Awesome Course Schedule, an app released last year by Japanese content provider Labit, has been rapidly gaining traction with students at Japanese universities, because it allows them to rate and review their courses. Read More
education (Page 17)
One of Japan’s greatest features is its many natural hot springs called onsens. Thanks to its highly volcanic location, Japan’s countryside is dotted with resorts welcoming tourists all year round.
For some foreigners visiting or living in Japan, public bathing isn’t a very appealing recreation. Reasons for this include tattoos which are considered verboten in many onsens, and the fact that foreigners tend to stick out like a sore thumb and might draw uncomfortable stares while bathing.
Now there’s another way to enjoy the relaxing and curative properties of a natural hot spring in the comfort of your own bathroom. If you want to know how, then give our easy manual “How to Set Up an Onsen in Your Own Home” a quick read.
Maybe, along with the drive to to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before, we also want to explore our minds and consciousness. And maybe inevitably that sometimes comes out to be inventing new ways to mess with our own heads. And so, the eggheads at Riken Research have developed the “Substitutional Reality System“. Read More
Kyoto Sangyo University opened a brand-new research facility this week, the Honeybee Industry Research Center, to study the ecology of the little bumblers and the benefits of their honey. This kind of specialized facility is extremely rare and is generating a lot of buzz among entomologists. Read More
It’s hard to imagine what goes on inside Japanese high schools without setting foot inside of one, and even if you’re able to do that, sometimes it’s hard to decipher what’s happening in front of your eyes.
Nonetheless, high school is high school, right? Playing with abandon on the field or court with your sports team, teen romances that run hot and cold, and a host of other universal events unfold at your typical co-ed secondary school.
Within the gates of the Japanese all-boys high school, however, lies a world beyond comprehension. It can be both humorous and painful, proper and vulgar. Let’s take a look at 50 things you would find in the typical Japanese all-boys high school. Read More
Back in 2008, at an Osaka elementary school there was an incident involving a 3rd grade student who smashed two bottles of milk together during lunch time. As a result, the bottles shattered sending a shard of glass into the child’s eye and leaving him disabled. It’s certainly a terrible accident but what followed had turned the public’s sympathy into outrage.
Across all times and cultures, there have been a variety of hygienic practices, some of which we would regard with horror today. One of those, which has been much discussed recently, is the practice of drinking one’s own urine to promote good health. Yes, you read that correctly, drinking a steaming glass of your own pee as a health supplement. Read More
With the warmer weather coming we are bound to have those days where a particularly heavy lunch or wild night before turns us into zombies by 1:45pm. The question is what do you do?
Many of us plug through the rest of the afternoon for fear that dozing at our desks would land us out of a job. Some among us have pondered the idea of catching some sleep atop the toilet; the only place you’re guaranteed some privacy in an office environment. However, many are turned off by fears or stigmas that might be associated with sleeping in the crapper.
Then there are a select few – 30% according to a recent survey of middle-aged businessmen – who have the guts to go that extra mile and take a nap sitting on the can so that they can return to work refreshed. RocketNews24 would like to now share some of their various tactics, so that you too can embark on the noble art of “toilet napping.”
If you are feeling a bit nostalgic for the school lunch experience, you don’t have to pass yourself off as a grade schooler and sneak into your local elementary school. You can find healthy, hearty school lunch recipes in a recently published book by nutrition specialist Katsuko Fujiwara called “School Lunches at Home“.
And these recipes aren’t just any old standby. They’re the kind of meals that make everyone happy. Kids want school meals to be delicious, parents want them to be nutritious, and schools just want them to be reasonably priced and easy to prepare. That’s a high bar to clear, but with over 20,000 schools in Japan offering a school lunch program, there were sure to be a few offerings that hit the trifecta, and Fujiwara has compiled some of the best for you.
Read More
On March 29th, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency announced that they have developed a prototype camera which detects gamma-ray emitting radioactive material such as cesium and shows the exposure distribution over an image. They hope that it can be used to make clean-up of contaminated areas around Fukushima Daiichi more efficient by locating places where radioactive matter has accumulated.
