Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
My Navi News, a Japanese news website, polled 1000 of their members to find out just how many people dislike creepy-crawlies. A whopping 63.1% said they can’t stand the little guys. Take a look at their reasons why and find out Japan’s most hated bug.
Winter is approaching fast and it looks like Japan’s romance with the color black is finally fading away into softer shades with Pepsi’s newest seasonal flavor, Pepsi White.
There are a variety of fashion select shops in Japan, Beams being one of them. With over 70 shops nation wide, Beams is a good place to go for a fashionable selection of shoes and clothes. This spring, Beams opened a new branch called B:ming Life Store, a family oriented fashion shop.
At the B:ming in Kichijoji, Tokyo, they’ve created an exciting way to have some fun while you shop. Embedded on the wall is a huge display which instructs you to make various poses and uses Kinect to doll you up and turn you into a fashion ad on the spot!
Paris: city of love, romance, food and… mental anguish?
In an article over on Gold Rush, writer Senya talks about the devastating psychological condition that has come to be known as “Paris Syndrome”; a condition that, bizarrely, seems to affect Japanese people in particular, with many visiting the city suffering from symptoms similar to depression that, in rarer cases, results in suicide.
What is it about Paris that has such a debilitating effect on Japanese? What could they do to avoid it or lessen the symptoms?
We delve a little deeper to find out…
Settling in a comfy chair with a nice cup of tea or coffee and a tasty snack (or two) at a cafe either by yourself or with some friends can be bliss. But what may be a problem if you’re in even a half-way large city is choosing which cafe to go to, as there seems to be a cafe on every street corner nowadays.
Well, we certainly have one interesting cafe that we can recommend to our readers, the Kasoyo in the Mejiro area of Tokyo, which one of our reporters from Pouch visited following the recommendation of a friend who also is very fond of cafes. A recap of what made the experience so enjoyable follows below: Read More
A 32-year-old man in the town of Hino, Tokyo, was arrested late last week on suspicion of having entering a woman’s apartment and demanding that she hand over her underwear.
According to an FNN News report, the man crept into the premises before brandished a knife and telling the resident to surrender her panties, but was apprehended soon after.
Our fearless foodie correspondent Kuzo is traveling the world and tasting everything he can like the cafeteria food of Chernobyl, Melt-Proof Popsicles in China, and Gasoline Clams in North Korea.
However, Kuzo’s greatest challenge may in fact lie in his home country of Japan at a ramen restaurant in Hiroshima which is said to serve a ramen so disgusting it’s completely inedible. Even the staff serving it is said to gag merely at its malevolently malodorous stench – all for the low, low price of 1,800 yen!
Could he finish his lunch without loosing it? The following is his report.
Villa Escudero is a beautiful hacienda-style resort built inside a working coconut plantation located in the Quezon province of the Phillipines. The resort has become a prime tourist destination for both locals and overseas visitors, who are drawn by the cozy rooms, natural beauty, and unique cultural activities such as bamboo rafting and rural village tours.
Perhaps most unique of all is the Waterfalls Restaurant, where guests can enjoy a meal on bamboo dining tables set at the foot of a small waterfall.
While walking home from the station last weekend, eyes glued to my mobile phone as is my own particular vice, I suddenly found myself enveloped by vast plumes of cigarette smoke. Looking ahead of me, a guy in a business suit walking in the same direction had lit up a cig and was merrily puffing away, obviously in need of a hit having just disembarked a train himself.
While I’m definitely one of the anti-smoking set, I have absolutely no problem with other people smoking if they want to- just so long as it doesn’t affect the people around them. For me, smoking is like farting; go ahead and enjoy your own, but please don’t share with everyone else.
Breaking into a little jog, I overtook the smoker- a man in his late fifties wearing a business suit- and, once again able to breathe freely, walked up-wind of him.
No sooner had I done so that a second man, a little older this time, emerged from a side street. He blew his nose noisily on a handkerchief and stuffed it into his coat pocket, at which point he coughed, sniffed and, with what sounded like a tremendous physical effort, spat something brown out onto the pavement just a few feet ahead of me.
