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…
East Japan Railway announces plans to abolish magnetic-strip tickets
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
Japan’s cheap beef bowl chain goes upscale with Matsuya Premium, but is it worth the higher price?
7-Eleven Japan joins the craze for Korean Gamja Cheese Balls
Shakey’s Japan creates matcha mochi, Kyoto fish, and Kansai Chili Con Carne pizzas
New Square Enix Cafe reveals Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Nier, and Fullmetal Alchemist menu items
Anne Hathaway creates PR frenzy in Japan after mentioning Tottori in Devil Wears Prada interview
Date handsome cockroaches in a new dating sim from one of Japan’s leading pest control companies
7-Eleven Japan reinvents convenience store fruit sandwiches with new salty pink sakura peach variety
Bears appear at one of Kyoto Prefecture’s most popular tourist spots[Video]
Even at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in Japan
Ghibli’s No Face continues to demonstrate his generous character growth by dispensing soy sauce
Japanese rice cooker recipe gives us a tasty new way to enjoy vegetables and wienersNew Square Enix Cafe reveals Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Nier, and Fullmetal Alchemist menu items
New Tokyo sweets shop offers 648 different mochi ice cream dumpling combinations
Family Mart commits “reverse fraud” in new Giant All-Star Festival, and we couldn’t be happierEast Japan Railway announces plans to abolish magnetic-strip tickets
Colour Hunting: The hot new street photography trend changing how we see Japan
Japanese convenience store shows us how to dress for the rainy season
Body of missing American college student found in Kyoto mountains
Tokyo’s life-size Gundam anime mecha statue will be removed this summer
Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
Kanji ice cream becomes a sell-out hit in Japan
Uniqlo reveals third round of massive 100-year-anniversary manga T-shirts for Jump’s ShueishaEven at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in Japan
New official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and more
Japanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L Minimart
Japan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Kyoto public junior high school becomes first in Japan with a hoodie school uniformJapanese convenience store shows us how to dress for the rainy season
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
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】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
New Square Enix Cafe reveals Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Nier, and Fullmetal Alchemist menu items
Anne Hathaway creates PR frenzy in Japan after mentioning Tottori in Devil Wears Prada interview
Date handsome cockroaches in a new dating sim from one of Japan’s leading pest control companies
7-Eleven Japan reinvents convenience store fruit sandwiches with new salty pink sakura peach variety
Bears appear at one of Kyoto Prefecture’s most popular tourist spots[Video]
Super Mario Galaxy Happy Meal toys now available at McDonald’s Japan
Trigun Legacy Cafe coming to two Japanese cities this summer to salute series’ original form
Starbucks adds new Fruit Gummy sweets to stores in Japan
Dragon Quest King Slime eye drops fly off shelves in less than a day
Family Mart commits “reverse fraud” in new Giant All-Star Festival, and we couldn’t be happier
Burger King Japan offering all-you-can-eat quad-burgers, whoever eats the most gets more in December
7-Eleven Japan releases a chocolate chip sandwich… that tastes like ice cream
A Japanese toast sandwich remix: The toasted rice rice ball[SoraKitchen]
Japanese rice cooker recipe gives us a tasty new way to enjoy vegetables and wieners