life hacks (Page 5)
Tip is a God-send for Net surfers and illustrators alike, and all you need is a pen (but you won’t be using it as a stylus).
You know that one person who could definitely win Jeopardy because he/she just seems to know everything? RocketNews24 is happy (and a bit smug) to announce that today we’re going to be that person and share with you some tokens of life wisdom that were originally offered up on the Japanese internet. Want to find out the luckiest day of the year, an early warning sign for cancer, and a subconscious way to boost productivity at work? Let us enlighten you!
Are Japan’s strict trash collection days getting you down this summer? Are you plugging your nose and counting down the days until the next burnables collection because your garbage is rotting away in the summer heat?
If you’re like me, you hate Japanese summers for a slew of reasons, one of which being all the putrid smells that come with the increased heat and humidity of the sticky summer months. You may also often rush out the door on the morning of burnables collection day and forget to take out your bag of raw and rotting garbage, leaving you to deal with the stench until the next trash collection day rolls around.
But there is a really simple solution to this problem, as well as quick tricks for dealing with other stinky situations like funky-shoe smells and unpleasant, grimy sinks. Find out how after the jump!
If you’re an anime fan with a treasure trove of merchandise from your favorite shows, you probably take certain precautions to keep your collection looking nice. Putting DVDs or Blu-rays back in their cases when not in use is a no-brainer, as is storing manga and art books in a place where they’re not being bathed in color-fading direct sunlight. You may have even picked up a few advanced techniques, like turning anime T-shirts inside out before washing to extend the life of the print, or using thumb tacks with a large enough head to sandwich the edge of a poster against the wall so you don’t have to put a hole in the paper itself.
But what about the dirt and grime that anime character-shaped rubber keychains and straps accumulate though daily use? Actually, it turns out there’s a simple trick to get them looking like new, and it doesn’t involve any soap.
Tokyo is a big place, both in terms of population and area, and if you’re moving here from anywhere else, you might be at a bit of a loss in terms of where to look for an apartment. Obviously, a large part of that decisions is up to personal preference, but we do happen to have some advice for areas to look at if this will be your first time living alone!
These five areas were selected by a local real estate agent, so you know they must be good, right?
If the title of this article sounds a bit too much like one of those clickbait ads, then don’t worry – this is still RocketNews 24! But seriously, we do really have a pretty simple and easy way to make your coffee taste way yummier, and it’s straight from the wisdom of the dad of one of the writers of our sister site, Pouch. You won’t need any fancy Hello Kitty shaped coffee beans to pull this off (especially since I just made up the existence of Hello Kitty shaped coffee beans), just your regular coffee and some water. So, what’s the magic trick?
The holidays can be a lonely time if you live alone. Sure, having a little time for yourself is nice and all, but there are only so many nights in a row you can spend silently sipping bourbon and staring out at the falling snow before it starts to become legitimately depressing/arguably alcoholism.
That vacuum of isolation when you step inside, shut the door behind you, and realize you’re totally alone can be a serious downer. So today, we’re sharing an extremely easy life hack to, even if just for a second, make you feel like instead of coming home to an empty apartment, you’ve got a group of friends waiting for you.
Japanese customs dictate taking your shoes off when entering homes, and also some restaurants. But while this practice helps keep the floors clean, there’s a downside to it too, as kicking off your kicks means there’s one less layer between your possibly stinky feet and the people around you.
So when we heard about a method to reduce your feet’s bouquet, we decided to give it a shot, especially since it’s as simple as changing the type of socks you wear.
Recently, do-it-yourself mayonnaise hair packs have caught the attention of people who want to look their best, save a little cash, and maybe find a second use for that jumbo-sized jar of the condiment they picked up at Costco. And while we don’t know where she sources her mayo from, our Japanese-language correspondent Shimazu was one of those intrigued by this possible meeting of the beauty and culinary worlds.
So to see if it’s really as good for your hair as its fans say, Shimazu hopped in the shower, lathered up, and slapped on a coat of mayo. She didn’t stop there, though, as she also grabbed a couple of other bottles from her kitchen so she could compare the results versus treating her hair with vegetable and olive oil.