Quite forgetting myself, I muttered “kitanai naa” (“man, that’s dirty…”) a little too loudly, but received little more than a quick, disinterested glance from the man as he passed by.
So when I came across an article over on NicoNico News titled “Senior Citizens Have Worse Manners Than Young People”, I couldn’t help but feel that it might be on to something…
How many times have you ever been running to school late in the morning, rushing to get to class before the bell rings, only to turn the corner and bump into someone of the opposite sex, who you consequently fall in love with?
If your answer is more than “none,” chances are you’re either an anime character or an extremely well-organized stalker. Let’s face it: while there are plenty of situations found in anime or manga that seem like they could play out in real life, most are unlikely to ever naturally occur unless by some bizarre fluke.
Niconico News recently asked 500 of their readers to brainstorm some of the most common examples of such situations. Check what they came up with below!
Japan has the robot market covered pretty well, with a robot for almost every occasion. We’ve already seen a restaurant filled with fembots, a 24-fingered hair washing robot, and a $1.25 million boardable mecha.
This time, Japan brings the world a tiny bipedal robot that can ride a bike and balance all by itself.
When I saw some early images of the new Windows 8 desktop, I wasn’t crazy about the change in appearance. It looked fine for a tablet device or smartphone but those new windows/buttons seemed too clunky and primitive for my liking.
But then again, maybe I just don’t like change and after using it, it’d grow on me. However, this new layout combined with some ambiguous promotion has led many in Japan to believe that it suddenly transforms your regular old computer monitor into a touch screen.
With weather having turned cold, our intrepid Hyper Cool Biz Gentlemen Mr. Sato and Mr. Tashiro can finally put away their mankinis and start to pig out again. It’s good timing seeing as Pizza Hut and Evangelion are joining promotional forces to give Eva fans a chance to win never before seen merchandise.
From now to 16 December, if you buy Pizza Hut’s new “Hut Onebox” pizza combo with chicken nuggets and fries you get a chance to win Evangelion goodies such as a cushion shaped like an entry plug.
※“Entry plug cushion” might sound disgusting to non-fans. An entry plug is the capsule that people control the giant Eva cyborgs in.
Follow our gentlemen as they excitedly order their pizzas like two kids in a… pizza and Evangelion shop. What will they win?
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!
You can get coffee just about anywhere in Japan thanks to the millions (yes, millions) of vending machines littered around the country. ”How convenient,” you must be thinking. Yeah, if you like drinking awful coffee.
Before my husband proposed to me, he was faced with the seemingly impossible task of confirming my ring size without me noticing. Since I didn’t own any rings at the time, he was forced to come up with something craftier than simply stealing my jewelry box.
His solution was to ask his sister to have me try on a bunch of her rings. Never showing any interest in jewelry to begin with, it seemed odd that my husband’s sister would storm into my room and demand me to put on her rings. What’s more, she blatantly stared at my fingers, scrutinizing how well each ring fit as I tried them on.
Since I’m not an idiot, I knew a proposal was brewing.
This situation isn’t unique for men who finally decide to pop the question. But fellas, you’re in luck, there’s now a solution to your pre-proposal anxieties: Ring’s Note, an online notebook that records women’s ring sizes.
Before departing on his trip to the United States, our Japanese reporter Yoshio told us that he was looking forward to eating a real American burger. What that meant to him, apparently, was a 50% ground beef and 50% ground bacon patty wedged between two glazed donuts and skewered on a steak knife.
Are you happy now, America? Japan associates you with bacon and glazed donuts. Actually, that sounds about right…
Check out Yoshio’s taste report below!
Pokemon Christmas and New Year’s goods will soon be on sale at all seven of Japan’s official Pokemon Center stores. Pokemon Christmas goods will be released on October 27 followed by Pokemon New Year’s goods on November 3.
Here’s a sneak peak!
