Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Having a hard time deciding the accommodation for your holiday in Japan? Tight on budget, but don’t want to sacrifice comfort? Don’t worry, because Japanese budget hotels are cheap (usually about 3000yen or US$38 per person, per night) and yet provide top-notch service! You probably won’t find anything that is more value for money than this in other countries.
Here we bring you 26 reasons why Japanese budget hotels are so amazing!
Convenience stores- in Japan: they really do live up to their name.
Pay your bills, pick up stuff you ordered on Amazon, send a FAX, buy concert tickets, withdraw cash, buy milk; whatever you need to do, they’ve usually got you covered.
Although 7-Eleven is Japan’s undisputed king of combinis, as convenience stores are fondly known over here, blue-and-white-striped Lawson is never far behind, and has a special place in many shoppers’ hearts.
So when news surfaced that a foreigner named Lawson is working part-time at a convenience store of the very same name, people understandably went a little bit nuts.
Recent reports of an unidentified passenger of the Yamanote subway line in Tokyo including this recent picture has every one asking: “Who is Cornman?” and more importantly, “What the hell is he doing?”
The first known photo (below) was tweeted back in May and showed a seemingly normal fellow towing what appeared to be a single unhusked ear of corn attached by a bright red dog leash heading towards the station exit.
Regular visitors to RocketNews24 will no doubt be aware that McDonald’s Japan has been making the headlines a lot since the beginning of the month. The removal of menus from its counters, worried rumours of the restaurant putting a stop to free cups of water; the fast food chain has received a lot of negative attention.
After tweets on the theme of “McDonald’s next bizarre business move” hit the thousands, tweet-gathering mega blog Togetter has put up a collection of some of the best thoughts and creative ideas from Japan’s internet users, with some little short of laugh-out-loud funny.
So, what do the people of Japan predict for Ronald and pals’ near future? Let’s find out!
Like many other little girls, 4-year-old Kazuki loves to play dress up, dance around the room and sing her heart out. What sets her apart from other toddler divas though, is that she has a mother just as enthusiastic about her playtime habits as she is.
When Kazuki says she wants to become Hatsune Miku, mom wastes no time in hitting the sewing machine. Once her custom outfit is done, mom sticks a microphone in her hand, starts the music, and its lights, camera, action.
Not wanting to keep her daughter’s talent to herself, Kazuki’s mom created the YouTube channel “Kazuki’s Room” to share their playroom productions with the world. We’ve posted a few of the best below. Just make sure to have a pillow or something soft on hand to squeeze the life out of because these videos are unbearably adorable.
Those of you familiar with our Japanese site are probably aware that our reporters often travel overseas to bring interesting stories from around the world to our Japanese readers. Recently, one reporter shared with us an eye-opening realization he had while traveling, one that could have serious bearing on the reputation of Japanese tourists abroad.
Being Japanese and also very fond of traveling myself, this was a story I couldn’t take lightly! Read More
In many countries around the world governments and health organizations have been tightening the noose ever more around the already choking necks of average smokers. By taxing the hell out of them and limiting smoking areas to under the floorboards of your house, smokers can scarcely relax with their favorite addiction.
Then we have the warning labels. Japanese cigarette packs have very minimal labels – for now – with some classy embossed printing. Other countries such as Canada have been using graphic labels for quite some time. They are rather unpleasant images of rotten teeth and people with tubes in their throat.
As bad as those images are they tend to lose their shock value quickly to the point that most smokers hardly notice them anymore. Thailand, however, has taken the graphic label concept beyond unpleasant and into nightmare territory.
Electronic idol Hatsune Miku’s popularity seemingly knows no bounds.
If we’re not seeing stories of catastrophic cakes being made in her image, we’re hearing reports that one of her uber fans has spent an exorbitant amount of money acquiring the last Hatsune Miku edition Sony MP3 player ever made.
Clearly Ms. Miku has her share of fans, but when you come to think about it, is dropping a ton of cash really equate the greatest measure of fandom? Surely just about anyone with a computer and some spending can bid on an MP3 player!?
