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“You’re taking peeping photos, aren’t you?” Smartphone extortion scam hits hard in Shinjuku

Many would agree that smartphones are the easiest and most convenient way to stay entertained no matter where you go, provided there’s reception. Although, they do distract us from what’s happening in the immediate vicinity. Texting and checking apps while walking through the streets of a busy city can lead to collisions with people or signposts, or even traffic if one isn’t careful! Now, a recent string of scams in Tokyo shows that the distractedness we experience when on our phones also make us a target. Read More

We visit beautiful, bucolic Shirakawa-go to escape Tokyo’s hustle and bustle

Amazing as Japan’s metropolises are, after spending enough time in some of the most densely populated spots on the planet, urban fatigue starts to set in. There’s nothing like a getaway to the countryside to refresh your spirits after one too many days scurrying around downtown in packed train and subway cars.

The Shirakawa-go district, located in Gifu Prefecture, is close enough to Tokyo or Osaka that it makes an easy weekend escape for residents, as well as a simple side trip for overseas tourists crisscrossing the country. In terms of atmosphere, though, Shirakawa-go is worlds away from Japan’s largest cities.

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This sushi art is the coolest thing made out of food you’ll see all day

Edible art is kind of a thing these days, especially in Asia, where seemingly every dish is so artfully crafted and cute you couldn’t possibly eat it – especially when it takes the form of a cat poking out of your latte.

This admittedly somewhat wasteful art form may have reached its pinnacle with these mind-boggling works of makizushi magnificence.

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Must try before you die: Fugu and shiokara from Japan make bizarre food “bucket list”

When you’re hovering on the verge of leaving this world, the last thing you want to feel is lingering regret about those unique foods you never had the chance to try and all those unimaginable flavours and textures you missed out on, or never knew existed. To avoid such a terrible fate, a list of 20 strange bucket-list foods has recently been compiled by a British news site and has been widely commented on in Japan, as it features two home-grown favourites: fugu and shiokara. Fugu is the poisonous pufferfish of Simpsons fame, while shiokara is a relatively harmless dish composed of shreds of meat from a sea creature (commonly squid) in a slimy paste of its heavily salted, fermented raw guts. I mean, viscera.

So my taste buds won’t spend an eternity regretting the tragic circumstances that left their fugu and shiokara cherry unpopped, I aim to get to the bottom of these Japanese dishes! Er, okay, maybe not right to the bottom. I’ll have a few cautious bites and see how it goes.

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Tokyo Tower elevator grinds to a halt as metal object smashes glass

If you’re going to Tokyo Tower anytime soon, you probably won’t be able to go up to the 250-meter (820-foot) Special Observatory, which stands high above the 150-meter (492-foot) Main Observatory. Why? The one-and-only elevator providing service to the higher level has been temporarily closed after a piece of flying metal broke one of the glass walls!

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Indonesia’s Google Street View car guilty of three hit-and-runs

Last week on September 14, Jakarta’s police managed to catch up with an AWOL fender-bender felon. This particular culprit was a bit too high profile to fly under the radar for long, especially considering the panoramic mapping equipment attached to his car!

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We visit the World Santa Congress in Kumamoto Prefecture and still feel exactly like jaded adults

Located in a remote section of a remote prefecture of Japan, Kumamoto’s Amakusa City faces the same problem a lot of rural towns do: its population is dwindling as children born there generally have to leave to pursue an education or career, and few move back.

As part of an effort to boost the remaining residents’ spirits, as well as hopefully garner a little tourism publicity, Amakusa recently held a World Santa Congress.

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She doesn’t need beer goggles to look cute, but we try Hello Kitty Beer anyway

As Japan’s most prodigious celebrity endorser, Hello Kitty certainly keeps busy. In this month alone, we’ve seen her grace Toshiba’s SD cards, and even transform herself into a cute, cuddly dislocated tooth to hawk toothpaste.

With such a hectic work schedule, it’s understandable that Kitty-chan should want to relax the same way many of us do after coming home from a long, hard day at the office: by cracking open a cold beer. Even then though, the hard-working feline is on the clock, with a new line of Hello Kitty Beer.

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We try Cheesecake Kimchi Natto Ramen with a conspicuous moe character on the box

While traveling in Iwate Prefecture recently, one of our reporters stumbled across a brightly decorated pack of instant ramen. Although first drawn by the buxom moe character on the front, it was the name – Rare Cheese Kimchi Natto Ramen – that made this a must-buy.

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Fashion for the young at heart! A different take on what it means to get older in Japan

We’ve no doubt all seen some horrendous fashion crimes out on the streets before now, perpetrated by people of all ages, but older people in particular seem to get a bad rap when it comes to dressing themselves for the times, with endless jokes made about things like mom jeans, grannie panties and middle-aged men in sandals and socks.

The creators of the Japanese fashion blog L’idéal, however, decided that it was time to take a stand and right the wrongs unintentionally done to the country’s elderly. Showcasing some of the coolest and most beautifully dressed older Japanese women we’ve ever seen, L’idéal challenges stereotypes and hopes to change our outlook on this estranged generation.

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Epic body slam action at US Sumo Open【Video】

One of Japan’s most ancient sports, sumo is both steeped in tradition and considered to be one of the most demanding in the world. Professional sumo wrestlers, or rikishi, must not only commit to a strict regime of physical training and the daily consumption of gargantuan meals in order to maintain their enormous mass, but also obey rules that cover everything from their hairstyles and the clothing they may wear in public to the use of vehicular transportation.

Although sumo’s popularity in Japan is on the wane, the sport is becoming increasingly popular in Western countries, particularly in the United States where groups such as USA Sumo are growing ever larger and receiving more and more media attention with each year that passes. And we’d be willing to bet that after seeing the following video taken at the US Sumo Open 2013 event, even the most sceptical of Western sports fans will start taking sumo a little more seriously.

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As an admittedly old-school gamer, I sometimes have a hard time grasping the appeal of modern video games designed with light users in mind. Lining up sparkly jewels in Bejeweled? Growing tomatoes in Farmville? Where’s the excitement in that?

Likewise, the trends of modern anime can be difficult to understand, with a glut of shows lacking any discernible concept beyond “cute girls hang out together, and occasionally participate in school club activities.”

If you ask me, both of these entertainment fields could do with a lot more stuff blowing up. Thankfully, that’s just what we can expect from the new collaboration between online game World of Tanks and anime franchise Girls und Panzer.

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The latest souvenir trend amongst foreign tourists in Japan

Recently, tourists in Japan have been flocking to Kappabashi-dori, also known as Kitchen Town, before returning to their home countries. They come to the small shopping area located between Ueno and Asakusa, Tokyo in search of a hot souvenir item not entirely unique to Japan.

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Victoria’s Secret beauty, Miranda Kerr, stars in strange Japanese detergent commercial

There are plenty of well-known celebrities in America who have found themselves starring in a commercial or two in Japan. The latest famous person to hawk Japanese products is Victoria’s Secret model, Miranda Kerr, who stars in a commercial for popular P&G laundry detergent, Bold. Aside from being absolutely gorgeous in the commercial, Miranda actually speaks a bit of Japanese, telling consumers about the new pink detergent.

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Anpanman attacks unsuspecting crowd with Gundam lasers during live show

The costumed superhero world was shocked recently when once beloved hero with a head of bread, Anpanman, appeared to have suffered a mental breakdown and began firing lasers at the unsuspecting crowd. The carnage was captured on video and is currently being studied by psychiatric experts and federal investigators.

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Download punk rock classics played in 8-bit – for free!!

Who here is a fan of ‘90s punk rock? How about old school gaming from the NES and Sega Genesis eras? If you have an interest in one or both, there’s a new album up on Bandcamp, music community and selling outlet for self-releasing musical artists, called Punk Goes 8-Bit: Level 1. Tracks include popular punk hits from well-known artists, such as Blink 182, Less Than Jake, and The Offspring as you’ve never heard them before. Better yet, they’re absolutely free!

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Limited edition Lipton’s iced tea-scented pens to go on sale

Japanese stationery company Zebra is celebrating the 10th anniversary of their Sarasa Clip pens, which is why they have teamed up with world-famous tea maker Lipton to launch a unique line of ball-point pens. Coming 19 September are 10 pens each with the aroma of a different flavor of Lipton iced tea sold in the Japanese market.

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Ninja language skills: Boost your Japanese with the power of onomatopoeia

It rarely appears in beginner or intermediate textbooks, but spend a day with any native Japanese speaker and you’ll soon realise that onomatopoeia is a vital part of the language. Utterances such as, “The rain fell like ‘pssshaaaa'” and, “My heart was going ‘boom boom boom’ the whole time!” may come across as a little ineloquent when said in English, but in Japanese these kinds of mimetic words are not only considered perfectly acceptable, but pop up absolutely everywhere.

So if you’ve ever wondered what sound a Japanese pig makes, how best to describe a rolling boulder as opposed to a tiny marble, or would be perplexed if a doctor asked whether the pain you’re feeling is more shikushiku than kirikiri, now’s your chance to hone your language skills and add a few new words to your Japanese vocabulary!

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South Koreans really hate it when you ask for directions, video proves

An American tourist apparently learned the hard way recently to never ask Koreans – Korean smokers, actually – for directions, if the following video is to be believed.

After eating live octopus for your viewing pleasure – and it really is quite the spectacle – the host of this YouTube video inexplicably decides to keep rolling, telling viewers that Koreans are a laid back and wonderful people, before immediately asking two young men taking a smoke break for directions to a nearby landmark. They respond by physically attacking him and stealing his camera.

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Just as in other countries, having a high-power, high-paying job such as doctor or banker will do a lot to expand a bachelor’s potential dating pool in Japan. Your profession is a reflection of, and at the same time an influence on, your values and identity. As in most countries, it’s inevitable that when first meeting someone, they’ll use your line of work as a shortcut to try to figure out how compatible you’ll be romantically. Success is always attractive, and there’s no quicker way to communicate it than through wealth.

But money isn’t everything, of course! Sometimes more important than number of yen in your bank account is how you earn them, as shown in a recent online survey that found nine occupations Japanese women find attractive in a potential boyfriend.

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