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The Philippines Bureau of Immigration is so “Happy” to see you, they’re flash-mobbing

If you’ve ever traveled abroad, you’ve probably had to deal with immigration personnel of some kind. And if you’re like most people, not all of those experiences have been exactly ideal. Of course, you can’t really blame the immigration workers–after all they have stressful jobs and have to deal with grumpy travelers who’ve just stepped off long flights.

You might say that they should focus on increasing the number of immigration personnel, streamlining the immigration process, or at least giving travelers free bottles of  beer. And, in fact, the Philippines Bureau of Immigration agrees with you about the first two–but they also had another idea: Flash mobs!

Trust us; it’s a better idea than it probably sounds at first.

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Harajuku-themed music video improves Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” with sumo, bears, and robots

Like it or loathe it, Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” is still killing it in the charts more than six months after its initial release and remains of the most played songs on the radio. Sure, the lyrics are kind of simple, and its gets kind of repetitive, but when an artist devotes so much energy to being upbeat and provides a track that you just can’t help tapping your feet to, it’s hard not to crack a smile.

Fan-made remakes of the music video are ten a penny right now, with people all over the world feeling the urge to make their own smiling, strutting, and dancing compilations, but one particular video, titled “Harajuku Happy“, is by far one of the coolest we’ve seen, giving us a tour of the titular town while showing that life in Japan’s capital isn’t all black suits and bowing.

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Knocking on your door: Kiyoshi Sugo’s beautiful, melodic dubstep【J-Tunes】

May is almost over and summer is about to kick into high-gear. Business people are slipping into their “cool-biz” outfits, and the air conditioners on the trains are coming on full blast now. Pretty soon you’ll be able to find us all at the beach fanning ourselves while slurping down the finest kakigori money can buy. And what better way is there to go into summer than with some sick new tunes?

That’s right, we’re back with more J-Tunes for you! And today we have one of Japan’s best electronic music producers, Kiyoshi Sugo. If you like dancing, lush melodies, fat basslines, or sick drops, you need to check this out.

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Cat does bizarre dance for tiny kittens【Video】

My family got its first cat when I myself was barely a year old. She and I more or less grew up together, her dying (at which point I was heartbroken, naturally) when I was 23. We’ve also had a couple of other cats along the way, and whenever I see a cat in my neighbourhood here in Tokyo or visit my friends who have them, I always stop to say hello.

It turns out, however, that for all my years living with and around our domesticated feline friends, I clearly know nothing about them. I mean, can you explain what on earth this cat here is doing!?

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The pillows fans rejoice! You could win a contest to meet the band in Tokyo【Videos】

2014 marks 25 years as a band for the pillows. They are celebrating with a song entitled “Happy Birthday,” and also by announcing a cover and dance contest. For those with the misfortune of not knowing who the pillows are, they are a Japanese rock band whose style has changed over the last 25 years from pop to jazz experimentation to alternative rock.

Many of the band’s fans outside of Japan became acquainted with them through the six-episode animated series, FLCL, for which the pillows provided the music. The caffeinated, crunchy soundtrack is the perfect complement to the nonsensical but purely fun plot that includes a robot that emerges from a boy’s head wound, the spirit of a powerful pirate king and the sexy maniac who hunts him down riding a Vespa with an electric bass as a weapon.

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The kid’s got moves: Tiny dancer wows audiences on Chinese talent show 【Video】

Don’t even bother getting up on stage; this kid has just stolen the show.

Three-year-old Zhang Junhao blew audiences away recently with a genuinely impressive performance at a Chinese talent show. After handing the judges the remote control to flick between audio tracks at will, the pint-sized performer showed his skill on the stage, wowing the judges with an array of cute dances before revealing that his dream is to “make people happy.”

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Video of dancing girls reminds us of Japan’s weird ’90s street fashion

Once a common sight on the streets of Tokyo’s Shibuya youth district, women decked out in the alternative ganguro style are now rare…which makes it all the more strange that an online video of five ganguro girls dancing in a classroom has recently popped up!

Apart from its randomness, the video is actually pretty fun and infectious, and makes us nostalgic for other wacky Japanese street fashions. After seeing their moves, you might even want to get up and dance, too!

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Traditional hot spring dance reminds us of locker room fights, 3rd degree burns

Kusatsu Onsen is a hot spring resort town in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture. Its spring is famous for both its prodigious daily output and its high sulfur content, which makes the entire town smell of rotten eggs but is said to cure a host of bodily ills. In fact, the locals say the hot springs in Kusatsu cure any sickness but love sickness.

Whatever its healing properties, you wouldn’t want to jump into the spring at the source, as it comes bubbling out of the ground at up to a scalding 95°C (203°F). You could add cold water, but that would dilute the beneficial mineral content, so the locals use a traditional method called yumomi, which involves splashing the water around with big tongue depressors while singing and dancing.

I love Japan.

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Japanese granny busts a move on the streets of Tokyo 【Video】

To show the world that young people do not have a monopoly on dancing, a choreography group from Japan has put together a video showing an elderly Japanese woman busting some mean moves on a trendy street in Tokyo. Made in honor of “Respect for the Aged Day,” it shows a kimono-clad woman getting down with her bad self to fast-paced electronic music.