But hand-crafting a tiny, intricately-detailed Hatsune Miku outfit for your pet dog? Now that’s what we call a fan!
A well-known Chinese writer with some controversial views on education got into dire straits in September after attempting to climb Mount Fuji with his children. The purpose of the climb was a combination of a strict education regiment and as a way to promote Chinese patriotism.
Unaware that the climbing season ended at the end of August, they were turned back short of the summit, but not before being given extra clothing by a Japanese first aid officer.
While I was fortunate to have been inland and more than 60km away from the Fukushima power plant when it ruptured, on 3 March, 2011, my co-workers and I nevertheless started to get a little anxious when, just a few hours after the initial earthquake hit north-east Japan, our water supply went off.
Heading to the nearest supermarket in search of bottled water, we were met by the sight of hundreds of locals who had had the exact same idea: buy as many provisions as possible and get back indoors. By the time we found a place to park and got into the store, there was barely anything left on the shelves; it had all been snapped up by (understandably) panicked buyers. Deciding to try our luck at the local convenience store, we drove over to 7-Eleven, but found the shelves just as bare.
Although our sitation never got anywhere close to desperate, and our supply came back on about 24 hours later, the thought of not having any clean, safe drinking water really struck home for a while there.
Until it suddenly becomes unavailable, water is something that we all take for granted on a daily basis. Turn the tap and fill up a glass, fill the kettle and make a coffee, jump in the shower, wash your clothes; we use it almost constantly and can’t get by without it.
So it comes as something of a relief to hear that there are clever people out there creating devices that can do something as unfathomable as turn chemical-filled pool water into something that’s safe to drink in an emergency…
Among other things, the toilet is a place for peaceful introspection. It provides an isolated and quiet space for us to devote a few minutes from our busy schedules to just sit and think.
Some people seek to enhance the spiritually soothing properties of the toilet by adorning their bathroom in calming pastel colors or setting a bowl of potpourri or other aromatic atop the toilet’s porcelain tank.
One Japanese person, true to his culture, has taken excremeditation to new levels by installing a working traditional Japanese bamboo fountain on top of his toilet.
Hot on the heels of its highly successful Super Mario spoof animal fur campaign, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has launched a brand new flash game that centres on kids’ videogame favourite Pokémon, exposing the cruel truth behind the trainer / pocket monster relationship and prompting us all to think a little harder about how we treat animals.
The game, which mimics the style of the hugely popular videogame, has seen thousands of visits since its launch, and asks players to take on the role of captive pokémon as they battle with their abusive trainer for freedom. Read More
I remember showing “Gangnam Style” to my Japanese friends and coworkers only a few weeks after it was uploaded to YouTube in July. While, like millions of other viewers, I thought the video was best thing to come out of YouTube since Charlie the Unicorn, I was surprised to find that most Japanese people I showed it to would just stare at the screen and mumble a disinterested “hmmmm.”
Were they seeing the same video I was? Did they not notice the horse-riding dance and the rhythmic pelvic thrusting in the elevator? Were they deaf to the addictive melody and blind to the tongue-in-cheek sexual innuendos? I mean, come on people: he’s screaming at her butt.
At the time, I thought maybe I just had dull friends. But after over 400,000,000 views, numerous international media appearances, an American record deal and still only minimal sign of interest from Japan, I’m compelled to think that there is something about PSY and Gangnam Style that the Japanese are simply unable to accept.
With every man and his dog having heard tales of Japan’s heated, butt-cheek-massaging, water-squirting thrones or experienced them firsthand by now, the country’s space-age toilets are nothing new.
Why the contraptions haven’t quite caught on overseas yet still amazes me, but Japan continues to do toilets exceedingly well, and few things on this earth please this writer more than opening a stall door and being greeted by a sensor-activated toilet whose lid opens to greet me with the fondness of a dog whose master has just return from a weekend away.
