Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Ever have trouble deciding whether you want to have a burger or pizza? Kyoto pizza parlor Pizza Little Party is hoping you choose to have both with their Megaburgerpizza. They’re also apparently tired of being called “little” as this beast weighs in at approximately 1.2kg (2.65lbs).
Google Street View is amazing. Not only does it allow us common folk a few glimpses of abandoned islands, strange pigeon people, and the inside of the Ryōgoku Kokugikan sumo hall, anyone anywhere can now enjoy looking at the cuddly animals at zoos around the world. From the famous San Diego Zoo to the Chengdu Research Base in China, Google Maps will transport you to a world of cute (and you don’t even have to pay an admission fee).
Aren’t science experiments that you can do at home the best? Bored people everywhere came together to enjoy the magic that was adding Mentos to Diet Coke (and mothers who had to clean up the mess cursed its very discovery). Allow us to present you with another experiment using cola. While not as exciting as a delicious exploding fountain of awesome, you’ll feel like some kind of sorcerer as you make cola turn into clear liquid. Taken from a video that’s been making the rounds on NicoNicoDouga, a popular video sharing site in Japan, this experiment is so easy, even you can do it. Here’s how!
Wish you could just stuff your face with burgers until you explode? So do we. That’s why you’ll find our staff down at Burger King on August 30 enjoying the all-you-can-eat Burger King feast that will be going on for one day only.
Remember that scene from The Mummy where what seems like a million scarabs pour out of every little crack and crevice, creating a sea of writhing beetles? Yeah, that actually happened in real life. With cockroaches.
Possibly taking a fashion cue from The Joker, women in South Korea are undergoing a bizarre plastic surgery procedure to enhance their smile. Dubbed “mouth corners lift” or “smile lipt” (a made-up word incorporating the words “lip” and “lift”), the surgery involves cutting the sides of the mouth to create the illusion of a smile.
On 22 August, four youths between the ages of 15 and 17 were apprehended for robbing and injuring a man in the streets of Tokyo. While in custody one of the teenagers confessed they had taken the man’s money because they “wanted to get some special attack uniforms [tokkoufuku] and go to an AKB48 handshake meet.”
Well, that certainly clears up everything!
Ladies and gentlemen, put down your smartphones, close your Nintendo DSes and power off your controllers. Even if you once thought that you were “kinda pretty good” at Tetris, you should know now that you will never, ever win.
Shared on YouTube earlier this week, the following video shows Japanese player keroco blitz through the game’s “clear mode” and send 40 lines of blocks to digital oblivion in an epic 19.68 seconds, setting a new world record in the process. Doesn’t sound so fast? Check this out.
Like many a baseball player in Japan, Munenori Kawasaki looks up to Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki. But Kawsasaki has been especially well known for his unflinching support of the future Hall of Famer. Even during his younger days of playing the sport in Kagoshima his style was compared to that of Ichiro.
Years later, on 21 August it would seem the stars aligned just right for Kawasaki as he found himself on the field just as Ichiro made his 4,000th professional hit in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. But Kawasaki’s pure enthusiasm that night might have even eclipsed his hero’s milestone.
Summer in Japan is all about kimonos, fans and fireworks. There really are few better ways to beat the heat than getting outdoors in a light cotton robe, eating and ton of festival grub and settling in to watch pictures being painted on the black night sky. And although fireworks festivals themselves are nothing out of the ordinary here in Japan, the blast that brought Kumano City’s Hanabi Taikai fireworks festival to a close this year was truly spectacular, with the excited crowd’s countdown to the final moment immediately followed by gasps and cheers almost as loud as the explosion itself. Check out the epic firework in all its glory after the jump.
Dating in Japan is similar to dating elsewhere, in that men are usually clueless about what women really want to do. Strapped for ideas, you might invite your girlfriend to come by your place, you know, just to hang out. Maybe you’ll cook dinner together, which if you’re anything like me, means that after burning your third chicken breast, she’ll forcibly take the frying pan away and suggest you put out the napkins, only to be puzzled later at how you managed to burn those, too.
Over the course of the meal, your girlfriend may mention that next time, she’d really like to go on a dam date instead. Take heart, though. She’s not upset, she’s being helpful.
In a video recently uploaded to Japan’s Niconico Douga, Hatsune Miku appears as a marionette from the Edo period. The video is a period-style tribute to videos created with MikuMikuDance, a free 3-D animation program often used in the creation of Vocaloid music videos and other fan videos. This particular clip doesn’t actually feature any synthesizers or computer animations but brings Miku to life with true Edo flair.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum claimed the top spot for the second consecutive year on Trip Advisor Japan’s list of the most popular sightseeing spots for foreign tourists. It’s a touching memorial that has moved countless visitors to tears and reminds the world to never let such an atrocity happen again, prompting one Trip Advisor user to describe it as “sad, informative and a must-see.” Let’s take a look at the other sightseeing spots on Trip Advisor Japan’s list for 2013.
Green tea simply not manly enough for you? Worried that everyone in the office will think you’ve gone soft if you break out a pack of barley tea instead of filling your cup with the communal coffee? Then add a touch of terror to tea-time with this awesome, limited edition Attack on Titan mug and chakoshi tea strainer set.
So let’s talk about breasts. From a statistical and linguistic standpoint, of course.
