Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Bad weather holidays were the greatest reason for not going to school. Sometimes, though, the severe weather isn’t quite enough to force a closure. The wind isn’t quite strong enough or the rain or snow isn’t dangerous enough. So, if the school says classes are on, you do what you can to get there. A city in Vietnam has “schooled” everyone with the incredible lengths they will go to get students to their classroom.
As dyed-in-the-wool Japanophiles, we’re always happy when something from Japan catches on overseas. Not too long ago, if you lived outside of Japan and liked your fish raw, or your music Japanese, you were part of a pretty small group. Now, though, it seems like every coastal city in the U.S. needs at least one good sushi restaurant in order to claim a respectable dining scene, and J-pop acts go abroad to play in front of adoring, passionate fans.
So when the writers at our Japanese-language sister site told us a new fashion trend with Japanese roots was winning over American fashionistas, including actress and musician Zooey Deschanel, we thought maybe we were about to get the inside line on the summer’s hottest look.
Then, we found out what she was wearing, and we got a chuckle instead.
Do you love Lego? Are you an adult living Tokyo? Don’t you wish that “no admission to adults unaccompanied by children” rule didn’t exist so you could stop “borrowing” kids from the local playground just to hang out at the LEGOLAND in Odaiba?
If so, we have some excellent news for you! Starting in May, the LEGOLAND Discover Center in the Decks Mall will host an adults-only night once a month!
So, apparently numerous ’50s and ’60s B-Movies (and one glorious ’80s cartoon) and a popular, genre-defining video game weren’t enough to deter scientists from playing God with plant-life if the growing number of hybrid vegetables available on Japanese store shelves is any proof.
These days, most hybrid vegetables are created over a roughly 10-year period of crossbreeding certain seeds in what we presume is some kind of laboratory setting, although the practice has been alive for centuries – yielding some hybrids that the general public isn’t even aware are hybrids. The Romanesco, for example, is a cross between broccoli and cauliflower, and was created in the 16th century. Side note: It’s also probably mind blowing to look at while high.
But the things we’re seeing increasingly often in Japan these days are just plain weird.
Given Japan’s unbridled love of things technologically advanced or just plain pretty, it’s no surprise that the country can’t get enough of projection mapping. High-tech artists have put on projection mapping shows at this year’s Sapporo Snow Festival, and just a few weeks ago Kawasaki hosted an event which recreated the monstrous villains from hit anime Attack on Titan in full scale.
But if Sapporo is too cold and the Titans too terrifying, there’s another display coming up that’s sure to be milder in both climate and content though just as visually impressive, as projection mapping is coming to Cinderella’s Castle at Tokyo Disneyland.
When we first heard about the new banana-based Frappuccinos from Starbucks, we had a sneaky feeling that they just might be a big hit. Bananas have always been a popular fruit in Japan, after all, and the description of the two new Frappuccinos made them sound seriously mouthwatering.
Now that they’ve been on sale for over 10 days, it seems the banana Frappuccinos have been successful beyond everyone’s expectations, and with McDonald’s also having come out with original banana beverages as well, bananas appear to be the sizzling hot ingredient in the world of Japanese cafes at the moment. So, of course we had to look into what everyone was going bananas about!
To most people around the world, the word ‘Yankee’ is used as a (sometimes derogatory) slang term for Americans in general. To most Americans, ‘Yankee’ refers to a person living in one of the six northeastern states of New England. To die-hard Red Sox fans, just hearing the phrase ‘New York Yankees’ is enough to make their blood boil. But that’s a different story…
Curiously enough, the word ‘yankee’ (ヤンキー) has also established itself within the Japanese lexicon, albeit with extremely different connotations. In Japan, a ‘yankee’ conjures up images of juvenile delinquents and biker gangs (more on that later). While this Japanese subculture may have died down considerably since its heyday in the 1980s, one museum in Hiroshima Prefecture has just opened a special exhibit titled ‘Yankee Anthropology’. This exhibit explores Yankee culture from a serious, academic perspective and includes various related realia. If you’ve always been fascinated by this aspect of Japanese subculture, now’s the perfect excuse to head over to Hiroshima!
As we’re all aware by now, Russia is apparently filled with the worst traffic imaginable. The seemingly Mario Kart meets Carmageddon levels of danger on the road have led many–if not all–drivers in the country to set up cameras in their cars for insurance purposes. And once something is captured on film, you just know it’ll end up online. Obviously, that means YouTube is overflowing with some of the most terrifying–and hilarious–traffic videos that Russia has to offer.
