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Simon Boulsson’s “Tokyo Reverse” is backwards, gorgeous 【Video】

Philip Kendall
Apr 8, 2014
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In the age of affordable digital cameras and programs that can make even photos and footage taken by a team of cavorting chimps look artistic and cool, footage of popular destinations like Tokyo are ten-a-penny online. But this video from Simon Boulsson is not just noteworthy by stop-and-gawp-worthy.

Titled “TOKYO REVERSE”, the video is set to a pumping soundtrack and takes us on a brief tour of some of the capital city’s most famous spots. The views are of course stunning, but as its title suggests there’s even more to the video than that.

Beautiful woman doing things: Unsettling art created by unexpected artist

Mike
Apr 7, 2014

Some of the best-yet-unsettling art in the world has often been created by male artists: be it Hemingway’s subtly disturbing short story, “For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn,” the dark and surreal yarns of Cormac McCarthy (We hear reading Blood Meridian automatically qualifies you as suffering from PTSD), or the insidiously impossible physics of Dalí paintings, whenever we view somewhat disturbing artistic works, we tend to assume the author is a man.

So, you’d be forgiven for thinking the drawing below comes from a male artist with a particularly tormented past:

“Realistic” Kuroko’s Basketball characters look just as cool, if not cooler【Pictures】

Joan Coello
Apr 6, 2014

As an avid anime fan, I sometimes wish my favorite characters were real humans, but the logical fangirl in me warns that if anime characters existed in real life, they probably wouldn’t be as awesome as they were in the original works. Just take Kuroko’s Basketball as an example, it would be impossible for Kuroko’s unbelievable skill, “Misdirection Overflow”, to happen in real life.

In such situations, I’m glad there are talented artists who create realistic looking fan art of anime characters, such as these amazing portraits!

Food, hard liquor, and guns all on the menu at Tokyo’s airsoft bar

Casey Baseel
Apr 5, 2014

When you want to blow off steam, there’s nothing like blowing something away, which partly explains why Japan’s interest in airsoft guns, which fire BB-like ammunition, continues to grow. But even though work is a major source of stress, most people don’t have the time to drive out to one of Japan’s rural airsoft fields (or catch a plane to the awesome urban set-up in Korea) after their shift ends.

Thankfully, though, there’s a way for Japanese professionals who’ve had a rough day at the office to fire off a couple rounds without putting a hole in their living room wall, as we found out at a Tokyo restaurant with its own airsoft shooting range.

Guy proves women’s makeup works eerily well on dudes too

Mike
Mar 31, 2014

If there’s one thing women are probably consistently jealous of men about, it’s the fact that a girl often feels that she has to go through a whole morning ritual that can last 20 minutes to an hour or two before they feel comfortable showing their faces in public, whereas guys can just hop out of bed, put on some pants (probably the same ones as the day before) and stroll out the door in 30 seconds flat if need be, and no one would be any the wiser.

But, if this Japanese dude is any indication, the fellas may have been doing it wrong the whole time and, just maybe, all that hard work on women’s part is worth the trouble after all. Here are some before/after photos of cosplaying Twitter user Chyaraizumi with and without women’s makeup on:

Fresh out of a sci-fi film! Make your own “head in a jar”!【Instructions】

Joan Coello
Mar 29, 2014

April Fools’ Day is just a few days away! Are you prepared for it? Perhaps the pranks we picked out earlier this week were lacking some impact. Well, that’s because we kept the best for last!

If you’re looking for something that will shock the entire family or add a little excitement to your otherwise boring workplace, check out this homemade head in a jar! Be it for April Fools’ or for Halloween, this creepy artifact is bound to raise some hairs, and the best part is, no blood is involved in the making. Instructions after the jump!

Tatsuo Horiuchi: 73-year-old who creates beautiful works of art using only Excel

Fran W
Mar 28, 2014

When Tatsuo Horiuchi was approaching retirement age, he wanted to do something new with his free time. So he bought a computer, and in 2000 decided to try his hand at making digital art. But Mr. Horiuchi from Nagano Prefecture, Japan, doesn’t use Photoshop or any other graphics editing software. These intricate digital artworks were made entirely in Microsoft Excel! It’s hard to believe that spreadsheet software can be used to make something so compellingly beautiful.