No matter how great your job as a chocolate taster may be, there will eventually come a day when you wake up, roll over, and think, “Oh, gawd, I do not want to go to work today!”
Now, if you were a normal person, you might lounge in bed for a few minutes before sighing and forcing yourself up. Or, if you were really desperate, you might even call in with a fake cough or a miserable story about your Aunt Mildred who fell and broke her spleen and needs a spleen cast.
Then again, if you were this 20-something woman in Tokyo, you might come up with an altogether more, uh, unique plan.
As much as politicians try to prevent them and doctors disapprove of them, kirakira Japanese names, the kinds that hold double meanings or are just plain hard to read, are apparently still on the rise. A recent survey of kids in their teens and early twenties showed that now more than 40 percent of students know someone at their school with an obscure reading for their name.
Reading name kanji is already a difficult task. A single symbol can have up to a dozen different readings, and while some are more common than others, there’s always a bit of guesswork that goes into deciphering the pronunciation of someone’s name. It’s bad enough when two people have names with the same symbols and entirely different readings. Imagine the frustration that teachers must face when a new student’s name is pronounced in a way that doesn’t even sound Japanese!
There’s a difference between naming your kid something “international” and making your kid’s name a nuisance. See if you can understand the reason behind the reading of some of these kirakira names.
Isn’t it every gamer’s dream to find a prospective spouse who will sit down with them for hours as you both fight your way through perilous dungeons and difficult puzzles? We all long for that special someone who will be there at your side through the toughest battles and yet still lets you win every once in a while (‘Cause that means she’s a keeper, let me tell you). For those of you lucky enough to have found your campaign companion in the long escort mission of life, this newly announced line of promise rings might be right up your alley (Just be sure to talk to all the characters to complete the side quests)!
As part of our quest to get paid for eating as many desserts as possible, we recently shared our impressions of the Suica Penguin cake, modeled after the popular mascot for JR East’s prepaid IC card train pass system, Suica.
But sometimes loveable mass transit mascots are like hardcore gangster rappers, and it turns out the Suica Penguin has a cross-country rival, in the form of Ico-chan, the spokes-platypus for JR West’s ICOCA train pass system. Not wanting to be shown up by the Suica Penguin’s foray into the world of cake, the only thing for Ico-chan to do was to transform himself into a tasty treat, too.
In 2010, Nara City in Nara Prefecture celebrated the 1,300th anniversary since becoming the imperial capital of Japan. During its relatively brief time as capital, the city flourished in culture so that even today the area is filled with ruins and relics of it rich distant past.
To have such a city overflowing with cultural heritage representing a romantic period in the history of Japan is both awesome and, well, a royal pain in the butt for anyone who wants to develop land there.
Just ask one poor guy, who tried to build a home to start his life in only to be shot down five times in a row after ruins were found on his land. Distraught and with nowhere else to turn he posted his woes on internet advice site MyNavi News Q & A for help. Here is his translated post.
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
Studio Ghibli now sells Ursula’s backpack from Kiki’s Delivery Service at its anime shop in Japan
Japanese government planning higher ticket prices for foreign tourists at Tokyo National Museum
Mister Donut unveils new sakura doughnuts for cherry blossom season 2026
Is Tokyo Station’s startlingly expensive wagyu bento boxed lunch worth its high price?[Taste test]
Cherry blossom Totoro cake brings pink sakura sweetness to Tokyo this White Day
Spring pollen may be damaging your skin, so what’s Japan’s best moisturizing anti-hay fever spray?
Japan’s first hotel with a human washing machine is now ready for you to come and bathe in itStarbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in TokyoIs Tokyo Station’s startlingly expensive wagyu bento boxed lunch worth its high price?[Taste test]
One Piece creator has hidden secret of anime treasure’s identity in chest at bottom of real-world oceanJapanese government planning higher ticket prices for foreign tourists at Tokyo National Museum
Live-action One Piece’s Luffy teaches Sesame Street’s Elmo a Japanese word for friendship[Video]Studio Ghibli now sells Ursula’s backpack from Kiki’s Delivery Service at its anime shop in Japan
Sakura Festival in Chiyoda mixes illuminations, boats, music, and Rilakkuma in the heart of TokyoSilicone testicle covers banned from Japanese sauna following cups being left behind and on shelves
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026Starbucks 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 locals
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
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
Mister Donut unveils new sakura doughnuts for cherry blossom season 2026
Is Tokyo Station’s startlingly expensive wagyu bento boxed lunch worth its high price?[Taste test]
Cherry blossom Totoro cake brings pink sakura sweetness to Tokyo this White Day
Spring pollen may be damaging your skin, so what’s Japan’s best moisturizing anti-hay fever spray?
Japan’s first hotel with a human washing machine is now ready for you to come and bathe in it
How to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto on the overnight bus and not lose your sanity
Death Eaters set to attack Osaka in invasion of Universal Studios Japan’s Harry Potter area
Exhibition on the 1,500 year-history of traditional Japanese women’s clothing to open in Shibuya
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Asics Ukiyo-e x Manga sneakers combine modern and traditional Japan for Tokyo Marathon 2021
Zara creates loungewear that looks like a Japanese school P.E. uniform
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
New vending machines sell products from iconic Japanese stores