Ashikaga’s Flower Park transforms into a fantastical fairytale world that you can step inside for the next few months.
LED
Now you’ll never need to spill crumbs all over yourself or your keyboard again while you’re storming the enemy’s base.
Beautiful salutes to nearly two dozen anime/manga franchises light the way to the newest otaku destination.
Growing up with video games, there are a number of make-believe items we’d love to pull out from a bag to make our everyday lives better. Even just an ordinary potion could mean going from a sloth-like laziness to the get-up-and-go of a hummingbird. Sure, there have been plenty of elixirs concocted by drink makers that turn out to be delicious and colorful, but there’s another potion hitting the markets that we are looking to add to our stash to raise the hit points of our mood, since it’s an LED potion lamp!
Every year since 1957, Japan’s Good Design Awards have honored products which are designed in such a way to have a positive impact on people’s lives. The award system, which is now operated by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion, has recently released their list of 2015’s Good Design Best 100 award winners.
With such innovative ideas as LED jump ropes and basketball courts, these awards are truly the best place to catch a glimpse of athletics equipment of the future!
Every pokémon trainer has their special pokémon. Whether it’s one of the starter pokémon that you kept with you all over the Kanto region, or one of the hundreds of pokémon you can catch along the way, there is always that one particular friend that you just can’t bear to leave in storage.
If you’d like to immortalize your poképal, or if you are just a fan of the Pokémon anime or video games, then you have to take a look at these one of a kind pokéballs on Etsy that will crystallize the memory of your pokémon forever.
There are many ways that data is transferred these days, be it fiber optic cables, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G-LTE, and a whole slew of other brand names and acronyms the meanings of which I don’t care to learn.
Now Panasonic has come up with a way to send and receive data that’s easy for everyone to understand: light. Actually it uses light emitting diodes (LED) to be exact, but that’s about as technical as this explanation needs to get, I promise.
Let’s begin with a bit of linguistic trivia: How many of you know that Japanese has an expression for the area of exposed skin between the top of knee-high socks and the hemline of a skirt? No, this is not a joke, people–the actual term is 絶対領域 (zettai ryouiki), which literally means “absolute territory,” but I’m sure some of you already knew that.
If you didn’t, now is as good a time as ever to add that phrase to your mental lexicon, with LED light-emitting skirts about to enter the world of fashion and all!
Coca-Cola may not be the craziest company when it comes to special, limited edition drinks (although their Coke Orange was a pretty good), but what they lack in variety, they make up for when it comes to branded goods. Some neat finds over the years have included Coke can shaped glasses from McDonald’s, an ultra-rare gold Coke can, environmentally friendly vending machines, and the hugely successful Share a Coke campaign.
On December 1 Coca-Cola Japan launched a new product set, available only at Aeon in celebration of the store’s 40th anniversary of being a nationwide shopping center powerhouse. The limited quantity set is (probably) a must-have this holiday season.
The concept of plant factories is not a new one. Especially in space-strapped Japan, the idea of a compact garden that can simulate a natural environment in a tight urban area is highly desirable.
Keystone Technologies is one Japanese company that has been constantly refining their LED garden technology. Currently they boast a system that can fit about a quarter acre’s worth of crops into a space of a hotel’s single-room, and that’s just the beginning.
Smart products seem to be emerging left and right these days with smart wigs getting a patent by Sony and smart sushi restaurants already on the streets. With all this smartness to be had, why not give your nails the same intelligence. They deserve it. All you have to do is pick up some Smart Nails recently released by H2L.
Living in an earthquake-prone country like Japan means constant vigilance in terms of disaster preparedness. Though the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011 struck during daylight hours, there’s no guarantee that a disaster of similar magnitude won’t strike at night. Most people keep a flashlight or two at home, however, if power is cut as a result of an earthquake, as groping your way around in the dark while in a panicked state might not be as easy as you think.
Thankfully, Tokyo’s Force Media group has come up with an ingenius solution to this problem. And it’s much more than just a regular-old flashlight…
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Back in my day, kids used to put little plastic beads on their bicycle wheel spokes to make them “flashy.” Now it looks as if these kids grew up and got training in optics.
Plastic beads have been replaced with synchronized LED lights which generate colorful animations as an ordinary bike wheel spins away. Not only that, you will be able to create your own animation to be displayed on your computer and upload it to your bike with ANIPOV when it goes on sale at the end of January 2013.
Electronics company Greenhouse is set to release a lantern that runs on just salt and water. It uses that old favorite of high school science teachers everywhere, electrolysis, in combination with efficient light producing LEDs to provide strong and long lasting light free of conventional batteries.
And that lesson seemed so useless when I was doing it…




















This hot springs town in Japan sets fire across a mountain every winter in a beautiful tradition
Evangelion original anime studio Gainax is now completely dissolved, Eva’s creator mourns ruined friendships
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Japan’s Hiepita forehead cooling strips, so popular they changed the language, are disappearing
Kyoto samurai house wants to share its history of seppuku, torture and gold coins with visitors
Record number of foreign children in Japan need help understanding Japanese in school
“Bear” voted Japan’s Kanji of the Year for 2025 in extremely close race
Pokémon Christmas village event taking place nightly in Yokohama
Gundam and Reebok team up for new GQuuuuuuX Pumps【Photos】
Is the magical Flying Ball that’s trending on Japanese TikTok as easy to use as it looks?
Stamina-destroying “Paralysis Noodles” are Tokyo’s newest over-the-top ramen innovation
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning seems to be affecting Osaka’s Namba and Dotonbori neighborhoods
Uniqlo Ukiyo-e Blue T-shirts: A cool-hued reinterpretation of some of Japan’s greatest paintings
Japan’s first hotel with a human washing machine is now ready for you to come and bathe in it
Studio Ghibli adds new Kiki’s Delivery Service music box to its anime merchandise shop in Japan
Studio Ghibli mixes with sporty street styles of New Era to put No Face on your head in cap series
Japanese company selling bear-proof automatic doors
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods and a rhinestone tumbler that costs 19,500 yen
Real-world Nausicaa Ghibli anime glider completes its final flight in Japan【Video】
Japanese train company is letting fans buy its actual ticket gates for their homes
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting tourist crowds in Tokyo’s Asakusa neighborhood?
The 10 best day trips from downtown Tokyo【Survey】
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Japanese government considering tripling departure taxes to combat overtourism
A guide to visiting Sagamiko Illumination, one of the three biggest light-ups in Kanto
Giant new nine-floor arcade opens in Tokyo, wants to welcome new and old games fans alike
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
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】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Record number of foreign children in Japan need help understanding Japanese in school
“Bear” voted Japan’s Kanji of the Year for 2025 in extremely close race
Pokémon Christmas village event taking place nightly in Yokohama
Gundam and Reebok team up for new GQuuuuuuX Pumps【Photos】
Is the magical Flying Ball that’s trending on Japanese TikTok as easy to use as it looks?
Uniqlo Ukiyo-e Blue T-shirts: A cool-hued reinterpretation of some of Japan’s greatest paintings
Starbucks Japan unveils new Sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2025
You can now visit a recreation of Evangelion’s Tokyo-3 and live there in miniature form in【Pics】
Here’s why it’s worth lining up for this street food donut from a Taiwanese night market
What’s in a Lawson fukubukuro lucky bag?
This Osaka laundromat wants to clean more than your clothes; it also wants to clean you
Move over grilled cheese — we’ve discovered the tastiest toasted sandwich yet【Recipe】
Sweet! Japan’s canned sour cocktails with real lemon slices inside are coming back