Fourteen years after he first started experimenting with digital art, Mr. Horiuchi is now a celebrated artist whose works have been exhibited locally and nationally. He’s also the winner of the Excel Autoshape Art Contest (what d’you mean, you didn’t know that was a thing?!) Let’s take a look at some of his work, and the fascinating process that goes into making it.

Awesome Korean airsoft park lets you live out your urban combat fantasies 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Mar 28, 2014

We’ve talked before about airsoft, and how the game that allows you to gun down your friends is ironically gaining seeing its ranks grow and grow in Japan. Unlike paintball, airsoft uses solid-state, BB-like ammo, so it’s a great way to unleash your inner remorseless 1980s action hero (or his gritty, 2010 reboot) without getting your fashionable combat fatigues stained with purple and orange splatters.

Most airsoft fields tend to be just that, fields out in the woods. But what if your combat fantasies are more Predator 2 than Predator, and you’d prefer an urban theater of operations? Is there a place where you can hunt the deadliest game: man?

Sure there is, at the Wanju Military Theme Park in Korea.

How-to: Easy-to-make Capriccio rolls look like roses, make you look like a master chef

Casey Baseel
Mar 28, 2014

My brother, who spent several years working as a seafood cook, is an extremely handy guy in the kitchen. Even still, one of his most popular dishes is the incredibly easy to make Lebanese staple called hushwe. He jokingly refuses to teach his friends how to cook the rice and beef dish, since he’s worried that if they knew how simple it is, they’d lose respect for him as a chef.

The secret’s out, though, on how our Japanese-language correspondent Kon crafts her gorgeous rose-shaped salmon Carpaccio rolls, and today we’re going to share the technique with you.

The original cast of Street Fighter II beg for mercy in model form this summer

Philip Kendall
Mar 27, 2014

As we have come to learn over the years, Japan really loves its capsule toys and mobile phone accessories, and there’s always some cute new bit of plastic to attach to your person or use to brighten up your electronic devices. But for fans of the original Capcom fighter Street Fighter II (which is everyone, surely!?) we have some extra good news today.

A new series of models, showing the world warriors not in their typically magnificent fighting poses but on their knees and with their noses touching the ground, begging for forgiveness, is due to be released later this year.

Home sushi train kit commercial is cheesy/awesome

Philip Kendall
Mar 20, 2014

A couple of weeks ago, we brought you news that Japanese toy maker Takara Tomy Arts had just released a revolving sushi kit for home use, which comes complete with miniature sushi train and sushi making tools. Aimed primarily at kids it looked like tremendous fun, but having seen the promotional video for the product we’d like to take this opportunity to upgrade the product’s status in our estimations from “tremendous fun” to the more scientifically accurate “OMFGWANT!”.

Full video after the jump.

Karate dojo students practice under freezing waterfall… in the middle of winter

Mike
Mar 19, 2014

Karate has always been one of those martial arts forms that never really had much appeal to me. The idea of repeating the same kata routines – with names like “Black Dragon Karate Chops 20 Weasels at Midnight” or whatever – to commit the moves to muscle memory always seemed kind of boring and counter-intuitive to me.

And now, upon learning that at least one school has students train half naked, in freezing water, in the dead of winter, I’m even less inclined to try the sport. I’d rather go four rounds in the Octagon with Brock Lesnar.

Don’t trust your eyes! Let these unique pieces of art challenge your perception of reality

Kay
Mar 19, 2014

Getting tricked is usually no fun, but not in the case of brilliant art that tricks the eye. Take for instance, the work of Japanese art university student Hikaru Cho, an example of which is shown in the picture above. Does that look like an ordinary cucumber to you? We certainly wouldn’t blame you if you said it does, but read further to find out what the object really is!

