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Japanese gifts most wanted by foreigners

Mike
Jun 29, 2013

As a foreign resident of Japan, I take occasional trips back home. And on such occasions, I almost always find myself at a surprising loss for ideas when souvenir shopping for friends stateside.

Sure, there are obvious choices: Hentai manga makes a great gag gift, for example, but you’re bound to go on some kind of watch list if customs decides to randomly inspect your luggage. Yukata seem universally appreciated by new-agey aunts, and quirky Japanese toys are great for kids. But foolproof, sure-to-please-anybody gifts are surprisingly hard to pick out.

Luckily, a Japanese reporter at Excite Japan, who travels frequently and thus has lots of souvenir purchasing experience, has revealed the top Japanese gifts most likely to please friends and family abroad.

“You shouldn’t have! No, really, YOU SHOULDN’T have!” Japanese women share their best and worst gifts from boyfriends

Casey Baseel
Jun 24, 2013

Japan has a few unique gift-giving traditions, like the mid-year ochugen and end-of-year oseibo gifts exchanged between relatives and business associates. For the most part though, things work the same as in any other country. Parents give toys to their kids on their birthdays, who in turn give flowers and neckties for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. And of course, couples give presents to each other.

Also like in other countries, sometimes boyfriends in Japan don’t have a clue about what their girlfriends really want. Case in point: my wife says one of the best things I’ve given her is a thermos, which speaks volumes about either my gift-selecting savvy or her extremely forgiving nature.

Thankfully, for those guys who could use a little insight into the female psyche (approximately all of us), a recent survey asked 103 Japanese women about the presents from their boyfriends that brought tears to their eyes, whether for good or bad reasons.

One brave young woman’s fight to replace shark fishing with ecotourism – We talk to Kathy Xu

Philip Kendall
Jun 20, 2013

Born and raised in Singapore, 31-year-old Kathy Xu had been a secondary school teacher all her adult life, including a brief stint in Japan in 2009. Despite her love of teaching, Kathy recently made the bold decision to dedicate herself full-time to helping stop the exploitative shark finning trade in Southeast Asia, having visited the island of Lombok three times and witnessed the grim situation first-hand. She is now working to provide those same fishermen with an alternative form of income: ecotourism.

With the long-term goal of replacing shark fishing with environmentally friendly tours operated by locals, Kathy hopes to change the way we think about sharks, as well as help maintain the delicate ecosystem that exists in the seas surrounding Lombok, potentially saving their sharks from extinction.

We sat down with Kathy to talk about her inspiring venture: The Dorsal Effect.

New ultrasonic foam device ensures Japanese continue to give their beer far too much head

Philip Kendall
Jun 11, 2013

When it comes to food and drink, there really is no “right” way to enjoy it. Just as some will cringe at the very idea of munching on raw fish dipped in a little soy sauce, others will stare in horror and disbelief as their housemate smothers a baked potato in peanut butter (you know who you are). But when it comes to beer, as many foreigners visiting or living in Japan will no doubt attest, the fondness Japanese have for topping their drink off with an enormous amount of foam sometimes borders on the absurd. “It’s delicious!” Japanese colleagues tell me when I ask why a third of my beer is head. It may well be tasty, but when it takes three gulps of naught but white froth to reach the beer itself, you have to wonder if this is all some kind of hilarious practical joke that the entire country is in on.

But what about when drinking at home? Without a bartender to ensure that beer arrives with a thick head, how can the thirsty foam lover achieve the same results? Enter the Koku Awa beer pourer from Green House.

We enlist at “Nation at War Tavern”, where luxury is the enemy and you can step back in time

Master Blaster
Jun 8, 2013

On 15 August, 1945 Japan had announced their surrender and set the end of World War II in motion. However, in one small space tucked away in Kagoshima City the atmosphere of that time over 60 years ago has been preserved.

Upon hearing of this unique location one of our reporters headed down to see if Nation at War Tavern (Gunkoku Sakaba) could really take us back to a very different Japan. The following is their report.