But a video that surfaced last week has proven to go far above and beyond anything we’ve seen so far. It’s already been viewed over eight million times since it appeared on April 23, and is one that you absolutely don’t want to miss.
Sales of a new survival horror manga from Earth Star Entertainment have been postponed due to an unfortunate case of horrible timing.
The manga, which debuted last November in Monthly Comic Earth Star, features a group of teenaged school girls struggling to survive on a deserted island. The cause for the delay is probably obvious, but click before more information.
As a very young kid, I remember going to the arcade with my brother and pumping quarters into a game called Cliff Hanger. Like the classic Dragon’s Lair, its gameplay consisted of snippets of hand-drawn animation with occasional prompts for the player to move the joystick or hit the action button. Also like Dragon’s Lair, Cliff Hanger was ridiculously difficult, and with each of our numerous deaths, we had to once again start over at the beginning of the scene.
The repetitiveness should have bored us to tears, but instead, we were captivated by the amazing artwork on display, and with good reason. The visuals for Cliff Hanger were culled from the 1979 anime film The Castle of Cagliostro, the very first movie directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki.
Really though, the proper way to experience the film isn’t on a scratched arcade monitor as you grip a set of greasy controls. This is a classic that deserves to be seen on the big screen, which is once again possible, as The Castle of Cagliostro is returning to theatres with a painstakingly remastered version.
It’s never too early to start planning some fun summer activities, like getting a group of friends together for a barbeque. If any of your pals have even a passing interest in anime, though, don’t bother inviting them to your get-together if it’s going to be on July 5. They’ve already got plans that day, even if they don’t know it yet, because that’s the day the new Sailor Moon anime premiers.
On the afternoon of 25 April, the Lower House of Parliament passed an amendment to the nation’s Holiday Act which includes a new public holiday Mountain Day (Yama no Hi). The next step involves the amendment to go into deliberation in the Upper House where it is expected to be approved again.
Although this comes as welcome news to the nation’s tired workers, Japanese holidays tend to be arbitrary affairs named after random things like the ocean. This time, though, Japan’s newest holiday is name after something truly special. Still, I can’t help but be surprised how many fans of Mountain there are in Parliament…
Almost all of the conventional wisdom from American intelligence agencies about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been wrong, Peter Sanger of The New York Times reports.
The mysterious Japanese manga author Tsugumi Oba is returning to the comic book world after a two-year hiatus this May with a new manga called Skip Yamada-kun.
Oba, who wrote the popular manga series Death Note and Bakuman, is writing the new manga for an upcoming special 35th anniversary edition of Shukan Young Jump magazine called “Jump” meets “Girl” SPECIAL COMIC, which will hit books shelves on May 8. And unlike his past comics that were serialized across several magazine issues, this new manga is a single-issue standalone story.
Between the way Japan has embraced technology and just how incredibly safe the country is, it’s easy to forget that it really wasn’t so long ago that the whole nation was still under the feudal system. Until 1868, “samurai” was still very much a viable career choice, as the ruling shogunate relied on a trained warrior class to keep the peace.
How much the traditions of Japan’s fabled swordsmen live on in Japanese society today is something scholars love to debate, and while there are points to be made both for and against their importance, there’s one thing that unquestionably remains, and that’s photography of real-life, genuine samurai.
My family got its first cat when I myself was barely a year old. She and I more or less grew up together, her dying (at which point I was heartbroken, naturally) when I was 23. We’ve also had a couple of other cats along the way, and whenever I see a cat in my neighbourhood here in Tokyo or visit my friends who have them, I always stop to say hello.
It turns out, however, that for all my years living with and around our domesticated feline friends, I clearly know nothing about them. I mean, can you explain what on earth this cat here is doing!?
In 2012, Odakyu Hakone Highway Bus Company, which operates bus service to the mountain town Hakone, ran a Neon Genesis Evangelion-themed bus. Hakone corresponds to the anime series’ Tokyo-3, a new version of Tokyo built there after an apocalypse demolished its predecessor. The bus service’s popularity has led to an Evangelion bus revival.
