A chance encounter on the roads of Thailand led Mike Swift to take a video of a biker so awesomely weird that he put it out on YouTube as soon as possible. At first you’ll notice the pet bird which obediently flies alongside the woman as she rides, which is wild enough, but you’ll soon find that this little half-minute clip is deceptively deep.
When sitting around drinking late at night, the conversation inevitably turns to superpowers and which one everyone wants.
Aside from a super healing factor and flight, one of the top picks is surely invisibility–though usually for some pretty diabolical reasons, like stealing your neighbor’s newspaper.
While we’re still not quite at the level of full-on invisibility cloaks, scientists have developed a way to make cells transparent! Invisible Woman this isn’t, but maybe it’s enough to sneak a midnight snack?
(Warning: some images may not be for the squeamish.)
Even in the age of worldwide launches, the Japanese releases of Western video games and movies are notoriously late, with some titles taking months longer to appear on shop shelves or movie theatre marquees than in other countries. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is no exception, although mercifully this time Japanese gamers only had to wait six days longer than the rest of the world to begin their digital adventure, which arrived with the addition of a Japanese voice track for those who abhor subtitles.
One of this year’s most anticipated titles, video game fans the world over have followed The Last of Us‘s development closely, falling on teaser trailers and screen shots like the ravenous mutated humans that populate the game’s devastated urban environments. Finally, some 18 months after its unveiling at 2011’s Spike Video Game Awards, The Last of Us is in gamers’ hands. And, despite its design being Western in almost every respect, Naughty Dog’s tale of survival and emotional turmoil is wowing gamers all over Japan.
The following does not contain spoilers, but those who wish to experience the game with no prior knowledge whatsoever may want to ask a friend to check it out first.
The Original Pancake House, a longtime favorite of Americans, has made its way over to Japan. Located in Kichijoji, Tokyo, the restaurant has been met with long lines of hungry customers waiting for their chance to order the famous Dutch Baby pancake. Our Japanese reporter was recently amongst these eager breakfast-seekers waiting for his turn to try the talked about American dish. Like many of the people around him, our reporter went nuts after the first bite.
Japan has a few unique gift-giving traditions, like the mid-year ochugen and end-of-year oseibo gifts exchanged between relatives and business associates. For the most part though, things work the same as in any other country. Parents give toys to their kids on their birthdays, who in turn give flowers and neckties for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. And of course, couples give presents to each other.
Also like in other countries, sometimes boyfriends in Japan don’t have a clue about what their girlfriends really want. Case in point: my wife says one of the best things I’ve given her is a thermos, which speaks volumes about either my gift-selecting savvy or her extremely forgiving nature.
Thankfully, for those guys who could use a little insight into the female psyche (approximately all of us), a recent survey asked 103 Japanese women about the presents from their boyfriends that brought tears to their eyes, whether for good or bad reasons.
Chubby cats? Check. Photographer cats? Check. Cat nuts? Sure, if you’re into that kind of thing. But cool cats propping themselves up on a makeshift bar? Okay, I think that’s a first even for us!
Recently posted to YouTube by Japanese user Chikatama, the following video sees white Scottish Fold Tama and his ginger pal Fufu hanging out on a typical weekday evening, too cool to start a conversation but for some reason never wanting to go home. Suffice it to say it cheered us right up!
There’s a ramen noodle shop in Akasaka, Tokyo, appropriately called Akasaka Ramen, that’s been around for ages. One of the reasons it has lasted so long is a menu item that gets a lot of press: the Jumbo Spare Rib Challenge. If you can polish off this bathtub-sized bowl of ramen in 20 minutes or less, you will get 10,000 yen (about $100), and probably a stomachache.
Think you’ve got the guts to get the glory? Well, you probably don’t.
In Japan, summer and winter mean bonus time, which is kind of like getting Christmas twice a year. Japanese workers often use the extra money to take a well-deserved vacation or to buy something big they’ve had their eyes on for a while.
R25, a website focused on business professionals and their lifestyle, conducted a survey with 300 businessmen to find out about last year’s bonuses. Let’s see what they discovered! Read More
Nestled in the mountains of Sakyo, Kyoto lies Yasehieizan-guchi Station. Expect for the autumn when tourists from neighboring cities flock to see the changing foliage, it’s an almost eerily quiet corner of Japan.
