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If Darth Vader owned an iPhone, he’d probably keep it in a stunning wooden ukiyoe Star Wars case

There’s always been a strong connection between Japan and the George Lucas-helmed Star Wars franchise. From the samurai-influenced Darth Vader and Stormtrooper costume designs through to the film’s storyline, which borrows heavily from Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 film Hidden Fortress, Lucas himself is the first to admit he owes a lot of his creative inspiration to the Land of the Rising Sun.

So it’s nice to see that Japan is reciprocating the love with a number of Star Wars creations of their own. From samurai-styled figurines to ukiyo-e woodblock prints, these Japanese-styled homages to the epic American film franchise are the perfect way to get ready for the December 18 release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And now you can carry the force wherever you go, with a gorgeous wooden iPhone 6 case that’s so beautiful even a Sith Lord would stand in line to buy one.

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Paints Without Names: Japanese set of nameless watercolors seeks to free young artistic minds

While visual arts and linguistics are both creative fields, skill with one isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for the other. After all, as long as you can look at three hues and pick the one best suited for the picture you’re painting, it doesn’t really matter if you know whether to call it fuchsia or periwinkle.

As a matter of fact, some would argue that coupling names and colors limits the imaginations of budding young artists, which is why these two Japanese designers have produced a set of paints for children that have no names on their labels, only splotches of their base component colors.

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Enliven your next lunar party with these beautiful Moon Glasses

Moon watching parties and festivals abound the world over—and with good reason! There’s nothing quite like drinking in the light of a full moon, is there? It’s magical and fun in just the right proportions. And now, thanks to the Korean design company Tale, you can buy the perfect glasses for your next moon viewing party!

These beautiful Moon Glasses mimic the phases of the moon as they’re filled, going from a new moon to a full moon as your pour in your liquid of choice. 

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An end to high heel pain? Japanese designer offers revolutionary and stylish footwear redesign

I’ve always been a little confused by high heels. It’s partially because I’m not so tall myself and don’t really have much of a height advantage to spare (even if my date is wearing flats), and partially because if I’m looking at a woman there are probably enough other things that are going to attract my gaze that she’s likely to ask me to stop staring at her long before I get to her shoes, no matter how nice they may look.

High heels seem like an even odder choice in Japan, where the reliance on public transportation means walking around for long stretches of time in shoes where comfort and mobility seem to have been afterthoughts in the design process. Still, many women in Japan step out in high heels as part of their plan to present a femininely fashionable or snappy professional image. Now, one Japanese designer is trying to help those women not only look good, but help their feet feel good as well with a revolutionary ergonomic redesign of high heels.

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The Snack Poster: Illustrations to spread the love for authentic Japanese foods

For those unaccustomed to Japanese food, even the most common edibles may seem quite odd and, well, unappetizing, at first glance. The first time you saw monjayaki, did you not think it looked a little…weird? Of course, not all Japanese cuisine is unappealing to the eyes, but even the delicious-looking food is still not widely known throughout the Western world.

A California-based Japanese food blogger is trying to change that. Gaining momentum from the success of her Ramen Poster, artist Fanny has come up with another hand-drawn infographic displaying some of her favorite Japanese street foods and snacks: The Snack Poster.

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We visit Tokyo’s Reversible Destiny Lofts, the apartments designed to make you live forever【Pics】

Incongruous in their grey surroundings, these multicoloured buildings looks like something in a children’s playground, or perhaps an outsized set of toy building blocks. But these colourful constructions are Reversible Destiny lofts—rental apartments in Tokyo’s Mikata City. And the inside of these eccentric properties is just as extraordinary and confusing as the exterior.

But what is “Reversible Destiny” anyway? And how is living in a playful apartment supposed to make you immortal? We sent a reporter from our Japanese sister site Pouch to find out.

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Online auction market booming for posters with cancelled, possibly copied 2020 Olympics emblem

The organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are still wiping the egg from their faces over the controversy surrounding the event’s possibly plagiarized, definitely dropped logo. Not only is the Organising Committee scrambling to prepare a new emblem, it also has to deal with recalling all of the promotional items it had already produced bearing the now cancelled design.

But with the rather convincing accusations that designer Kenjiro Sano copied the emblem coming so late in the game, some of those promotional materials have already made their way into the hands of private parties who are now reselling the sure to be rare items at a premium in online auctions.

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Japan’s heart and Mickey Mouse-shaped bubble wrap is the cutest thing you’ll ever pop

Bubble wrap lovers everywhere were dealt a blow this summer with the devastating news that the company behind the world’s favourite air-filled packaging was launching a new, unpoppable bubble wrap. Sealed Air Corp., the inventors of bubble wrap back in the 1950s, have come up with a new design for an air-filled wrap that doesn’t burst under pressure.

