Featured

Food Becomes Art: These Metal Gear and Final Fantasy Bentō Lunchboxes Will Blow Your Mind

“Hideo-kun! What do you want in your lunchbox for school tomorrow? Ham and cheese? Peanut butter and jelly? Or how about Solid Snaaaaaaaake!”

The image you see before you, ladies and gentlemen, is genuine, 100% completely edible food. We’ve seen colourful character bentō lunchboxes before, but this is something else.

As part of its 25 years of Metal Gear and Final Fantasy celebrations, Japanese game developer Konami has had a set of truly amazing lunchboxes made for a photo event. Featuring characters from both of the long-running series, the lunchboxes are so detailed that they almost look like waxworks. No matter how many times we look at these things, we can’t quite get over the fact that it’s actually food.

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Finally, an Udon Museum Where You Can Taste the Difference Between Over 45 Kinds of Udon Noodle Dishes From all Over Japan!

This Udon Museum will open on December 22nd from 11:00 in the Gion area of Kyoto. Udon is a thick noodle made from wheat flour.  With all the variations out there – over 45, including noodle shape, thickness, soup varieties, ways to be eaten, included ingredients and cooking procedures – it makes perfect sense to have a ‘Udon museum’!

One of the best things about Japan is its vast and comprehensive food culture where a wide variety of culinary dishes can be enjoyed. Japanese people take great pride in their ‘washoku‘ (Japanese food), with multiple varieties of the same dish according to geographical location. Different areas have their own version of country cooking, sweet or savory, which becomes that area’s ‘meibutsu‘ or speciality, often times giving that area a name which they become famous for. So it is with Udon. Read More

 

With just seven days to go, children the world over are without a doubt already finding it hard to sleep at night. Will Santa (or Father Christmas as I grew up calling him) arrive? Have I been good enough this year? Does he know about the things I did with Jane Steepleton in her tree house during the summer?

Let’s hope that we’ve all been good boys and girls and that the big man in red will pay us all a visit, unlike one unfortunate individual who found himself giftless on Christmas day one year and took to Japan’s Chiebukuro Yahoo! Answers forums to ask the nation simply: “Where is Santa!?”

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Luffy Vs Goku in 3D! New Shonen Jump Fighting Game to be Released in 2013

Bandai Namco has announced that work is underway on a 3D Team Battle game using the characters of the Weekly Shonen Jump collection of manga series.  The game is set to be released in 2013 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Weekly Shonen Jump. Color us massively excited!

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When a group of guys get together it’s not uncommon for the topic of conversation to turn to sex. Whether it’s true stories or just some blue jokes, the conversation will naturally float into X-rated territory every now and then.

And though some pretend it’s not the case, women can be equally, if not more explicit when it comes to talking about sex.  I could pull some columns from major women’s magazines that would make you swear you were reading Penthouse Forum. This is all without mentioning that 50 Shades of Pervy series that all you gals are into these days.

While boy and girls are well and fine speaking of naughty things among the same gender for some reason, when we cross paths, the topic of sex becomes a minefield of inappropriateness.  Topics of conversation guys would think nothing of bringing up with each other could easily become actionable in a court of law when in the presence of a woman.

NicoNico News recently went in search of that think blue line between appropriate and not ways to approach mature subject matter in the company of mixed genders.  Let’s see what they found.

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Nothing says winter in Japan like the kotatsu, a low wooden table frame covered by a heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Built in underneath is a heat source, either electric or charcoal.

Similar to the image of a Western family sitting in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve, the scene of a family huddled around the kotatsu, usually placed in front of the living room TV, eating mandarin oranges and watching New Year’s programming is what comes to most people’s minds when mentioning the winter holidays in Japan.

With this in mind, Sanriku Railway Co., which operates two lines along the beautiful Sanriku coast of Iwate Prefecture, Japan, is offering passengers the ultimate Japanese winter relaxation experience with their “Kotatsu Train” (Kotatsu Ressha), a special two-car train equipped with 12 kotatsu so you can enjoy the scenery pass by from the comfort of your own (simulated) living room.

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Get Ready to Say “Gundam! This is Some Good Food”, Gundam Café Gearing Up to Enter Every Major City Across Japan

The countdown is still ticking for Gundam Café’s third strike on Tokyo Station this 20 December.  However, the execs at Bandai Namco Holdings have already leaked plans to target all major urban markets across Japan with their unique blend of coffee, pasta, and bipedal war machines.

So if you live in a major city such as Osaka, Nagoya, or Hiroshima, you might get your hands on a Haro latte sooner than you think.

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KFC Japan Offering Free Trips to Osaka for Free All-You-Can-Eat Fried Chicken

Kentucky Fried Chicken is getting into the holiday spirit with the All-You-Can-Eat Chicken Tour.  From now till midnight on 20 December you can enter as often as you like to win a trip to Osaka where you can eat your fill of unlimited free KFC!

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Tekken & Muse Create Another Emotional Flipbook Animation, World in Tears Again

A few months ago, the world was left in tears after watching Furiko (Pedulum), an emotional flip-book animation hand-drawn by Japanese comedian, Tekken, and set to Muse’s epic track, Exogenesis. The video, which recounts the story of a couple’s life together and the heartbreaking efforts of the husband who tries to stop the pendulum of time, currently has 1,052,622 views on YouTube. As our writer describes, “the video managed to pack as much genuine feeling and emotion into three minutes as most hollywood blockbusters in two hours.”

Tekken and Muse are back together once again to give the world another four minutes of emotion with Follow Me, a story about the unborn child that brought a couple together and guided their fate.

