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“Sunny Day and Twin Tail,” World’s First Pigtail Photo Album Released by The Pigtail Association of Japan

Pigtails, or “twin tail” as it’s called in Japan, is a hairstyle typically seen on cute little girls.  However, “twin tails” are making a comeback in Japan and women of all ages are enjoying the adorable double-ponytail style.  The pigtail hairstyle has gained so much popularity that it has even inspired the creation of a national association.

On November 11, The Pigtail Association of Japan will release an entire photo album dedicated to cute girls wearing their hair in pigtails.  The album, titled “Sunny Day and Twin Tail” contains 204 full-color pages and will be sold for 2520 yen (US $31.70).

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It’s stories like this that restore my faith in humankind.

Staff at a hospital in Tokyo went the extra mile this week by organising a second wedding ceremony especially for a patient who was unable to attend his daughter’s wedding in October.

The patient, 57-year-old Masaru Tanaka, was admitted to the hospital in December last year after the driver of a truck knocked him off his motorbike, confining him to a hospital bed after suffering a severe cerebral hemmorhage. Hearing the sad news that Masaharu was unable to attend his own daughter’s wedding, staff at Akirudai Hospital in west Tokyo put their heads together to bring the celebrations to him instead.

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Japan Develops Single Passenger Silent Mini Electric Helicopters, Travels at 100km/h (62mph)

Every once in a while a story comes along about a flying car or helicopter that fits in a briefcase, but they always disappear into the ether never coming to fruition.  It’s understandable since everyone having their own mass produced flying machine would be a safety and law enforcement nightmare.

This time, however, Hirobo in Hiroshima Prefecture may be rolling out a personal helicopter that will actually get off the ground.

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On a recent trip to Naha, Okinawa, our correspondent spotted a Starbucks t-shirt which, at first glance, looked like a factory reject, but turned out to be a clever tip of the hat to traditional Okinawan culture.

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Japan came up with Gandam, a huge robot that, along with his driver, protects the world from all sorts of evil, so it is likely that they would come up with KURATAS, a true to life robot that can be manipulated from a cockpit inside.

As we reported awhile ago, KURATAS is the creation of a blacksmith iron and steel artist Mr. Kogoro Kurata. And, as we mentioned a few weeks back, the mech was opened to orders in October after two and a half years of tinkering around in the workshop.

So just how has demand for KURATAS, which carries a hefty $1.25 million price tag, been?

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New Magic Liquid Makes any Pair of Gloves Touchscreen Friendly

As great as touchscreen-operated mobile devices are, they’re a real pain in the neck when it comes to winter and you have to pull off your gloves to operate them.

It’s fine if you stop in a cafe or restaurant where you can slip your gloves off and type a quick message or check an email, but when an unexpected phonecall comes in and you’re left swiping at the unlock screen like a cat pawing at the TV during a nature show, you soon grow to hate using a smartphone in winter.

Gloves with special metal fibres in the tips have been on the market for a couple of years now, but they’re not always of the greatest quality. And even if you do find a decent pair, what if you already have a pair of gloves that you’re attached to and would rather use instead?

Japanese company Onsight might just have the perfect solution…

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LSH Pork Cutlet: It’s Finger Sucking Good!

Everyone wants a little KFC, but Asia in particular has embraced the greasy wings served up by everyone’s favorite self-made restaurateur Colonel Sanders.  In Japan, the Colonel is so beloved his statues can be found outside of nearly every franchise – often in costume.  He even enjoys the same privacy rights as other citizens.

He is also the victim of various copycats this side of the Pacific. In Korea there is said to be a knock-off restaurant operating right next to a legitimate KFC in broad daylight.  We sent Kuzo in for reconnaissance.

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Korean Feces Wine is a Real Thing and We’ve Got Two Bottles of it, Contains Cat Bones as Well

Ttongsul, or “feces wine”, is a Korean drink made by pouring soju, a distilled grain alcohol,  into a pit filled with chicken, dog, or human feces, and leaving the mixture in the pit for three to four months until it ferments. It is then extracted from the pit and drank straight, with the belief that it can cure illness and help in the aid of bone fractures.

It sounds like the stuff of urban legends, but Ttongsul is indeed a real beverage that, while by no means popular, can still be found if you know where to look.

How can we be sure? After nearly six months of extensive research, RocketNews24 was able to track down a private Ttongsul vendor in South Korea and procure a bottle of the elusive feces wine ourselves.

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New Diet Soft Drink “Pepsi Special” Released in Japan, Promises to Restrict Fat Absorption

Pepsi will release a new cola in Japan that contains “fat-blockers” to help prevent the absorption of fat in the body.  The secret to Pepsi Special’s fat-blocking power is dextrin, a fiber molecule that is said to prevent the digestive system from absorbing fat.

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Disney’s Dreamland Illuminations in Harajuku Light up Your World, You Won’t Want to Go Home

In celebration of Walt Disney’s 110th Anniversary, Disney has put together a literal dreamland of illumination displays in Harajuku, Tokyo.  A part of the larger “Walt Disney 110th Anniversary Omotesando Harajuku Dream Together Project 2012,” these light displays are open from November 1st to December 25 and are already drawing crowds of viewers.

