Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
You like sausage, right? Of course you do. But no one ever wants to see how the sausage is made. So why did this plastic surgery clinic in Seoul think it was a good idea to display two towering columns filled with the jaw bones of their past patients? It’s enough to make you rethink your pursuit of the perfect chin.
If you’re waiting anxiously to catch a glimpse of the live-action Attack on Titan film slated for release in 2015, then this is a TV commercial you won’t want to miss. It’s the latest ad for Subaru Forester and while the car looks pretty flashy, all eyes will be darting around the vehicle to check out the awesome titans in action. Screened tonight, with a lot of hype around its debut between the hours of 9:00pm and 10:30pm in Japan, the ad is like a teaser for the live-action film to come. In a country full of weird and wonderful collaborations, this tie-in promotion with a car and people-guzzling giants is the one joint venture we’ve all been waiting for.
One of the odder problems you run into living in Japan is how to throw large things away. Say you’ve just bought a new bicycle, for example. In many countries you could find a charity to donate it to, or perhaps a relative or friend of a friend who’s just starting college or a career.
Japan’s predominantly middle-class society and general dislike of used durable goods means you’re unlikely to find someone willing to take your old bike off your hands, though. Trash collectors won’t haul off something that big unless you shell out an additional fee, either. In some cases, people will simply abandon their bike somewhere, such as a back alley or deserted parking lot.
Or, apparently, in a lake in one of Tokyo’s most beloved parks.
Back when I was a kid growing up in Liverpool, we studied only the subjects that were essential for daily life: namely Numbers, Words, Throwing, and of course a selection of moves from the 1983 romantic drama Flashdance. There was no time for art or creativity, and we were only ever allowed outdoors to collect firewood or when the time came to offer up a sacrifice to The Beast.
So it’s great to see that school kids in Japan are given a chance to learn the things that really matter, like identifying a Japanese rhinoceros beetle from a lineup of frightening, hopefully imaginary, creatures.
Yes, you read that correctly. Sanrio has a line of Evangelion merchandise. Naturally, it’s all adorable.
Called “Eva Micro Macro,” the line was announced late last year, and already includes smartphone cases, with t-shirts to come in April 2014.
We all know that there are few combinations that are better than dipping your french fries in a vanilla shake. The hot, salty fries mixed with cold, sweet ice cream…it’s a match made in cheeseburger paradise. But fries and chocolate? Japanese fast food chain, Lotteria, is betting you’ll make the jump from shakes to chocolate syrup with their new menu item. We knew we had to send Mr. Sato out to give this crazy combo a try.
A while back, I’d been struggling for months with an old laptop that took a solid 30 minutes to start up each morning. My repeated attempts to rectify the problem, using the most advanced electronics trouble shooting techniques known to me (hurling every curse word I knew in both English and Japanese at the screen), only proved successful in cutting the waiting time down to 29 minutes, unfortunately.
Eventually, I bit the bullet and bought a new laptop. Despite my lovely and crafty wife talking the salesman into a 3,000 yen (US$30) discount, it was still the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought. Not that I’m complaining of course. It works great, and since almost all of my work, in-home entertainment, and overseas correspondence is done through my PC, my life is honestly better for having purchased it.
You can’t always count on being completely satisfied every time you drop a giant wad of cash on something, though. Japanese women’s Internet portal My Navi Woman recently released the results of its survey on working women’s biggest expenditures, and whether or not they got hit with a dose of buyer’s remorse afterwards.
At Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, 2014 marks the 120th anniversary of the spa’s main building which stands as a notable landmark of the area. It’s a majestic and traditional building that some say was the inspiration for the bathhouse in Spirited Away.
To celebrate, the surrounding area will be hosting a large scale art exhibition in which the Onsen’s main building and at least ten other hotels and inns will be transformed into works by various modern artists. The actual event will run from 10 April to 31 December of this year, but a sneak peak was held from December of last year involving five prominent Japanese artists: Fujio Ishimoto, Yayoi Kusama, Shuntaro Tanikawa, Akira Minagawa, and Araki Nobuyoshi.
Back in October, cosmetics manufacturer Shiseido held its Japan Original Beauty exhibition at the company’s new building in Tokyo’s swanky Ginza district. One of the highlights of the show was a recreation of a portion of the pantheon of characters in long-running manga and anime series Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures, with special effort placed on duplicating the cast’s wildly styled and colored hairdos.
But with over 100 collected volumes of comics in the series, obviously every character couldn’t be fit into the display. So Shiseido is back again with a group of new additions to its collection of real-life Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures models.
All Nippon Airways has landed in some hot water thanks to a recent commercial advertising the company’s new international routes to Vancouver and Hanoi. The 30 second clip features a Japanese actor speaking English and wearing a fake nose and blonde wig. But is the commercial inherently racist? It seems the vote is split in this particular case.
The Cult of Apple is so smug about the many features and perks of the iPhone that it becomes a test of will for us Android users not to snatch any iPhone we see out of the hands of its user and throw it overhand into the nearest wall.
But now we may have a new weapon in the war on Apple: basic arithmetic. Seedy Japanese Internet geek forum 2chan has apparently proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that, when it comes to the calculator function, Apple’s smartphone is as dumb as that kid in your elementary school class that ate glue all day.
Among the many kinds of tasty sweets indigenous to Japan, you’ll find the monaka. Monaka consist of two wafers, traditionally sandwiched around a dollop of the sweet red bean paste called anko.
Different confectioners put their own unique spin on monaka, such as infusing it with citrus or mixing ice cream in the filling. But while we’ve eaten plenty of variations on the tasty treat, our intrepid reporter Mr. Sato recently brought back one we’d never heard of before: suicide monaka.
