Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
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What do steampunk fashion and a heart monitor have in common? Usually, nothing. But throw in a garter belt and you’ve got yourself a creative and original piece of fashion fusing seemingly incompatible objects. Read on to check out this awesome steampunk cosplay accessory!
When entering the grounds of a Shinto shrine in Japan, it’s customary to first stop by the water basin near the gate and rinse your hands, and sometimes your mouth, in order to cleanse them. Water isn’t the only classical element held to have purifying properties in Shintoism, though, since the same can be said about fire.
Obviously, worshippers aren’t called upon to put fire on their palms or inside their mouths. Instead, Shinto priests light pyres of charms and decorations during the Dondo Yaki ceremony, with the towering blazes regularly reaching 15 meters (49.2 feet) into the air.
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who moved to Japan and stayed for exactly two years. Most of the study and work opportunities that initially bring people here are 12-month programs, and while plenty of people decide that’s enough Japan for them, most people who manage to adapt and thrive during that first year reup for an even longer stay.
One such example is Canadian Thomas Simmons, who’s now been in Japan for four and a half years and counting. Given the country’s relatively small geographic size, you might think that’s enough time to see everything, but as the powerful video Simmons created about his experiences so far shows, he’s just getting started with his life in Japan.
Although millions of people have fond memories of playing games on Nintendo’s original Famicom (known internationally as the NES), not too many people spend much time actually playing with the system anymore. After all, portable gaming devices like Nintendo’s own 3DS and even smartphones now boast more powerful hardware specs than the classic 8-bit console, and have just as large a library of legitimately fun games as well as the capability to play old-school titles as software downloads.
Of course, the flipside to having so many great portable games to play or, in the case of smartphones, extremely important websites to visit, is that your mobile devices are going to be running out of juice before long. Now, though, there’s a way to give your new tech a recharge and your old tech a shout-out simultaneously, with this battery pack/card reader that’s styled after the Famicom’s Player One controller.
With winter break over, students in Japan are looking at a straight shot with no major breaks until the end of the school year in spring. For teens in their third and final year of high school, that means it’s almost time to take the big step of going off to college or finding a job, both of which mean probably having to cut back on silly hijinks.
That’s why when one Japanese 12th grader found an empty classroom, she couldn’t resist the temptation to let loose with youthful exuberance, especially since she knew it might be one of her last chances to do so. She didn’t take advantage of the lack of adult supervision to vandalize the school, though, but decided to beautify it with some awesome Frozen chalkboard art instead.
Staying warm during Japan’s chilly winters can be tricky, especially when it’s time to hit the sack. A lot of Japanese apartments don’t have the best insulation, so if you don’t want to blast the heater on high all night long, a nice warm blanket or down comforter is essential.
Unfortunately, six months later the weather becomes hot and muggy nationwide, so all those blankets need to be put away. And while you could just wrap them in plastic garbage bags and stick them in the closet until next winter, the far cuter option is to use a specialized case that looks like a snoozing bear, panda, or wolf.
Cardcaptor Sakura is in the midst of a revival right now. We’re not sure what’s sparked the renewed interest in creative team Clamp’s magical girl franchise, as we’re still a year away from the manga’s 20th anniversary, and three years from that mark for its anime adaptation.
Still, plucky elementary school student and protagonist Sakura Kinomoto seems to be popping up more and more these days. A recent poll of anime fans named Cardcaptor Sakura the series they most want rerun on TV, and just last month we saw the release of a collection of cosmetics based on it. Now, in the latest round of new goodies, you can pair your manga makeup with some cute and stylish Cardcaptor Sakura shoes.
Japan has a long-standing and highly publicized infatuation with maid outfits. As such, it’s really not much of a surprise that you can find a video on YouTube that bears the English title 100 Sizzling Japanese Maids in Action.
The 100-second video isn’t a contribution to Japan’s highly specialized pornography industry though. Rather, it’s an ad for something altogether less prurient, as its true theme isn’t so much “hot girls” as “hotcakes.” It is, nevertheless, extremely compelling viewing.
Last summer, were you one of the many people who screamed “Shut up and take my money!” when we brought you news of the prototype cat ear-shaped headphone/speakers from recent startup AxentWear? If so, your harshly worded enthusiasm has been rewarded, as preorders have at last begun for the futuristically feline gadgets.