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Japanese dancer wins America’s Got Talent, calling show title into question【Video】

We introduced our readers to the “dance-ish” performer Kenichi Ebina when he first appeared on the popular NBC performance program America’s Got Talent earlier this year and summarized The Matrix in a 90-second dance routine. We knew then that he was something special, but little did we know he would go on to take the top prize, becoming not only the first Japanese but also the first dancer to do so.

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Saga Prefecture broadcasts its appeal by dancing to AKB48 【Video】

Saga Prefecture lies in the northwest corner of Japan’s island of Kyushu. This past week, in an unusual attempt at self-promotion, the Saga Prefectural Office uploaded a video of hundreds of workers from its various divisions happily dancing to the new AKB48 single, Koi Suru Fortune Cookie (Love Fortune Cookie). With more than 480,000 views on YouTube so far, the up-beat video certainly beats a boring old poster campaign!

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Dance contest underway to co-star in AKB48 member’s video, Mr. Sato throws hat into ring

It is believed that AKB48’s Tomomi Itano will be leaving the massive pop unit to pursue her solo career sometime around August this year. Itano has also released her fourth single as a solo artist, entitled “1%”, on 12 June.

To help promote the song, the Tomomi Itano 1% Dance Trial 2013 is underway in which anyone can upload a video of themselves dancing to 1% on YouTube for a chance to perform alongside the idol in her next video.

The event has already drawn the likes of professional dancers, internet personalities, and of course Mr. Sato.

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Go to jail, learn to… dance? 【Videos】

Going to jail is, regardless of the country, never fun. Between wardens forcing you to do their taxes for barely a bottle of suds, and the food, it’s got to be a horrible way to spend a few years of your life.

That said, some prisons certainly are better than others. For example, the dancing prisoners in the Philippines sure do seem a lot happier than if they were forced to do manual labor. And while a visit to a prison might not exactly be on the top of your average holiday to-do list, this is one jail you would want to go out of your way to get into! (At least for the show.)

Here’s RocketNews24 Japan‘s Sekai no Shogo with the report!

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Japanese Comedian, Gonzo, Wows the World of YouTube with his Tambourine Performance

Whatever the reason, there’s something incredibly funny about watching an Asian man perform ridiculous dances with a deadly serious expression. We saw it not too long ago with the online explosion of Gangnam Style, and we’re seeing it now with an influx of foreign interest in Japanese comedian, Gonzo. This man is known for his choreographed tambourine dances, always performed without cracking so much as a smirk. If not for his crazy outfits, you might think that he was taking his performances just a bit too seriously! Read More

Norway’s Sushi Themed Interpretive Dance Routines Befuddle Japan

Sushi has become a world famous dish, and this has drawn mixed feelings from the people of Japan. While the general population is happy to have positively influenced global cuisine, at the same time they are also dismayed at how poorly it’s usually executed.

You probably best not mention your love of California rolls to a Japanese person, otherwise they’ll lower their head in shame.  Even if it tries to follow traditional ways, you’ll often hear complaints of the presentation or freshness compared to the land of the rising sun.

So just imagine if a country like Norway decides to release a series of instructional videos teaching how to make various dishes such as sashimi and makizushi. A Japanese food purist would have a fit.

To fight any undesired criticism from Japan, the Norwegians have employed a powerful weapon of mass distraction: interpretative dance.

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【Video Magic】 Hatsune Miku in 3-D, Minus Glasses or Fancy Screens!!!

A video released on NicoNico Video by a group going by the name of Shichoukaku iinkai “The Audiovisual committee” has wowed Japanese internet users this week by managing to create a pseudo 3-D effect on 2-D monitors.

The video has since gone viral and, as of this afternoon, has reached more than 100,000 views.

Of course, it probably helps that digital idol Hatsune Miku is the star of the video, which sees the character dancing around while surrounded by thousands of (3-D!) shards of glass.

With a little concentration, the video’s 3-D effect actually works, even if it does require the user to look faintly ridiculous to see it…

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Monday Pick-Me-Up: Cute, Headphone-Wearing Girls Dancing Around Japan!

Arrrrgh, it’s Monday again! I thought we’d all agreed to stop this madness ages ago!?

The weekend’s over, another long week lies ahead and we all trundle back to work knowing that the next weekend could not be any further away…

We need something to pick us up! Something to fill us with genki spirit and give us that energy boost we need to face the day!

We need… videos of cute girls dancing while wearing headphones!!!

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Otaku Marriage Hunting Masquerade Ball a Rousing Success! Second Date Added

Last month we reported on the announcement of the 10th Otaku Masquerade Ball: Oka’s Bizarre Marriage Hunt where otaku looking for love don masks in search of a future life partner.

It finally went down on 27 October with a total of 17 participants (9 men and 8 women) all wearing mask that cover at least the top part of the face.  According to the sponsor, Washimiya Youth Chamber of Commerce, everything went better than they imagined.  In fact it went better than regular marriage hunting parties or gokons!

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Ichiro Reveals Inner Ninja during Second Game of Divisional Series

Can you spot what’s wrong with this picture?

That’s right. This slide into home is going the wrong way.  Some were concerned that future hall of famer Ichiro Suzuki may have been past his prime when added to the Yankees this year, but he certainly pulled his weight scoring the first run in their second divisional playoff game against Baltimore.

Ichiro, after being waved home suddenly found himself cut off by an early throw to Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters.  Staring an inevitable 3rd out in the face, Ichiro wondered “What would Naruto Uzumaki do right now?”

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