Our female correspondent visited the display last week and tells us that while Harajuku’s Disney Dreamland illumination event is a must see for Disney lovers, even if you aren’t a Disney fan, you will surely be impressed by this awesome display of lights.

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It’s been quite the day for vanquishing bullies here on RocketNews24. First we heard the story of a violent club host being arrested following outcry on the internet, and now a pro wrestling teenager has taken down a demon in an effort to raise awareness of the bullying in Japan’s schools.

As reported by Asahi Digital, in a special pro wrestling event held last Sunday in Kamigyou ward, Kyoto, a young man who once suffered at the hands of school bullies put on an incredible show by quite literally wrestling “The King of Bullies” to the ground.

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As this autumn is just flying by, we’ll all have to break out our winter gear soon, if not already.  For one woman in China it was time to buy a new winter coat to cope with the lowering temperatures.

Little did she know, that new fluffy down jacket was a ticking time bomb that went off right inside of her home washing machine.

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Instant Ramen Maker Sets up Tiny Restaurant in Shibuya Station: Three Dollar Lunch, Anyone?

Japanese food manufacturer Nissin, maker of incredibly popular “like fresh” instant noodle brand Raō, has taken the unusual step of opening a tiny restaurant of its own in Shibuya station, Tokyo. The restaurant opened just yesterday and is situated, of all places, in the very centre of the busy Yamanote line platform.

The miniature restaurant’s menu consists of just two items: two flavours of regular, shop-bought instant ramen, each costing just 250 yen (US$3).

Always eager to try out new food and discover interesting new locations, our intrepid RocketNews24 reporters headed down to see the restaurant for themselves.

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Sushi: The Fragrance Released, Brad Pitt Hard at Work on New Poetry

*For maximum enjoyment please read this article in the husky hushed voice of Brad Pitt. Thank you.*

It’s not a journey, it’s Sushi, a scent developed by Demeter Fragrance Library. The scent maker is hoping to catch the freshness of Japan’s signature dish so you have it with you all day.

But does it smell like raw fish? Does it have the eye-watering aroma of wasabi? Demeter says of course not, but what it does smell like is the source of some controversy.

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Send Your Message With a Smash! Smartphone App, Smash Message, Allows You to Vent Your Feelings

Have you ever been frustrated at not being able to get your anger across in a text?  Maybe you were agitated enough to feel like sending a smash that would shatter the receiver’s screen to bits.  Now, with this application, there is a place for those feelings, an outlet so that you don’t have to swallow that anger leaving it to fester under your skin!  Smash Message is for you! Read More

Edible iPhone 5 Case Made From Rice Cracker Protects Your Life but not Your iPhone

On the eve of a large-scale natural disaster, preparedness is everything. Sure smartphones can keep us in contact with the rest of world when traditional communication networks are down, but Twitter won’t help you much when food supplies start running low.

That’s where the “Survival Senbei iPhone 5 Case” comes in. This special case is made entirely from Japanese brown rice and salt, baked into a crispy golden-brown senbei rice cracker that fits snugly around your iPhone 5.

An iPhone that you can eat in times of crisis: this must be the future that Steve Jobs envisioned for the device! You just might want to avoid walking around with it your pocket…

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Who doesn’t love a Twitter war?  This wonderful modern age we live in lets celebrities make snide comments to and about each other as we all read along.  And with the unprecedented interactivity social networks you too could be arguing with Ashton Kutcher about something!

Last week mobile phone mogul Masayoshi Son, who has a history of large donations, offered US$500,000 through Softbank to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy in North America and then tweeted about it.  This act of philanthropy irked a twitter user by the name of o44o.  Feeling that this was an act of blatant advertising through the use of a good deed he decided to voice his opinion to Mr. Son.

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【Cheapskate News】 McDonald’s Japan Giving Away Free Hamburgers (Again)

Is there no end to the Golden Arches’ generosity?

Just as the restaurant’s french fry offer comes to an end– but not before some teenagers took full advantage– McDonald’s Japan has announced that it’s about to give away free hamburgers.

That’s right- even to degenerates like you and me!

Full details after the jump>>>

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We all have our expectations of the opposite sex, the ideal of how we would like them to be.  Even though we can’t say it to their faces, in our hearts, we know that a man/woman should be able to be or do this or that precisely because he/she is a man/woman.

With that in mind, Otomesugorn surveyed their female readers to find out their expectations of men, of what is naturally expected of them, by their women.  All the young women who were asked what they naturally expected of their male counterparts were in their 20’s.  Here are their expectations, one through nine, and the comments they gave about them. Read More

Under 50% of Workers in Japan Received Full Payment for Overtime According to Labor Survey

As the world continues to change, countries like China have been experiencing overall improvements to their quality of life while traditionally more developed countries seem to be slipping in terms of job security and benefits.

According to a yearly study conducted by labor research groups and think tanks, only 46.9% of workers in Japan receive their overtime in full. This is a significant 8.9% lower from just a year before.

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