Don’t worry if you can’t make it to your local temple! Now you can collect up all the online roasts you’ve received and cast them into this cyberfire.
Niigata
History buffs, nature fans, and Japanese culture enthusiasts will want to check out this island in the Sea of Japan.
The stunning natural phenomenon looks more like an otherworldly dragon as it’s filmed slowly retreating up to the sky.
With an “Outside-in” room and a bath lit by fibre optics, this is one of Japan’s most unique places to stay.
Let the voice from Pregnancy Academy and Crime Breast Bounce guide you to the bullet train.
Oopsie-poopsie! This science museum reminds us all of the importance of doing proper research.
These stunning images show how craftsmen keep their UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage alive during the coldest months of the year.
JR East has finally announced the dates of operation and ticket prices for its contemporary art Shinkansen set to begin running in late April.
Just because it’s called “peach” and looks peach, doesn’t mean it’s peach-flavored. And just because it’s “strawberry-flavored,” doesn’t mean it’s strawberry-flavored either…
If you are in Niigata this March, you can live out your Tangled fantasy with a breathtaking view of floating lanterns that rival the beauty of the Disney movie and the festival in Thailand that inspired the film’s iconic scene.
One of the many things we love about Japan is its impressive variety of vending machines. We’ve seen everything from orange juice that looks like soy sauce to cans of hot, clam-packed miso soup make its way to the hands of customers through the wonders of mechanised distribution.
Recently, we stumbled on a machine we’d never seen before, and one that’s unique even by Japanese standards. Meet the persimmon vending box that delights customers on Sado Island with a rare variety of fruit that’s only grown locally, away from mainland Japan.
For anyone who lives in Niigata or is planning on heading there in the next couple of days, please be sure to obey all the laws and regulations of the prefecture. It’s not that they have odd rules that are going to catch you off guard, it’s the fact that there is a gigantic, police labor robot, or Patlabor, that has arrived in the prefecture. Its appearance has caused a bit of a commotion and the robot is, potentially, fully prepared to take out any criminals while it’s stationed there.
Oh, and if you think you might be able to commit some sort of crime out of sight of a robotic police presence, the human officers have a very speedy patrol car in the area as well.
From an engineering standpoint, Japan’s famed Shinkansen is already a work of art. Recently, though, the country’s bullet trains have been putting a renewed effort into their appearance, taking inspiration from centuries-old tradition and science-fiction anime.
The latest Shinkansen to be unveiled, though, incorporates design cues more modern than tatami reed floors yet not as futuristic as giant robots. Instead, it’s envisioned as a travelling gallery of contemporary art, allowing for what operator East Japan Railways calls “the world’s fastest art appreciation.”
If you are a farmer in Japan, there’s a good chance you’re a rice farmer, so after harvesting all your crop, you end up with a lot of straw. Most farmers will stack the straw together and either dry it out or roll it up to dispose of it. Sometimes you will see them burning it as well because that straw is good for nothing.
Nothing that is, unless you’ve got an art student handy. Enter Amy Goda, an aspiring artist currently studying art in Niigata Prefecture. She has taken the leftover straw after the harvest and has fashioned some pretty awesome straw sculptures that might make you think the land is alive.
While seemingly 90 percent of anime and manga are set in Tokyo, a lot of the creative individuals behind Japan’s biggest animation and comic hits grew up in other parts of the country. Many accomplished artists and authors hail from Niigata, and while Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2 creator Rumiko Takahashi is probably the most famous among English-speaking fans, the prefecture can also claim Shinji Mizushima as one of its native sons.
Mizushima is best known for his baseball saga Dokaben, which was so popular its protagonist has been immortalized with a bronze statue in Niigata City. It was already a bit of a local landmark, but these days it’s getting a fresh batch of attention as the site of a series of trick photography shots of the power-hitting catcher sending young women flying with a swing of his bat.
Japanese apples are legendary for their gigantic round shape, sweet taste and a hefty price tag due to their flawless appearance. Recently, a “new” kind of apple has been getting popular in the mountainous and very snowy prefecture of Nagano. It seems that apple growers there have decided to make the most of the winter precipitation that covers their fields by burying freshly picked apples for several months under a huge pile of snow. The “snow apples” are said to be even juicier, crisper and sweeter after spending the winter months hibernating under the snow.
But how can you make a snow apple, and what other tasty produce can you bury in the snow? Click below to find out!
Japan is filled with interesting characters–and by that we mean local mascots and characters, not the wacky TV personalities. From rosy-cheeked bears to wild and crazy pears, there is no shortage of mascots for every prefecture, city, and company.
While Funasshi might be the one stealing the limelight right now, another older character is stirring up a storm online with her revealing outfit!
A group of local residents around the Nation of Japan had established a plan to issue “I Conquered Nation of Japan” certificates to people for 500 yen (US$5) a copy. The plan was a small way to help promote tourism to the area. However, when the news broke, people from all over the country wrote in, protesting the scheme and calling it “inappropriate.”
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