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The End of Barcodes? Toshiba Unveils Register Scanners that Can See Rather than Scan

I remember on my first day of computer programming class the first thing the teacher said was, “Computers are stupid.”  It was a valuable fact that has served me well in my relationships with these ubiquitous machines.

For instance, if I show a four year old a can of Coke, they can quickly tell me what it is. Whereas for a computer, we have to print a series of lines and numbers on it just so the dumbass box can get up to speed.

It makes you wonder why we have to go through all the trouble of making up barcodes just so a machine can understand what you and I plainly see.  It’s enough to make you think the barcode industry is some sort of insidious freemason plot.  Recently, though, Toshiba has announced a scanner for supermarkets and other shops that will bring this evil syndicate of barcode charlatans to their knees.

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Six Tokyo Starbucks Try All-You-Can-Read Offer

Starbucks is quite nice, isn’t it? Their shops provide a comfortable, non-smoking place to enjoy a delicious coffee, they have a hip food menu, and you can even get a hundrend yen refill on the day’s coffee. The service isn’t half bad either. Of course, there’s the fact that it’s not exactly cheap, but we’ll forgive them that little foible.

There are six Starbucks locations in Tokyo that have just gotten even cooler, though. What’s so special about those six shops, you ask? Well, let me tell you! In short, the six stores listed below will allow you to take books from their attached bookstores to read while you enjoy your coffee.
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  • Mar 18, 2012

Just for Laughs—Funny but Definitely Flimsy Souvenir From Famous World Heritage Site

Machu Picchu is an Incan site from the 15th century located in Peru at an altitude of over 2,000 meters and is a well-known World Heritage Site. Each year, a huge number of tourists from around the world visit the site, and some say that the they are moved to tears by the magnificent view. It is probably on many people’s list of must visit places. Read More

Celebration of Pakistani Music, Food, Fashion, and More to be Held in Tokyo

This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan began.  Since then the two countries have maintained a very strong diplomatic and economic relationship.  However, culturally the two countries haven’t gotten as close as they could have.

Thankfully the Pakistan Embassy in Japan along with members of the Pakistani community in Japan have organized the Pakistan Bazaar in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo.  Anyone in the Tokyo area on 24-25 March is welcome to experience the historical and cultural beauty that fills Pakistan with free admission.

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  • Mar 16, 2012

Do Milk and Ramen Make a Good Combination? There’s a Ramen Shop in Tokyo That Lets You Find Out!

Ramen comes in a wide variety of flavors. In the mood for soy-sauce based shoyu ramen? Or maybe you want to have miso-flavored ramen? How about salt (shio) or pork-stock (tonkotsu) ramen? These are the standard options for just about every ramen shop in Japan.

But what would you say to milk flavored ramen? Is such a ramen flavor even available?

Well, it is at a certain ramen shop in Tokyo, and apparently it’s quite tasty too!

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A Solid Gold C-3PO, Other 35th Anniversary Memorabilia for the Ultimate Star Wars Fan Boy

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of Lucas Films’ Star Wars, just 35 limited-edition, solid gold C-3PO figurines went on sale yesterday for a mere 500,000 yen (about $6000).

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Popular Chupa Chups Go Mini

On March 21st candy company Morinaga is going to begin selling the popular Chupa Chups lollipops in a more bite-size size. The suggested retail price for a bag of 14 is 198 yen (about $2.37).

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Japanese Part-Time Jobs Bring in Cash Money! $12.50/hr for Entry-Level Convenience Store Clerk

Japan may hold the reputation as one of the most expensive countries in the world, but that doesn’t mean the majority of the population is struggling everyday just to scrape by. In fact, even part-timers can do pretty well for themselves thanks to the high wages offered for even some of the most basic jobs.

When I was in university, I supported myself by working part-time at a restaurant for 900 yen ($10.80) an hour which carried me through those four years just fine.

Wages seem to be even higher now, perhaps due to a recent scarcity of part-time labor, especially in Tokyo.

To give you a better idea of just how much Japan rewards its part-time employees, I’ve selected a few entry-level jobs from around Tokyo to share with you all. Be sure to let us know how the wages compare with your own country!

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Earlier this month in Kanagawa Prefecture, a high ranking government official was arrested for allegedly assaulting  his wife’s “male acquaintance.”  The attack took place when Mr. Noda (47) discovered his wife entering a hotel with another man (44) after following her when she left home late in the evening.  In the heat of the moment, Mr. Noda confronted them and allegedly ended up severely beating the man in the face and chest, breaking several ribs.

A few days after the confrontation, the alleged victim filed a complaint with the authorities.  After Mr. Noda was arrested, the story hit blogs across the internet and triggered a landslide of support for him.

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The Heartwarming Story of a Nepali Curry Shop That Won Over the Hearts and Twitter Followers of Japan

Arguably the most famous Nepali curry shop in Japan is Daisuki Nippon (I Love Japan) in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo.  Since its opening in 2010, this tiny, independently-run restaurant has managed to get attention from all corners of the country in a story that plays out eerily similar to the plot of a Seinfeld episode.

The story begins with shop owner Pradahan Vikas struggling to get anyone to come to his store.  Sometimes he would go the entire day without serving a meal.  Faced with such hard times, Mr. Vikas turned to Twitter to chronicle his worries, unbeknownst to him that they would be the key to his success.

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Possibly Korean, Definitely Effeminate Young Man has Some Choice Words to Share with Japan: “Please Die Quickly.”

