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Founded at the opening of the 17th century, Kyoto’s Nishi Honganji Temple is one of the city’s most prestigious Buddhist institutions. As you might expect, it has some decidedly old-school touches, such as the length of rope woven out of strands of hair donated by female believers which was used to haul building materials for the structure.

But Nishi Honganji is no historical relic. As one of the most important temples in the widely-practiced True Pure Land School sect of Buddhism, large numbers of faithful look to the temple for religious guidance. To meet their needs, the temple has come up with a modern idea that belies its 400 years of history.

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On 9 November, 2011, a member of the Association for Aid and Relief Japan, Atsushi Miyazaki was killed while helping relief effort in an earthquake stricken region of Turkey.

Although Miyazaki had made the ultimate sacrifice for another country by laying down his life, the Turkish people also have shown an unending sense of gratitude by continuing to honor his name years later.

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  • May 31, 2013

A special visual treat from Vietnam, with plenty of bang! 【Video】

In Japan, we have a tradition of enjoying huge firework events in the summer. On weekends in July and August, you can often see girls on their way to a hanabi taikai (fireworks festival) in colorful yukatas, a popular summer kimono for women when going out to fireworks events. But of course, it doesn’t have to be summer to enjoy beautiful fireworks, as this stunning video from Vietnam proves!

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First written as a children’s novel by Eiko Kadano in 1985, Kiki’s Delivery Service is the story of a 13-year-old witch who, following the traditions taught to her by her similarly magical mother, sets out to live by herself for a year to mature and learn about the world. The story achieved international fame with its 1989 theatrical anime adaptation, directed by industry legend Hayao Miyazaki and crafted by his team at Studio Ghibli.

Filming has begun on a live-action version of the story, and producers recently released the first still image from the set.

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Future idols collect 100 million eco-friendly bottle caps in just two weeks in the quest for fame

When a handful of Japan’s wannabe starlets made a plea to their limited fan base to send them as many plastic bottle caps as possible, it was generally assumed that nothing much would come of it. However, imagine our surprise when, keen to see their favorite idols hit the big time, passionate fans stepped up to donate over 100 million caps towards their case.

In Japan, fans with this level of dedication are known as “aidoru otaku”, meaning idol or star fanatics. Their enthusiasm often goes beyond the boundaries of casual fandom and enters into what can only be described as the realms of what some might deem obsessive. Even so, you’ve got to admire their team spirit- that’s an awful lot of drinks to consume!

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Tokyo Disneyland momentarily restricts park patrons from posting their pictures online

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of Tokyo Disney Resort. The affiliated hotels and theme parks are putting on an almost year-long celebration, complete with a special happiness themed parade and nightly fireworks spectacular, not to mention the reopening of the hit attraction, Star Tours. In light of all the extra excitement, management felt it necessary to add some extra rules and requests on the official Tokyo Disney site. While some of these new items were quite reasonable and occasionally intuitive, one line in particular set off warning bells for those wishing to visit the park.

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Honda to lend out more ASIMO-based walking belts for fine tuning in Japan

It’s been a few years since Honda first announced the ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative MObility) robot and its associated promises of a better cybernetic tomorrow. But now, the company seems to be doing some further beta testing for its Stride Management Assist technology which will assist in the rehabilitation of people with movement disabilities.

On 28 May, Honda announced it would be lending out 100 units free of charge to hospitals across Japan in order to monitor their performance and fine tune these robotic power walking belts.

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With locations all over the world, Starbucks has become many people’s go-to joint for a cup of joe. Even international travelers who find themselves in regions where sanitation standards may not be quite up to their own personal ones feel safe visiting the local branch of the Seattle-based coffee giant, where you can always expect a clean interior, friendly service, and fresh beans sourced from around the world.

Plus, if you visit one particular Starbucks location in Hong Kong, coffee brewed with water from a public restroom.

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Strap on your thinking caps: bath salts based on popsicle based on soup go on sale

We’ve talked before about how Gari Gari-kun, the popsicle/shaved ice hybrid, is among the most refreshing treats produced by modern society, especially during the hot, humid summer months.

But Japan is a country where a daily bath, as opposed to just a shower, is a way of life. Since most people bathe at night, this presents a problem if you’ve just cooled yourself off with a nice after-dinner Gari Gari-kun and don’t want that feeling to go to waste from soaking in a pool of hot water. Thankfully, toy manufacturer Bandai has a whole lineup of Gari Gari-kun themed bath salts, based on the some of its most popular popsicle flavors, such as soda (really a mix of apple and citrus), pear, and corn…wait, corn?!

Perhaps we should start at the beginning.

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Bedhead Buster is becoming a hit with young Japanese males

Although bedhead is something of a scourge around the globe, the young males of Japan are particularly afflicted. In a culture where the morning shower is almost unanimously ignored in favor of evening baths, people with short hair especially are at the mercy of their pillows all night long.