But with all those buttons, dials and functions, Japan’s toilets seem to have peaked. Today’s toilet enthusiasts demand something more! Luxury, ladies and gentlemen, does not come from mere electronics; it comes from spacious, tranquil privacy.
In search of just that, our lucky writer over at RocketNews24 Japan headed out to Chiba prefecture, the home of the world’s most spacious public restroom, documenting the entire process on our behalf. Well, maybe not the entire of the process…
Before we set off, does anyone need to pee?
So you’re a middle aged person living in Japan with a mind to tie the knot but can’t seem to find that perfect match. You went to a goukon and followed all the rules but still couldn’t land that potential spouse.
It could be because you’re a geek. Now, that’s not as bad as it sounds. Statistics that I just pulled out of thin air suggest that up to 31% of us carry the otaku gene. Some of our best and brightest are nerds, such as Mark Zuckerberg, Weird Al Yankovic, and Wayne Gretzky.
However, for the otaku, marriage can be as hard to complete as that level in Battletoads where you have ride the hover bike. This is why the town of Washimiya has set up the Otaku Marriage Hunting Masquerade Ball.
Just over a week ago, McDonald’s Japan took the sudden and seemingly unnecessary step of removing menus from its counters, instead asking customers to make their selection before stepping up to order.
As reported here on RocketNews24, this very minor change had a strangely jarring effect on us when we visited the restaurant, perhaps conditioned by years of frequenting fast food joints and coffee outlets where the menu is, usually, right next to the cash register to at least glance at.
According to recent reports, that feeling of confusion is not limited to this us alone… Read More
Anyone who’s ever tried to shed a few pounds knows how hard it can be to stay motivated. Sometimes you just can’t reach down and find the fortitude deep inside to put down the doughnut and pick up your dumbbells without a more immediate payoff.
A recently opened rental property in Osaka has come up with a novel idea to help dieters keep their motivation up: a discount on rent for weight lost.
Can you spot what’s wrong with this picture?
That’s right. This slide into home is going the wrong way. Some were concerned that future hall of famer Ichiro Suzuki may have been past his prime when added to the Yankees this year, but he certainly pulled his weight scoring the first run in their second divisional playoff game against Baltimore.
Ichiro, after being waved home suddenly found himself cut off by an early throw to Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters. Staring an inevitable 3rd out in the face, Ichiro wondered “What would Naruto Uzumaki do right now?”
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Eight unforgettable hot springs, as recommended by Japan’s “Professor Bath”
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
Haunted hospital near Mt Fuji re-opens after renovation at Fuji-Q Highland, and it’s terrifying
Former employee shows us why a Starbucks “Tall Latte” is a sucker bet
Newest tool to help Japanese people learn English: An all-English isekai light novel
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo adds exclusive drinks to the menu for autumn
Hello Kitty isn’t a cat!? We called Sanrio to find out!
Japanese bank’s founders blood-signed promise to commit samurai-style suicide if they committed fraud
This cool pen features an adorable shrine fox guardian with a swishing tail
Studio 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 season
Travel 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
Newest tool to help Japanese people learn English: An all-English isekai light novel
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo adds exclusive drinks to the menu for autumn
Hello Kitty isn’t a cat!? We called Sanrio to find out!
Japanese bank’s founders blood-signed promise to commit samurai-style suicide if they committed fraud
This cool pen features an adorable shrine fox guardian with a swishing tail
Exhibition on the 1,500 year-history of traditional Japanese women’s clothing to open in Shibuya
5 cultural tips for taking photos in Japan
Nara deer shikadamari phenomenon continues to baffle visitors at Nara park
Japan’s Pokémon donuts are evolving as Diglett grows into Dugtrio churro!
Kyoto Whopper divides customers at Burger King Japan
Studio Ghibli’s new Nostalgic Piggy Bank series adds anime magic to your savings
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty
Enjoy a Pokémon tea ceremony with new matcha goods featuring Poltchageist and Sinistcha
Japan’s first-ever ramen restaurant, which closed 44 years ago, is reopening this fall!