Featured

Beautiful Japanese-Made Fountain Pens Make me Want to Learn to Write All Over Again

As a man whose handwriting could be defined as infantile at best, I can’t help but admire those who can wield a fountain pen like a paintbrush. Thanks to the bizarre way in which I hold my pen (I’m right-handed but people often ask if I’m a lefty purely because my grip is so odd), writing with any pen whose ink is wetter than a cheap ballpoint’s results in my hand turning blue and an enormous horizontal smear of ink across the page as if the letters were warping through time.

After seeing this short video from Japanese pen makers Namiki, though, I’m genuinely tempted to sit down and practice writing my ABCs all over again if it means that I can correct my awkward grip and learn to write as beautifully as this…

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In relatively violent-crime-free Japan, there was a shocking case this year where a woman in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture was stalked and murdered by an ex-boyfriend, who then killed himself. That’s tragic enough on its own, but new information has come to light that it may have been the police themselves who enabled the ex to track her down. Read More

Japan Develops Fart-Deodorizing Underwear: Silent and NOT Deadly

Gather around boys and girls, we’re going to hear a frank and serious story about smelly farts, butts, underpants, and old people smell.  More importantly, this story is about the man who may make all of these things extinct.

This story follows the creation of Inodore, a Japanese-made material that did something to stop not only fart smells, but a range of other body odors deemed “unpleasant” by society.  This company has found a method to eliminate foul smells from the body without the use of any harmful chemicals or powerful perfumes.

Their clothing products currently on sale can trap and eliminate everyday body odors like sweat and gas by over 95%, 80% of which is erased in the first 30 seconds of contact.

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Meet the Great White Hope of Japanese Snowboarding: 14 Year-Old Miyabi Onizuka

Snowboarding is still a young event in the Olympics, yet Japan hasn’t been able to score a medal.  This has been frustrating for the country that hosted the first snowboarding event in ’98 and as whole has widely embraced the sport on a recreational level.

Well, here comes a new challenger! Out of Kumamoto Prefecture, 14 year-old prodigy Miyabi Onizuka is tapped to be the next big thing in Japanese snowboarding.

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KISSTIXX Lip Balm Flavors Change While You Kiss

Smooching, swapping spit, making out.  It doesn’t matter what you call it, kissing is awesome.  But let’s be honest, sometimes it’s not so great.  From chapped lips to a funky taste you can’t quite put your finger on (tuna fish, maybe?), there’s a lot that can go wrong while you’re snogging.  But what if there was a product that could improve your make-out sessions and even make them more exciting.

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It’s Just Like a Handshake… 【You, Me, And A Tanuki】

You, Me, And a Tanuki is a weekly featured blog run by Michelle, a Californian who is currently one of only two foreigners living in Chibu, a tiny fishing village on one of the Oki islands in Japan. Check back every Saturday for a new post or read more on her website here!

I have encountered many things in Japan that prompted me exclaim in disbelief, “that did not just happen!”

For example:

“I did not just see a guy peeing on the side of the road”

“That bunch of strawberries does not cost $20!”

“That lady did not just ask how big my husband’s thing is”

But the one that takes the cake, something I’ve said (on several occasions) is “that kid did not just stick his fingers up my butt.” 

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Pocky & Pretz Day 2012 Hopes to Break World Record and More

Every year on 11 November people in Japan celebrate Pocky & Pretz Day. In case you don’t already know, Pocky are thin cookie sticks with chocolate, strawberry, or other flavored frosting.  Pretz are a more mature stick with salty flavors. Their simplicity is matched only by their sheer addictiveness.

Because of the date’s resemblance to the snacks (11/11), every year, their maker Ezaki Glico cooks up a special campaign. In 2011 on Pocky & Pretz Day if you tweeted a special sentence using Pocky and a particular hashtag you could have won free snacks.

However, for Pocky & Pretz Day 2012, Glico has their sights set on entering the Guinness World Records.

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Japan’s Most “Painful” Athletic Meet and Car Festival Brings Hoards of Otaku to Washinomiya

Thanks to popular anime, Lucky Star (Raki☆Suta), all of Japan has become familiar with the city of Washinomiya in Saitama prefecture.  The Washinomiya Shrine in particular has become famous among fans because of its appearance in the opening credits of the anime.  As a result, every year since 2007, Washinomiya Shrine has been invaded by hoards of otaku looking to ring in the new year; 2012 being a particularly busy year with 470,000 Lucky Star fans visiting the shrine.  Cities associated with popular anime often see an influx of visitors looking to take pictures and recreate scenes from their favorite anime, especially those that have been featured in magazines highlighting popular anime and manga locales, like Washinomiya Shrine.

Recently, a different kind of otaku gathering took place in Washinomiya.  Named “Crush Fest in Washinomiya 2012,” this event is arguably the most “painful” otaku athletic meet in all of Japan.  At the same time, a “painful” car festival took place, bringing in anime otaku from far and wide.

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Make Citrus Your Bitch With the Citrus Sprayer

Nothing livens up a salad or a roast chicken breast like a bit of fresh lemon, but isn’t it a pain to have to do all that cutting and squeezing? Don’t you just wish you could grab a lemon off the tree and pump it dry on the spot?

