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Japanese cat and dog clocks with swishing tails make clock-watching more adorable than ever

Honestly, I’ve never really seen the point in hanging a clock on the wall in your home. Between the time displays on my PC, phone, TV, DVD player, PlayStation, and microwave, I’ve got plenty of ways to tell the current hour and minute without a dedicated timepiece taking up space where I could hang other things, like the California license plate in my living room that simultaneously makes me miss my home state and driving whenever I look at it.

I’m just not convinced that having a wall clock makes your home that much more convenient. However, it can make it a lot cuter, if it’s one of these adorable Japanese dog or cat-shaped clocks with an amazingly lifelike wagging tail.

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Tokuyama Zoo celebrates summer with Cockroach Fest!

The Tokuyama Zoo in Yamaguchi Prefecture has come up with a novel way to attract visitors this summer. And by novel, I mean probably insane. Would you buy tickets for a Cockroach Fest?

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As information technology continues to evolve, telecommuting is becoming increasingly feasible and popular in Japan. Still, sometimes mobile workers find themselves in need of more business-oriented facilities than their home office has, and make use of shared workspaces like the ones we previously looked at.

But while all of those communal offices have amenities such as Wi-Fi, power outlets, and meeting areas, only this one has a resident cat that you can play with when you need a stress-relieving break from work.

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While cats are definitely cute, I’m not sure I really buy into the whole idea that they’re still skilled predators. Sure, house cats are much more likely to bag game than many other popular pets, such as hamsters or goldfish, but I think centuries of domestication have bred out a lot of the instincts that came from their shared ancestry with lions and tigers.

As proof, I offer this video of a cat in Japan, in which the “hunter” becomes the hunted and meets its match when, defying all logic, a cucumber sneaks up on it.

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Want to shake hands with an adorable otter? You can right now at this Tokyo aquarium

Tokyo’s Ikebukuro is an archetypical part of the concrete jungle of Japan’s capital. The neighborhood is even home to Sunshine 60, one of the tallest buildings in a city that’s already packed with massive skyscrapers.

With so much space to work with, Sunshine 60 houses a shopping center, restaurants, planetarium, museum, and even a parlor for playing the Japanese board game go. But what convinced us to visit recently was the complex’s aquarium, which right now is offering a chance to shake hands with its adorable river otters!

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It wasn’t long ago that we were wishing a happy birthday to Tama, the adorable feline that was given the title of Ultra Stationmaster by Wakayama Electric Railway. Having just turned 16 in April, Tama, who lived at Kishi Station in Wakayama Prefecture and delighted travelers on a daily basis, was incredibly young for a stationmaster.

16 is a fairly advanced age for a cat, though, and the sad news has just come that Stationmaster Tama has passed away.

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Is any “fowl” play involved? Nope, Morioka Zoo’s animals just like to sleep in weird positions

Morioka Zoo in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture has a host of both fierce and cuddly animals on its premises. Among the zoo’s current highlights are opportunities to see a baby giraffe, make dinner for the elephants, and feed raw meat to a lion. Oh, and did we mention that the animals there seem to have a penchant for looking dead while simply taking a snooze? 

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Korean man arrested for boiling 600 cats alive, selling the meat for use in soup

Cat lovers may want to sit down for this.

South Korean police arrested a 54-year-old man on suspicion of catching up to 600 stray cats around his neighborhood, boiling them alive, skinning and gutting the carcasses and then selling the meat to locals for use in a special medicinal soup.

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Japan and most of the rest of the developed world don’t exactly see eye to eye on whaling. Sure, Japan has a couple of mammal-fishing buddies in Norway and Iceland, but most other nations with a comparable scientific and economic footing take a dim view of Japan’s professedly research-based whaling expeditions, especially in light of how you’re much more likely to come across a restaurant in Japan serving whale meat than a significant biological discovery about whales coming from one of the country’s scientists.

One of the most outspoken opponents has been Australia, which is particularly upset about Japanese whalers hunting the creatures in the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica, an area much closer to Australia than Japan. Now, though, some Japanese Internet commenters are launching snide jabs right back at their critics from Down Under in regards to the Australian government’s consideration of a plan to kill off a portion of its koala population.

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Tiny gachapon hamsters are here to cling to your glass and make your drink extra cute!

Here at RocketNews24 we like to think of ourselves as experts in taste and style (hey, stop laughing!). We like to add little personal touches to our cutlery drawers and drinks cabinets (gotta love those panty glasses!). So you can imagine how excited we were when we found out about these little hamsters you can clip onto the edge of your glass or mug to up the cuteness factor of everything you drink by 150%.

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The Steeds of the Gods: The Shinto horses that no mortal may ride

Somewhere around the 500th step on the long approach to Kompira-san shrine in Kagawa Prefecture, you’ll find a small stable housing two special horses. They are pretty as a picture, but don’t get any ideas about hopping on for a ride, feeding them a little carrot, or even giving them a friendly pat.

These thoroughbreds are shinme, the steeds of the gods, and they are not for mere mortals like us.

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The Penguin Train: The one time passengers going to Tokyo will wish the train was more crowded

The opening of the Tokyo Sky Tree did a lot to revive the surrounding Sumida neighborhood of Tokyo. Not only does having the highest structure and observation platform in all of Japan put the district squarely in the spotlight, the Sky Tree is surrounded by a number of other attractions that draw visitors both foreign and domestic.

In addition to the Solamachi shopping and dining complex, you’ll also find a planetarium and aquarium at the base of the tower, making it a one-stop center for anyone interested in the sky, stars, or sea. And to celebrate the third anniversary of the Sky Tree’s opening, a group of travellers will be riding the train to Sumida with some very special company: a group of adorable penguins.

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What do you see when you look at the Batman logo? To most people, it’s clearly a black bat, spreading its wings against a yellow background. But others interpret the design a little differently. To them, it’s a set of yellow teeth and tonsils staring back from the inky darkness of a gaping mouth.

Surprisingly, what works with bats apparently can work with sakura, too, as one Japanese Twitter says that instead of a single cherry blossom, the etching on this manhole cover looks like a cluster of five cute surprises.

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Japan’s always had a soft spot for the dashing, regal couple of the U.K.’s Prince William and wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. The warmhearted admiration got kicked up a notch when the prince (who’s also a duke, just for good measure) made his first trip to Japan this spring, and the infatuation went into overdrive this week with the news of the birth of the couple’s second child.

That exuberance has manifested itself in many ways, including visitors to an animal park in Oita Prefecture deciding that the facility’s newborn baby should share the infant princess’ name, Charlotte. 

Not everyone agrees that’s such an honor, though.

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Thanks to Japan’s love of fashion and animals, you can walk into just about any pet shop and find cute outfits for your dog. From styles that copy human duds such as shirts and dresses to playful costumes that look like cartoon characters or other animals, you can easily put together a wardrobe a pooch that’s as extensive as that of its human owner.

On the other hand, there’s a lot less to choose from in off-the-rack clothing for a pet squirrel. It turns out that you don’t have to go to the pet supply store to have your loveable little companion looking dashing, though, or even be handy with a needle and thread. All you need is some leftover veggies.

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Even after years of living in Japan, I’m always pleasantly surprised by how awesome the highway rest stops are. Not only do the larger ones have food courts and markets with all manner of local delicacies on offer, but the bathrooms are almost always incredibly clean.

Part of the thanks for all that shining porcelain goes to the hard-working cleaning crews, but you also can’t discount the Japanese cultural mindset that stresses not making trouble for others, which in turn keeps people conscious of the importance of using public restrooms in a way that leaves them clean for the next person.

But does this series of photos of cats sitting on toilets mean even the feline guests of Japanese rest stops have an advanced sense of courtesy?

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Rescued dog becomes rescue dog as Hiroshima stray joins search for survivors in Nepal

In the wake of the massive earthquake that struck central Nepal last week, non-profit organisation Peace Winds Japan sent a small team of six rescuers and two specially trained dogs to help with the search for survivors.

Remarkably, one of the search dogs who was dispatched to Kathmandu is himself a former rescue: Yumenosuke, a stray dog saved from euthanasia in Hiroshima.

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Cuddly koalas pose in business class as part of trip to celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday

To celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday, Australia sent four koalas to the Singapore Zoo for what is possibly the best birthday present ever. As one of Australia’s national animals, these four fuzzy marsupials were given top-notch treatment as they were upgraded from the cargo hold to “Koala Class”. Pictures appearing on Qantas’ Facebook page showed exactly how good people and bears have it in business class.

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Turtles have a lot of upsides as pets, such as being quiet and low-maintenance. Of course, they’re not perfect animal companions. For example, just think of how much fun dog-owners have taking their pooches for a walk. You can’t do that with a turtle, can you?

Sure you can, as long as you’re not in a hurry, like this resident of Tokyo out for a stroll with his gigantic pet turtle.

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Smell like a cat with hand cream scented like your kitty’s paws

Online retailer Felissimo has a soft spot for cats, so much so that it’s got a whole Cat Division subsection with feline-inspired products. In the past, we’ve taken a look at the company’s pullovers and lingerie that let you dress like a kitty, but Felissimo’s new hand cream promises to make you smell like cat, too.

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