Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Preston Phro (or simply Phro as most know him) is a Coloradoan attempting to fit in in Tokyo. (Surely, he would succeed if not for his unruly hair.) He puts his master's in classical Japanese literature to good use by writing silly stories and articles for the Internet. Having lived in Nara, Osaka, and Yamaguchi before moving to the Kanto area, he's quite happy to finally have a place to call home! When not writing, he enjoys annoying his wife by plucking at his shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese instrument not entirely unlike a banjo) and pestering her with questions about Japanese history. He also occasionally attempts to remember all the stuff he's forgotten since university.
Posted by Preston Phro (Page 36)
In the world of sports, it’s not unusual to hear of players working through physical and mental maladies for the sake of the games they love. In fact, some might say that these kinds of amazing stories are a large part of what keeps fans interested.
But we’re not sure how many players can claim they’ve played a soccer game with a bullet in their brain pan!
It goes without saying that corporal punishment is unforgivable. At least that’s the mode of thinking these days (and boy are we glad for it), but it wasn’t always the case. In the Showa Period (1926 to 1989), it was incredibly common in elementary, middle, and high schools. In fact, it was so common that it seemed almost inconceivable for a school not to have corporal punishment.
Still, we wondered what it was really like, so the prestigious RocketNews24 Japan team took a survey to find out what sorts of punishments were common in the Showa Period. Read More
While the Internet may run on cats, they’re certainly not the only cute creatures on the planet. (We’ll leave it up to you to decide if they’re the cutest or not…)
One of the underdog challengers to the Internet Cuteness Throne is the otter.
And this otter, named Piisu-kun, is bringing more than cuteness—he’s helpful, too!!
In 2011, the world was first baffled and then enthralled by the release of BABYMETAL’s “Doki Doki☆Morning” music video.
Not quite metal, not quite idol music, the video of three “dangerous kawaii” Japanese middle school girls singing and dancing to heavy metal music was difficult for some to comprehend. Were they for real? Was it okay for us to like them? And why couldn’t we stop listening to this song?
Two years later, the group has proved themselves to be anything but a joke, with legions of fans both in Japan and abroad. This Wednesday (June 19), they released their second major-label single, titled “Megitsune,” so we sat down with the group for an exclusive interview to learn more about them.
Typified by the saccharine songs of AKB48, the Japanese idol world is largely the province of the young. One rarely expects to see a singer over the age of 25 among the mini-skirt-clad ranks of the ultra-kawaii groups.
Usually.
A group from Osaka—called Obachaaan—are ready to change that up.
Like peanut butter and jelly, some things are so good together you can’t imagine a time without them. Well, this isn’t quite the same… but it is incredibly delicious.
Peeping Life, the insanely funny anime that illustrates the “boring” lives of of everyday people, has collaborated with some of the most influential figures in the anime world—Tezuka Productions and Tatsunoko Productions! Not only that, but the videos are available FREE on YouTube.
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Every city has its bad parts and areas to avoid, but there’s no denying that these less favorable areas give even the poshest urban centers something to talk about. While Kowloon Walled City no longer exists, its fixture in popular imagination will likely persist for decades, if not centuries.
In 1987, the city housed 33,000 people in 6.5 acres and was largely lawless, though informal social structures naturally emerged among the citizens. The city, as you might expect, has been the inspiration and setting for many fictional works, from books to movies to video games. And, now, it’s provided inspiration for a unique business venture in Japan.
Next to the USA, the second largest economy in the world used to be Japan. But after the bubble collapsed, the Japanese economy has been stagnant and, in 2012, fell to third place. Second place, as you probably know, was taken by China, whose economy is expanding at an unprecedented rate.
China’s rise is an undeniable fact. But is it true that Japan is on the wane? Mr. Chong Wong, a Chinese expert on diplomatic issues, took up the question. Writing on his blog (Chinese only), Mr. Wong offered up evidence that Japan wasn’t in decline but was actually the best in the world in some ways. We’ve listed the major ones below.
As smartphones have become more popular and advanced, their battery lives have grown shorter and shorter and shorter.
As someone who uses a smartphone so much it’s probably causing me physical harm, I find mine needs charging sometimes twice a day. But when you’re out and about, it’s often hard to get enough time to sit down and plug it your phone in. And what if your external battery pack just died, but you desperately need to upload a photo of your lunch to Facebook? What happens then!?
Well, you could whip out your handy Resqcable power leacher!
That magical time of year when game companies throw themselves a giant party and start spilling family secrets like your drunk aunt is finally upon us. That’s right, E3 starts Tuesday! And all this week, excited fans will be glued to the blogs, chomping on the bits for new info from Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, and many other major publishers. One company that won’t be giving a massive, blow-all-the-fuses presentation, though, is Nintendo.