However, one young engineer from America, Max Valverde may have developed a cure that the whole nation can use.  Marketed as Bedhead Buster (Neguse Basuta) in Japan this shower-cap looking invention is fast becoming a hit with the teenagers for being able to easily and effective rid them of uncontrollable hair.

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Despite being something that few in-house PR teams would ever hope for the general public to associate with their brand, following CEO Satoru Iwata’s announcement that his company would not be giving its usual presentation at next month’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, the term “Galapagos syndrome” has been cropping up with alarming frequency online alongside Nintendo’s name.

The video game giant has long been known for its quirky sense of individuality and for forging paths into uncharted territories, but at a time when its flagship console is largely being ignored by consumers and both Microsoft and Sony are poised to flaunt new, technically far superior hardware at the upcoming trade fair, some are concerned that the house that made Mario is becoming something of a recluse.

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Hom-Bot Square: Cleaning those hard to reach places

Though we haven’t gotten our flying cars or cyborg super-strength arms yet, the future has kind of arrived in the form of robot cleaning machines. The Jetsons this isn’t, but at least it’s quiet, right?

One of our distinguished reporters over on the Japanese side of RocketNews24 happened to pick up the “Hom-bot Square” and wrote the following review. Now you’ll know what to put in your home so you can more like us! (A worthy ambition indeed.)

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Ninja Life Skills: How to tell if your girlfriend is cheating on you

Today’s Ninja Life Skill: how to tell if your girlfriend is cheating on you. It’s easy as pee! I mean.. pie!

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Looking for love? Tweet and ye shall find!

Ah, spring. The season of love. Or at least it’s supposed to be. Some people get completely passed by, leaving them staring at cherry blossoms alone and no one to share their delicious strawberry kakigouri (shave ice) with. They’re just… lonely. So very, very lonely.

But maybe you want to change that. Find someone to spend the summer vacation with, someone to laugh at your jokes, bicker with about which Pokémon is cutest.

Well, now you can–through Twitter!

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Finally, proof that real-life Pikachu is feline 【Video】

If you grew up with Pokémon, you probably spent years wishing deep down that they were real and you could have one. Let’s be honest, you still want one, no matter if PETA thinks you’re a monster for doing so. Well, a couple of guys from California went on the hunt to find a real Pikachu, not in the Viridian Forest, but around their neighborhood, and you might be surprised at what they found.
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SoftBank buying Facebook ‘likes’, hints at possible new job opportunities!

Do you have an active Facebook account with more than 10 friends, a filled-in profile with both profile and cover photos? If so, have we got an opportunity for you!

In a story currently making the rounds among Japanese Twitter users, it seems that SoftBank (the cellphone carrier that recently made a bid to buy Sprint in the U.S.) was seeking “Likes” on Facebook, and didn’t mind paying for them.
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Is it safe for minors to drink non-alcohol beer? We turn to Japan’s top breweries for answers

As a measure to prevent drink driving and to improve people’s health, many Japanese beer manufacturers have released non-alcohol versions of their products, with such products seeing surprisingly strong sales in the marketplace. Since the products on sale contain no alcohol, it is safe to say that there is no fear of the law being broken by underage drinkers enjoying them. In fact, it’s not uncommon to find alcohol-free beer in the soft-drink section of the menu.

Nevertheless, when it comes to minors and the consumption of non-alcohol beer, the exact legalities of it all become rather confusing. The reason being that it is still necessary to show proof of your age when purchasing non-alcohol beverages. So what’s the deal here? Is it really safe for those under age to drink non-alcohol beer? RocketNews24 got to the bottom of it all by speaking to Japan’s top beer manufacturers directly.
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Japanese apparel maker brings back “Derelicte” style with Danbo cardboard box bags

Hobo-chic is back! Just when you thought Mugatu’s Derelicte style was long gone since the peak of Zoolander, here it comes again in the form of a bag that’s made to look like a shabby cardboard box.

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Automated Dragon Quest playing computer levels your character up while you pay attention to your partner for once

If there’s one thing Massively Multiplayer Online RPGS (MMOs) are known for, other than their marriage-destroying addictive qualities and almost cult-like fan communities, it’s the absolutely mind-numbing repetition of doing the same quests and activities over and over again to level up your character.

Realizing computers are pretty good at that whole mindless repetition thing while humans generally dislike it, one entrepreneurial Japanese geek has figured out a way to jury-rig PCs that will perform a leveling task for you over and over again and is offering them for sale on bidding site Yahoo! Auctions right now.

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Put the power to control your presentations on the back of your finger with Kokuyoseki

Japanese office supply company Kokuyo S&T says that obsidian is believed to be a powerful stone which can protect against evil and calmy improve one’s focus and endurance.

This is why they named their newest device with the Japanese word for obsidian, Kokuyoseki. This little gadget slides onto your finger like a regular ring and lets you smoothly navigate your presentations without having to touch your computer.

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