Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Do you have a favorite place to get a quick, cheap meal? Maybe you go through the drive-thru at McDonald’s and enjoy a BigMac or cruise on over to Krispy Kreme for a sweet treat. Even though Japan doesn’t have a strong culture of driving motor vehicles, people in the island nation still enjoy a wide variety of quick bites. But what is Japan’s favorite fast food? News site, NariNari, has the answer.
These days technology seems to be getting more and more closed off from the consumers that use it. Back in the day you easily could pull out a screwdriver and fix the gear on your Walkman by yourself after it chewed up your new jack swing mix-tape.
Now you wouldn’t know how to pop open an iPhone, even if you wanted to void the warranty. This is why problems like this lady’s have got me baffled. In her video titled The Case of My iPhone Gasping While Charging After a Long Time we can watch an iPhone make sounds not unlike Police Academy’s Michael Winslow when charging from 0%.
The Thailand office of American doughnut chain, Dunkin’ Donuts, has been unrolling a unique line of doughnuts since August of this year. All of these 27 doughnuts have one thing in common: They’re black as midnight.
But that’s just the tip of this ebony iceberg. We’ve seen black food hit the scene before but these doughnuts took a year in the making as Dunkin’ Donuts carefully selected what they thought were the best combination of ingredients. What they came up with is interesting to say the least. Some flavors will make you drool, some will make you cringe, but they’ll all make you interested.
Helmet-clad racers speeding around on mountain bikes is about the last thing you’d expect to find on the grounds of a Buddhist temple, but that’s exactly what you’ll see at Katsuo Temple this November.
If you were asked to think of a traditional Korean food, kimchi would most likely come to mind. If you’re unfamiliar with the dish, it’s a fermented, rather spicy, side dish made up of vegetables and various seasonings, and it forms the staple ingredient for hundreds of different Korean dishes. With kimchi valued so highly, it is perhaps no surprise that the Korean government wants to see it classified as intangible cultural heritage.
Which of the above locations, from A to E, would you consider the safest when riding an elevator with a person you don’t know or are suspicious of? Chances are you’ve never really thought about it, but the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department recently published the following safety information intended to educate women about riding elevators alone with men, advising them of what to do should they feel uncomfortable.
As you’re surely aware, Pokémon is serious business in Japan, with tournaments and competitions for the myriad playable variations so viciously competitive that many resort to illegally acquiring and modifying Pokémon.
In that sense, it’s odd that one of the most valuable pieces of Pokémon memorabilia, the Pokémon Illustrator card from the Pokémon Trading Card Game, serves absolutely no in-game purpose. It is, however, considered to be one of the rarest Pokémon cards in existence.
If you only started playing video games in the last 10 years, you may not know how good you’ve got it. These days, every system includes a hard drive to save your progress, and with most games offering frequent opportunities to do so or doing it on your behalf, even the worst screw-up isn’t going to lose you more than 15 minutes or so of progress. With dozens of online FAQs and YouTube demonstrations for the most popular titles, there’s no need to waste time getting killed by the same boss over and over again.
But back in the day, things were different. Before every home had multiple Internet-capable devices, gamers were completely on their own whenever they entered a new stage, and death usually meant going all the way back to the beginning of the level, if not the entire game. How did old school gamers deal with this kind of frustration?
In the case of one of our Japanese correspondents by biting the controller.
At first we weren’t entirely convinced that this was the same girl in both pictures. They’re just so… different. Look closely though, and beneath those layers (and layers) of makeup and the fake eyelashes, you’ll see that it really is the the selfsame young lady. Her little mole is there; her duck-face smile curls in the exact same way; the shape of her jaw and cheeks are the same. But, just, wow. Welcome to the world of “power makeup”.
We were recently duped into thinking some high-quality pieces of Sailor Moon fan art were from the upcoming new installment in the anime franchise. In light of this, we’ve decided to be more skeptical about news concerning the lunar-themed heroine.
From now on, we’re not believing anything until we’re holding the real deal in our own two hands! Which is just what we did with a set of adult-size Sailor Moon bibs.
In less than one week’s time, the doors of the Makurai Messe convention centre will be opened and Tokyo Game Show 2013 will begin. RocketNews24 will of course be heading along to play a few games on your behalf and bring you some of the most original and quirky news we can lay our eyes and ears on (we were warned about touching last year), and during a little research session this afternoon we stumbled upon none other than the official exhibitor map for Tokyo Game Show 2013, which was released earlier today.
Needless to say, the exhibitor list is positively enormous, with hundreds of booths filling eight halls (plus a separate area dedicated to indies and cosplay) with gaming goodness to be drooled over. Not only that, but Electronics Arts Japan has confirmed that forthcoming first-person shooter Battlefield 4 will also be playable on PlayStation 4 at the event.
Japanese fans can’t get enough of Shingeki no Kyojin: Attack on Titan. It wasn’t enough just to watch the anime and read the manga. Next they wanted to dress like a Titan and drink like a Titan. Now they’re taking it one step further so that they can even smell like a Titan! Preorders are now available for a new line of Attack on Titan aroma frangrances!