Well, now you can with Citrus Sprayer, a clever little utensil that turns fresh citrus fruit into a natural spray bottle!

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In Asian countries, working on an airplane is considered a highly skilled occupation.  Aside from the usual flying skills and regulations, both pilots and staff also need knowledge of another language (particularly English).  On top of that, physical limitations like height and vision make for a rather shallow pool of candidates.

In China, a country often given a bad rap for lax regulations, the restrictions are even tighter as having smelly underarms is grounds for expulsion from becoming a pilot.

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“Sunny Day and Twin Tail,” World’s First Pigtail Photo Album Released by The Pigtail Association of Japan

Pigtails, or “twin tail” as it’s called in Japan, is a hairstyle typically seen on cute little girls.  However, “twin tails” are making a comeback in Japan and women of all ages are enjoying the adorable double-ponytail style.  The pigtail hairstyle has gained so much popularity that it has even inspired the creation of a national association.

On November 11, The Pigtail Association of Japan will release an entire photo album dedicated to cute girls wearing their hair in pigtails.  The album, titled “Sunny Day and Twin Tail” contains 204 full-color pages and will be sold for 2520 yen (US $31.70).

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It’s stories like this that restore my faith in humankind.

Staff at a hospital in Tokyo went the extra mile this week by organising a second wedding ceremony especially for a patient who was unable to attend his daughter’s wedding in October.

The patient, 57-year-old Masaru Tanaka, was admitted to the hospital in December last year after the driver of a truck knocked him off his motorbike, confining him to a hospital bed after suffering a severe cerebral hemmorhage. Hearing the sad news that Masaharu was unable to attend his own daughter’s wedding, staff at Akirudai Hospital in west Tokyo put their heads together to bring the celebrations to him instead.

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Japan Develops Single Passenger Silent Mini Electric Helicopters, Travels at 100km/h (62mph)

Every once in a while a story comes along about a flying car or helicopter that fits in a briefcase, but they always disappear into the ether never coming to fruition.  It’s understandable since everyone having their own mass produced flying machine would be a safety and law enforcement nightmare.

This time, however, Hirobo in Hiroshima Prefecture may be rolling out a personal helicopter that will actually get off the ground.

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On a recent trip to Naha, Okinawa, our correspondent spotted a Starbucks t-shirt which, at first glance, looked like a factory reject, but turned out to be a clever tip of the hat to traditional Okinawan culture.

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Japan came up with Gandam, a huge robot that, along with his driver, protects the world from all sorts of evil, so it is likely that they would come up with KURATAS, a true to life robot that can be manipulated from a cockpit inside.

As we reported awhile ago, KURATAS is the creation of a blacksmith iron and steel artist Mr. Kogoro Kurata. And, as we mentioned a few weeks back, the mech was opened to orders in October after two and a half years of tinkering around in the workshop.

So just how has demand for KURATAS, which carries a hefty $1.25 million price tag, been?

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New Magic Liquid Makes any Pair of Gloves Touchscreen Friendly

As great as touchscreen-operated mobile devices are, they’re a real pain in the neck when it comes to winter and you have to pull off your gloves to operate them.

It’s fine if you stop in a cafe or restaurant where you can slip your gloves off and type a quick message or check an email, but when an unexpected phonecall comes in and you’re left swiping at the unlock screen like a cat pawing at the TV during a nature show, you soon grow to hate using a smartphone in winter.

Gloves with special metal fibres in the tips have been on the market for a couple of years now, but they’re not always of the greatest quality. And even if you do find a decent pair, what if you already have a pair of gloves that you’re attached to and would rather use instead?

Japanese company Onsight might just have the perfect solution…

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LSH Pork Cutlet: It’s Finger Sucking Good!

Everyone wants a little KFC, but Asia in particular has embraced the greasy wings served up by everyone’s favorite self-made restaurateur Colonel Sanders.  In Japan, the Colonel is so beloved his statues can be found outside of nearly every franchise – often in costume.  He even enjoys the same privacy rights as other citizens.

He is also the victim of various copycats this side of the Pacific. In Korea there is said to be a knock-off restaurant operating right next to a legitimate KFC in broad daylight.  We sent Kuzo in for reconnaissance.

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Korean Feces Wine is a Real Thing and We’ve Got Two Bottles of it, Contains Cat Bones as Well

Ttongsul, or “feces wine”, is a Korean drink made by pouring soju, a distilled grain alcohol,  into a pit filled with chicken, dog, or human feces, and leaving the mixture in the pit for three to four months until it ferments. It is then extracted from the pit and drank straight, with the belief that it can cure illness and help in the aid of bone fractures.

It sounds like the stuff of urban legends, but Ttongsul is indeed a real beverage that, while by no means popular, can still be found if you know where to look.

How can we be sure? After nearly six months of extensive research, RocketNews24 was able to track down a private Ttongsul vendor in South Korea and procure a bottle of the elusive feces wine ourselves.

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New Diet Soft Drink “Pepsi Special” Released in Japan, Promises to Restrict Fat Absorption

Pepsi will release a new cola in Japan that contains “fat-blockers” to help prevent the absorption of fat in the body.  The secret to Pepsi Special’s fat-blocking power is dextrin, a fiber molecule that is said to prevent the digestive system from absorbing fat.

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