is in trying to recreate the awesome-looking (though usually wildly rule-breaking) special moves featured within. Think every North American kid that tried to recreate The Mighty Ducks’ infamous “Knuckle Puck,” but far more ludicrous.
But we’re a little concerned that we might soon be seeing a nationwide epidemic of Japanese kids turning up to hospital with all kinds of mangled limbs in the near future, because already pretty ridiculous soccer manga Captain Tsubasa just introduced this wildly dangerous and maybe physically impossible new special move:
It’s time once again for travel website Trip Advisor’s list of the best places in Japan, as chosen by overseas visitors to the country. One of the things that makes Japan such a fascinated place to travel is its extreme mix of historical and modern attractions, both of which are represented in the top 30 which includes shrines, sharks, and super-sized robots.
What’s that you say? A survey that polled Japanese women about two of the country’s most popular anime series? I wonder what kind of questions they asked! Maybe we can learn how Japanese audiences feel about the female characters in Gundam! And does Shinsekai Evangelion really offer a “radical solution to the socio-environmental curses of patriarchy“? Maybe they’ll talk about female otaku being under-represented in mainstream media! And whether the word “otaku” still carries negative connotations…
But wait! Oh. What? This survey only has one question! “What kind of men do you like better”, the pollsters asked, “guys who like Evangelion, or guys who are Gundam fans?” Oh.
Let’s play a game. I’m going to say a word, and you have to say the first thing that pops into your mind. OK, ready? Here it goes: ANIME!
What was the first thing that you thought of? Maybe the stereotypical big eyes, or common visual aids like sweat drops? Regardless, chances are you weren’t alone in your thinking–even though there are some incredibly original and groundbreaking works of Japanese animation, there are unfortunately just as many series with incredibly clichéd story lines.
It appears that an article covering this topic from last year on science and science-fiction-themed website i09 has recently been making the rounds online. Translated versions of the piece, titled “10 completely annoying anime cliches,” have just recently popped up on Chinese and Japanese websites under the tagline “10 conventions in anime that foreigners are fed up with.”
We bet you’ll have no problem recognizing them!
Burger King Japan has just announced the “60th Anniversary ‘B’iKing Battle,” inviting anyone with the stomach and speed for eating seven Whoppers in half an hour to apply. Sounds pretty sweet, right? Maybe…we have a feeling the grand prize is the last thing participants will want to receive after polishing off two-days’ worth of calories.
Food, although mostly delicious, doesn’t always look beautiful. But what if food that was tasty also looked cool? Something as simple as the humble pancake, always delicious, was turned into some pretty wicked art by a few artistic chefs on the Internet. It’s definitely making us impressed and hungry!
In some ways, the island of Okunoshima, in western Japan’s Setonaikai Inland Sea, seems like a terrible vacation spot. It’s already in an out-of-the-way region of the country, and with no connecting bridges, the only way to get there is by boat.
Then there’s its dark past. During the 1920s, ‘30s, and early ‘40s, Okunoshima was the site of a secret chemical weapons lab for the Japanese Imperial Army. The clandestine work being carried out there earned it the sinister nicknames Poison Gas Island and The Island Erased from the Maps.
Happily, the postwar years have seen a return to more peaceful, benign activities on Okunoshima. As a matter of fact, in the last few years it’s become one of the area’s most beloved tourist destinations, and the reason why is easy to see from the other name Okunoshima is called by, Rabbit Island.
Luigi has always played second fiddle to his brother Mario and it seems all those years of pent-up jealousy and anger have surfaced in Nintendo’s eighth edition of Mario Kart. Scores of English-language sites have already reported on what many are calling “Luigi’s Death Stare,” and all that news coverage has finally made it over to Japan, inspiring a multitude of comments by surprised Japanese gamers.
Fans of Attack on Titan are sort of in the doldrums right now as far as developments go for the smash hit anime and manga franchise. The recent release of a new collected volume for the comic means there’s likely to be a long wait until the next is released. The live-action adaptation isn’t scheduled for release until 2015, and the 50 lucky participants of the package tour that involves filming the movie have already departed.
Thankfully, there’s still one thing to look forward to in 2014, and that’s the first of two upcoming animated Attack on Titan compilation movies, which now has a release date.
Life inside a communist country with a controlling dictator for a leader is not only suffocating and dangerous; it’s also vastly different from life in developed countries elsewhere across the globe.
Joo Yang, who defected from North Korea in 2010, did an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit Wednesday and explained what it was like to leave the oppressive country and experience life in the outside world.
North Korean defectors have to escape the country covertly. Some of them were basically brainwashed by propaganda growing up — one defector who spoke to UK newspaper The Independent said she was raised to believe that Kim Jong-il was a god who could read her mind.
Yang joined her family in South Korea in 2011. An NGO helped her travel through a “modern-day underground railroad” to escape North Korea.
Here are some of the observations she made about life in North Korea versus life on the outside:
Tokyo government organizes food truck event to clear out delinquent/homeless teen gathering area
Studio Ghibli adds new anime tumblers to its cool streetwear brand in Japan
This Japanese vending machine doesn’t sell drinks, but you can buy drinks through it
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Is Daiso’s microwave Japanese rolled omelet maker worth your time and money? [Taste test]
Muji’s Sofa Made From Air review: Is Japan’s most sought-after portable couch worth the hype?
Japan’s budget chain restaurant Saizeriya might just be the perfect first date location
New Uniqlo x Pokémon collection coming to Japan this month!
Tokyo man arrested for underwear theft after instant, raging attraction to another man
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in TokyoJapanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping listStarbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Cherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season
Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Komachi Shokudo: Japanese mum’s-style cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner in TokyoTokyo government organizes food truck event to clear out delinquent/homeless teen gathering area
When will the cherry blossoms reach full bloom in Japan this year?[Forecast]
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day FrappuccinoStarbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the countryCherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
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
Is Daiso’s microwave Japanese rolled omelet maker worth your time and money? [Taste test]
Muji’s Sofa Made From Air review: Is Japan’s most sought-after portable couch worth the hype?
Japan’s budget chain restaurant Saizeriya might just be the perfect first date location
New Uniqlo x Pokémon collection coming to Japan this month!
Tokyo man arrested for underwear theft after instant, raging attraction to another man
Taste-testing Japan’s real-world Dragon Balls and Senzu Beans at Marugame Seimen
Peko-chan Milky Time Cafe opens in Chiba and we go to check out all of the pastries and merch
Japanese office disaster: man pees in drink bottle of woman coworker because “he liked her”
Fanta Socata!? Now available exclusively from Japanese vending machines
Häagen-Dazs Japan releases new ASMR ice cream called “Rocky Crunchy!”
Man arrested in Kobe after stuffing fried chicken into woman’s mailbox
Potato ice cream from Family Mart takes ice cream to a whole other level【Taste Test】