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Although it’s sometimes forgotten about, Shikoku, one of the four large islands that make up mainland Japan, is as much a part of the country as Hokkaidō in the north and Kyūshū to the south. People eat rāmen, do karaoke and play pachinko, exactly like everywhere else. Take a drive around the island and, just like every other part of the country, you’ll find literally hundreds of convenience stores. Lawson, Family Mart, Mini Stop, Coco Store; they’re all here.

All, that is, except 7-Eleven…. Read More

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz8AC5RXQXQ

China’s state-run media has been known to stretch the truth in the past, but now they’re making a claim that really beggars belief: they have footage of human teleportation. Is it from the basement labs of some high-tech, secret government research center? No, it’s from a traffic surveillance camera, but could it be the real deal? Read More

Stop! Don’t Pack Your Electric Fans Away Yet! Gravity-Defying Paper Plane Fun Awaits

Summer is nearly behind us. All across Japan, people are turning their air coolers down a touch, returning to sleeping with their feet under the blankets, and stopping to groan “it’s hoooot!” at co-workers a little less often.

But before you put those electric fans away, make sure you take a few minutes to put them to what is quite possibly the best use they’ll have all year: making paper planes magically float in mid-air. Read More

Fashion Meets Cosplay, Outfits For Even the Most Conservative Cosplayer

If the cosplay typically seen at anime conventions is a little too extreme for you, take a look at these toned down cosplay alternates.  The clothing and style of beloved anime and cartoon characters from all over the world have been transformed into fashionable clothing for everyday wear.   Who knew Lisa Simpson’s orange paper bag dress could look sexy and that taking a fashion cue from Papa Smurf would result in a decent getup?

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Not Your Grandmother’s Birthday Cake, Torte Bakery in Gunma Churns Out Some Amazing Anime Cakes

At Torte in Takasaki city, Gunma prefecture, anime enthusiasts and otaku alike can order their favorite anime character on a cake.  Starting at 3,300 yen (US $42), Torte handcrafts strawberry whipped cream cakes topped with beautiful illustrations.

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Avant-Garde Ramen to be Served at Tokyo Game Show, But Is Anyone Iron-Gutted Enough to Eat It?

The Tokyo Game show always has displays and products guaranteed to shock and amaze video game fans from all over.  This year they seem to be leaning more towards the shock with this gourmet experiment.

Remember when you were a kid, you and your friends would put mustard, salt, ketchup, and squished meat into a McDonald’s cup of cola and dared each other to drink it?

This seems to be the concept behind this Soy Milk Curry Ipecac Ramen.

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The Cakes at Seoul’s Hello Kitty Cafe Are So Cute, You’ll Feel Bad Mutilating the Face of the World’s Most Beloved Cat

Just about everyone knows Hello Kitty.  The Japanese born cat of Sanrio, with her simple expression and cute little bow, has reached the far corners of the world.  Hello Kitty, known as Kitty-chan in Japan, has made appearances on lunch boxes, debit cards, $5,000 necklaces, electric guitars, and even airplanes.

The expressionless white cat’s overwhelming popularity has spread throughout the world, prompting the creation of the Hello Kitty Cafe franchise in South Korea with locations in Seoul, Incheon, and Sinchon.  One of our reporters, enamored by the cuteness that Japan’s most famous cat exudes, decided to pay a visit to Hello Kitty Cafe’s Seoul location.

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The word otaku is a tricky one to define. Over the years, it has slowly made its way into western culture– usually used to describe a person who is excessively fond of Japanese animation or comics— and is often listed in modern English dictionaries as something along the lines of “a person obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture”.

In its native Japan, however, the word is used far more broadly, describing a person who is fanatical about or devotes large amounts of time to something. That “something” could be anything from videogame culture to pop idols to hardcore ear-cleaning, and once a person reaches a certain level of obsession with their hobby, it’s far from unusual for them to be labelled as “otaku” by their friends and family. But whatever the object of an otaku’s affection, wade through the stacks of comic books, unplug that goliath gaming rig, put away the Train-Spotter’s Manual and you will discover a regular guy; a regular guy who sometimes thinks about deep things. Even marriage… Read More

The grand opening of Aomori prefecture’s first Starbucks location in the Hachinohe area drew quite a crowd.  On September 14, 2012,  around 100 people waited in line on the first business day of Starbuck Coffee Hachinohe Tamukai.

The store’s interior is typical of most Starbucks locations: big windows let in natural light from outside, funky lamps hang from the ceiling, and wood grain paneling adorns the ceiling and counters.  The store is around 1,700 square feet with enough seating for 55 people inside and another 16 on the terrace.  There’s even a drive-thru for those who want coffee on the go.

But Starbucks-goers didn’t get all riled up over a mediocre cup of coffee.  Oh no, they had their eyes on something even better:  Read More

We Catch a Glimpse of the Elusive “Shadow Fuji”

Back in August, group of our most daring reporters ventured out of Tokyo and into the wilderness to climb Mt. Fuji. Last week, weshared their report of the top 3 meal of Mt. Fuji , but it turns out there was another noteworthy occurrence that day.

At around 6 pm, just as the sun began to set, our heroes gathered their spirits and began the long hike down from the peak of the mountain. As they surveyed the sea of clouds that spread out before them one last time, one of our reporters noticed a dark triangle off in the distance.

The sun setting behind the mountain on one side; a triangular shadow cast over a canopy of clouds on the other side; our reporters were witnessing the fabled “Shadow Fuji!”