Read More
The Japanese web portal goo recently asked its users their biggest regret from their college years. It seems in Japan as well, those heady days of freedom in university offer more than plentiful chances for screw-ups. Youth is one factor, but compared to middle school and high school students, university students have a whole lot more time on their hands and a whole lot less supervision, leading to a lot of navel-gazing, time-wasting and jack-assery. Some things are true the world over, I guess!
Read More
The internet is home to thousands of thousands of tests and quizzes each promising everything from your IQ to the Glee character that most resembles you. Now we bring you a new test that really kinda probably doesn’t work, but it’s fun to try.
Using just a pen and paper you can get a snapshot of your current mental state. But to get a super-duper accurate reading you CANNOT scroll down to until you complete each step, OK?
Thanks to the proliferation of the internet we can see countless images in an instant with the click of a mouse. Most of the pictures available online, however, are of cats with misspelled captions or people confusing Joseph Kony with Carl Weathers.
On 31 January, Mie University’s Social Studies Department announced the hiring of their newest teacher – “the last living ninja” Jinichi Kawakami. Would-be students from all over are lining up to learn from the 21st head of the approximately 500 year-old Koga Ninja Clan.
Mie Prefecture, which is home to Iga city and its famous ninja museum, intends to spread the word of ninja culture to Japan and beyond, with the added benefit of promoting their own ninja-based-tourism industry.
There is an annual student event at the prestigious private college Ritsumeikan University. It’s called the Igakukan Dash, after the hall where it takes place.
Every year, just before the final deadline for turning in theses, a few desperate latecomers will come dashing through the hallway to get their papers in on time. Naturally, a large crowd of spectators always gathers to cheer and heckle these deadline daredevils. Read More










One Piece creator has hidden secret of anime treasure’s identity in chest at bottom of real-world ocean
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Over four billion yen in lost cash was found in Tokyo last year, setting new record
Is Tokyo Station’s startlingly expensive wagyu bento boxed lunch worth its high price?[Taste test]
What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen at Denny’s in Japan?
Visiting Japan’s one-and-only, and only-for-a-limited-time, Dragon Ball noodle restaurant[Photos]
Manga artist raises question online about false perspective in Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro
Pins ‘n’ peel: This banana art will blow your mind
Ghibli releases a Howl’s Moving Castle that walks and lights up【Video】
Japan has a new bar just for people thinking about quitting their jobs, and the drinks are free
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino
Japanese restaurant chain serves Dragon Ball donuts and Senzu Beans this spring
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Japan Extreme Budget Travel! A trip from Tokyo to Izumo for just 30,000 yen [Part 2]
Japan’s craziest burger chain takes menchi katsu to new extreme levels
Sakura Festival in Chiyoda mixes illuminations, boats, music, and Rilakkuma in the heart of Tokyo
Viral Japanese cheesecake from Osaka has a lesser known rival called Aunt Wanda
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
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
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
Visiting Japan’s one-and-only, and only-for-a-limited-time, Dragon Ball noodle restaurant[Photos]
Manga artist raises question online about false perspective in Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro
Pins ‘n’ peel: This banana art will blow your mind
Ghibli releases a Howl’s Moving Castle that walks and lights up【Video】
Japan has a new bar just for people thinking about quitting their jobs, and the drinks are free
Japan Extreme Budget Travel! A trip from Tokyo to Izumo for just 30,000 yen [Part 2]
Mos Burger vs Burger King: Which chip butty is better?
The “Nintendo PlayStation”: a look at the console that could’ve changed gaming history【Video】
Abandoned school being used for foreign tourists to experience Japanese high school in Chiba
13 surprising Japanese translations of American movie titles
What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen at KFC Japan?
Japan’s defensive military sees surge of popularity thanks to… anime tanks?
Starbucks Japan has a limited-edition candle…that hasn’t sold out yet