Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
creepy (Page 4)
The merciless snow has hit Japan and we suppose the mood would be gloomy. However, one Twitter user found his house in a rather frightening state when someone decided to take vengeance on the snowy weather with this artful sculpture of snow that can be interpreted as either a horror movie or an installation art that is awfully hard to understand. Either way, this is probably one of the most creative uses of snow we’ve see this season.
Flying into Narita International Airport, many travelers are surprised to learn they are almost 60 km outside of Tokyo and need to take an hour train ride to get into the city. Its location in rural Chiba Prefecture was chosen in the 1960s when the government realized the smaller Haneda airport could not keep up with the booming postwar air traffic in and out of Tokyo. Many locals protested the new airport that bulldozed over their formerly quiet lives and the bitter fight left the area with some very odd landmarks, such as a heavily secured and monitored shrine that sits almost directly in front of one of the runways.
Artist JR Coffron III has finally answered the question of what happens if you leave a Pokémon in its pokeball too long: they come out as undead ravening monsters.
Just in case you haven’t had a dose of creepy in a while, we bring this to you to keep you sober and careful in the future.
Being an adult female and an avid reader of news, I’ve come to realize over the years that there are a lot of creepy people in this world of ours. Within the past two years in Japan alone, for example, two stories that made headlines involved a man who was arrested for throwing cups of urine on women and another for kidnapping a girl to raise as his “ideal wife.” And now, another similarly creepy case has come to light, with four men being arrested in Tokyo for activities that I would rank pretty high on the creepy scale.
Picture the scene: “Hey, Suzuki-san, we’ve got a special job for you! Inside this box is a Mini Titan costume. This week, you’re going to go around the big anime and manga shops in Tokyo promoting the new Attack on Titan exhibition.”
Suzuki-san runs to the box containing the costume and rips it open excitedly. His face falls…for the creature he finds within is the oddest, ugliest Titan the world has ever seen.
With the Internet being what it is today, you can talk to, look at pictures of, even buy things from people all over the world. It’s pretty amazing, really. But, as with all international exchanges, sometimes there are some cultural misunderstandings going on across the Interwebs.
One Reddit user, unsure of how to react, recently posted a picture of a letter that he received with his package from an eBay seller in Japan. In addition to the following, very polite and sincere-sounding letter, in pretty good English, the seller included a free gift!
Welcome to Unzen, Kyushu, a sulphurous field of geothermal activity so inhospitable to life that its boiling hot springs and gas jets go by the name of jigoku or hells. This Halloween, allow us to be your Virgil and guide you through this strange world where eerie noises drift from hellish craters, clouds of foul-smelling gas confuse the mind and Christian martyrs were once boiled to death!
If, like me, you’ve dreamed of the day when the world comes to realise that video games are so much more than the pastime of Call of Duty-obsessed teens and neck-bearded basement dwellers, the arrival of mature, genuinely evocative titles such as last year’s Gone Home and The Last of Us will no doubt have sparked excitement that the dream is almost a reality. With games that are no longer afraid to broach any number of mature themes and issues, and in some cases even have the power to make players cry, non-gamers may one day soon–instead of scoffing at the images displayed our on screens as they pass by–actually want to sit down and watch, caught up in the scenes unfolding before them.
Unless, of course, the images on that screen are anything like those from the newest tech demo for Sony’s virtual reality headset, Summer Lesson, which looks to be mostly about leering at a schoolgirl in her bedroom while pretending to study.
If you’ve been in Japan over the last week, you’ve no doubt heard about the young girl in Okayama Prefecture who disappeared on her way home from school on the 14th. While a story like this all too often ends in tragedy, in this case, the girl was found unharmed five days later, confined at the home of a 49-year-old local man, Takeshi Fujiwara.
Fujiwara was arrested on charges of kidnapping and illegal confinement and now details are beginning to emerge from the questioning about his creepy, creepy motives.
Is there anything creepier than finding an inexplicable, crazy-looking doll on the street? No, probably not.
Porcelain dolls especially have that sort of old-timey, “back when science couldn’t explain things” vibe that makes them even creepier than, say, a Cabbage Patch Kid you found in your now-adult sister’s closet. So it’s not surprising that when somebody found this one sitting at the base of a tree in Singapore, the Internet took notice.
For some reason, giant marine isopods are always popping up in the news in Japan. Earlier this year we learned of the death of the lovingly named “Isopod No.1” at Toba Aquarium, which passed away after going five years without eating. Back in March, lucky diners had a chance to crunch down on the tiny exoskeletons of moderately sized isopods in what was surely a dinner from some twisted aquarium worker’s nightmare.
Now, Japan’s fascination with the giant isopod continues in the form of yet another iPhone case. But this one is just a little more realistic (and a whole lot creepier) because it was made using the carcass of isopod No.1 as a model.
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!
We’ve told you before that Japan is practically overflowing with museums. Everything from ukiyo-e to prisons to Edo period buildings have been preserved for the benefit of public knowledge, and we’d say that almost every museum has something unique or fun to offer. But here’s a museum that is literally one-of-a-kind: The Meguro Parasitological Museum!
They claim to be the only museum in the world dedicated solely to parasites–and we’ve got to say that we believe them! We recently headed down to Meguro to check out their collection and learn a little bit about the critters that might living inside of you right now.