But here at RocketNews24, we probably won’t be buying regular boring old round bubble wrap ever again anyway, because we’ve discovered that Japan has bubble wrap shaped like hearts and Mickey Mouse heads.

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Could the 2020 Tokyo Olympics logo possibly be plagiarized?

Last Friday the logo was revealed for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was received with mixed reviews, with many of the opinion that the aesthetic thought that went into the logo wasn’t quite as deep as the message behind it.

As if there wasn’t already enough debate about the execution of the logo design itself, now there are rumors that the design could possibly be a plagiarization of the work of French designer Oliver Debie.

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Just what the heck is the Tokyo Olympics symbol supposed to be?

Back before Tokyo was selected as the host of the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, the organizing committee started putting up posters around the capital touting its status as a candidate city. The logo was a circle of cherry blossoms using four of the five colors of the Olympic rings (with purple substituting for black).

You could say it was a clichéd choice, but on the other hand, it’d be hard to come up with a symbol more instantly associated with Japan than the sakura. Mt. Fuji, maybe, but it isn’t in Tokyo, and a piece of sushi would look more like a promotion for a restaurant than a sporting competition.

But perhaps because the cherry blossoms bloom in spring and Tokyo is hosting the Summer Games, the sakura ring isn’t going to be used for the actual 2020 Olympics and Paralympics themselves. Instead, Japan’s Olympic Committee recently came up with two new logos. In the eyes of some people in Japan, however, even though the designs embody a deep message, they’re lacking in aesthetic sense.

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Collection of retro travel posters proves Japan has always been a cool place to visit 【Photos】

Last year, over 13 million foreign visitors took a trip to Japan. Many of the country’s best attractions, though, are actually hundreds of years old. That means that while they’ve been drawing more international travelers than ever in the 21st century, they were hardly being ignored in the 20th, as shown by this collection of retro-cool travel posters from the early and mid-1900s.

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Create personalised stamps in a minute with new ink stamp vending machine!

If you want to relive the childhood excitement of seeing your name on an ink stamp, now’s the time to start planning your trip to Japan! From 2016, you’ll be able to create a personalised stamp with more than just your name – think cute borders, shapes, colours and any type of photo you choose. Plus, you won’t have to send away and wait weeks to see your purchase because it will be dispensed in a minute or less from a high-tech vending machine!

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Shibuya Station 2019: one step closer to the Neo-Tokyo of our dreams

If you’ve been to Shibuya Station recently, you’ll have seen one area in particular that’s filled with crowds, noise and trucks; and it’s not the meeting place around the famous statue of Hachiko.

It’s the massive redevelopment project currently underway to revitalise the district and deliver a completely new-looking Shibuya by 2027. Latest pictures of the next high-rise in the pipeline reveal just how amazing life in Neo-Tokyo will be.

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These rad, super-rare cutting knives are (presumably) for cooking

If you’re gonna slay a dragon, you might as well do it in style. May we suggest these crazily cool-looking cutting knives that only need to be sharpened every 25 years?

You read that right: These knives will keep their edge for an astonishing 25 years – a quarter of your entire life, if you’re lucky, and five times as long as your passing interest in cooking that you took up to impress that one girl in college who was really into kale and organic, grass-fed wagyu beef.

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Edo and Meiji era Japanese artwork now available for free download 【Pics】

Attention all designers, artists, fashion enthusiasts and people who just appreciate some nice Japanese artwork: The Smithsonian Libraries should be your best friends.

Among their thousands of other free artwork and books, The Smithsonian Libraries and the Freer and Slacker Galleries, Smithsonian’s Museums of Asian Arts now offer free downloads of thousands of beautiful Japanese prints.

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Narita Airport’s new budget terminal has running track floors, mattress-inspired sofas 【Video】

Narita Airport is the Tokyo area’s largest access point for air travelers. This month, the terminal added a new terminal specifically designed for low-cost carriers and budget travelers, but as this sneak peak video shows, affordable can overlap with innovative and stylish, as Terminal 3 is set to prove that you don’t have to spend big to help people travel in ease and comfort.

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Uniqlo introduces new international range of authentic and stylish Kabuki-inspired clothing

Kabuki’s not just a fascinatingly odd spectacle of Japanese traditional performance art, it’s also the last word in style. The Kabuki “look” has been cropping up lately in areas as diverse as nail art and face masks. One of our RocketNews24 writers even tried out the Kabuki face mask and loved it.

And now, totally stylish and not at all lame fashion brand UNIQLO is getting in on a piece of the Kabuki action with their new range of clothing, UNIQLO X Shochiku Kabuki!

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