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Looking back at the violence that occurred in the anti-Japan protests in September, I’m still baffled at why those regular people got so crazy over a land dispute between two governments in some remote area.  Maybe I’m the only one who lacks that patriotic spirit that compels one set fire to a factory over zoning issues.

Or perhaps like almost every world event in history, there are more complex – usually economic – factors at play beneath the surface. At least that’s what a group of Japanese writers and journalists claim.  According to them, the stage was set for this explosion of anger years before it happened.

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As public perception of smoking becomes increasingly negative, and with the number of smoking areas in restaurants and cafes in Japan becoming fewer and fewer each year, it’s fair to say that those little white sticks that once brought so much pleasure to so many are perhaps on their way out.

As people find themselves becoming more and more irritated by cigarette smoke as they walk though crowded streets, and residents grow sick of sweeping up discarded cigarette butts in their neighbourhoods, smoking anywhere outside of specially designated kitsuen (smoking) zones has become a punishable offence in many urban areas of Japan.

The times, they are a-changing.

But even with so many turning their backs of tobacco and labelling it as un-cool, few could have predicted that a company as large as Hoshino Resorts would actively advertise the fact that they no longer accept job applications from smokers.

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Bright Blue Curry and “Intense Disgusting Juice” on the Menu at Niconico Cafe (Not For the Faint of Stomach!)

Would you believe us if we told you the image above is not a bowl full of blue paint, but actually a batch of curry prepared fresh at the second floor cafe of the Niconico Headquarters building in Shinjuku, Tokyo?

Known as the “Unappetizing Blue Curry”, this 700 yen (US $8.70) dish is true to its name in that it doesn’t make your mouth water, but your stomach churn with nausea!

But wait, that’s not that’s on the menu! There’s also a horrible liquid concoction roughly translated as “Intense Disgusting Juice: Extreme”, which costs a shocking 3000 yen, or about US$37.oo. 

Why would they have such items on the menu? This is the question that piqued the curiosity of our own brave correspondent, Mr. Sato, who, no stranger to blue himself, was kind enough to sacrifice his stomach and give us a taste report. See what he has to say below.

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Chinese Railway Worker Suspended for “F**k’em Gangnam Style” Song Parody

Boy that Gangnam Style is one catchy tune.  The Korean smash hit has transcended international boundaries like few others before it.  When I fry my eggs in the morning I “flip’em Gangnam style” and when I’m retiling the bathroom I can’t help but “grout’em Gangnam style.”

One day, a railway worker in China was feeling down about his job and needed to let out some emotions about it.  Unfortunately, he decided to “vent’em Gangnam style” and record it… and upload it to a popular Chinese video sharing site.  You can probably imagine what happened from there – imagine it Gangnam style.

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  • Nov 14, 2012

No Time for Cleaning? Japan’s “Hot Cleaning Guys” Will Take Care of it For You!

Are you too busy or tired to clean your home? I’m sure many of us feel that way often enough; I know I certainly do! Well, all of you ladies out there lamenting the state of cleanliness in your homes, there’s good news for you! How would you like to employ the services of the new “Hot Cleaning Men”, now available through the House Office Cleaning Association?

Yes, if you’re really desperate, you can now have hot-looking, professional cleaning men come to your rescue … for a price, of course. Read More

Cold Stone Japan Creates Christmas Cake That Pops the Question

In Japan, Christmas means strawberry short-cake . Just about every Japanese family that celebrates the holiday will eat one on Christmas day, a tradition that has cake shops scurrying to meet orders.

I-primo, a bridal jewelry store selling engagement rings, decided to take advantage of this holiday season for lovers to drum up business by using cake, a Cold Stone ice cream Christmas cake to be more precise, as a means to pop the question.  Read More

Our Reporter Learns a Thing or Two about Buying Good Luck Charms in Japan…

Tori no Ichi is an open-air market festival held in Japan on the day of the Rooster in November, as determined by the Chinese calendar. At the festivals, markets are set up in front of or near to Shinto shrines, and charms- most often decorated bamboo rakes called kumade- that are said to bring the owner good fortune in the coming year are sold to visitors.

Kumade literally means “bear hand”, since, when you think about them, rakes are shaped rather like a large hand with claws. Rakes were chosen generations ago as a sign of good luck since they can be used to draw things– in this case wealth and good fortune– towards us, and the practice of buying ornamental rakes has been common in Japan since the Edo period (1600-1867).

Wanting to check out the lively festival and ask for continued success for the website next year, our reporter Mr. Sato headed over to the famous Hanazono shrine in Shinjuku to purchase a kumade on behalf of RocketNews24.

However, having never purchased one of the charms before, he discovered that he had more than a couple of things to learn…

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SoraNews24 Taste Test: Korean Feces Wine

As reported last week, SoraNews24 recently brought back two bottles of Ttongsul, or “feces wine,” from South Korea.

After running the story on our Japanese site, we received a fair bit of criticism from our Korean readers, who insisted that Ttongsul no longer existed in the country and this is just something Japan contrived to smear “mud” on Korea’s good name.

Getting our hands on the beverage was certainly no easy task, and we can tell you for certain that you won’t find bottles of it being sold on the shelves of Korean supermarkets. We imagine most Koreans today have never laid eyes nor lips on the beverage, nor would they want to.

Yet, believe it or not, here we are with two bottles of feces wine and only one thing left to do: serve a glass to the cutest girl in our office.

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No matter what country you call home, there are always moments when you feel like a true citizen.  For me, it’s when I’m sitting on the couch watching football (the American version) and eating chips (of the thinly sliced, wavy fried potato variety) and dip.

