COK (Page 261)
Fugu, one of Japan’s most gourmet foods, is the ramen star of the classy Ginza neighborhood.
Gorgeous enough for the fanciest restaurant in Tokyo, this is actually available only from one of Japan’s most popular convenience store chains.
Kumamoto Prefecture‘s stunning “Road To Laputa“, which looks like Studio Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky come to life, may close permanently.
Iconic character from Hayao Miyazaki anime is ready to terrify and/or charm you at mealtime.
Genuine service, or meaningless marketing ploy? We conduct an experiment to see what happens if you pass on the Golden Arches’ offer to see some pearly whites.
Journal Standard comes up with a burger that’s anything but standard, and also inordinately delicious.
It’s widely known in Japan that idol singers are often contractually prohibited from engaging in romantic relationships. The reasoning goes that if word gets out that an idol singer has a boyfriend, her fans will feel betrayed that she isn’t solely devoted to her role as a musician and entertainer, and thus stop buying her CDs (there’s also the unspoken implication that openly dating someone will destroy the fantasies of individual fans that would like to date the singer themselves).
A signed contract isn’t always enough to keep young love and hormones in check, though. And when you consider that idols are almost always attractive, outgoing young women, it seems like it should be only a matter of time until they find a guy they fancy out of their swarms of would-be suitors. That’s why in addition to legal pledges not to date, the Japanese entertainment industry has a number of sneaky tactics up its sleeve to prevent its idols from falling in love or going on a single date.
A story out of Saitama Prefecture almost sounds like the script to a heartwarming movie. In an apartment house in Kawaguchi City, until a few days ago, two senior citizens were living next door to each other. The men shared a love of beer, and since they were both living alone, would even sometimes pass off their excess food to one another if they happened to buy too much at the grocery store.
Sure, 64-year-old Shingo Tsutsui didn’t like the noise his 70-year-old neighbor made walking around the hardwood floors of his thin-walled apartment, but that little bit of cantankerousness just adds to the Odd Couple-like appeal of the story, doesn’t it? Or at least it would, if Tsutsui had responded by contorting his face into comically frustrated expressions instead of what he actually did, which was to attack his neighbor with a kitchen knife.
As shocking as that is, though, it’s not nearly as unexpected as the victim’s reaction: inviting his attacker in to have a couple of beers together.
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