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The giant straw sculptures of Japan 【Photos】

Many of you have probably heard about the massive snow sculptures of the Sapporo Snow Festival, adding a fun event to look forward to in the dead of the harsh winters of Japan’s northernmost prefecture. But what about the straw sculptures of the Wara Art Festival in Niigata Prefecture? To celebrate the end of the rice harvest and the abundance of straw that is produced as a result, the folks in Niigata put all that extra dried stuff to creative use, making huge straw sculptures that tower over the thousands of people who come to visit them.

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World-famous Japanese cat Maru gets a new pal, learns a cool new tail trick 【Video】

You might be thinking we’ve been posting an awful lot of articles about cats recently, from stories about cat islands to black-cat cafés, and even one about wearable cats, but here’s one more to end the week with, because they told us to publish it and we’re too scared to disobey.

It would seem that Maru, possibly the most famous cat on YouTube right now, not only has a new friend to play with, but he’s found a novel use for his fluffy tail…

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North Koreans unsure how to handle 560 kg of potatoes in sudden ration flip-flop

North Korean potato farmers breathed a sigh of relief this month when they found out their monthly ration of the crop would be restored and not canceled as earlier reported. The announcement was soon met with confusion however when the workers in the northern Ryanggang Province found out that each of them would receive 560 kg—eight monthly rations-worth—of potatoes at once. Even a notorious eater like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might find it difficult to stomach that many carbs.

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Liquidman lets you dance like a maniac on a busy street from the comfort of your own living room

Have you ever wanted to start dancing like a madman in the middle of a crowded urban street, but felt restrained by the conventions of society? Our reporter Mr. Sato sure has. So when he learnt about the Halls throat lozenges’ YOUareLIQUIDMAN campaign, he got right on it.

YOUareLIQUIDMAN encourages sheepish individuals to upload a photo of themselves to the Halls website. Their photo is then displayed on liquid man who proceeds to dance like Michael Stipe in front of total strangers.

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Niconico user makes cute, petable Pokémon with needle-felted plushies 【Videos】

This fall has people across the globe down with a case of Pokémon fever, ever since the release of Nintendo’s first 3-D Pokémon game set, X and Y. Thanks to one of the game’s brand-new features, Pokémon Amie, it’s possible to build greater bonds with our battling monsters than ever before, by petting, feeding, and playing games with them. Still, not even that comes close to the adorable magic of having an actual creature to cuddle.

Niconico Douga user, Tatsuno’otoshigo (meaning seahorse), filled that hole in her heart by crafting her own Pokémon plushies with needle felting! Her ever-expanding pokédex of wooly little monsters is the envy of many collectors. But it’s hard to say if she’d be willing to trade. Her videos reveal exactly how much love she puts into each and every pokémon.

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Japanese snack company gives us portable mashed potatoes with a soft inside, crunchy outside

Ah mashed potatoes. Hot and fluffy peaks of spuds; what a simple dish consisting of a bunch of potatoes all smashed together to create a bowl of dense, delicious goodness. But somewhere along the line, Calbee, a major Japanese snack food maker, made an awesome breakthrough in potato technology. The traditional western side dish has received a bizarre snack twist, being transformed into “Mashed Potato Consomme Punch” chips that are said to be the perfect balance of crunchy and fluffy.

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Living Wallet: The high-tech/creepy solution to your money spending problems

We understand it’s hard to save money. With so many cool Gundam theme cakes and Sailor Moon accessories around, who wouldn’t be trying to empty their coin purses and pocketbooks to exchange their hard earned cash for awesome novelty goods. Sometimes, our spending gets a little out of control and we have to save a little, employing various tactics to try and see an increase in the bank account.

But what if your wallet started inching away, undulating like some sort of deranged caterpillar in hopes you forgo your next splurge. And what if you ignored the weirdness of the movement, picked up said wallet, and it started screaming at you? No, we’re not making this up. One company in Japan hopes to curb your spending with a “living wallet.”

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Full Screen Mario allows you to play Super Mario Bros. on your computer, create new levels!

For those too young to have owned an NES or too old and lazy to dust yours off, Super Mario Bros. is now playable in your web browser thanks to Full Screen Mario, an open source (and completely free!) browser game created by Josh Goldberg. And not only can you squish Goombas and revisit your favorite place to get infinite 1-UPs, but you can even create your own custom levels.

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Rocking out with the Wagakki Band: Giving vocaloids a human voice

While vocaloids like Hatsune Miku are still relatively unknown in the West, they have quite the following in Japan and can be found taking part in everything from live concerts to limited edition smartphones. Though some may worry that the digital singers mean the end of “human” music, so far that’s hardly been the case. In fact, it’s nothing strange to find regular bands performing cover songs of vocaloid originals!

One band has taken the concept a step further by introducing some unique, traditional elements and are garnering quite a bit of attention among Japanese Internet users. Meet the Wagakki Band with Yuko Suzuhana and get ready to rock!

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Limited edition Gundam cake up for preorder, comes with Char’s custom plate and fork!

Some of the lesser-known joys of Japan are the occasional anime/video game and cake collaborations. Sure, taking your favorite hobby and injecting it with some cake is a no-brainer, but these limited offers always bring some very unique collectables with them. Monster Hunter fans who pre-ordered their Rathalos cakes should be getting them next month.

Now we present to you the Char Zaku Cake Set. It’s a cake in the shape of Char Aznable’s custom MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type served on Char’s custom cake dish and fork.