What about Japan?  What makes Japanese citizens feel distinctly Japanese?  My Navi News asked 1,000 of their members to tell them about a moment when they felt Japanese. Here are the results of their survey:

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Monday Pick-Me-Up: Cute, Headphone-Wearing Girls Dancing Around Japan!

Arrrrgh, it’s Monday again! I thought we’d all agreed to stop this madness ages ago!?

The weekend’s over, another long week lies ahead and we all trundle back to work knowing that the next weekend could not be any further away…

We need something to pick us up! Something to fill us with genki spirit and give us that energy boost we need to face the day!

We need… videos of cute girls dancing while wearing headphones!!!

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Smell-o-Vision for the Digital Age: Japan Develops USB “Micro Aroma Shooter”

Multi Aroma Shooter

As if sharing smells over your smartphone weren’t enough, now you are going to be able to smell aromas along with watching your favorite Youtube video!

The National Agency of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) announced the creation of this new USB aroma device, the Multi Aroma Shooter, on the 6th of this month.  This compact device was successful in instantly producing numerous smell sources to be synthesized into various other smells. Read More

Beautiful Japanese-Made Fountain Pens Make me Want to Learn to Write All Over Again

As a man whose handwriting could be defined as infantile at best, I can’t help but admire those who can wield a fountain pen like a paintbrush. Thanks to the bizarre way in which I hold my pen (I’m right-handed but people often ask if I’m a lefty purely because my grip is so odd), writing with any pen whose ink is wetter than a cheap ballpoint’s results in my hand turning blue and an enormous horizontal smear of ink across the page as if the letters were warping through time.

After seeing this short video from Japanese pen makers Namiki, though, I’m genuinely tempted to sit down and practice writing my ABCs all over again if it means that I can correct my awkward grip and learn to write as beautifully as this…

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In relatively violent-crime-free Japan, there was a shocking case this year where a woman in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture was stalked and murdered by an ex-boyfriend, who then killed himself. That’s tragic enough on its own, but new information has come to light that it may have been the police themselves who enabled the ex to track her down. Read More

Japan Develops Fart-Deodorizing Underwear: Silent and NOT Deadly

Gather around boys and girls, we’re going to hear a frank and serious story about smelly farts, butts, underpants, and old people smell.  More importantly, this story is about the man who may make all of these things extinct.

This story follows the creation of Inodore, a Japanese-made material that did something to stop not only fart smells, but a range of other body odors deemed “unpleasant” by society.  This company has found a method to eliminate foul smells from the body without the use of any harmful chemicals or powerful perfumes.

Their clothing products currently on sale can trap and eliminate everyday body odors like sweat and gas by over 95%, 80% of which is erased in the first 30 seconds of contact.

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Meet the Great White Hope of Japanese Snowboarding: 14 Year-Old Miyabi Onizuka

Snowboarding is still a young event in the Olympics, yet Japan hasn’t been able to score a medal.  This has been frustrating for the country that hosted the first snowboarding event in ’98 and as whole has widely embraced the sport on a recreational level.

Well, here comes a new challenger! Out of Kumamoto Prefecture, 14 year-old prodigy Miyabi Onizuka is tapped to be the next big thing in Japanese snowboarding.

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KISSTIXX Lip Balm Flavors Change While You Kiss

Smooching, swapping spit, making out.  It doesn’t matter what you call it, kissing is awesome.  But let’s be honest, sometimes it’s not so great.  From chapped lips to a funky taste you can’t quite put your finger on (tuna fish, maybe?), there’s a lot that can go wrong while you’re snogging.  But what if there was a product that could improve your make-out sessions and even make them more exciting.

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It’s Just Like a Handshake… 【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!

I have encountered many things in Japan that prompted me exclaim in disbelief, “that did not just happen!”

For example:

“I did not just see a guy peeing on the side of the road”

“That bunch of strawberries does not cost $20!”

“That lady did not just ask how big my husband’s thing is”

But the one that takes the cake, something I’ve said (on several occasions) is “that kid did not just stick his fingers up my butt.” 

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Pocky & Pretz Day 2012 Hopes to Break World Record and More

Every year on 11 November people in Japan celebrate Pocky & Pretz Day. In case you don’t already know, Pocky are thin cookie sticks with chocolate, strawberry, or other flavored frosting.  Pretz are a more mature stick with salty flavors. Their simplicity is matched only by their sheer addictiveness.

Because of the date’s resemblance to the snacks (11/11), every year, their maker Ezaki Glico cooks up a special campaign. In 2011 on Pocky & Pretz Day if you tweeted a special sentence using Pocky and a particular hashtag you could have won free snacks.

However, for Pocky & Pretz Day 2012, Glico has their sights set on entering the Guinness World Records.

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Japan’s Most “Painful” Athletic Meet and Car Festival Brings Hoards of Otaku to Washinomiya

Thanks to popular anime, Lucky Star (Raki☆Suta), all of Japan has become familiar with the city of Washinomiya in Saitama prefecture.  The Washinomiya Shrine in particular has become famous among fans because of its appearance in the opening credits of the anime.  As a result, every year since 2007, Washinomiya Shrine has been invaded by hoards of otaku looking to ring in the new year; 2012 being a particularly busy year with 470,000 Lucky Star fans visiting the shrine.  Cities associated with popular anime often see an influx of visitors looking to take pictures and recreate scenes from their favorite anime, especially those that have been featured in magazines highlighting popular anime and manga locales, like Washinomiya Shrine.

Recently, a different kind of otaku gathering took place in Washinomiya.  Named “Crush Fest in Washinomiya 2012,” this event is arguably the most “painful” otaku athletic meet in all of Japan.  At the same time, a “painful” car festival took place, bringing in anime otaku from far and wide.

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