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On Christma Day, 2010, an anonymous donor left ten 30,000 yen ($360) randoseru backpacks outside a Japanese orphanage in Gunma Prefecture. Attached to the bags was a card signed by Naoto Date, the secret identity of fictional Japanese wrestler Tiger Mask, who, in the popular 1960s manga by the same name, fought for orphans after being raised in an orphanage himself.

The story was picked up by the press and a week later, on January 1, 2011, a similar donation of backpacks was left at an orphanage in Kangawa Prefecture, again with a note signed by Naoto Date. By January 11, over 100 “Tiger Mask” donations, ranging from backpacks to toys, food, and monetary gifts, had been reported at various children’s facilities across the country.

After that, little was heard from Tiger Mask, aside a second donation to the original orphanage in Gunma on Christmas Day, 2011, which failed to inspire a wave of charity as it had the previous year.

Has Tiger Mask forgotten about the children of Japan?

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Organic Christmas Lights? No, it’s Persimmon Season in Japan 【You, Me, And A Tanuki】

You, Me, And a Tanuki is a weekly featured blog run by Michelle, a Californian who is currently one of only two foreigners living in Chibu, a tiny fishing village on one of the Oki islands in Japan. Check back every Saturday for a new post or read more on her website here!

Starting around the beginning of October, houses and trees throughout the neighborhood are dotted with orange orbs.  It’s kaki season; time to eat some persimmons.  The little fruits almost look like Christmas lights in the daytime, lining the rafters of the houses.  They sway back and forth in the strong sea breeze and are susceptible to being stolen by the crows that lie in wait for an easy meal.

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Pop psychology is popular in Japan.  If you’ve lived long enough in this country you will most certainly have had a conversation about which blood type you are and whether you match the personality type for it. There are books and more books written on what it means to be a certain blood type.

Along the same lines, Japanese psychology councilor Toshikazu Asano believes there is deep meaning in the way men chose to brew their morning cup of Joe.

Niconico news sat down with Mr. Asano and asked him to explain how the darkness of the coffee we brew can reflect the very darkness brewing in our hearts (figuratively speaking, of course).

Just a little bit curious? Read on and see what he has to say about how telling brewing coffee really is. Read More

Bygone Fishing Technique Becomes Beautiful Modern Day Work of Art

http://youtu.be/WX11JAWk5wM

Fishermen all over the world know that lights are good for fishing.  Insects are attracted to light and fish are attracted to insects, so they have evolved to also be attracted to light as well.

Even underwater, tiny organisms like plankton and shrimp are drawn to lights which draw small fish.  The small fish also invite larger fish which can be caught by a fisherman smart enough to put the light there in the first place.

Many fishing boats are equipped with powerful spot lights intended to attract fish, and lights can be bought and installed under docks with the same purpose.

In Taiwan, this technique takes on a dramatic flair using actual flares.  This beautiful and unique style of fishing was filmed by Kenny Chen who released a sample trailer for us all to see.

Let’s take a look!

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  • Dec 16, 2012

We all have co-workers who make us uncomfortable. A recent article on the website of popular Japanese tabloid magazine Spa included some stories about male co-workers that are too creepy to be true—at least, we hope. We thought we’d share them with you, because honestly, if these stories are true, they’re too scary to laugh…

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Official corporate Twitter feeds are generally boring affairs.  Unless you’re really into the product or service mentioned and need to know immediately when something new happens there’s not much entertainment in them – certainly not anything that would move you.

So Japanese Twitter users were taken aback by a surprisingly heartfelt and candid tweet from the official account of Sharp’s line of computer tablets Galapagos.  The tweet was a lament over recent downsizing in part due to the poor sales and economy.

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If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for a pet-owning gadget-loving friend, this may be just the thing!

Thanks to its clever design and built-in wireless wizardry, this new pet monitor allows pet owners to keep an eye on their fluffy friends from work, on the train or while sipping overpriced coffee at any number of trendy coffee houses.

Those without pets but convinced that their home is haunted or that their toys come to life while they’re out, meanwhile, may be interested to know that the camera can be controlled via smartphone and features full rotation and zoom capabilities!

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Japan Inadvertently Summons Tentacle Monster Into This Realm with Holiday Potato Salad Recipe

This Christmas, Japanese retail conglomerate Aeon is conjuring an ancient evil from a centuries-long slumber— and bringing it to the dinner table for your family to enjoy!

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Go Fly a Kite?! Not Any More! With Homekite You Can Stay Right Where You Are

Picture the typical family, if you will. One Sunday afternoon, Junior runs into the den and asks Pa to go kite-flying together.  “Not today, Junior”, said Pa, “It’s just not windy enough.”

Junior walks back to his room and plays Grand Theft Auto, sullenly killing policemen with a sniper rifle.  Even though he got 15 headshots in a row, his heart just wasn’t in it.  Once again Mother Nature had ruined his true passion – kites.

This tragic scene plays out in homes across the kite-loving world.  So the brain trust at Takara Tomy came up with Homekite, the first (I’m guessing) kite to be used in the home.

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[3D Photo Studio] Mr. Sato’s Very Own Lifelike 3-D model has Arrived!

Now that was fast!

It was just 10 days ago that we were detailing our adventurous reporter’s trip to the newly opened Omote 3D Shashin Kan photography studio to be scanned and turned into an ultra-detailed model, and we were told that it’d be a month before the finished product arrived. But would you believe it’s already here! In our sweaty little hands!

And the result is spectacular.

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