This cat likes to pull peace poses, stand on two feet and make a living selling hot potatoes.
mascot
Spoiler alert: it’s filled with one human, 10 pounds of sweat, and at least a year’s worth of back pain.
In what other country would someone think it was a good idea to hold a national ranking of bus company mascots?
Nyango Star must have apple-cat nerves of steel as he absolutely kills a performance of X Japan songs in front of a discerning audience.
Have you ever seen a mascot play drums? I bet you’d never expect one to be this awesome at it.
Even Gudetama occasionally cleans up after himself, which is more than we can say about some of our roommates in the past.
Read More
Domo-kun is down on the ice and can’t get up! Who can save the furry, brown monster mascot?!?
It seems to be that moe girls, those cute, sometimes slightly sexualized, doe-eyed animated characters, have spread from their origin in Japan throughout Asia. Not only have we seen them being used to mock government initiatives in Indonesia. In Taiwan, they’ve been employed extensively as subway mascots, and now the Department of Technology in Taipei has joined the moe bandwagon with 230-chan.
Kumamon is the official mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan. Since his debut in 2010, he’s become wildly popular, appearing in all kinds of media and lending his face to uncountable products. By some estimates, he’s pulling down hundreds of billions of yen a year. He’s given a guest lecture at Harvard, despite being mute, and has even met the imperial couple.
But despite this blessed existence, even mascots have bad days. And being in the public eye, those bad days are immortalized on film.
When it comes to food, presentation is everything, especially in Japan. You only have to stroll through a department store’s food floor to see how beautifully packaged and arranged everything is. And DIY food decorating is something that a lot of people really get into, whether it’s kyara-ben, deco-nabe, or artfully arranged curry rice.
And speaking of curry rice, here’s how to create an eye-catching deco-curry featuring one of Japan’s most beloved and cuddly mascot characters, Rilakkuma!
MOST POPULAR
Now
Japanese makeup tutorial shows how a middle-aged man can turn into a beautiful young woman
That time we got imprisoned in a Tokyo hostess bar
We visit the new all-you-can-eat KFC buffet restaurant in Tokyo
First-grader’s math test accidentally turns into treatise on confusing Japanese linguistics
Is it OK to bite through your ramen noodles while slurping them in Japan? Internet debates
Japan’s cheapest hotel charges just 130 yen (US$1.20) for a room, with a huge, no-privacy catch
Could you marry an otaku? Japanese people rank the geek hobbies they’d let slide for love
Weightlifting is Japanese salarymen’s newest hobby, report says, since “Muscles won’t betray you”
Japan’s pre-sliced cat-shaped bread: The greatest thing since non-kitty sliced bread
Are Japanese B-Stylers racist? Jim Jeffries investigates cultural appropriation in Japan 【Video】
Weekly
- Japan’s cheapest hotel charges just 130 yen (US$1.20) for a room, with a huge, no-privacy catch
- Japan’s pre-sliced cat-shaped bread: The greatest thing since non-kitty sliced bread
- We visit the new all-you-can-eat KFC buffet restaurant in Tokyo
Crazy-cheap Japanese apartment for less than 140 bucks a month comes with headaches every day- Japanese makeup tutorial shows how a middle-aged man can turn into a beautiful young woman
One last visit to Japan’s craziest, scariest video game arcade: Warehouse Kawasaki【Photos】
Tokyo’s amazing 2D Cafe looks like an illustration, but it’s an actual restaurant you can eat in!- That time we got imprisoned in a Tokyo hostess bar
Is 150,000 yen (US$1,389) a month enough to live on in Tokyo? Depends what kind of life you want
There’s a permanent all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink KFC restaurant opening in Tokyo
Monthly
Microsoft Japan’s experiment with 3-day weekend boosts worker productivity by 40 percent- Japan’s cheapest hotel charges just 130 yen (US$1.20) for a room, with a huge, no-privacy catch
Five reasons not to live in Japan (as chosen by Switzerland’s perviest otaku)
Why do Japanese toilets have double hooks on their doors?
Post-meal waste at Japanese sushi restaurant sparks controversy online
Uniqlo’s shockingly sexy new clothing item inspires selfies and anime-style fan art
Shinkansen announcer shares moment her mother hears her voice on bullet train for the first time
Kyoto’s popular tourist spot Gion to forbid photos on private roads, 10,000 yen fine to violators
“Otaku” YouTuber confronts Tokyo tough-guy litterers, who’ve got no idea who they’re dealing with
Eating Tokyo’s most expensive pancakes required us to go through a security check
Yearly
- Microsoft Japan’s experiment with 3-day weekend boosts worker productivity by 40 percent
- Japan’s cheapest hotel charges just 130 yen (US$1.20) for a room, with a huge, no-privacy catch
- Five reasons not to live in Japan (as chosen by Switzerland’s perviest otaku)
PewDiePie buys house in Japan, calls it “a dream come true”
Naruto’s author Kishimoto reveals what characters’ names would’ve been if editor didn’t intervene
We asked a Niantic insider 30 questions about Pokémon Go, learned a lot of useful information
Why do Japanese recycle bins have two openings but dump everything into the same compartment?
Japanese Mame Shiba Inu banknote design pays homage to nation’s beloved dog- Why do Japanese toilets have double hooks on their doors?
Japanese Phantom Cheesecake: A sweet so popular 2,000 sold in ten minutes
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Japan’s cheapest hotel charges just 130 yen (US$1.20) for a room, with a huge, no-privacy catch
Could you marry an otaku? Japanese people rank the geek hobbies they’d let slide for love
Weightlifting is Japanese salarymen’s newest hobby, report says, since “Muscles won’t betray you”
Japan’s pre-sliced cat-shaped bread: The greatest thing since non-kitty sliced bread
Are Japanese B-Stylers racist? Jim Jeffries investigates cultural appropriation in Japan 【Video】
One last visit to Japan’s craziest, scariest video game arcade: Warehouse Kawasaki【Photos】
Starbucks Japan releases more limited-edition mugs, cards and travel bottles for Christmas 2019
There’s a permanent all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink KFC restaurant opening in Tokyo
TeamLab Borderless: A visitor’s guide to Tokyo’s new jaw-dropping interactive light museum
What does “Konnichiwa” really mean? Understanding Japanese greetings
We try it out: Does Uniqlo’s HeatTech Ultra Warm work on a motorbike ride in the dead of winter?
Man arrested for rape 4 days after the statute of limitations expired
Real-world Pokémon arena battle park found in Japan【Photos】
-
