Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
cool (Page 171)
It is not uncommon to hear that many people don’t like bugs. Those tiny, many-legged creatures are the source of our worst nightmares. Robots, on the other hand, are fantastic. Whether they come to us as Furby-sized companions or giant robot protector of the Earth Gundams, they amuse and entertain us to no end. So when we heard of the open source project combining insect-like parts and robotics, we timidly decided to check it out.
With the recent premier of Sailor Moon Crystal, anime’s most famous magical girl is back in action. But while the basic premise is largely the same as it’s always been (klutzy girl and her friends team up to fight evil while wearing pleated skirts), the characters look noticeably different than they did in the previous anime from 1992, as we recently saw in a side-by-side comparison.
The new artwork does look a lot closer to creator Naoko Takeuchi’s original manga, but not everyone is taken with the extremely willowy proportions and super-long shins of Crystal’s character designs. Thankfully, if you’re one of those left cold by the new look, you can always crank out a few Sailor Scouts of your own instead, with the awesome Sailor Senshi Maker.
I love Tokyo’s awesome, full-scale statue of Gundam as much as anybody. I try to at least stop by and say hello to Japan’s most famous giant robot whenever I’m in Odaiba, and when time permits, I’m happy to sip a beer or munch on a pretzel from the adjacent shopping center as I stare up at the 18-meter (59-foot) tall mecha.
As I mentioned before, though, it has always seemed a little ironic that the monument is stationary. After all, the series is called Mobile Suit Gundam. Shouldn’t he be moving?
Actually, in a few years, he just might.
Kevin Whitney of Chickasha, Oklahoma, was working on his farm last October when his iPhone fell out of his shirt pocket and up a grain elevator, where it was deposited into a pit containing 280,000 pounds of grain.
“I never expected to see that phone again,” he told KFOR-TV. It was a reasonable conclusion.
Since it served as Japan’s capital for over 1,000 years, the city of Kyoto has a strong connection with traditional arts such as Nihon buyo dance and the tea ceremony. We’re sure you could also find a number of students living in Kyoto who, once their classes are over for the day, make beautiful music with the koto, Japan’s most refined indigenous stringed instrument.
Things are a little more bombastic at Kyoto’s Tachibana High School, though. Tachibana is home to one of the country’s most talented marching band programs, and the school’s musicians have made performances at Disney theme parks not only in Japan, but in America too, as seen in this energizing videos.
There’s something about the color black that gets people all kinds of excited. In many countries, it’s associated with bad omens, mystery, the supernatural, and even magic. But in the West, it’s most commonly associated with one thing only: METAL.
And so it is that in the eyes of Indonesians, the Ayam Cemani is a prized breed of pitch-black chicken that probably portends good luck or something, but to the Western eye, it’s the second most metal bird we’ve ever seen.
Despite having visited the town of Kichijoji in Tokyo on a near daily basis for over a year, it wasn’t until I sat down with video game developer James Kay and started chatting about our mutual love of pixels and coffee that I learned about Pico Pico Cafe, a cosy corner perched at the top of a eight-storey building just minutes from Kichijoji station.
After dropping the staff a line, RocketNews24 headed over for a coffee and a chat. We hadn’t gone two steps inside, however, before we found ourselves completely enamoured with the unique cafe’s warm, homely interior and – perhaps most of all for this life-long gamer – the subtle dashes of video game culture in every other nook and cranny.
Tons of cool photos after the jump.
In a lot of ways, 14-year-old Akari Aruga is like a lot of girls her age. She likes watching anime, enjoys the theme song from Attack on Titan, and says lollipops are her favorite food.
But you know what’s not par for the course for an adolescent girl in Japan? Being a crack shot with a pistol in target shooting.
As the rainy season in Japan begins to wind down and we head into the sweet spot of midsummer, more and more people are hitting the beach and working on their tans. For followers of a certain fashion aesthetic, there’s nothing more appealing than a beautifully bronzed body, which holds true whether we’re talking about men, women, or even video game consoles, it seems.
Even if you’re more of a dog person, there’s no denying that neko-mimi have a cuteness all of their own. Knowing this, the creative folks over at Axent Wear, an independent startup now just weeks away from launching a Kickstarter campaign, are hoping to bring cat ears into consumers’ lives in a way that is both cute and functional with a product that’s sure to put a smile on your face and spring in your step.
Introducing: Axent Wear cat-ear headphones.
Video game and anime theme covers are a dime a dozen, so how do you know which ones are worth your time? Your friendly, neighborhood RocketNews24 writers will tell you! And what we are telling you is, this YouTuber has put out a ton of videos covering classic video game themes and current hits, and he is criminally under-appreciated. Sit back, turn your dial to 11 and enjoy some covers brought to you on classical and acoustic guitars!
How many times have you heard the phrase “in a post-apocalyptic world…“? Movies, books, comics and games draw upon that all-too-common setting to dream up stories where man is pushed to the brink in order to survive in a unforgiving environment.
What makes a world post-apocalyptic though? There are plenty of ways to get there – nuclear apocalypse, asteroid strikes, zombies, giant robots, but one thing is pretty common: Food is scarce and people have to scavenge for it because the land is just too polluted to grow anything edible. But what if you could plant something in the ground that would allow other things to grow? What if nature already had its own answer to this problem? What if you could make that “every man for himself” world back into a “let’s work off the land together!” love-fest? Sounds to us like a billion dollar industry! Do they still have dollars in a post-apocalyptic world?!?!
