Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Some photos recently posted on reddit of a shopping mall in central Osaka surprised those not living Japan some of whom wanted to live in the mall. This, in turn, surprised Japanese people who didn’t know it was that amazing to others.
The mall, aptly named Namba Parks certainly looks beautiful from this angle but there is actually function as well as form at work here.
ANA (All Nippon Airlines), Japan’s largest airline, has teamed up with Starbucks to release a limited edition stainless steel coffee tumbler.
With it’s clean white color and charming little whale/rainbow combo, you can’t help but scream, “IT’S SO CUTE!!!” One of our reporters was so enthralled with the cuteness of this limited edition tumbler, that she stopped an unsuspecting bystander and demanded to know where she procured such an adorable item.
Breaking up is hard to do at the best of times, but when one half of the couple is still head-over-heels in love, it’s even harder. As much as we’d all like to think of ourselves as decent human beings who step up and address situations like these with the haste and sincerity they deserve, more-often-than-not we take the coward’s way out: we drop as many subtle hints as we can and draw the break-up out like an awkward teen melodrama. We call less often; we glaze over when the conversation turns to ‘us’; we switch from Corn Flakes to Alpha-Bits cereal and routinely leave phrases like ‘it’s over’ and ‘go away’ on the counter-top….
Thank goodness leaving social network services is so much less awkward. Click, click; done. Computers don’t have feelings, right?
There’s a lot of cool stuff going on for Resident Evil fans recently. You’ve got the S.T.A.R.S. restaurant in Tokyo, the Resident Evil attraction at Universal Studios Japan, Resident Evil: Retribution movie coming to the big screen this September and of course the OH MY GOD ZOMBIE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!!
…sorry, what we were saying is: and of course, the October 2 release of Resident Evil 6, which will undoubtedly be less scary than the zombie attack text adventure above, if more recent titles are anything to judge by.
But hey, Capcom hasn’t lost it yet! Just check out their new teaser webpage, titled “Biohazard Hisotry.”
But be sure to turn the volume down and scroll down slowly, otherwise you might GAHHH HEADCRAB RIGHT ABOVE YOU!!!
If you give a kid a hundred yen to buy a treat on a hot summer’s day, he’ll most likely skip off to the candy store to buy himself a Gari Gari Kun, a very popular ice cream bar sold just about anywhere. It is also the preference of many dark jedi. The standard Gari Gari Kun (gari gari is the sound of ice being crunched or scratched, and kun is an informal address aking to ‘boy’) comes in blue packaging and is cream-soda flavored. When it comes to ice cream bars, why give up a good thing?
Because right now, there is a limited-edition cream of corn soup flavored Gari Gari Kun! Gari Gari Kun comes up with different flavored ice cream bars all the time, though they’re usually a special seasonal flavor, like grape or melon. Although there is no season to cream of corn soup, it would be safe to say that cream of corn soup is a standard ‘soup of the day’ for many fancy European restaurants.
Summers in Japan are unbearably long, hot and humid affairs that many of us would happily trade in for a couple more weeks of winter. But, sweaty or not, life goes on, so we do what we can to stay cool. Some invest in portable fans; some buy high-tech, sweat-wicking underwear; some make the fatal error of freezing a can of soda and seriously injuring themselves in the process.
Throwing a damp towel or facecloth into the freezer to use later as a frosty pick-me-up is a common method of beating the heat here in Japan, which is exactly what one young lady decided to do before heading off to ballet practice. Or so she thought… Read More
Japan’s Ministry of Finance has just announced the chosen designs for coins commemorating the reconstruction efforts for the Great East Japan Earthquake that rocked the northern area of Tohoku on March 11, 2011.
A premium gold coin with a face value of 10,000 yen (US $127) and a premium silver coin with a face value of 1,000 yen (US $12.75) are schedule to be produced in 2015. Most are engraved with beautiful symbols of Japan, but does one of them look a little funny to you? Read More
According to researchers, Japan might be about the add volcanic eruptions to the list of catastrophes that have dogged it over the past year, and the volcano in question is none other than the iconic Mt. Fuji. Read More
On August 31, Greenpeace uncovered a study backed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) involving feeding genetically modified (GM) rice to children in Hunan province, China.
Chinese officials in Hunan immediately denied that the study had taken place but a few days later, a representative from Tufts University in the United States confirmed that they had indeed tested a new strain of GM rice on Chinese children in rural areas of Hunan.
Whoops! Looks like someone’s a tattletale.
Would you buy a product that was advertised on a man’s crotch?
A few companies in Japan think you would. Currently on Yahoo Japan’s auction site, a man is offering to ride the Yamanote line, one of Japan’s busiest train routes, decked out in advertisements for an entire day. His unique service has already received 20 bids.
Ever wondered what it would be like to be covered from head to toe in tomatoes?
Ever dreamed of smashing a tomato in someone’s face?
Ever wanted to see the streets run red…with tomato juice?
If so, you may think you have to head all the way over to Spain to partake in Valencia’s world famous La Tomatina festival. However, those of you who live in Japan are in luck. You only have to go as far as Tokyo. That’s right, on September 9th, at the Tamagawa river in Tokyo, adventurers and pasta sauce enthusiasts alike can participate in a large-scale tomato fight just like the one in Spain.
“I like this guy… but is he suitable for marriage?” This is one of the most important questions Japanese women ask themselves in considering a life time mate. Marriage can be daunting even in the best of circumstances, so it’s crucial to have some assurance you’re making a good choice when deciding on that special person that you want to spend the rest of your life with.
Otome Sugoren, a website featuring articles on love, relationships and marriage, surveyed its female readers to get these results. The reporter who compiled the info and wrote the article is a Japanese woman herself, so you can be sure of its authenticity! Here are the top nine things Japanese women check out when Looking for a suitable marriage partner: Read More
Despite having once pulled out of the country, sorely missed hamburger chain Wendy’s returned Japan in 2011 with just a single location. In response to calls for additional restaurants, Wendy’s cut the tape on its new Roppongi store in August this year, bringing with it the special ‘Ocean Premium’ range, which includes two new ‘Japan Premium’ hamburgers. Read More
Every year, thousands of climbers make the trek up Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan and symbol of the country. Three of our wilderness-loving editors joined their ranks last month, persevering through bad weather, poor physical condition and light injury until they reached the peak.
If there was one thing that kept them from giving up it was the mountain huts lining the trail leading up to the summit. Here our adventurers were able to rest their weary legs and enjoy a hearty meal to refuel their stomachs and spirits.
“There was a surprising amount of variety and almost everything we ate was delicious,” writes one of our reporters.
It seems mountain cuisine is also one of the perks of climbing Fuji—but what’s on the menu? Check below for our trailblazing trio’s report on the food of Mt. Fuji!
We usually hear of pitchers utilizing killer breaking balls to earn need strikes in clutch moments, but how often do you see a batter hit what appears to be a curve ball in what Japanese baseball fans have dubbed the “paranormal homerun.”
The above video was taken during the sixth inning of a game between the (Tokyo) Yomiuri Giants and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars on 26 August. You have to watch it carefully, but if you follow this homerun, it seems to clearly change its trajectory – almost as if it was bouncing off some invisible object.
What followed was a flurry of speculation and theories ranging from the logical to the ridiculous However, one video on YouTube almost certainly has closed the case on this magical hit.
Electronics company Greenhouse is set to release a lantern that runs on just salt and water. It uses that old favorite of high school science teachers everywhere, electrolysis, in combination with efficient light producing LEDs to provide strong and long lasting light free of conventional batteries.
And that lesson seemed so useless when I was doing it…
The city of Rikuzentakata was thoroughly devastated by the March 11 tsunami. However, following the destruction a single 27 meter 200 year-old pine tree was left standing, the sole survivor of a forest of 70,000 trees along the coast line. The tree had become a symbol of hope for the country and local government vowed to protect it at all costs.
However, for the past year the tree’s health had been fading fast and it doesn’t have much longer to live. And so the city’s government is going to enact a preservation scheme which is rubbing Japanese netizens the wrong way due to its 150,000,000 yen (US$1.9M) price tag.
Japanese “light novels” are a type of short and often serialized young adult novel that are usually heavy on dialogue and light on narrative depth. The growing popularity of light novels has made them common choices for manga and anime adaptations, such as the Haruhi Suzumiya series.
One of the more popular light novel series in recent years is My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute, which tells the story of a normal high school student who finds out his prodigious younger sister is actually a closet otaku, obsessed with anime and incest-themed adult computer games…
It’s probably less unwholesome than it sounds (at least by Japanese standards), and the point is that the series has become so popular that it has spawned an anime and manga series as well as several video games.
It has also seemed to usher in a new craze of light novels about the relationship between normal older brothers and their not-so-normal little sisters.
That’s totally wholesome…right…?
Needless to say, Japan has had their fill of Tsunamis. After the devastation of the 11 March Tohoku earth quake, the nation would like to give a huge FU to any future tsunami coming our way.
And so, three huge Japanese contractors are working on a special surprise for the next tsunami that tries to hit the shores of Wakayama prefecture in the form of a gigantic steel column. If successful it would be so poetically beautiful… if the Japanese only knew the beauty of the middle finger.
FUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name
Enjoy a Pokémon tea ceremony with new matcha goods featuring Poltchageist and Sinistcha
Japan has nearly 4 million abandoned homes, but where and why?
Beautiful set of 24 Ghibli anime memo pads returns, will have you wanting to take notes by hand
Pokémon Cafe serves up a green tea ceremony in Japan with Poltchageist and Sinistcha matcha menu
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Icon’s Mac & Cheese Burger contender for best burger in Tokyo【Taste test】
McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
Starbucks at Shibuya Scramble Crossing reopens, but is it really bigger and better than before?
Samurai chick pudding cake is Japan’s newest hard-to-buy, delicious-to-eat treat【Taste test】
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screensMcDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy dayStudio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat ReturnsFUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
Japanese-style accommodation at the new Premium Dormy Inn hotel in Asakusa will blow your mind
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last monthBad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in TokyoMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950sForeigner’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 design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Icon’s Mac & Cheese Burger contender for best burger in Tokyo【Taste test】
McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
Starbucks at Shibuya Scramble Crossing reopens, but is it really bigger and better than before?
Samurai chick pudding cake is Japan’s newest hard-to-buy, delicious-to-eat treat【Taste test】
History’s largest force of Samurai Colonel Sanders deploying to KFC Japan branches
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
Exhibition on the 1,500 year-history of traditional Japanese women’s clothing to open in Shibuya
Real life yandere? Japanese man’s ex-girlfriend sneaks into his home, cooks up something crazy
Yakushima: Checking out the island that inspired Princess Mononoke
We visit Tokyo’s Reversible Destiny Lofts, the apartments designed to make you live forever【Pics】
The new Tokyu Kabukicho Tower is packed with entertainment, food, and drinks–with one caveat