Rumor has it that a small shop selling pickled eggplant is offering a rare part-time employment opportunity. For a wage of 1,000 yen (US$10) or more, they will pay someone to do nothing but sit around. Hours are flexible and benefits include arranged transportation to and from the jobsite along with naps.
Mr. Sato headed for the hills of Kyoto to verify this job and possibly consider a change in occupation himself. What he found, however, was the sad but touching truth behind the Mata Tora pickle shop and their weird job offer.
There have been plenty of largely portioned bowls of ramen with so much stuff piled on top that you can’t see the noodles beneath. But this one is probably the weirdest mountain-like ramen we’ve ever seen. It appears to be topped with white foam and is closer to looking like a snowy mountain peak than a steaming hot bowl of soup.
Through some elaborate camera work, realistic sound effects, and the use of small figures and buildings, this stop motion video made by YouTube user LUXE37 is impressing netizens around the world. Filmed in a retro-style with cars from the 70s and 80s, this superb stop motion film is a throwback to the golden era of car chase scenes.
In the world of sports, it’s not unusual to hear of players working through physical and mental maladies for the sake of the games they love. In fact, some might say that these kinds of amazing stories are a large part of what keeps fans interested.
But we’re not sure how many players can claim they’ve played a soccer game with a bullet in their brain pan!
When it comes to fast food, most people may think of McDonald’s. But actually, if you happen to talk to someone from the Philippines, they might mention Jollibee.
More popular than the golden arches, more sought after than the Colonel’s secret recipe, Jollibee is the go-to joint for a quick bite in the Philippines, particularly if you’re craving some lip-smackingly good fried chicken. We here at RocketNews24 have obtained Jollibee’s secret fried chicken recipe and it tastes 90 percent like the real thing. But considering it’s homemade and doesn’t require you to order from a greasy-faced teenager, we’d say that’s a pretty good.
It goes without saying that corporal punishment is unforgivable. At least that’s the mode of thinking these days (and boy are we glad for it), but it wasn’t always the case. In the Showa Period (1926 to 1989), it was incredibly common in elementary, middle, and high schools. In fact, it was so common that it seemed almost inconceivable for a school not to have corporal punishment.
Still, we wondered what it was really like, so the prestigious RocketNews24 Japan team took a survey to find out what sorts of punishments were common in the Showa Period. Read More
Tokyo police released a statement earlier this week asking the public for any information they may have regarding an incident that occurred on June 15 at approximately 9:20 a.m. wherein a man called out to a child playing in a local park.
As it transpires, though, all the man is believed to have said to the boy was, “You’ll never play for your country doing it like that!” leaving netizens wondering exactly why there should be any cause for concern.
For those of us born without trust funds, there will be precious few purchasing decisions in life where cost is no object. As a result, it’s important to take advantage of, and savor, that rare opportunity to purchase the very top of the line, whether it takes the form of preferred parking or double-ply toilet paper.
Or, as it did for us at RocketNews24 recently, McDonald’s most expensive Quarter Pounders ever.
For real, the best part of a cream puff is the cream, right? I mean, that thin bread-like exterior only serves to keep us one step farther away from the delicious juicy insides. But with the invention of the drinkable cream puff, inserting a straw into the specially designed pastry gives you direct access to the slightly soupier prize inside.
Drinkable cream puffs aren’t new, but this year’s are twenty percent bigger and come in two new flavors!
McDonald’s Japan is getting fresh with us this summer, and they’re not even waiting ‘til noon.
This may look like a location from the original Star Wars, but what you’re actually looking at here is none other than the Tottori Sakyuu sand dunes, the only ones of their kind in the whole of Japan.
Tottori, Japan’s least populous prefecture, has finally joined the vast majority of the country in being featured on Google Maps’ Streetview service, which takes ground-level images of the areas surrounding major roads. Of course, this being Tottori, there weren’t always roads to drive on…
There’s a lot of talk about omega-3 fatty acids and their controversial health benefits ranging from cancer to joint pain and even mental disorders. And now it looks as if a team led by Masayuki Sekiguchi at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP) in Tokyo have found another thing omega-3 possibly cures: lingering fear.
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[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
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