Making a snowman is one of the simple pleasures of winter (or a really great way to cope with the freezing cold). But would you ever buy a snowman that someone else has made? Several visitors to one city in China have and more are sure to follow.
You may have been under the impression that McDonald’s has already taken over the world. But even though it has already succeeded in introducing the Big Mac to over 120 countries or territories around the globe, it still has a few places left to conquer. Up until now, Vietnam was, perhaps surprisingly, one of those places. But not anymore with the grand opening of Vietnam’s first McDonald’s shop, which also happens to be Vietnam’s first drive-through restaurant and first 24-hour chain store. Opening day proved to be a smashing success with hordes of people flocking to sink their teeth into a juicy burger. Interestingly, due to the prevalence of scooters in Vietnam, the drive-through line was almost completely composed of people driving not cars, but scooters! Join us for a look at some opening day scenes with pictures taken by people who were there.
What would you do if you had a father-in-law who made handmade gifts like the one in this photo? Well, if you’re a hardcore Gundam fan, you’d probably be pretty ecstatic. A few days ago, one Japanese netizen tweeted a photo of his father-in-law’s hand-carved Gundam figurine complete with giant bazookas. It gets even cooler because this isn’t even the first one that was made! You won’t believe the following photos showcasing one man’s incredible artistic talent.
Models from Shoko Nakagawa and Chiaki’s talent company donned Peach John Sailor Moon–inspired intimates in a recent magazine ad campaign.
High school is a drag, especially in Japan. Along with all the typical tests and homework that come with being a student, there’s a seemingly never-ending list of rules (you must wear special indoor shoes, wear a mask if you’re sick, open all the windows in the dead of winter to ventilate the room) that are enough to make even the most diligent of students want to scream. That’s why these Japanese students are really nailing this high school thing. Not only have they found a way to have a little fun amongst the stress and pressure of school life, they’re pulling it off with style and creativity that not only brings a smile to their own faces, but the faces of procrastinating netizens all over the world. Nailed it!
These days, it’s not a rare sight to see people playing games on their mobile devices while riding the train or waiting for a bus, or even sneaking in a round or two at work when no one’s looking. It’s understandable that sometimes a worker might need a breather, and a few quick minutes crushing candies, battling monsters, or “farming” on the smartphone could be a great stress reliever. But guess what happens when the whole office is engrossed in games? Somebody shits in their pants.
Or at least that’s what happened at the Liquan County Public Office in Shaanxi Province, China. For real.
Everyone loves rabbits! With their long ears, adorable noses, cute plump bodies, and prophetic abilities, they’re almost as loveable as penguins or kittens!
And fortunately for all you rabbit lovers out there, a veritable rabbit paradise exists in the form of Ōkunoshima, an island just 3.4 kilometers (about 2.1 miles) off the coast of Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture! Here hundreds of wild bunnies romp freely and openly around the island–happy to bound up to humans for food. You don’t know cute until you’ve seen a literal “rabbit stampede!”
“Pump torture. After sitting, you stand about a hundred times.”
A United Nations panel has accused North Korea of crimes against humanity, including systematic extermination, “murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence … and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.”
The report is based on a year of public hearings with about 80 witnesses as well as confidential interviews with another 240 victims, including people who’d spent time in North Korean prison camps and experts.
Kim Kwang-il, a 48-year-old man who spent two years in a prison in North Korea, defected to South Korea in February 2009 and subsequently had professional artists draw sketches based on his recollections of torture and the conditions of prisoner life. Some of these were included in the report.
Never shy of releasing a special edition product or two, Japan’s Konami Corporation has announced a limited “Fox Edition” Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes-themed PlayStation 4 console just for Japanese gamers ahead of the game’s release on March 20.
We’re sure the console will appeal to some people’s tastes and fans will no doubt want to add it to their collection of MGS merch, but quite honestly we’re not entirely bowled over by the design Konami went with.
Japan’s got a somewhat unusual obsession with knee-high socks, with enthusiasts having come up with no fewer than two days a year to celebrate their love of thin-covering legwear. Of course, the country has the other, less unusual fetish of exposed skin.
But what about smartphone users who can’t pick between the two? Isn’t there a way to satisfy both their cravings at once?
Why yes there is, with a new app that lets users swipe the screen to make a model raise or lower her socks.