Back in September, Nintendo released a limited edition Pikachu 3DS XL that was only available in Japan. The rest of the world was left staring longingly at the pictures of lucky residents of Japan lining up for four hours to purchase the adorable 3DS.
This week, Nintendo announced a new limited edition Charizard 3DS XL. Unfortunately, just like the limited edition Pikachu 3DS XL, the Charizard version can only be purchased in one of Japan’s seven Pokemon Center retail stores.
However, this time, even those who live in Japan will have a hard time getting their hands on this ultra-exclusive limited-edition 3DS XL because it will only be available to the winners of a lottery drawing.
RocketNews’ ever faithful correspondent, Kuzo, stumbled upon a new type of drink while traveling abroad. The bottle is divided down the middle with one side containing 100% orange juice and the other holding grape juice.
The cap has two separate spouts and lids, so if you want a sweet treat of grape juice just do that side. If you feel a cold coming on then go the other way for a vitamin C boost.
Or if you want to really take a walk on the wild side, flip them both up for a very loosely mixed orange/grape blend.
A 28-year-old single mother from the town of Fuchu, Hiroshima was arrested earlier this month after causing the death of her 10-year-old daughter, exposing a long history of abuse and neglect in the family.
Over at NicoNico News, a heart-rending story reveals the broken family’s background and details the sad details of the girl’s early years. Perhaps even more tragically, though, we learn that the girl– who spent much of her life in care– once sent her abusive mother a letter in which she states how much she loves her.
Mt Fuji convenience store becomes “lawless zone” as tourists hurl abuse at security guards
Late-night cake cafe in Tokyo’s hostess/host bar district will satisfy your confectionary desires
Drinkable Mayo on sale at Japanese convenience stores for mayonnaise fanatics
Eight unforgettable hot springs, as recommended by Japan’s “Professor Bath”
Japanese bank’s founders blood-signed promise to commit samurai-style suicide if they committed fraud
Big dam Godzilla appears in Japan as power-washer art on side of 195-foot dam【Video】
Travel tip: Fukuoka has a great luggage delivery service that’s cheaper than a coin locker
Japan’s workplace drinking party communication is unnecessary, says majority of workers in survey
Studio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fans
Creating a cat island – Japanese organization plans to buy island turn it into kitty paradiseStudio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fans
Kyoto Whopper divides customers at Burger King Japan
Japanese burger chain no longer serves onion rings, but offers intriguing replacement【Taste test】
Celebrating Good Couple’s Day in Japan…by getting our significant others to dress us
7-Eleven Japan releases fukubukuro lucky bags filled with convenience store surprises
Starbucks Japan reveals new holiday goods for the 2024 festive seasonTravel tip: Fukuoka has a great luggage delivery service that’s cheaper than a coin locker
Taking the Kyoto overnight bus for the first time
Beautiful Totoro bag returns, still requires jumping through an extra hoop to get, still worth it
Berserk T-shirts coming to Uniqlo for launch of new Manga Curation line【Photos】
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Ghibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle themeStudio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fans
Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】
Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in Japan
Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve tooBerserk T-shirts coming to Uniqlo for launch of new Manga Curation line【Photos】
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’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
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Big dam Godzilla appears in Japan as power-washer art on side of 195-foot dam【Video】
Travel tip: Fukuoka has a great luggage delivery service that’s cheaper than a coin locker
Japan’s workplace drinking party communication is unnecessary, says majority of workers in survey
Studio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fans
Creating a cat island – Japanese organization plans to buy island turn it into kitty paradise
We try Wazen, Suntory’s new beer specially designed to drink with Japanese food
The Japan Poop Society is making movements to protect people’s health
Which Japanese conveyer belt sushi chain has the best steamed egg custard? 【Taste test】
Japan’s biggest manga magazine is raising its minimum payment rate for creators
The official cosplay booth models of Tokyo Game Show 2024【Photos】
Giant disembodied head of middle-aged man spotted floating over Tochigi Prefecture
We try NEXT MEATS meatless yakiniku: Does it live up to our meat-lover expectations?