Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
We’re sure many of you readers are as sick of hearing about the Japan heat as we are suffering it, so let’s talk about some different weather! In specific: Rainy days and umbrellas!
Posting on Japanese news and community site My Navi News, a university student has asked the online community for its take on his somewhat unique predicament he found himself in after using everyone’s most hated insect to prevent his umbrella from being stolen.
Regular readers may be aware that we’ve done a fair amount of reporting recently on the unrelenting heat here in Japan and on ways to battle the sweltering temperatures. Naturally, eating cold or frozen snacks is one way to cool down, but now major Japanese dairy manufacturer Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. has now come out with an ice cream with a special ingredient that does more than keep you cool. The secret is a special ingredient that, although commonly used in cooking, is not what you would typically expect to find in an ice cream!
Teaming up in a collaborative effort for the first time, the Yokohama Grand Intercontinental Hotel and the nearby Nissin Cup Noodles Museum have created two Chicken Ramen-themed rooms for connoisseurs who just can’t get enough of those tantalizingly delicious instant noodles and their irritating lovable chicken mascot Hiyoko.
Nintendo has announced that it will be giving visitors to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con event the chance to get their hands on a number of as-yet-unreleased Nintendo games for Wii U and 3DS.
Being based in Japan, the spiritual home of video games, we’re used to feeling smug about getting our sticky fingers on most of Nintendo’s titles before many in the West, so you can be sure this news has left us greener than Luigi’s cap with envy!
Just because playing video games is the preferred hobby of many nerds and otaku-types (like us!) doesn’t mean they lack class. Game music in particular has improved in leaps and bounds over the years, almost as much as the graphics themselves. These days, many big-budget games contain fully orchestrated scores by famous movie composers, and even those that don’t can be arranged to fit a symphony.
This weekend at San Diego Comic Con, a performance of symphonic video game music called Video Games Live will be taking place. And, for the first time ever, this highly anticipated show will be broadcast around the world, thanks to the live streaming web services at Twitch.
Japan is facing a potential crisis. While the rest of the world has been readying itself for the zombie apocalypse for years now thanks to the likes of author Max Brooks and his The Zombie Survival Guide, the inhabitants of the land of the rising sun have been given precious little to prepare them for life after society has been torn to shreds by the flesh-hungry living dead.
Thankfully, with World War Z–a movie loosely based on Brooks’ 2006 novel of the same name–finally hitting Japanese cinemas on August 10, the powers that be have decided it is time to arm the nation with the knowledge it’ll need to survive. Arriving in bookstores next month, a Japanese language version of The Zombie Survival Guide might just keep the country going until we can start rebuilding society.
Results of an analysis by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and others released on the July 16, suggests that force generated by a large-scale earthquake could cause internal cracks within Mt. Fuji, leading to a major eruption of the recently listed UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.
Big news for Disneyland fans everywhere! Tokyo Disneyland’s popular attraction “Jungle Cruise” will be reopening in fall 2014! Our Disney-crazy reporter in Tokyo has the scoop. (Don’t blame us for the excessive use of exclamation marks!)
A shocking murder case has come to light in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, involving at least two high school girls–one of whom was the victim–and the communication smartphone app Line.
The body of the 16-year-old high school girl was found in the mountains outside of Kure City on July 13, after an ex-classmate was taken by her family to the police to confess.
Sometimes the heat here in Japan really does get too much, but this mystery guy’s cool-down method seems to have backfired. Angry Japanese Netizens are up in arms at the possibility that the selfish iceman may have sullied precious ice-cream with his stinky sweat.
Despite most Asian countries being notably fond of Japan, according to the results of a recent public opinion poll carried out by an American research organization, China and Korea have a distinctly poor image of the land of the rising sun, and it appears to be getting worse over time.
Japan really knows how to put the stigma into stigmatized properties (homes and rooms to rent where people have committed suicide or are murdered and the like). The fear of moving into such a place and becoming like the guy from The Shining is such that real estate agents find them nearly impossible to unload. Especially with websites mapping out exactly where they are, potential renters and buyers know just where to avoid.
Recently though, a listing appeared on Japanese real estate site SUUMO which attempted a whole new approach to offloading a stigmatized property, with the author trying to convince you, the potential renter, that it’s actually great to live in a place where someone violently died!
