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Hello Kitty is now officially over the hill, but still adorable

Hello Kitty is turning 40, but her birthday is definitely not going by unnoticed. Fans in the Tokyo area are in for a treat with the Shibuya de Hello Kitty (“Hello Kitty in Shibuya”) event. In a collaboration with Shibuya department stores such as 109, Tokyu Hands and Hikarie, Hello Kitty fans will have a multitude of ways to help Hello Kitty ring in her 40th year. It’s enough to make Avril Lavigne explode.

From whoopie pies to champagne to photo events to wrestling gear, everyone’s favorite mouthless cat is making her presence known in one of Tokyo’s most popular neighborhoods. The event runs from April 24 to May 6 (depending on participant), so many people will be able to use the Golden Week holidays to check it out.

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New Sailor Moon anime’s character artwork and voice cast revealed – Guess who’s back!

Even with the scheduled premiere of Sailor Moon Crystal just a few months away, the producers of the upcoming anime have been extremely guarded with information regarding the newest version of Japan’s most successful magical girl series ever. Up until now, the only tidbits given out were the title itself, a single piece of artwork, and some vague statements that Crystal will stick closer to the original manga than previous animated versions of Sailor Moon.

The floodgates haven’t exactly opened with the latest, and again brief, announcement, but proving that good things come in small packages, we’ve now got artwork for all five principal characters. Not only that, we now know who’ll be providing their voices, and in a move sure to make long-time fans happy, one voice actress is returning to play the same part she did in the original Sailor Moon.

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  • Apr 28, 2014

Enjoy a movie and cook a succulent dish at the same time — Braised Pork a la Titanic【Recipe】

How would you like to cook up some sweet and succulent braised pork (kakuni)… while watching a movie? Well, there’s a recipe that actually lets you do that, and it’s recently been a huge hit online inJapan due to its unique and surprisingly effective instructions.

But what could a pork dish and the epic blockbuster movie Titanic have in common? We think you’ll get the idea once you see the instructions in the recipe.

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Silver 1,000 yen coin to be issued for Shinkansen’s 50th anniversary

Japan first started issuing commemorative coins in 1964 to celebrate the Tokyo Olympic Games two specially designed coins face-valued at 100 yen (US$0.98) and 1,000 yen, respectively. They would be the first in a long string of special coins celebrating events such as an Emperor’s 60th year on the throne and the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition’s 50th anniversary.

October 1 marks the 50th anniversary of the Japan’s famous bullet train lines, and so the Ministry of Finance has seen fit to put out yet another pair of coins. The first one revealed puts the legendary train lines right up there with Japan’s other iconic symbols.

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Japanese book blows up and the internet goes crazy…kinda【Video】

YouTuber David Douchecovny, or just “The Douche,” is a fan of putting explosives on things and then shooting them. He films these explosions and posts them on YouTube. But a recent video might have gotten him into a bit of hot water as it features a product from Japan.

The Douche says he won this book in a giveaway from another YouTuber, with an attached note that read, “have fun blowing this up.” Join us after the jump to see whose book it is and whether or not it survives the explosion.

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Woman creates a scene at auto show because her man won’t buy her a car【Video】

There are some things that children do that can ruin a nice day out for an adult or for the whole family, and such behavior is generally tolerated only because they’re kids and they have no idea what a nightmare they’re causing. But when a fully grown adult throws a tantrum in public, you can be sure that it’s probably going to end up on YouTube…

Don’t see what I’m trying to get at? You might have a better idea after watching this couple arguing at an auto show, the woman screaming and pulling at her man’s shirt because he won’t buy her the car she likes.

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Race against the clock: Shinkansen staff have just 7 minutes to get bullet train ready to ride

Japan’s shinkansen, or bullet train in the West, was the world’s first high-speed train running at 200km per hour, and today the Tōkaidō Shinkansen is the world’s most used high-speed rail line. Impressively, even with over 120,000 trains running on the line each year, the average delay time is a mere 36 seconds!

Part of the reason the bullet train system can run as smoothly as it does is thanks to the ‘hospitality group’ working behind the scenes of the sleek, futuristic facades of these famous trains. These cleaning crews are charged with covering every inch of a train’s interior when it arrives at its final stop and preparing it for the next wave of customers–and they have just seven minutes to do it.

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One more check on your Japan ‘to do’ list: New capsule hotel to open at Narita Airport!

Capsule hotels are eternally fascinating to all who visit Japan. Their compact size, cheap prices, and spaceship-bunk-like nature seem quite bizarre to most people who have never had the pleasure of spending a few weeks in a submarine. While most of us want the largest hotel room money can buy, a capsule hotel literally crams people into the tiniest space available, while offering some incredible conveniences.

But when visiting Japan, there’s lots to see and do, so it’s easy to forget about checking yourself into a capsule. Fortunately, you’ll soon be able to find out what it’s like to be stuffed in a tube even at the airport!

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Tokyo pub offers “balding discount” for follicly-challenged diners

A Japanese pub deep in the heart of white-collar Tokyo wants to help out their customers whose heads are showing the consequences of too much stress and hard work (and perhaps a bit of genetics too).