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Stabbing Snails at the Bottom of the Sea 【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!

The most shocking thing I ate when I first came to Chibu (other than salty fermented squid) was sazae.  In Japan, people go nuts over this delicacy.  In Tokyo, you have to shell out $3 for a single sazae.  In Chibu, they are not only free, they are everywhere you look.  Climbing up the side of the docks in the evening, hanging out on the ocean floor while you snorkel; there’s plenty to go around.  If you’re wondering what a sazae is, here’s a picture:

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Sadly these days, we see more and more stories of crimes committed against young children.  That’s why reporting anything out of the ordinary can help save lives.

However, on the Hyogo Prefectural Police operated online crime prevention board, “Hyogo Security Net” a suspicious person report was posted that made several people stop and scratch their heads.  The police seem to have an APB out on themselves.

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Jewelry You Can Eat! Q-Pot Cafe: The Sweetest Most Adorable Cafe in Tokyo!

Are you familiar with the Q-pot brand of jewelry?  It could get a bit sticky if your tried wearing it on your next night out on the town, but it certainly is attractive, and tasty!

That is because Q-pot Cafe arranges chocolates, cupcakes and macaroons into delightful rings, bracelets, and necklaces!  Never before has there ever been such delectable mouth-watering jewelry, something that is served up in the most appealing manner at the Q-pot cafe. Read More

Star Wars Location Spotting in Tunisia: Mos Espa Slave Quarters

Awhile back, we traveled to the desert planet Tatooine from the Star Wars universe—well, the set of it, at least. Scenes from several of the Star Wars movies were filmed on location in Tunisia and many of the sets and landscapes seen in the movie, such as the port city of Mos Espa and Luke Skywalker’s house, can still be visited today.

This time we’d like to share our travel report of Ksar Hadada, one of three traditional fortified granaries scattered about southern Tunisia that were used in the filming of the Slave Quarters Row of Mos Espa in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

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In the days following Nono-Chan the cat’s 8th birthday, he began to take stock of his life.  He wondered if chasing strings and sleep was all there was. “Have I reached my fullest potential as a cat,” he pondered.

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Home of the independently created floating bed and doomsday escape pod, China has become a hotbed of DIY inventors making their dreams come true.  Such is the case for a resident of Jinan who, since watching Transformers 4 years ago, has been creating his very own.

After spending 70,000 yuan (US$11,000) and 6 months he was ready to unveil this robotic wonder. He sure looks proud. Let’s see it!

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Bali’s Allure Exihibited by These New Additions to World Heritage Sites

Luhur Batukaru Temple, Tabanan, Bali

Indonesia’s Bali Island is full of beautiful temples like the Luhar Batukaru Temple. This temple, strategically located on the southern slope of Bali’s second-highest volcano, protects Bali from evil spirits.

The area surrounding this temple and three other sites in Bali were only recently added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.  On June 24th, at the World Heritage Committee’s  meeting, held this year in St. Petersburg, Russia, these sites became a part of the expanding World Heritage Site list.

Now Bali has four World Heritage Sites!  What sort of place gets to be a Heritage Site?  In order to give you an idea, we headed straight away to Bali to show you these recent additions of officially recognized treasures in our world. Read More

“Aaaaaaaaa!” or “When Scribble Gets Out of Hand”

Remember how much fun it was practicing writing the alphabet when you were a kid? Every single letter; upper and lowercase; again and again; page after page after page. Good times, no?

Well, at least one Japanese NicoNico Douga user seems to think that there’s no better way to pass the time than filming herself writing a few Japanese characters on a sheet of paper. Sorry, did I say “a few” characters? How about just one character? 30,000 times… Read More

Taking the Ferry From Japan to Foreign Lands: a New Adventure!

If we asked you your travel plans for your next trip abroad, you would probably come up with a flight plan.  It wouldn’t occur to most of us to take a boat.  The fastest way to get from point A to point B particularly when B is overseas would have to be flying.

A ferry ride to foreign lands, compared to air travel ,may not be the most efficient way to go, but the sense of embarking on an adventure on the high seas, makes up for it!  From an island country like Japan, surrounded on all sides by water, taking a ferry trip overseas is actually very reasonable.

Although it is not widely known, there are several  ferry routes leaving at regular intervals from various ports across Japan.  Where do these ferries go?

According to information from the Travel site Tripgraphics, ferries leave regularly for destinations in China, Korea, and Russia.  There are frequent ferry departures to 8 ports of call in these three countries.  Doesn’t it tickle the imagination?  At the very least, you can’t help but be curious.  What would a sea voyage be like? Read More

What’s Your Passport Worth? (Not That We’re Buying)

It turns out that not all passports are created equal…

International residence and citizenship experts Henley & Partners released a report earlier this month detailing for the first time the level of ease with which people of various countries are able to travel around the globe, and what restrictions they face during their time abroad.

The more fortunate among us are undoubtedly well aware that, with a valid passport, they are relatively free to travel wherever they like, and can in some cases remain in a foreign country for months at a time without acquiring any kind of paperwork or additional visa approval. But there are also many countries out there whose governments require citizens to jump through a series of hoops before allowing them to leave the country for so much as a weekend, and even then their entry to another country is not always guaranteed.

Henley & Partners’ Visa Restriction Index ranks countries based on how easy it is for their citizens to travel around the globe, essentially providing a numerical value to any given country’s passport. After comparing everything from socio-economic factors to political relations between countries, each country is awarded a score, reflecting just how free to travel and enter other countries its people are; in a word: passport power. Read More

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