Japanese mobile game publisher Mobage began streaming a promotional video for its Shingeki no Kyojin ~Jiyū e no Hōkō~ (Attack on Titan: Howl Toward Freedom) game for smart phones on Wednesday. The promotional video tells players that they must fight against enemies outside of the Wall Rose using forbidden weapons.
Last November, residents of Hokuto City in Hokkaido elected Zuuushiiihokkiii, the somewhat malformed anthropomorphic piece of surf clam sushi. His limited motor skills and cries of “Hokihokihokihokiii!” seemed to have plucked a particular heart-string among the locals.
Even beyond the northern city, this ball of rice and clam is shaping up to be Japan’s breakout yurukyara (regional mascot) of 2014. While development on the official Zuuushiiihokkiii costume is still underway, some exciting news has emerged from the new mascot’s PR team.
On 18 January, a shipment of crabs from Russia arrived at a port in Japan, some of which were bought up by wholesaler Marusan Mikami Shoten. After opening up their haul of red king crabs (an expensive favorite of Japanese seafood lovers) workers were surprised to see one of the large arthropods was shaded a rich lavender color all over.
There are certain things almost everyone who moves to Japan seems to like. The food? Tasty and healthy. Public transportation? Clean and punctual. But Japanese TV? Let’s just say there’s a reason Internet access is one of the first things new arrivals in the country look to outfit their apartments with.
It turns out this lukewarm reaction to the country’s programming isn’t just a foreigner thing, either, as some 75 percent of Japanese citizens polled by the Asashi Shimbun newspaper also said that TV has become boring. Today we look at why.
Perusing Japanese Twitter feeds, you’re likely to come across the word “nau” at the end of a sentence. This word has the same meaning as the phonetically similar “now” in English. It’s used to simply state what the tweeter is doing at that given moment. Examples include “Unko Nau” (pooping now) or “Jishin Jiko Nau” (physical injury now).
Even Nippon Professional Baseball star Masahiro Tanaka, fresh off his perfect season got in on the action and tweeted out what he was doing nau. However, when you’re a pro-pitcher rumored to be imminently signed to a Major League Baseball team, an innocent little tweet can create unusually big ripples.
For modern society to function, there is a line that must be protected. When it does its job, it’s often taken for granted, but should that line break down, fear and panic will shortly follow. The line must hold at all costs.
However, the line cannot be too thick, lest it rob humanity of the joy it needs to continue as a species. For the line to do all that it must, it must be precariously thin, yet unbreakably strong.
What’s that, you ask? Is this thin line the police, who separate the law-abiding and criminal elements of society? No. We’re talking about Japan’s thinnest condom here.
Growing up in Southern California, I was no stranger to long road trips, whether up the coast to visit relatives, or out to Las Vegas to visit the craps tables. Along the way I’d pass many freeway rest areas, with amenities whose quality ranged from “a good place to use the bathroom as long as you cover your nose” to “a good place to use the bathroom, as long as you have a friend with you to make sure you don’t get shanked by a hobo.”
So imagine my surprise when I moved to Japan to find that its highway rest stops (called “parking areas” by Japanese motorists) are spotless. Plus, they’re often great spots to munch on regional specialties or pick up local souvenirs. And if you happen to visit one particular parking area, you can even go back in time.
Japanese culture is filled with gift giving, and no gift is more common than the omiyage. Usually translated as “souvenir,” omiyage is a bit broader in usage, encompassing all sorts of travel gift situations. Taking a trip somewhere? Make sure to bring back omiyage for your coworkers. Have friends coming from overseas? You might want to give them some omiyage to remember their trip by. And of course, if those same friends offer to show you around their country, it’s only polite to bring them an omiyage as a show of thanks, if you take them up on their offer.
But what kind of Japanese omiyage from Japan is most likely to be a hit with foreigners? Japanese Internet users offered the following suggestions.
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Japanese city paints well-known prostitution street bright yellow, adds fish art【Video】
New zombie ship sets sail in Japan, includes Shinkansen tickets and all-you-can-eat sushi
Naruto jerseys coming to Major Leage Baseball theme nights, Hello Kitty to take over a field
Meet the Mega Bento, a Japanese meal that’s heavier than a newborn baby
Octopus tentacle ear plugs coming to Japanese capsule toy machines
Retro Japanese train is our new favourite office space
Satisfy your sweet tooth with cheesecake and more all-you-can-eat sweets at Cheese Garden
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on EarthStarbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Downloads of 39-year-old Guns N’ Roses song increase 12,166 percent thanks to Gundam
Can you eat lunch in Tokyo for less than 500 yen?
A look back on 40 years of Japanese schools banning stuffJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Japan releases first official sakura cherry blossom forecast for 2026Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Archfiend Hello Kitty appears as Sanrio launches new team-up with Yu-Gi-Oh【Pics】Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning looks to be affecting tourist crowds on Miyajima
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting the lines at a popular Tokyo gyukatsu restaurant?
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in TokyoStarbucks 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
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your homeJapan’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
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Naruto jerseys coming to Major Leage Baseball theme nights, Hello Kitty to take over a field
Meet the Mega Bento, a Japanese meal that’s heavier than a newborn baby
Octopus tentacle ear plugs coming to Japanese capsule toy machines
Retro Japanese train is our new favourite office space
Satisfy your sweet tooth with cheesecake and more all-you-can-eat sweets at Cheese Garden
Can you eat lunch in Tokyo for less than 500 yen?
Majority of Japanese women in survey regret marrying their husband, but that’s only half the story
Studio Ghibli releases new anime tea and mugs in Japan
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Cats and dogs apologising at Japanese press conference is our newest gacha capsule toy obsession
Here comes Japan’s newest fruit dessert sandwich: 7-Eleven’s purple Blueberry Sandwich!
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth