Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
cars (Page 18)
Generally, customizing cars is a guy thing, and most guys are into power. When it comes to aftermarket wheels, the two biggest camps are those who want performance-boosting lightweight versions, or the largest, most blinged-out set available to advertise the driver’s financial status.
Now, though, there’s a third option beyond looking sporty or wealthy: cute wheels.
Itasha, the painfully nerdy, anime-decal-plastered cars you can spot running around Japan, generally arrive in that state due to an individual fan’s passion and vision (or obsession). The owner buys a regular car from the dealer, then once he’s slapped enough stickers on his ride, presto! He’s got his very own itasha.
Last year, though, Toyota took the uncommon step of not only creating its own itahsa, but selling it as well. The car has finally found a buyer, who had to go through a number of challenges to sit behind the wheel of his one-of-a-kid sports coupe.
Before moving to Japan, I got to dip my toes in the overseas lifestyle by spending several summers at a U.S. military installation in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The base was a long walk from the nearest train station, making bicycles an attractive way of getting around town. Even if you didn’t want to shell out the money to buy one, you could always get one for the day at the local bike rental shop.
Unfortunately, the rental bikes tended to be old, heavy, and not always in the best state of repair. The locals referred to them as “banjo bombers,” since benjo is a Japanese slang word for “bathroom,” and the rental bikes were pieces of…feces.
Little did I know there was another vehicle even more deserving of the benjo bomber title, a radio-controlled toilet.
The very first time she came over to the swinging bachelor pad/pitiful bunker I used to live in back when we were dating, my wife immediately noticed that the one and only interior decoration I had was a California license plate mounted on the wall. To me, the blue on white design is immediately nostalgic and reassuring.
In Japan, though, ordinarily the only thing that differentiates plates issued in different parts of the country are the kanji characters written across their tops, so they don’t provide quite the same immediate visual shorthand of local pride. Unless you happen to live in the city of Hakone, where motorists can show their love of their hometown and giant robot anime all at once with new Evangelion license plates.
As someone who grew up surrounded by full-sized American automobiles, I admit I chuckled a little when I first came to Japan and saw the country’s kei cars. As time went by though, I began to see how these super subcompact cars meshed with Japan’s transportation needs, as they sipped gas and slid easily down the country’s narrow roads.
But it turns out that kei – meaning “light” – cars aren’t just practical. The right one might even get you out of a jam, as this video of a heroic Suzuki saving a truck stranded in the snowstorm that hit the Tokyo area last week.
Motorsports have been around for as long as people have had vehicles. If it’s got an engine and wheels, we guarantee someone somewhere will try to race it. And there aren’t many counties that love their motorsports as much as Japan–especially the mystical, magical art of drifting!
While other places may have longer or faster races, Japan is definitely one of the best places in the world to catch cars sliding through corners almost as if they were on an ice rink. And, while a talented driver could probably get nearly any car to drift, racers often use cars modified for maximum drifting, including things like negative camber, a type of wheel alignment. But one Celica owned by Japanese motor-enthusiast Kawashima has been capturing people’s attention both in Japan and overseas thanks its mind-bending, extreme wheel alignment.
Growing up in Southern California, I was no stranger to long road trips, whether up the coast to visit relatives, or out to Las Vegas to visit the craps tables. Along the way I’d pass many freeway rest areas, with amenities whose quality ranged from “a good place to use the bathroom as long as you cover your nose” to “a good place to use the bathroom, as long as you have a friend with you to make sure you don’t get shanked by a hobo.”
So imagine my surprise when I moved to Japan to find that its highway rest stops (called “parking areas” by Japanese motorists) are spotless. Plus, they’re often great spots to munch on regional specialties or pick up local souvenirs. And if you happen to visit one particular parking area, you can even go back in time.
It’s only a matter of time until we’re all riding around in self-driving cars, texting our hearts out without having to worry about running anyone over. With all the companies working on the technology, it seems like it’s just a matter of time before you can slip into your automated automobile and say, “Carrie, take me to the bar!”
Unfortunately, “a matter of time” could very well be a few decades for all we know. So maybe we need to limit our dreams a bit. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could, at the very least, get our cars to pick us up outside the mall with an app on our phones? Yeah, that’ll probably never happen.
Or will it??
Itasha, literally “painful cars,” are vehicles tricked out with all kinds of crazy body work and paint jobs so that they look like something out of an anime and are supposed to “hurt” just to look at. There’s a vibrant subculture of itasha owners and fans in Japan and they meet up every now and then to show off their wheels and talk shop. Take a look at our photo gallery and see if you don’t get a little depressed over your own car’s lack of fins.
Like a migratory bird made of carbon fiber and engine blocks, every two years the Tokyo Motor Show returns to give us all a glimpse at automakers’ visions of the future. RocketNews24 visited this year’s event, and we’re here to share with you our impressions and photos of the massive crowds, newest concept cars, and hottest current models (both automotive and female).
The good people at Honda, seemingly having read our minds, introduced at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show this beautiful luxury chair-vehicle hybrid that we never knew we’d always been waiting for.
Gone are the days of actually having to get out of your seat to retrieve the remote, or that last broken chip from the Pringles can that somehow found its way into the seat cushion of that chair you never use. In fact, with the new UNI-CUB the only reason you’ll ever need to get out of your seat again is to give a standing ovation to Honda’s brilliant – and probably equally lazy – engineers.
Coming from the UK, I was always both amused and envious whenever I saw car registration plates during visits to the US. Every one I saw had a little state-specific design or message etched into it, whereas all plates in the UK are the same: dull black letters and numbers on a yellow background. The same can be said about plates in Japan, although the names of larger towns and prefectures in which the vehicle is registered are also shown above the row of numbers.
The town of Kotoura in Japan’s Tottori Prefecture, however, just blew even America’s plates out of the water with this über cute design, which features a portly cow, a pair of frolicking flying fish, and one of the town’s mascot characters holding the produce the area is famous for.
The last couple of years haven’t been particularly kind to Suzuki Motor Corporation. The company’s US division filed for bankruptcy in 2012, and the automaker announced that it would be halting sales of passenger cars in both America and Canada.
Suzuki still sells cars in its home market, but recent moves by Japanese politicians looking to scale back tax breaks for the compact cars the Shizuoka-based manufacturer specializes in have put it in a precarious position. As the man in the hot seat, Suzuki CEO Osamu Suzuki has come up with a bold and unorthodox plan: openly insult his customers.
Given Mercedes Benz’s reputation for luxury, it’s tempting to dismiss the automaker’s cars as being strictly for trust fund sorority girls or high-flying lawyers who just made partner.
Mercedes does have quite a bit of performance cred too, though, particularly for its extra-sporty cars that bear the mark of AMG, the company’s in-house tuning and motorsports division. But while you can find plenty of driving enthusiasts who get excited by the cars coming out of Stuttgart, in a new video Mercedes tries to stir the hearts of a new demographic: Zen monks.
As someone who feels lonely when his car doesn’t have a clutch pedal, the seemingly inevitable march towards self-driving automobiles isn’t exactly my favorite technological trend. Convenience is all well and good, but I can’t help but feel sorry for future generations that may never know the joy of a crisp-shifting manual transmission, or the amazing stress-relieving properties of a quick blast to redline.
Of course, there’s no pleasure to be found in navigating through a crowded parking lot hunting for a space. That’s why Honda is looking to take this task off drivers’ hands with an automatic valet parking system.
A true symbol of status for a whole lot of folks is the kind of car they drive. So what does it say about a person when a larger-than-life magical girl is bursting out the back of their van?! Someone is either absolutely amazing or amazingly disturbed to have so much love for an animated character. Either way, this has got to be one of the most awesome things we’ve ever seen rolling down the Japanese highway!