For fans of animation and video games who’ve formed a particularly strong attachment to their favorite fictional characters, there’s nothing quite like the escapist fun of cosplaying as one of the hobbies’ heroes or heroines. In the past we’ve seen college students, toddlers, and even dogs sporting creative getups, but what if you’re an adult human with a busy life?
Past a certain age, work and family start taking up the bulk of your time, and your schedule might not be able to accommodate a day of showing off your costuming skills at the local anime convention. Not to mention that if that’s the case, you’re probably too old to just dress up in costume at home without feeling silly. If only there was a practical cosplay outfit that you could wear around the house.
Actually, there is, in the form of the Sailor Moon apron.
One of the essential items for getting through Japan’s hot and humid summer is an uchiwa, or paper fan. With its large surface area and long handle, you can work up more of a breeze with an uchiwa than a dainty folding fan.
Unfortunately, you might work up a bit of a sweat as you furiously fan yourself, which kind of negates the whole purpose of using a fan to begin with. Thankfully, there’s now a way to get around all that manual labor with a USB-powered uchiwa.
Your smartphone has a busy day, what with being called on to make phone calls, take pictures, play strange fashion-based touchscreen games, and surf the Internet in order to access mankind’s greatest font of knowledge. Doesn’t it deserve some rest? And we don’t mean a short little nap while you’re eating dinner, but a good night’s sleep, snug and comfy inside a Japanese futon.
Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea can both make pretty strong claims for the “Happiest Place on Earth” title. Combining the cast of the animation pioneer’s collected works with Japanese sensibilities results in some of the most unbridled and deep-rooted enthusiasm for cartoon characters you’re likely to find anywhere. Adding to the experience is the attention to detail and hospitality that comes from the world’s preeminent amusement park operator and the country with the highest customer service standards on the planet.
But while all those things go a long way towards helping visitors enjoy their stay, the excitement they bring just might pale in comparison to the joy guests feel when they realize there’s something Japan’s Disney theme parks don’t have: mosquitos.
I’ve never really been one for special editions of video games. At first they seem like a great idea, with terms like “rare” and “collector’s edition” making us feel like we’d be missing out if we didn’t pick one up, but when you later realise that there are thousands of other people out there with the same cheaply made “limited” trinkets – most of which are likely to end up in landfills a few years down the line anyway – that Master Chief helmet or deluxe orc statue suddenly doesn’t seem quite so essential.
The Triforce clock that comes with special editions of upcoming Wii U hack and slash title Hyrule Warriors, however, is by far the coolest gaming goodie we’ve seen in years, and for once I’m actually considering paying extra money for the additional chunk of plastic.
The company Recruit is mainly known for its online job-hunting service, but that’s not the organization’s only business arm. Recruit also runs Zexy, one of Japan’s most popular wedding planning websites.
In order to help singles get into the marrying mood, Recruit has created an animated proposal simulator, where you can type in words for one of five dreamy anime-style guys to say. Ostensibly, you’re supposed to unleash your inner poet and dash off a smooth, romantic line. On the other hand, you can also use the system that allows you to make them say anything for a little bit of snarky fun.
Back in the heyday of Nintendo’s NES, video game hardware wasn’t advanced enough to handle the kind of polygon-based visuals that are the industry standard today. Instead, artists had to bitmap their characters.
Bitmapping involves laying down squares of color, called pixels, to form an image. It’s essentially a digital mosaic, and with enough time and dedication, you could perfectly recreate the cast of your favorite 8-bit classic using a sheet of graph paper.
Or, as one retro fan in Japan recently did, a screen door.
“I’m from Luxembourg and I have a retro hobby. I make 3D paper dioramas of classic videogames.”
Hobbyist Wuppes’ self-introduction is refreshingly humble for someone displaying their creations online, but it hardly does them justice. Made from paper and card, these dioramas of worlds, scenes and characters from 16-bit video games are created with breathtaking attention to detail, with not a single pixel misrepresented, raising the once flat images up to give gamers the world over something new to pore over and wish they could own.
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy day
Mt. Koya planning to instate visitor’s tax to cope with huge tourist numbers
Osaka governor suggests lowering voting age to 0 to curb population decline
Suntory x Super Mario collaboration creates a clever way to transform into Mario【Videos】
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches
Is Japan’s massive Shizuoka steak sandwich really as delicious as it looks in promo photos?
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to KyotoRed 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
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
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 goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
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 TotoroJapanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotesAll-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
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutionsMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
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
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches
Is Japan’s massive Shizuoka steak sandwich really as delicious as it looks in promo photos?
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
20 things to buy at the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo store
We try out “Chan Ramen”, an underground type of ramen popular in the ramen community
Harajuku Station’s beautiful old wooden building is set to return, with a new complex around it
Lawson convenience store teaches us how to make okonomiyaki with no knife or bowl 【SoraKitchen】
The shit didn’t hit the fan, it IS the fan – Testing Daiso’s 100-yen Handy Poo Fan
Find a red envelope on the ground? Here’s why you should never pick it up
A taste of Japanese curry usually only sold overseas, at Tokyo’s Curry House CoCo Ichibanya World
We stress-test Uniqlo’s “Impressive Jacket and Pants” to see if they live up to their names
Everyone cuts their toenails wrong, says Japanese doctor, and here’s how to do it correctly