A young man who is assumed to be Korean has decided to share his feelings to the world on YouTube and as a result ignited a powder keg of tensions between Koreans and Japanese internet users.

In broken Japanese, the boy gave a minute and a half speech about his take on the post-Tohoku Earthquake situation which, as one Japanese commenter said, “crossed the line.”  He then gives a glimpse into his own homicidal fantasies before politely asking all Japanese people to “die quickly.”

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Top Secret Cookie Recipe Finally Comes to Light

One day I was reading the American gourmet magazine Food & Wine and I came across this reader submission.

When I lived on the island of Hawaii, every Sunday I would buy cookies at the farmers’ market from an elderly woman everyone called Tutu, or “Grandmother.” She would sell only one bag per person until she ran out, which took about 30 minutes. Before I moved away, I asked her for the recipe. She gave it to me on the condition that I couldn’t share it with anyone for 25 years. Time has passed, and now I’d like to share it with your readers.

A cookie recipe kept under lock and key for 25 years! Of course, I had to give it a try. Read More

Revisit 20 Photos of Some of The Most Powerful Moments and People in Modern History

Thanks to the proliferation of the internet we can see countless images in an instant with the click of a mouse.  Most of the pictures available online, however, are of cats with misspelled captions or people confusing Joseph Kony with Carl Weathers.

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iOS5.1 Update Turns Your iPhone Into a Suspenseful Thrill Ride By Only Sometimes Telling You the Real Battery Power

On 7 March Apple made their latest press release announcing the upcoming iPad, and also happier news for Japanese users that the new update to iOS has taught Siri how to speak their language.  Yet, beneath all this fanfare one whopping issue lurks that’s enough of a let-down to crush even the most ardent fanboy’s heart.

The battery display is all out of whack.  Not only that it’s out of whack in the most disappointing way possible.

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Spiderman-Themed Dumplings Set to Please,May Lead to a Surge in Bad Puns

Readers of this website are likely to be familiar with nikuman, the steamed rice pastry often made with meat filling.  In the past we have reported on the delicious slime shaped nikuman and Puyo Puyo themed nikuman. One thing to note about nikuman is that their name is made up of two parts niku (meat) and man (steamed bread) so that if you change the filling the suffix remains the same giving you pizzaman or curryman.

Universal Studios Japan took notice of how this is linguistically similar to the suffixes often used for superheroes in English and developed Spiderman (here the man would be pronounced kind of like a Jamacian accented mon).

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Possible Debris From Tohoku Earthquake Reaches American Shores

As we quickly approach the one year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake the have been signs that debris from the massive tsunami has finally touched down on American shores.

Recently residents of northwest Washington state have been finding more and more fishing gear and garbage with Japanese writing on it since last weekend.  In fact, in the past two months one man found 15 pieces of Japanese debris has been reported which is a sharp increase from the only 4 pieces found in the previous 46 years.

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JAL Begins Serving Yoshinoya, Some Assembly Required

The Japanese airline industry has recently entered a phase of stiff competition as low cost carriers from countries like Europe have entered the scene.  Mainstays JAL and ANA have had to come up with more creative solutions to attract people to their higher-priced offerings.

JAL’s initiative has been to collaborate with popular restaurant chains so that people can enjoy their favorite foods instead of the dishes that are so-often the target of stand-up comedians.  Already they have sold hamburgers from fast food chain Mos Burger in a project called AIR Mos Burger, as well as dumplings from popular Chinese food chain Edosei with AIR Nikuman.  The third time’s the charm as now the granddaddy of Japanese fast food comes to the skies with AIR Yoshinoya.

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Angry Birds Fans Take Game Into Their Own Hands With Real USB Slingshot

Millions of people have experienced the satisfying feeling of pulling back their digital angry birds, releasing and sending them flying into those rickety pig-built structures on their smart phones or computers. It almost makes you want to light up a cigarette afterwards.

But after playing through the hundreds of levels that Roxio has released you may find that original satisfaction waning somewhat.  We have seen the videos of “real-life” versions in the past, but most of us lack the space and resources to do it ourselves. Well now, some ingenious fans have found a great way to add a fresh kick to their Angry Birds addiction using a real slingshot.

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Lovers’ Final Emails Moments Before Tsunami: “Don’t get yourself killed!”

Text messages sent from Arisa Miura, a city worker who died in the tsunami that struck Minami-Sanriku in Miyagi Prefecture, and her boyfriend were released to the press on March 5th. In the 5 texts, which were sent between the two lovers after the earthquake and before Miura was swept away, one can see the depth of their affection in their consideration for the other’s safety even in a hectic emergency situation. Read More

New Shop in Tokyo Offers 16 Kinds of Whale Meat and Hopes You Don’t Attack Them For It

The Ameyoko block of Tokyo is a comprised of a busy market street lined with quaint little shops selling various foods, cosmetics and knick-knacks like clocks.  You can expect to find just about anything in Ameyoko, which makes it the perfect location for Geinanhonbo, a whale-meat specialty shop, to open its newest branch.

At Geinanhonbo you can choose from 16 different cuts of whale meat from a giant fridge that takes up most of the shop space.  Red meat cuts are relatively cheap, costing 380 yen per 100g (US$1.32/oz), but more expensive parts like the tail or jaw can run up to 2,800 yen per 100g ($9.84/oz).  The store offers “almost every edible part of the whale” including the heart, which costs about as much as the red meat.

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