A young man from Nanjing, China, has been arrested after stealing more than 800 social science textbooks, history compendiums and poetry books from a book shop in the town. When questioned by police, the young man maintained that he was searching for ‘the meaning of life’ within the books’ pages.
Withdrawing its previous objection, Sony Corporation has agreed to pay a civil fine of 37.5 million yen (about US$375,000) to British authorities after the 2011 security breach of its online gaming network resulted in the leakage of millions of users’ personal information.
The smartphone is perhaps one of the neatest inventions we have. They allow unprecedented access and communicative abilities—until the #$%& battery dies! What good is a five-inch screen with a quadcore processor and more gigs of ram than my last laptop if the battery is dead by noon? This has led to numerous power-saving methods, external batteries, and, of course, apps claiming to extend battery life. Today, we discovered one app that does a little more than just extend your battery life, it also creeps you out and makes you feel like a terrible pervert! Yah!
While searching the Internet for a new kind of summer pick-me-up, our reporter came across a recipe for chicken wings stewed in Red Bull. Desperate for any way to get a little more energy during the hot summer months, and encouraged by the rave reviews online, she decided to try this bizarre dish for herself.
Thirty years ago today, on July 15, 1983, Nintendo released the Family Computer game system, affectionately (and pretty much officially) called Famicom. The designing process began back in ’81 by Masaki Uemura and his team who dealt with tight budgets and little hope of success. However, this machine breathed much-needed life into a suffocatingly over-saturated gaming market that was only in its infancy.
What better way to brighten up a rainy day than with a cute girl shielding you from the downpour? And if you can’t find a girl to hold your umbrella, then maybe a girl on your umbrella is the next best thing…
Possessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
Uniqlo announces first-ever collaboration with horror manga master Junji Ito【Photos】
Bad tourist manners lead to new Mt. Fuji view-blocking scree at Japan’s “Fuji convenience store”
Japanese idol group asks fans to be respectful towards pre-teen singer for heartwarming reason
Big dam Godzilla appears in Japan as power-washer art on side of 195-foot dam【Video】
Starbucks Japan reveals new holiday goods for the 2024 festive season
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Shimonoseki’s Koreantown isn’t like Tokyo’s or Osaka’s, but it has a retro atmosphere all its own
Eight unforgettable hot springs, as recommended by Japan’s “Professor Bath”
Taking the Kyoto overnight bus for the first timePossessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
Studio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fansUniqlo announces first-ever collaboration with horror manga master Junji Ito【Photos】
Mt Fuji convenience store becomes “lawless zone” as tourists hurl abuse at security guardsEight unforgettable hot springs, as recommended by Japan’s “Professor Bath”
Celebrating Good Couple’s Day in Japan…by getting our significant others to dress us
7-Eleven Japan releases fukubukuro lucky bags filled with convenience store surprises
Travel tip: Fukuoka has a great luggage delivery service that’s cheaper than a coin locker
Beautiful Totoro bag returns, still requires jumping through an extra hoop to get, still worth itStarbucks Japan reveals new holiday goods for the 2024 festive seasonPossessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
Ghibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle themeStudio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fans
Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】
Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in Japan
Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label designPossessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Starbucks Japan reveals new holiday goods for the 2024 festive season
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Shimonoseki’s Koreantown isn’t like Tokyo’s or Osaka’s, but it has a retro atmosphere all its own
Eight unforgettable hot springs, as recommended by Japan’s “Professor Bath”
Taking the Kyoto overnight bus for the first time
Mt Fuji convenience store becomes “lawless zone” as tourists hurl abuse at security guards
The impossible circular staircase is just that… impossible【Video】
Flying dango: Unique tourist site where Japanese sweets are flown to you over a gorge
Studio Ghibli releases new “Butterflies in the Forest” Totoro towels
New Godzilla has super-thick thighs thanks to Studio Ghibli anime veteran
McDonald’s Japan’s Gurakoro burger faces a giant rival in Komeda’s Gurakuro
End of the line for Japan’s absolute favorite waitress uniform and one of its favorite pie places
Giant Clodsire Pokémon plushie comes with up to 32 Woopers in super size, super cute set【Pics】