The Olympics gives the world’s most talented athletes a chance to show their abilities to people all over the globe. It also gives the world’s most wealthy marketers a chance to show their products to that same audience.
Among the Games’ biggest sponsors is Samsung, whose Galaxy Note 3 was granted the title of official phone of the Sochi Olympics in thanks of its manufacturer’s generosity. Some reports are claiming that the Korean electronics maker isn’t showing a respect for healthy competition, though, by asking athletes with iPhones to make sure they cover the Apple logo when on-camera.
Think you have to choose between giving money to charity and buying cool new stuff with your favourite characters printed on them? Think again, my friend! Pokémon will launch a super-cute new line of products on March 8, with all proceeds going to kids affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
Like the awesome POKÉMON with YOU train, the bright and cheerful line of products aims to bring smiles to the faces of children affected by the Tohoku disaster.
BBC Television’s Sherlock is, without a doubt, one of the best TV shows of the decade–nearly anyone who’s seen the contemporary re-imagining of the legendary Sir Connan Doyle character is bound to agree. From the mysteries themselves to any of the numerous brilliant aspects of the show, it can be a bit difficult to pin down exactly why it works so well.
Well, unless one you’re one of the many Chinese women totally enthralled with the sexual tension between Sherlock and Watson!
Golf is one of the hardest sports and if you’re thinking, “NO IT’S NOT!!!” then clearly you’ve never picked up a golf club. Very few people, if anyone, have a “Happy Gilmore moment” where everything instantly comes together and you can get a hole in one on a par four with only a few weeks of practice. So with all those difficulties golfers face out on the course, maybe this Mario bag can help calm them. Miss a putt? No problem, just look into those maniacal blue eyes. Everything’s going to be okay.
Wedding planning is a big deal in Japan, where it often involves a ceremony, formal reception with coworkers (including your boss, who’s expected to make a speech), an informal after-party after the reception winds down, and in many cases a second after-party that may stretch on until the next morning when the trains start running. Putting the whole thing together can be costly and require a lot of work, but it’s all worth it when everything goes smoothly. And besides, getting married is a once-in-a-lifetime event, right?
Well, actually, that’s not always the case. As in many modern, economically prosperous societies, the divorce rate has been rising in Japan, and along with it the potential number of remarriage candidates. In an attempt to keep up with these changing cultural norms and values, one of Japan’s largest wedding planners has gone so far as to coin a new term for those who remarry: maru ni.
The tragic yet sweet story of faithful dog Hachiko is infamous in Japan and many parts of the world. One dog’s unflinching love and dedication inspired a statue to be erected in his honor outside Shibuya Station where the real Hachiko once stood.
With a second helping of snow dumped over Tokyo in the late hours of Fundoshi Day, someone took it upon themselves to offer Hachiko with a companion.
With the 2020 Olympics on the horizon, restaurateurs in Tokyo are already thinking about how they can appeal to the crowds of foreign tourists set to descend on the city. Most of them are focusing on spiffing up their English menus and adding pictures, but some eateries are actually cooking up new menu ideas to appeal to the non-Japanese palate.
We got word that a ramen shop in Shinjuku had concocted just such a dish, so we naturally went to check it out.
In recent years, itasha, cars emblazoned with admirably detailed yet painfully nerdy vinyl graphics inspired by anime and manga, have been getting more and more mainstream attention. But what if you’re not old enough to drive, or you just want to express your admiration for your favorite 2-D character without spending hundreds of dollars creating a car that your friends or date will be too embarrassed to ride in?
In that case, why not turn to the world of itachoko, chocolates decorated with anime character likenesses?
Today the marketing industry is a multi-billion dollar entity that spends countless man-hours designing and maintaining relatable brand logos. That’s why the work of pop-culture artist, Bruce Yan, is so cool. He takes characters we all know and love and uses them to recreate logos we see every day, somehow managing to give rise to a brand new and yet completely familiar logo. From the Girl Scout symbol to Morton Salt, take a look at his clever redesigns after the jump!
You might have seen something—or someone?!—like the guy above prowling in the moonlight, but I’m afraid he’s not proof of the supernatural, he’s just a new breed of cat called a Lykoi, or “wolf” in Greek. Of course, most people are just calling the breed what it looks like: a werewolf cat!
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