Cooking Idol Ai! Mai! Main! was a beloved weekday children’s program that combined anime and live action to entertain and educate children about cooking and nutrition. Its star, Haruka Fukuhara, played the lead role of Main-chan and for the show’s four-year run stood as a paragon of kawaii (cute) on Japanese TV.
However, as of 29 March Cooking Idol Ai! Mai! Main! was taken off the air much to the dismay of thousands of fans. One fan responded to this by uploading a pseudo time-lapse 30-second video to YouTube showing Ms. Fukuhara age from 10 years old in 2009 to the 14-year-old she is now.
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Japan’s massive matcha parfait weighs 6 kilos, contains hidden surprises for anyone who eats it
Limited-edition Carbonara Udon will anger noodle purists and pasta lovers 【Taste test】
Sandwiches fit for a sumo served up in Osaka【Taste Test】
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Historical figures get manga makeovers from artists of Spy x Family, My Hero Academia and more
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping center
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Shabani the gorilla is so handsome he’ll be appearing on sweets in Japan this Valentine’s Day
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
Studio Ghibli glasses cases let anime characters keep an eye on your spectacles
Beautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour Totoro
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Historical figures get manga makeovers from artists of Spy x Family, My Hero Academia and more
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping center
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Shabani the gorilla is so handsome he’ll be appearing on sweets in Japan this Valentine’s Day
Science Breakthrough! Japanese Engineers Develop Lunch That Cooks Itself
Randomly running into a great sushi lunch like this is one of the best things about eating in Tokyo
Join NERV’s Godzilla Division with bags, keychains. and storage bins
Fried sandwiches arrive in Tokyo, become hot topic on social media
Anime girl English teacher Ellen-sensei becomes VTuber/VVTUber and NFT
Devil’s Crust Bloody Pizza brought to dark life by Domino’s Japan, has one more terrifying secret
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
Is Japan’s massive Shizuoka steak sandwich really as delicious as it looks in promo photos?
Studio Ghibli glasses cases let anime characters keep an eye on your spectacles