You might have seen something—or someone?!—like the guy above prowling in the moonlight, but I’m afraid he’s not proof of the supernatural, he’s just a new breed of cat called a Lykoi, or “wolf” in Greek. Of course, most people are just calling the breed what it looks like: a werewolf cat!
Yesterday, we ran an article telling the story of a dentist in Japan who was arrested for “massaging” a female patient’s chest while claiming that doing so would help fix her misaligned teeth. In it, we included a photo of what appeared to be a young woman in a dentist’s chair with her mouth wide open.
We received plenty of comments on Facebook and Twitter about the news story itself, but many people also took a profound interest in the model in the photo, some feeling quite uneasy about the way she looked yet not knowing why, asking, “What’s wrong with her eyes!?”
The answer to that question is simple, but also kind of creepy: the woman in the photo is an ultra-lifelike doll used in dentistry.
It’s an excuse so implausible that it sounds like something straight out of the plot of an adult video, but a dentist in Japan’s Mie Prefecture was arrested earlier this week after fondling a young woman’s chest in the back room of his surgery while claiming that doing so would help fix her misaligned teeth.
September 26 of this year marked the end of the series finale of the popular swimming anime, Free!, though fans of the series remain highly active on the Internet and at doujinshi (fan comic) events.
Recently, there’s been a real flurry of excitement within the Free! fandom on Asian blogs and online gossip columns over one fan’s genius idea to get the series’ token sweetheart to lie between her sheets. Because who wouldn’t want to sleep next to such beautiful 2-D biceps, right?
We understand it’s hard to save money. With so many cool Gundam theme cakes and Sailor Moon accessories around, who wouldn’t be trying to empty their coin purses and pocketbooks to exchange their hard earned cash for awesome novelty goods. Sometimes, our spending gets a little out of control and we have to save a little, employing various tactics to try and see an increase in the bank account.
But what if your wallet started inching away, undulating like some sort of deranged caterpillar in hopes you forgo your next splurge. And what if you ignored the weirdness of the movement, picked up said wallet, and it started screaming at you? No, we’re not making this up. One company in Japan hopes to curb your spending with a “living wallet.”
A friend of mine once shared an image with me of the product recommendations section from Amazon.com, which showed a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 paired with a bulk pack of adult daipers. Apart from shut-ins who would rather soil themselves than leave their military-based shooter and go to the bathroom, it’s hard to imagine why Amazon’s super computers would suggest that the two products were a perfect match.
An equally odd product pairing appearing on Amazon JP caught the attention of Japanese netizens earlier today, but rather than giving them a good chuckle it has quite freaked them out.
Children’s shows are generally the weirdest things you can find on TV. We don’t really know why, though our assumption is that the writers and illustrators come up with ideas by pointing at random words in the dictionary. Either way, it seems that the weirder a show is, the more fans they have, and that means more toys! Which, of course, is scary for parents and their ever-shrinking wallets.
But sometimes those toys are enough to scare kids too…
Create a tiny Ghibli anime world on your bookshelf with new miniature papercraft art kits
A secluded British mansion in Chiba is a hidden holy land for afternoon tea lovers
Studio Ghibli unveils new Rollbahn notebook in honour of Howl’s Moving Castle
Studio Ghibli releases the My Neighbour Totoro tea caddy, with a magical self-closing lid
Japan now has a “for foreign tourists only” Mt. Fuji sightseeing train[Video]
Why you should be adding Calpis to your beer in Japan
Fake police phone scam also highlights dumb stereotype about how foreigners speak Japanese[Video]
We asked our Japanese team of writers how they deal with seasonal allergies in Japan
We suspected this Japanese cable car was an overpriced tourist trip, but we underestimated it
Japanese Prime Minister once criticized deploying military to fight Godzilla
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Cherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season
Tokyo government organizes food truck event to clear out delinquent/homeless teen gathering area
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Nine amazing off-the-beaten-path cherry blossom spots in Japan for yaezakura and shidarezakura
Stunning central Japan wisteria festival is like a purple fantasy straight out of a Ghibli movie
When will the cherry blossoms reach full bloom in Japan this year?[Forecast]
Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime characterJapanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping listStarbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day FrappuccinoCherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura seasonStudio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Why you should be adding Calpis to your beer in Japan
Fake police phone scam also highlights dumb stereotype about how foreigners speak Japanese[Video]
We asked our Japanese team of writers how they deal with seasonal allergies in Japan
We suspected this Japanese cable car was an overpriced tourist trip, but we underestimated it
Japanese Prime Minister once criticized deploying military to fight Godzilla
Does this video about an abandoned dog leave you wiping your eyes or shaking your fist?
Brand-new theme park in Japan charges foreign tourists 25 percent more than locals for tickets
Special limited-time Frozen II-inspired menu items arriving in cafes across Japan
Rolling suitcase with built-in desk is perfect for mobile businesspeople and cosplayers alike
These are Osaka’s three best digital rail passes for travelers
How much is Amazon Japan’s lowest-rated currency calculator worth in yen?
Enormous BETA right before your eyes?! Muv-Luv VR demo event report
Nine amazing off-the-beaten-path cherry blossom spots in Japan for yaezakura and shidarezakura