I love business cards, because I’ll admit it, I am not good with names. First names, last names, if you tell me, I will probably forget it. (Kirakira names are usually easier to remember though!) The good thing about living in Japan, however, is that despite there being over 100,000 different surnames, a really high percentage of people use only a few really common names.
To make it even easier for me, different areas of Japan often have higher densities of certain names. For instance, there are about 4,700 people in Japan with surname Maru (丸), but more than 50 percent of them live in southern Chiba. So, if you forget someone’s name in southern Chiba, Maru might be a safe guess.
A website and smartphone application called Myoji-Yurai Net allows you to find out the prevalence, origin and other fun information about the top 3,000 surnames in Japan. It’s actually quite fun!
We’ve talked before about Japan’s love affair with gigantic hug pillows. Even if they’re not covered with pictures of your anime or celebrity crush, dakimakura, as they’re called in Japanese, have a number of physiological advantages, as well as the psychological benefits some people reap from having something to hold as they sleep.
Of course, some people also feel more secure and relaxed being held as they sleep, which is why Japan has a new, double-pronged huggy pillow that can hug you back.
Last year, Nissin, makers of Cup Noodle instant ramen, created the awesome Samurai in Brazil ad, in which a soccer player clad in Japanese armor travelled to South America to show off his footwork to the locals. The company later caught up with the freestyle soccer expert in Europe with a sequel, Samurai in Manchester .
In its newest commercial, Nissin isn’t just switching venues, but sports, too, as Samurai in New York features one of the best tennis players in the world, who proves just how talented he is by leaving behind his racquet and delivering powerful forehands, backhands, and serves using a wooden sword.
Last summer, we took a look at a series of ads from Okinawa’s Bank of the Ryukyus, known locally as Ryugin, that featured magical girl idol singers and giant robots. Those are certainly more visually appealing images than a staid banker or graphs explaining interest fees, but if we’re being totally honest, the sort of CG animation shown in the commercials really isn’t Japan’s forte.
Where the country’s artists really shine is in a more traditional discipline that mimics the style of hand-drawn artwork, regardless of whether or not it’s done with pencil and paper or all on a computer. Thankfully, that’s just what we get in the bank’s newest ad, which comes from one of anime’s top veteran action directors, plus one of its most accomplished voice actors.
While I was growing up, my family never got that involved in the discussion over whether the idolization of Disney princesses is a healthy thing or not. With three boys and no girls in the family, most of my parents’ time was instead channeled towards more immediate topics like telling their sons not to aim for the face during their regular battles in the backyard with their stockpiled arsenal of plastic battleaxes and broadswords.
As an adult, I can sort of understand both sides of the debate. On one hand, a little fantasizing seems harmless, and in and of itself, there’s nothing inherently wrong with little girls being drawn to such trappings of the princess lifestyle as a luxurious home and elegant clothes. On the other hand, criticisms about overemphasizing the value of comfort and beauty have some validity too, as if left unchecked those desires can turn into sloth and vanity.
As a matter of fact, one talented artist thinks Disney’s leading ladies make excellent stand-ins for all of the seven deadly sins.
All through high school and for the first part of college, I didn’t use Microsoft Word, or any dedicated word processing software, for that matter, to write my reports. Instead, I did everything using Lotus 1-2-3, a spreadsheet program.
While that might sound incredibly inconvenient, it actually wasn’t too bad. Having a dad who’s an accountant and was well-versed in the program was a big help, but once I got the hang of it, I could produce written reports just about as easily as my Word-equipped classmates.
Still, my spreadsheet skills aren’t in the same league as Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi, who’s been making beautiful landscapes and portraits with Microsoft Excel for years, including a New Year’s card that’s just as cute as any made with paint and brush.
This year, my sister-in-law and nieces gave me an Amazon card for Christmas. The bookstore near my apartment in Yokohama doesn’t stock English-language books, so it’s an extremely thoughtful gift, but I haven’t actually visited Amazon’s site to pick out my new reading material, since I’m still in the middle of a lengthy novel I started during my recent flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles.