We’re not really sure what to make out of this recent bizarre news out of Taiwan. Nine years ago, a man who was 32 years old at the time claimed to have fallen in love with an eight-year-old girl, even receiving a promise from the girl’s mother that he could wed the girl once she came of age. He then reportedly spent the next several years providing the girl’s family with financial assistance.
Fast-forward to the present, where the man learns that not only has his “betrothed” secretly married another man, but even has her own child. His next course of action is to file a lawsuit against the girl’s mother for fraud. How do you think his case turned out? More details after the jump.
Taro Aso might be remembered by some as the last prime minister to serve during the revolving-door era of political leadership that occurred in the last decade in Japan, with the country being led by five different men between 2006 and 2012. During that time and elsewhere in is political career, however, Aso has also become well-known for his numerous gaffes such as saying he wanted to make Japan a country that “rich Jews” would want to live.
Now serving as Deputy PM and Minister of Finance, Aso’s legacy of inappropriate comments lives on. Following the recent visit by US President Barack Obama, the former prime minister felt it was time to give his two cents about the American leader.
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.
Mr. Sato takes a walk on Tokyo’s American-style street to get some American/Japanese ice cream
The Japan Burger Championship 2026 in Yokohama next month is the ultimate battle of the beef
Japan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Same name tops lists of most popular dog and cat names in Japan, and there’s probably a reason why
Tokyo’s insane Garlic Ramen is a meal, and an aroma, you’ll never forget[Taste test]
Sushi Pizza surprises diners in one of the best food destinations in Japan
133-year-old Japanese company’s cookies go beyond matcha with dashi and shichimi flavors
Two new Sailor Moon art manhole covers are coming to Usagi’s real-world Tokyo neighborhood
Tokyo restaurant offers lunches for less than 1 U.S. cent…if you’re good enough at rock-paper-scissors
Krispy Kreme releases new limited-edition fox doughnuts at only four stores in JapanJapan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Tokyo’s new extra-expensive ramen restaurant is dividing opinions, so we tried a bowl
Gundam teams up with 300-year-old daruma maker for wood-carved anime mecha figures[Photos]
Japanese temple burns to the ground, fire burning inside for 1,200 years unharmed
Japan’s instant ramen snack theme park features an athletic course even adults can enjoy
Krispy Kreme Japan is bringing two special donuts to the most-forgotten big city in the country
Pizza Hut Japan’s drinkable curry pizza is here – Is it all we dreamed it would be?[Taste test]Krispy Kreme releases new limited-edition fox doughnuts at only four stores in JapanTwo new Sailor Moon art manhole covers are coming to Usagi’s real-world Tokyo neighborhood
Japan’s izakaya pubs closing at record pace, failing to attract foreign tourists
Tokyo’s life-size Gundam anime mecha statue will be removed this summer
The average age of Japan’s hikikomori shut-ins is getting older, survey shows
Japan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at home
Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
Kanji ice cream becomes a sell-out hit in Japan
Japan’s new Pokémon jackets give you the look and powers of the Kanto starter trio
Japan now has gyoza doughnuts, and they taste like no other doughnut we’ve tried beforeJapan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Studio Ghibli releases new anime keychains that are like miniature figurines
Japan has a new cute and clever sunblock for cat lovers
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
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
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Sushi Pizza surprises diners in one of the best food destinations in Japan
133-year-old Japanese company’s cookies go beyond matcha with dashi and shichimi flavors
Two new Sailor Moon art manhole covers are coming to Usagi’s real-world Tokyo neighborhood
Tokyo restaurant offers lunches for less than 1 U.S. cent…if you’re good enough at rock-paper-scissors
Krispy Kreme releases new limited-edition fox doughnuts at only four stores in Japan
Own a piece of anime history with U-Treasure’s Astro Boy gold miniature figure
Gundam teams up with 300-year-old daruma maker for wood-carved anime mecha figures[Photos]
What makes the Starbucks Japan chocolate terrine so popular?
Pizza Hut Japan’s drinkable curry pizza is here – Is it all we dreamed it would be?[Taste test]
KFC Japan’s “The American Burgers” include a pile of guilt
Tokyo’s new extra-expensive ramen restaurant is dividing opinions, so we tried a bowl
Japanese temple burns to the ground, fire burning inside for 1,200 years unharmed
Japan’s izakaya pubs closing at record pace, failing to attract foreign tourists
2021 Salaryman Poetry Battle showcases some dark but hilarious poems