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American dance crew accuses Korean team of stealing moves, epic dance battle imminent?

Who knew that hip hop dancing could be such serious business? An American hip-hop dance team – or crew as they’re called in dance circles – is so miffed that another dance crew allegedly stole part of their routine that they’re taking the fight to the rival team half a world away.

The apparent ripping off occurred when a Korean dance crew busted out a brief but complex choreographed dance move that is exactly the same as a move pioneered by the American dance crew I.Am.Me on the MTV show America’s Best Dance Crew (side note: the show is hosted by none other than A.C. Slater, a well-known expert on 80s-style dance numbers).

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Japan’s first black cat café feels appropriate for the season 【Photos】

Halloween is just around the bend, and Japan has us up to our eyeballs in ghosts, skeletons, spider webs, and black cats. Especially black cats, much to our delight!

In the city of Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture, our RocketNews24 sister site Pouch has discovered what has to be Japan’s first exclusively black cat café. It’s called Cat Café Nekobayaka -black cat centimeter-, and in the spirit of Halloween, how about dropping in for coffee and a bit of playtime with their jet black beauties?

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Gotta eat ’em all! Japanese idol goes crazy over Pokémon XY, eats the box【Photos】

Being human, there are times when we lose control of ourselves in a state of extreme excitement. Some people scream, some dance, some cry, some may even wet their pants. On 12 October, Pokémon fans of the world rejoiced over the global release of two new titles, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. Popular seiyuu voice actor and otaku idol Shoko Nakagawa (or more affectionately known as Shokotan) expressed her ecstasy by going on a Pokémon binge, literally.

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Chinese army steps in to tackle giant wasp nest, quite literally kills it with fire

For many Westerners, particularly those from places like my own native UK, the thought of calling in emergency services to help with an infestation of bugs or rodents would seem quite absurd, but when faced with a nest of killer wasps that can grow to be up to two inches long, it’s not surprising that these country dwellers in China turned to the army.

Shared via YouTube, this clip from a Chinese news broadcast last year shows the country’s armed forces stepping in with none other than a giant flame thrower to take out a nest that had been built at the top of a tall tree, well out of reach of even the bravest armour-clad local.

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We create awesome cinematic videos in slow motion with the iPhone 5s

September 20 was a special day for Apple fans, as the newest iteration of the company’s smartphone, the iPhone 5s, went on sale. The youngest member of the iPhone clan was an instant success, and while some people were motivated to buy one by the simple camaraderie of hitting the Apple store with a group of friends, Apple also touts a number of technical advantages the iPhone 5s has over older models.

One of the biggest strides lies in the iPhone 5s’ camera, which we discovered can be used to take dramatic slow motion video that looks like something out of a movie.

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Symmetry is creepy! 26 photos of animals “evolving” with the help of mirror images

Thankfully the following images, which popped up on Japanese textboard site 2Channel earlier this week, were all produced using image sites such as PicHacks in order to create a symmetrical image from an existing photo, and are not of real-world creatures genetically engineered by nefarious scientists. Some of them will, however, most definitely be coming after you in your dreams tonight.

So come with us now as we step into the world of creepy evolutions and nightmarish creatures. And they said facial symmetry is a mark of beauty…

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Anpanman clouds rising to meet his creator in the afterlife

As we sadly reported yesterday, Takashi Yanase, creator of the beloved Japanese character, Anpanman, passed away on October 13. Though you may not have heard of Anpanman or Yanase, both were immensely famous in Japan, with the cartoon being standard viewing for nearly every child.

And, as you can imagine, his passing touched the hearts of even the most curmudgeonly Internet commenter, especially when the photo above started circulating on Twitter.

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We try yogurt which contains euglena… yeah, we had to look it up too

Euglena is a microorganism, in some ways similar to algae. However, it is truly unique in that it exhibits feeding habits of both animals and plants. Such a fascinating biological specimen has left us all wondering: What does it taste like?

To answer that, convenience stores all over Japan have begun selling Euglena Yogurt from 15 October. Our brave reporter Usagi went to try some out.

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Could you eat a horse… raw? Try home-made horse sashimi straight from the butcher!

Basashi is raw horse meat cut into slices–“horse sashimi”, and a delicacy consumed in some parts of Japan. The most famous place to experience basashi is Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu, southern Japan.

You can order a plateful of the stuff in Japanese pubs (izakaya), and it’s said to go incredibly well with nihonshu, but our intrepid RocketNews24 reporter Mami Kuroi couldn’t find any horse meat in Tokyo supermarkets to slice up to make her own basashi to try at home. Eventually, she happened to be visiting Komoro City in Nagano Prefecture and stumbled on a butcher who stocked it. There was even a poster outside proclaiming that the shop sold the “best-quality basashi“! Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime chance for home-made horse sashimi, she bought some, sampled it and wrote about her horsy adventure for us to enjoy. Of course, it was totally raw!

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Like many people who immigrated to Japan, for my first few weeks in the country, almost every day involved a trip to the local 100 yen shop. Setting up a new home requires a big investment of time and money, but at the very least, in Japan you can largely outfit your kitchen with a handful of 100-yen (US $1) coins.

And it’s not just dishes and silverware you can pick up on the cheap, but a variety of handy things to make your home life easier, as featured in a recent ranking of the top 10 convenient items from the 100 yen shop.

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