Given the massive popularity of virtual idol Hatsune Miku, it’s easy to forget that she really hasn’t been around that long. The singing computer construct only recently celebrated her sixth birthday, which inspired one fan to whip up a Miku-themed cake.
This is far from the first time we’ve come across food that’s supposed to resemble the aqua-tressed songstress, and we’ve previously reported on Miku meat buns and even Miku bento. This just might be the most detailed recreation we’ve seen of the Vocaloid in edible form yet, though.
Cosplay isn’t just for conventions or the Kyoto subway. Tokyo Disneyland during the Halloween season is a great place for Disney fans to show off their cosplay skills. Usually, anyone out of elementary school isn’t allowed to enter Tokyo Disneyland in full costume, but during the first and last week of the Disney Halloween event (September 9 to 15 and October 25 to 31), anyone is invited to cosplay at the park. Let’s take a look at some of the impressive costumes from the first week of the TDL Halloween season.
Sanrio has come up with some pretty adorable characters over the years. From Batsu-Maru to their most famous little mascot, Hello Kitty, the kawaii just won’t stop. However, the company’s newest character, Kirimi-chan, is questionably cute and definitely bizarre. She is the lead character for Sanrio’s new line of food mascots, inspiring one netizen to easily create a real-life version.
We’re sure you’ve heard of square watermelons from Japan, but how about heart-shaped ones? After many years of research, Hiroichi Kimura, a farmer from Kumamoto Prefecture, has finally done it! But it was no easy task shaping the originally round fruits into the symbol of love. Let’s take a closer look at the fruits of this farmer’s labor.
A true symbol of status for a whole lot of folks is the kind of car they drive. So what does it say about a person when a larger-than-life magical girl is bursting out the back of their van?! Someone is either absolutely amazing or amazingly disturbed to have so much love for an animated character. Either way, this has got to be one of the most awesome things we’ve ever seen rolling down the Japanese highway!
Whether it’s people worrying about the NSA stealing all the cookies from their cookie jars or a generous gent hiding his identity, it seems that privacy is all over the news these days. And while we could argue the merits and demerits of living in a surveillance society, we can probably all agree that there’s nothing more annoying than people looking at your phone screen over your shoulder!
Of course, privacy-protecting films for phones have been around almost as long as cell phones have, but this one takes your privacy to heart and makes sure no one sees your business…
It’s only September, but 2013 has already been quite the year for Studio Ghibli news. What with the critical success of Kaze Tachinu, jaw-dropping theatre adaptations, incoming movie Kaguya Hime no Monogatari and the last week’s announcement of Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement, we can’t remember a year like it. And now, just when we thought we couldn’t possibly squeeze in any more Ghibli goodness, we’ve received word that a new live-action fan film inspired by Princess Mononoke is in the works!
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones
Komachi Shokudo: Japanese mum’s-style cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Häagen-Dazs Japan releases new ASMR ice cream called “Rocky Crunchy!”
The top 10 graduation songs in Japan as chosen by current Japanese high school students
Is Daiso’s microwave Japanese rolled omelet maker worth your time and money? [Taste test]
Can five middle-aged guys who graduated high school years ago still sing their school songs?
Do ANA international inflight meals taste better on the ground than they do in the air?
Spirited Away adds a dash of Ghibli beauty to hanafuda flower cards【Photos】
American otaku attends college graduation accompanied by his anime girl huggy pillow【Video】Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Starbucks Japan releases a new Cream Puff Frappuccino for a limited time
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Silicone testicle covers banned from Japanese sauna following cups being left behind and on shelves
Starbucks Japan opens new cafe and art gallery in top Tokyo tourist neighbourhood
Japanese government planning higher ticket prices for foreign tourists at Tokyo National Museum
Is Japan’s Crab-shaped Cup Ramen Timer worth the hype?
Studio Ghibli now sells Ursula’s backpack from Kiki’s Delivery Service at its anime shop in Japan
Pizza Hut Japan teams up with creator of one of the country’s best kinds of ramen for ramen pizza
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to localsStudio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime characterNine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your homeJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Is Daiso’s microwave Japanese rolled omelet maker worth your time and money? [Taste test]
Can five middle-aged guys who graduated high school years ago still sing their school songs?
Do ANA international inflight meals taste better on the ground than they do in the air?
Spirited Away adds a dash of Ghibli beauty to hanafuda flower cards【Photos】
American otaku attends college graduation accompanied by his anime girl huggy pillow【Video】
Chance to play Tetris on a massive staircase in Kyoto Station coming in March
Four things to hate about looking for an apartment in Japan as a foreigner
Number of foreigners living in Japan has grown 50 percent in four years, hits historic high
Japan asked to vote on what to officially call insanely hot days
【TBT】Tokyo’s Pico Pico Cafe: Where video games meet coffeeJ-rocker Gackt further proves his coolness with surprise performance at middle school graduation
Eevee returns to Japan’s famous Tokyo Banana, bundled with a cute tote bag
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026