Visit sacred ‘ranobe’ spots around Japan with Book Off’s handy otaku map

Cara Clegg
Jun 8, 2013

Light novels (or ranobe for short, a portmanteau of raito and noberu) are popular in Japan as short, cheap reads for young adults. They often come with manga-style illustrations and feature many tropes from popular anime. This makes the transition between genres easy, and many light novels have been adapted into popular anime such as Ore no Imōto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (There’s no way my little sister’s this cute!) and the currently airing Date-A-Live.

And now, Book Off–Japan’s brilliantly-named used bookstore chain–has added to the the recent spate of interactive maps with their new “Light Novel Pilgrimage Map”.

Figurines, Wii U consoles and free vacations – Grab a sweet prize in 7-Eleven’s ‘Jump Heroes’ campaign

Philip Kendall
Jun 7, 2013

Convenience store giant 7-Eleven certainly knows its way to customers’ hearts. The store’s current Jump Heroes campaign–a collaboration with Shonen Jump Comics–is giving customers the chance to bag some pretty impressive prizes, with things like games consoles, tablet computers and even free hotel accommodation up for grabs.

Taiwan introduces the future of cartography: nationwide school uniform maps

Philip Kendall
Jun 6, 2013

Despite being a made famous by thousands of Japanese TV shows and comics, cute “sailor suit” uniforms and their ilk are not limited to schools in Japan alone. As we’ve seen before, high schools all across Asia kit their female students out with a variety of stylish getups, with the girls themselves often making their own modifications, usually quite aware that they are wearing outfits that millions of people across the world think are cute or just plain sexy.

But it appears that Japan’s reign as the school uniform capital of the world may soon be over. Bringing fashion and cartography together at last, a specially designed map of Taiwan which provides photos of the school uniforms the girls in each particular area are rocking has become a big hit online this week.

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Facebook users in Japan losing interest and heading for the exits

John Stuart Translations
Jun 4, 2013

With over a billion registered users worldwide, Facebook is the king of online social networking services. In Japan, however, there are signs that its dominance is starting to crumble.

Facebook launched a Japanese version of its website in 2008. Initially, the platform experienced sluggish user growth as it struggled to compete with already established Japanese SNS sites produced by the likes of mixi, Mobage, and GREE. However, after well-known companies in Japan began to use Facebook as a marketing tool, it caught on with the general public and by the end of 2012 had 17.12 million users.

A mere five months later, however, that number has dropped to 13.78 million, a 19.5 percent drop in less than half a year.

Landlocked Tochigi Prefecture seeking create new national holiday: Mountain Day

Casey Baseel
Jun 3, 2013

It’s no secret that Japan is a hard-working society. Thankfully, there are a few times each year when more or less the whole country goes on vacation for a few days. There’s the string of holidays collectively known as Golden Week in early May, plus o-bon in August where people traditionally head back to their home towns, spend time with their relatives, and pay a visit to the graves of their ancestors.

However, there’s not much to stem the flow of work or school responsibilities between those two blissful periods, except for the oasis of Umi no Hi, or Marine/Sea Day, on the third Monday in July, which encourages people to take a trip to the beach and splash about in the sea.

Of course, this leaves June without a holiday of its own. And while Marine Day is great for people living in the coastal regions of Japan, residents of the country’s eight landlocked prefectures feel understandably left out. Thankfully, a group in mountainous Tochigi Prefecture has a solution to both problems.

Cool Japan has a plan!

Cara Clegg
Jun 2, 2013

Remember all the talk of a new “Cool Japan Strategy” which aimed to export Japan’s “coolness” abroad. Well, on May 28, the Japanese government’s Cool Japan Promotion Committee announced its action plan!

“So a Muslim, a Christian and a Buddhist enter a marathon race” is not the start of bad joke: Kyoto marathon to feature interfaith teams

Mike
Jun 1, 2013

The city of Kyoto is considering including a special interfaith relay race segment to the third annual Kyoto marathon to take place in February 2014.

Kyoto dispatched a city worker to observe the June 2012 interfaith race at the Luxembourg Marathon that saw 50 participants from 11 countries and seven religions taking part. That race garnered plenty of media attention with its high profile runners and sponsors that included the Dalai Lama and the world’s oldest marathon runner, 101-year-old English Sikh, Fauja Singh. The Japan Buddhist Federation is also expressing interest in an interfaith race at next year’s Kyoto marathon.