Recently in Taiwan, authorities finally apprehended a man who had been terrorizing a Taipei community for an untold stretch of time. This possible terrorist had been brazenly walking from car to a car with a cloth and wiping them down until they sparkled. The fiend!
Thankfully, a brave citizen saw their own car being shined by the man and reported him to the proper authorities. Unfortunately, the people of Taipei only had a brief respite from the horrors he unleashed as police released him shortly afterwards.
Sometimes, despite the director’s best efforts otherwise, the villain of a movie or TV series ends up stealing the show. Luke Skywalker became the archetypical example of a pure-hearted but bland hero, while dark side practitioner Darth Vader went on to become a true cultural icon.
Similarly, you’ll be hard pressed to find any viewers of long-running anime mecha franchise Gundam who name its original hero, Amuro, as their favorite character. His nemesis Char, on the other hand, has legions of fans, even though his last on-screen appearance was way back in the 1988 motion picture Char’s Counterattack. Despite his occasional attempts to drop space colonies onto Planet Earth, fans are drawn to the stylish Char, who has always had cool robots and a cool mask. Now, he’s got a cool car, too.
The humble stormtrooper. Shot, blown up, punched and jeered at on a near daily basis while the rebels–whom some would call “terrorists”–get all the fame and glory. It’s in their very nature to remain inconspicuous in their plain white armour, marching along in neat lines and even dying with a regimented clatter of boots on the cold metal Deathstar floors, and for that reason are rarely given a second thought by either their merciless dispatchers or the movie-going public.
But there comes a time when even the loyalest of the Empire’s helmeted servants has to get their groove on, and Japanese car maker Nissan’s newest ad campaign is allowing them to do just that.
In the never-ending debate about which country makes the best cars, it’s common to derogatorily refer to a Japanese automobile as a “rice rocket,” “rice burner,” or “rice runner.” Really anything with rice.
But with a new product from Saitama-based company JPN, you can own that insult, and turn it into a positive.
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
Japanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
7-Eleven Japan adds new chocolate fruit gummies to its sweets range, but are they worth the hype?
Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
We tried Starbucks Japan’s new coffee for people who don’t drink coffee
Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
Tokyo security guard’s famous station tape font becomes official custom Nike streetwear
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store sandwiches with a wild new choc-mint variety
Starbucks Japan opens new store inside historic seaside quarantine station near TokyoAir-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heatTokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever gacha capsule toys, featuring iconic menu items as plush coffee charms
Kyoto receives more foreign tourists than ever before, but fewer visitors say they’ll return
7-Eleven Japan now offering baked-in-store pizza by the slice with two very different topping sets
Starbucks Japan unveils exclusive new Frappuccinos limited to three regional areasStarbucks Japan opens new store inside historic seaside quarantine station near Tokyo
Foreign tourists in Japan eat far more rice than previously thought, according to new dataJapanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light showLive-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in TokyoStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroadSalomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
We tried Starbucks Japan’s new coffee for people who don’t drink coffee
Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
Tokyo security guard’s famous station tape font becomes official custom Nike streetwear
7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store sandwiches with a wild new choc-mint variety
Starbucks Japan opens new store inside historic seaside quarantine station near Tokyo
Japanese popsicle experiment says eating one before going outside in summer helps keep you cool
Godiva Japan gets into the shaved ice scene with two luxurious frozen desserts this summer
Daiso now sells stress-relief punching bags, but are they worth beating on?
Japan’s Super Volunteer, 86-year-old Haruo Obata, heads to the Kumamoto earthquake site
New Studio Ghibli washi tape adds anime flair to Japanese stationery
Kyoto receives more foreign tourists than ever before, but fewer visitors say they’ll return
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever gacha capsule toys, featuring iconic menu items as plush coffee charms
7-Eleven Japan adds new cold soup smoothies to its convenience store drinks range
Koei Tecmo continues to be an investment firm that also happens to make video games