With a couple of hundred pages left to go, it might be a while before I actually use the card, and while I’m leaning towards a National Geographic subscription, I still haven’t ruled out the alternative of putting the card towards purchasing a giant robot, since Amazon Japan now sells those, too.
For many cosplay enthusiasts, the appeal of the hobby is deeper than just the clothes. The most dedicated cosplayers don’t just slip on costumes, but also the personas of their favorite characters from Attack on Titan, Final Fantasy, or, well, Persona.
But while the perfect cosplay photograph might recreate the flawlessly cool poses of anime and video game icons, the reality of how those shots get produced is often quite a bit less stylish, as shown in this series of behind the scenes peeks at cosplay photo shoots.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense’s Technical Research & Development Institute (TRDI) appears to be nearing completion of the Throwable Type Reconnaissance Robot. It’s a little black orb about 50 percent bigger than a softball that Self-Defense Force members can simply toss into environments otherwise hazardous to humans and have a look around before taking action. It looks kind of awesome.
It’s been said that the costume design for Darth Vader, one of the most recognizable outfits in the history of film, was heavily inspired by samurai armor. The similarities are pretty easy to spot, what with the face plate and helmet backing that continues lower down the back of the neck than what’s normal for western helms.
But what if you kept going until you came full-circle, and designed a set of samurai armor based off of Vader’s? You’d get something like this awesome figure that just went on sale in Japan.
When I was in junior high school, for a couple of weeks it seemed like whenever the teacher’s back was turned, all the kids in the classroom were engaged in pencil fighting. One combatant would hold his pencil lengthwise, his opponent would try to shatter it with his own, and then they’d switch, taking turns until only one pencil was left intact.
When you stop and think about it, it’s kind of a dumb game. Sure, destruction being a critical component gives it an undeniable appeal. No matter how talented you are though, in the end, you’re just swinging around a writing instrument, and not an awesome foe-cleaving weapon.
Unless, of course, you have one of these cool Legendary Weapon pencil caps.
Face lettuce appears in Japan, with the face of Death Note’s Light Yagami, but why?
Studio Ghibli adds new Ponyo glassware to its anime lineup for summer
Family Mart’s new Famima flagship in Tokyo has a hidden gem that most visitors miss
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese Coo-Che becomes a viral sensation, and everyone wants a taste
Pokémon’s cozy city builder game inspires Cozy (Corner) cakes in Japan! [Photos]
Giant Evangelion Spear of Longinus to be installed at Japanese train station with Eva art trains
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Starbucks Japan releases a miniature display rack so you can create your very own store at home
Universal Studios Japan requiring consent form for adults-only horror attractionTokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
99-year-old woman rescued while attempting to climb Mt. FujiJapanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Japanese convenience store releases Japanese convenience store-flavor fried chicken
Which country’s foreign tourists spend the most money per-person in Japan? Hint: Not the U..S. or China
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machinesGiant Evangelion Spear of Longinus to be installed at Japanese train station with Eva art trainsStarbucks Japan releases a miniature display rack so you can create your very own store at home
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see itTokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenirJapan 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
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave countryStudio 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
Sanrio Character Poll announces winners, Hello Kitty absent from top 10 in many countries
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 abroad
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Pokémon’s cozy city builder game inspires Cozy (Corner) cakes in Japan! [Photos]
Giant Evangelion Spear of Longinus to be installed at Japanese train station with Eva art trains
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Starbucks Japan releases a miniature display rack so you can create your very own store at home
Universal Studios Japan requiring consent form for adults-only horror attraction
Which country’s foreign tourists spend the most money per-person in Japan? Hint: Not the U..S. or China
Kodama Shinkansen trains on popular Japan route get a whole new look this winter
Why is Taco Bell failing in Japan, even as the country falls in love with tacos?
How are you supposed to wash a Japanese futon duvet at the laundromat?
Dance with demons in Kyoto at this Edo-period Japanese Halloween festival
Starbucks Japan adds a new summer Frappuccino to the menu, but is it as refreshing as it looks?
Studio Ghibli releases Japanese curry shirts in honour of anime about the studio’s staff
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
Foreign hiker on Mt. Fuji loses consciousness and dies, becoming climbing season’s second fatality