400-year-old Kyoto temple shows its 21st century attitude by going digital

Casey Baseel
Jun 1, 2013

Founded at the opening of the 17th century, Kyoto’s Nishi Honganji Temple is one of the city’s most prestigious Buddhist institutions. As you might expect, it has some decidedly old-school touches, such as the length of rope woven out of strands of hair donated by female believers which was used to haul building materials for the structure.

But Nishi Honganji is no historical relic. As one of the most important temples in the widely-practiced True Pure Land School sect of Buddhism, large numbers of faithful look to the temple for religious guidance. To meet their needs, the temple has come up with a modern idea that belies its 400 years of history.

The Definitive Video Guide to Using Chopsticks, Guaranteed Everyone Will Learn Something From It

Master Blaster
May 22, 2013

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Throughout my time in Japan I’m often reminded of how “awesome” I am at using chopsticks at every possible moment by the locals (a phenomenon compounded by my being left-handed).

Yet despite this excessive praise for eating like a human, I still feel I have a lot to learn about manipulating said utensils with more poise and grace. That’s why I’m excited to have found this instructional video that has answered all my questions and more.

Please, join us in learning how to use chopsticks like an expert through this video. And for all our Asian friends who think they have chopsticks mastered, I’m sure there is something for you to learn too!

Free Hugs? Uhh…Okay, Says Japan

Preston Phro
May 21, 2013

The free hug boom that swept the world nearly a decade ago also made it to Japan. Though only on shaky legs, it seems.

In case you don’t remember or somehow missed it, the idea was that people would stand around in public areas holding signs that read, simply enough, “Free Hugs.” If interested, anyone was welcome to step forward for a warm embrace. Ostensibly, it was an attempt to spread love and peace, and it did seem to bring a lot of smiles to a lot of people. Overall, a net positive.

Though the movement seems mostly to have quieted, one Japanese writer in Tokyo has described his recent experience meeting some Japanese Free-Huggers. Read More

Take a Ride on Japan’s New Amphibious Bus and See the Sites of Tokyo!

Andrew Miller
May 21, 2013

Japan’s latest tourism offering looks set to capture the attention of both sightseers and locals seeking a spot of adventure. From the Japanese company that embarked on such enterprises as the open air double-decker bus comes the “land and water bus”. The development of the vehicle is part of a new Tokyo sightseeing strategy undertaken by Japanese automobile company “Hinomaru Bus”. The service, dubbed “Sky Duck Tokyo Splash Tour”, launched on March 2013 and has been fully booked since its first day of operation.

Ranking of Taxi Fares Around the World – Japanese Passengers Getting Hosed, Even More So Next Year

Master Blaster
May 20, 2013

Countries of the world have a lot of different features and services that make them unique to each other, but one of the things you can always find from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe is the humble taxi cab.

Of course not all taxis are equal; the cars used and more importantly the fares charged can vary greatly. If you’re interested in where your country stands or if you’re planning a trip abroad, Trip Advisor Japan has whipped up a quick and handy infographic ranking 25 places around the world by the rates of their taxis.

The Grave of Christ and Vampire Ice Cream – Japanese Town Solves Many of the World’s Mysteries

Rachel Tackett
May 19, 2013

For being a country so heavily steeped in traditional culture, Japan sure does love to fiddle with an amalgamation of spiritual folklore. Just listen to the bizarre conglomerate of beliefs practiced in one particular “town of mystery” in Aomori Prefecture of the Tohoku Region. Shingou Town claims to be the true burial site of Jesus Christ, and if that’s not crazy enough, just wait until you hear about their connection to Dracula and the pyramids! Read More

‘So Glad I Went!’ 2013 Ranking: The Places In Japan That Made an Impact on Foreign Visitors

Oona McGee
May 18, 2013

Every year, seven to eight million foreigners make the trip to Japan. But where do they go sightseeing? And, more importantly, do these places come up to scratch? A list of the most impressive sightseeing spots for the year to date, as ranked by foreign tourists, has been released by the popular travel site TripAdvisor. And while you’d think the top spot might go to a beloved and well-known destination like Kyoto or Tokyo, it actually goes to a simple-looking, modern building in the south-west of the country, in Hiroshima Prefecture.