The hottest thing in Korea now is freezing cold ice cream made by “scientists”

Joan Coello
Mar 17, 2014

There’s probably a scientific explanation for almost everything in the world, and that includes ice cream. Of course we knew there was some science going on in those delicious scoops of frozen creamy goodness, but this laboratory-themed ice cream parlor in Busan, Korea, works the science right in front of your eyes!

If you’ve never had ice cream made straight out of a laboratory flask, topped with syringes and droppers, read on!

Awesome origami artist recreates the creatures of Monster Hunter 【Videos】

Casey Baseel
Mar 17, 2014

Although it’s had only limited success internationally, in its home country of Japan, the video game series Monster Hunter is a massive hit. New titles have been released for the series at a pace of more than one a year, and the franchise can count 17 titles since it began in 2004.

Monster Hunter is popular enough that you could argue that it’s become one of Japan’s national pastimes, so maybe it was only a matter of time before someone thought to combine it with another of the country’s favorite cultural activities, the paper-folding art of origami.

Japanese train platform door tech promotes safety, illusions of being in a sci-fi universe

Mike
Mar 17, 2014

Japan’s “suicide problem” is much talked about, both within the country’s borders and without, with a shocking number of people each year choosing to end their lives by jumping in front of a train. Less talked about are all the other deadly and injurious accidents that take place on train platforms in Japan on a semi-regular basis.

Recently, Japanese rail companies have been experimenting with platform barrier doors to prevent both suicides and other grievous accidents, and most of these inevitably end up looking like something out of Star Trek or a 1990s first-person shooter before technology allowed swinging door animations.

Ultraman pub lets you get ultra-full and ultra-drunk while having ultra fun

Casey Baseel
Mar 14, 2014

Among the many Japanese tales of heroes of justice battling giant monsters, Ultraman may just be the most popular. Since its television debut in 1966, hardly a year has gone by without a new Ultraman TV series or motion picture.

The franchise’s longevity means that many long-time fans who started watching when they were young kids are now full-grown adults. On the one hand, growing up means more responsibility, but it also means more freedom, including the freedom to knock back a few cold beers at a new dining and drinking establishment where Ultraman’s monstrous foes take center stage.

New high-res photos simulate aerial tour of Tokyo (helicopter noises included!)

Casey Baseel
Mar 14, 2014

It’s hard to get an idea of how truly massive Tokyo is without seeing it from the sky. Unfortunately, most international flights come into Narita Airport, which is over an hour away from downtown, and we haven’t quite been able to convince our bosses that RocketNews24 really needs a company helicopter.

Thankfully, the newly upgraded Yahoo! Maps lets us take an aerial tour of the city even while we’ve still got both feet firmly on the ground.

Fare-dodging Chinese bus passenger balances karma by repaying years of delinquent fare

Mike
Mar 14, 2014

In one of the few instances we can think of in which crime actually does pay, a Chinese bus passenger who spent years “ride-and-dashing” to dodge paying the fare repaid her karmic debt by depositing a total of 800RMB (approx. US$130) into the till boxes of two local buses.

Drivers of both buses apparently tried to reject her offering and have her pay the standard 2RMB fare (US$0.30), but the woman reportedly insisted, telling at least one of the drivers, “You’ve always been kind to your passengers. This is to repay the fare I’ve been skipping out on until now.”

Revealed! Japan’s top 10 handsome samurai【Photos】

Fran W
Mar 11, 2014

Posed portraits in history textbooks can all look the same after a while. Formal clothes, dark to create enough contrast for a black-and-white photo; stiff posture because old cameras required the sitter to be still for at least a few minutes; no smiling, in case the photo blurred. It’s no wonder students love to embellish the illustrations in their textbooks with creative graffiti.

Luckily for us, Japanese site Bakumatsu Gaido, an online guide to Bakumatsu, the Edo period’s final years (1853-67), is on hand to liven things up with a light-hearted look at the samurai with the best-chiseled features, sharpest dress sense and most awesome photo poses. Join us after the jump for Japan’s top 10 ikemen (cool, good-looking) samurai, plus a few bonus selections of our own!