The restaurant hopes that instead of covering their heads with a complex comb-over or taking a cue from monks to shave it all off, “salarymen” white-collar workers treat their thinning hair as a badge of honor and proof of their dedication to help the struggling Japanese economy. And to show their support, the restaurant has announced a generous “balding discount” as a way of thanking follicly-challenged gents for sacrificing their precious locks for the country!

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There’s a restaurant in China where all the food is prepared and served by robots

The Robot Restaurant in China’s Heilongjiang Province is a conventional restaurant in every sense, save the glaring exception that the food is prepared and served entirely by an army of 20 robots with just a modicum of human oversight.

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More animals grace the backs of Japanese students

How far would you go to be the epitome of cool at your high school? Growing up, you had to have all the right accessories, slap bracelets, JanSport backpacks, and Gap sweatshirts to be “in”. You would think the days of bright colors and zany patterns used just to stand apart from the crowd were gone the way of the 90s. Now, brand names and “style” rule the hallways. But Japan proves again that gaudy and garish aren’t negative qualities.

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Chinese beach glows beautiful blue in the dead of night 【Photos】

More often than not when we come across photos of China’s rivers or sea these days, they are accompanied by tales of environmental destruction and depressing statistical data on recent pollution levels. So for once, it’s nice to see some photos being shared online here in Japan that show China looking pretty.

And it doesn’t get much prettier than a beach sparkling a magical blue at night.

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Purchase these bizarre capsule toys because… reasons

Capsule toys are basically just useless collector’s items that you can buy in Akihabara and other areas of Japan where nerds hang out. They almost always cost one single coin; That is, deceptively, 500 yen (US$5) or less, because that’s the largest coin currency available in Japan.

They’re usually a cheap pickup that combine the low cost of molded plastic trinkets with the inherent collector’s value of some popular video game or anime characters. Of course, there are also capsule toys like these that defy any explanation whatsoever and seemingly exist just to capture the attention of extremely drunk or eccentric people.

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Earlier in the year, we brought you the news that you can now buy men’s bras and panties on Japanese shopping site Rakuten. Well, the online retailer – the beautifully named Wish Room Men’s – have released their new spring range. We are pleased to announce that it’s even pinker, frillier, and more adorable than ever!

Join us after the jump for impressively muscled manikins, lacy panties, and A-cups galore.

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Back when my college days were winding down, my job hunting had turned up two promising leads. One was with a Los Angeles-based fruit exporter, and the other was with a chain of English schools in Japan. As appealing as the idea of having an inside track to some of the world’s finest citrus was, in the end, the siren song of living and working overseas was just too enticing to resist.

Seeing as how that decision eventually led me to some amazing experiences, a wonderful spouse, and a job that occasionally pays me to drink beer, I’d say it was a good call. Still, it’s not all intriguing discoveries and delicious food, as culture shock and homesickness are also parts of leaving the country you grew up in. As much as I love it, living overseas isn’t for everyone, including more than half of new college graduates in Japan, according to one recent survey.

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A look back at President Obama’s visit to Japan

President Obama made headlines during his visit to Japan, not for his diplomatic mission, but for his first order of business: dining at arguably the best sushi restaurant in the world. Greenpeace was angry about him consuming endangered bluefin tuna, but everyone else seemed to look upon his choice in Japanese dining experience favorably, many extremely jealous of the opportunity to consume expertly crafted sushi.

But aside from raising the hackles of environmental organizations and causing the world to crave raw fish,  President Obama also had some other unexpected influences on the country of Japan. From the invention of new hashtags to the accumulation of trash around Tokyo, let’s take a look back at the Obama Effect on Japan.

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Nissan has made a self-cleaning car

Nissan

Now that Nissan has revolutionized the rearview mirror, it has moved on to another problem: It is developing a self-cleaning car.

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  • Apr 26, 2014

This rice omelet is so cute, it’ll make you see stars!

In Japan, omuraisu (rice omelet) is a ketchup-flavored fried rice wrapped inside a thin piece of cooked egg. It’s a popular yoshoku (Japanese-style western cuisine), much like other favorites such as beef stew (beef shichu) or fried prawn (ebi furai). And while rice omelets can be found on the menus of many eateries across Japan, including practically all family restaurant chains, we’re sure you’ll see that there’s something quite special about the omuraisu in the picture above that was recently shared by Twitter user erikichi0115. Yes, the omelet has been infused, it seems almost magically, with pretty white stars. And the picture has taken the Japanese twitterverse by storm, making everyone wonder how in the world the star-spangled omelet was created!

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Lupin III springs into action in trailer for live-action movie 【Video】

Earlier this month, producers shared the first photos of the cast of the upcoming live-action Lupin III film. Fans were excited to see the band of rouges from the hit anime and manga in the flesh, and now they can see them in motion thanks to the release of the movie’s trailer.

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KFC launches collaboration with soccer star Ronaldo, ensures next generation will be too fat to play

KFC Japan has announced it is getting in on the fast food giant’s tie up with international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo starting April 28 by offering new menu items at all Japanese stores. Ronaldo’s face may be all over this stuff, but something tells me this kind of fully fried meal doesn’t actually go in his face very often…

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