Which is worse, hair in your mayonnaise or mayonnaise in your hair? Assuming you haven’t actually eaten any, hair in your mayo is actually a pretty easy problem to rectify. You either toss the jar out, or you make lunch for any of your sworn enemies who’d accept a surprise sandwich from you despite your less than friendly relationship.
Mayonnaise in your hair, on the other hand, means you yourself are dirty though, and you’ve got to stop whatever you’re doing (such as crafting diabolical plots against your aforementioned enemies) to go and shampoo, right?
Actually, you don’t, according to people in Japan who say spreading a little mayo on your hair is actually good for it.
I hate winter. 20-plus years of living in sunny southern California didn’t do anything to help me build up a tolerance for cold weather, and honestly, if I could make like the bears and just gorge myself on salmon for a few weeks and then sleep until spring, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately, since hibernation isn’t really an option, I have to rely on a blanket and down comforter to make it through the freezing winter nights. Even still, the cold often leaves me shivering (plus grumbling, cursing, and generally complaining).
As it turns out, though, instead of blaming Old Man Winter for all my discomfort, I’m actually part of the problem, according to Japanese experts who say I’ve been using my comforter and blanket the wrong way.
Dedicated collectors will pay vast sums of money for boxed, mint-condition gaming hardware or rare game cartridges. But with so many millions of units having been produced over the years, the sad truth is that much of the gaming gear we once adored or spent months saving up to buy now sits broken, gathering dust on a shelf somewhere.
So why not turn this old junk into something more useful? Recently shared by Japanese news site Naver Matome, these six creative uses for old gaming hardware range from the simple-but-effective to genuinely impressive, and may just inspire you to dust off that NES your brother spilt Coke over all those years ago.















Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
Teen girl in Japan refuses to be victim, personally escorts train pervert to police for arrest
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Is Japan’s tourism boom slowing down? Foreign visitor numbers fall for first time in five years
Starbucks Japan releases new Discovery Series collection celebrating local regions and traditions
Cup Noodle unveils first-ever cold-water instant ramen in Japan
Mass murder plot stopped by friend of Akihabara mass murderer
Evangelion beautifully reimagined as iconic classical Japanese folding screen art series [Photos]
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Starbucks Japan adds new Frappuccino, Tea, and Chillax Soda to its limited-edition summer menu
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Japanese government ID card and app to be required for certain Pokémon card purchases next month
Japan reacts to Donald Trump’s “Islamic Republic of Japan” remark
Three new starter Pokémon Jets to fly in Japan, first begins carrying passengers this month
Solid gold Hedorah kaiju from the Godzilla series is now available to pre-order
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
Sanrio Character Poll announces winners, Hello Kitty absent from top 10 in many countries
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
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Cup Noodle unveils first-ever cold-water instant ramen in Japan
Mass murder plot stopped by friend of Akihabara mass murderer
Evangelion beautifully reimagined as iconic classical Japanese folding screen art series [Photos]
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Starbucks Japan adds new Frappuccino, Tea, and Chillax Soda to its limited-edition summer menu
Baskin-Robbins Japan’s semi-secret affogato is a perfect mix of fun and fancy [Taste test]
Studio Ghibli releases huge new wooden clip collection featuring 25 anime movies
Defacing the Japanese flag is now a crime, says government, punishable by up to two years in jail
Can instant TKG from Don Quijote really recreate Japan’s beloved raw-egg-on-rice dish?
After job-quitting service, leave-of-absence-request proxy service sees rising demand in Japan
Tokyo and Osaka make it into this year’s EIU ranking of the world’s Top Ten Most Liveable Cities
Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea raising ticket prices, free Fast Pass ending next month
Shinkansen trial of moderately air conditioned cars draws mixed reactions from travellers
Kyushu yakisoba Sofuren’s new food truck ventures into the Kanto region for the first time