Everybody loves chicken kara-age, all-star of Japanese cuisine. The crispy, succulent Japanese fried chicken admirably fulfills its role as side dish, beer munchie, and midnight snack. Hardly anybody would turn down another bite or two.
While passing by the Shinkansen ticket gates at Tokyo Station, I noticed a vending machine that didn’t seem to belong there. Strange in this land of vending machines, I know, but something about this machine was different.
Has Odaiba seceded from Japan and created its own economy? You might think so if you looked at the price tags on the run-of-the-mill fare at this year’s United States of Odaiba, Fuji Television’s annual summer event.
In a country where 800 yen is considered pricey for a beef bowl, standard dishes like katsudon and butadon are going for 1390 yen a pop. A thread on 2channel broke the news on the menu, and there was no shortage of incredulous, mocking and sarcastic responses. Among them:
Do you have a guy friend who hasn’t had a girlfriend in ages? Some guys have no problem finding their next girlfriend after breaking up with the last one. On the other hand, some guys have never found themselves in a serious relationship of any kind.
Internet forums have buzzed with conversations between groups of Japanese women over what the differences are between men who can attract women and those who attract only scorn. After lengthy discussion, they narrowed the list down to 20 characteristics of guys to avoid: Read More

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