Even so, that doesn’t the company is skipping the event entirely.
Going to jail is, regardless of the country, never fun. Between wardens forcing you to do their taxes for barely a bottle of suds, and the food, it’s got to be a horrible way to spend a few years of your life.
That said, some prisons certainly are better than others. For example, the dancing prisoners in the Philippines sure do seem a lot happier than if they were forced to do manual labor. And while a visit to a prison might not exactly be on the top of your average holiday to-do list, this is one jail you would want to go out of your way to get into! (At least for the show.)
Here’s RocketNews24 Japan‘s Sekai no Shogo with the report!
What could possibly be worse than having to put down your beloved dog? How about that dog coming back from the grave and hunting you down?
Okay, that’s a gross exaggeration, but as you’ll see, there’s a good reason for that being my first thought when I saw this story.
Humor, generally, is very subjective. Even when everyone’s speaking the same language, local cultural differences can have a massive impact on how jokes are received. Attempting to bridge these divides can be both difficult and frustrating. Not to mention dangerous if you happen to offend the wrong crowd.
All of which makes it even more impressive when someone does manage to leap over the gap with aplomb.
Hey, do you like trains? And I don’t mean in a “that’s a long train, let’s count the cars” kind of way; I mean like going out and taking hundreds of pictures and traveling hours to see rare locomotives “like” trains.
While there may not be all that many train hobbyists among you, there are plenty of major train enthusiasts here in Japan. And now some of them are living together!
On Thursday this week at around 3:30 P.M., a rail employee in Nagoya City was struck and injured… by the body of a suicidal customer.
Hold on, let’s rewind a bit.
Though we haven’t gotten our flying cars or cyborg super-strength arms yet, the future has kind of arrived in the form of robot cleaning machines. The Jetsons this isn’t, but at least it’s quiet, right?
One of our distinguished reporters over on the Japanese side of RocketNews24 happened to pick up the “Hom-bot Square” and wrote the following review. Now you’ll know what to put in your home so you can more like us! (A worthy ambition indeed.)
Ah, spring. The season of love. Or at least it’s supposed to be. Some people get completely passed by, leaving them staring at cherry blossoms alone and no one to share their delicious strawberry kakigouri (shave ice) with. They’re just… lonely. So very, very lonely.
But maybe you want to change that. Find someone to spend the summer vacation with, someone to laugh at your jokes, bicker with about which Pokémon is cutest.
Well, now you can–through Twitter!
Do you have an active Facebook account with more than 10 friends, a filled-in profile with both profile and cover photos? If so, have we got an opportunity for you!
In a story currently making the rounds among Japanese Twitter users, it seems that SoftBank (the cellphone carrier that recently made a bid to buy Sprint in the U.S.) was seeking “Likes” on Facebook, and didn’t mind paying for them.
Read More
We’ve all heard about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world and I’m sure we all wish we could go back in time and see them at the height of their glory. For me, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon might have been the best, even if they probably didn’t actually exist.
Unfortunately, no one’s figured out how time travel works yet. Fortunately, though, PARKROYAL on Pickering seems like a pretty amazing substitute. (And, starting at US$180 a night, probably cheaper than time travel too.)
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping center
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
Beautiful Red and Blue Star luxury trains set to be Japan’s new Hokkaido travel stars
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
Japanese company starts project to restore Nakagin Capsules to capsule hotel
Mt. Koya planning to instate visitor’s tax to cope with huge tourist numbers
Sakura tree falls on man at Sannenzaka near Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto 【Breaking News】McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
Starbucks reopens at Shibuya Scramble Crossing with new look and design concept
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Studio Ghibli glasses cases let anime characters keep an eye on your spectacles
Is the new Shinkansen Train Desk ticket worth it?New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
Beautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour Totoro
Domino’s Japan now sells…pizza ears?
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello KittyAll-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky loungeMore foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitelyMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
Japanese company starts project to restore Nakagin Capsules to capsule hotel
Mt. Koya planning to instate visitor’s tax to cope with huge tourist numbers
Sakura tree falls on man at Sannenzaka near Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto 【Breaking News】
We tried Korea’s way-too-big King Tonkatsu Burger at Lotteria 【Taste Test】
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Beautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】
Secret Kitchen bento serves Japanese flowers, birds, wind and moon in a box, but is it worth it?
Super Nintendo World expansion gets delayed for several months at Universal Studios Japan
Cardcaptor Sakura Chinese Cafe opens in Tokyo, coming to other cities with special merch【Pics】
We try five menu recommendations from a clerk at CoCo Ichibanya and almost fall in love
Beautiful 3-D rendered One Piece fan art will have you reaching for the tissues
Kyoto may be getting more modern, tall buildings as city relaxes development limits
