old people
The cucumber is a magnificent vegetable. Apart from simply being eaten as part of a healthy diet, they can also be cute, made into art, brought to life, and even given as treats to helpful Shiba Inu. With so many uses, is there anyone out there who could possible hate cucumbers?
Apparently, yes. There’s one town in Japan where it is strictly forbidden to grow or eat cucumbers. Why do they hate the vegetable? And is their rule actually valid or are they all in a pickle over nothing?
Japanese people have a reputation for being polite and well-mannered, so the frequent sight of so many people, rather than giving up their seat as they should, suddenly becoming engrossed in their smartphones or pretending to sleep when a pregnant woman or elderly person boards always comes as a bit of a surprise to me.
Of course, there are still plenty of kind and courteous people who offer up their seat without fail. On such occasions, the elderly passenger will often decline the offer, either because they will be getting off in a couple stops, or because despite appearances they still feel young and genki enough to stand for the journey. One elderly man in particular, though, took offense at a young boy who kindly offered up his seat recently.
Life as a retiree isn’t exactly easy. Sure, you don’t have to get up and go to work every morning, but that also means you don’t have a very substantial income. While your retirement checks might help you put food on the table, they’ll probably seem a bit underwhelming as you get even older. And in Japan, you can’t even go out and get a depressing job as a greeter at Wal-mart.
But there’s always Yahoo! Auction, where you can sell any manner of things you might have lying around the house. Old instruments, old clothes, old dolls, or even, what the heck, how about some old pornographic photos? Any of those are sure to fetch a tidy sum online, but you might want to be careful about those explicit photos–they could very well end up with you getting arrested, as one 83-year-old Tokyo retiree learned!
How limber are you? If you’re like me and you sit in an office chair all day hunched over a computer, you’re probably not too flexible. But, you know, that’s what happens with age, right? You start getting older and all of a sudden your body just goes kaput. I mean, it’s not like there are old women doing sideways somersaults and throwing their legs over their heads with reckless abandon, right?
Oh, wait, of course there are!





Lawson convenience store at popular tourist site is one of the most unusual in Japan
Mt. Fuji decorated with a 500,000-flower pink carpet is Japan’s ultimate spring view
Drink vending machines disappearing in Japan as number drops to lowest in 30 years
McDonald’s and Gundam team up for customized anime mecha and fried chicken sandwiches[Video]
2,000 figures ready for their close-ups at toy exhibition in Ikebukuro – and oh, admission is free!
Instant Tokyo nostalgia – Beautifully bittersweet brand-new video looks like it was shot 17 years ago
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Pringles Chocolate, but with a Japanese twist, is the snack hack you should be trying right now
Travel to a Japanese convenience store at an active volcano
New Japanese KitKats come in sakura flavour, with poetic symbolism for success
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Starbucks Japan closing only Shinkansen platform branch for popularity-triggered renovations
You can assemble a well-balanced team of Pokémon, them eat them, thanks to Japanese cake chain
Two food hacks take Japan’s convenience store fried chicken to amazing new sandwich heights
30 Pikachus want to share a Tokyo hotel room with you that has separate Grass, Water, Fire spaces
7-Eleven Japan’s new baked-in-store sweet treat is only available in three parts of the country
Man bites woman at cherry blossom park in Japan, dies shortly after
Peanuts and Coke becomes a viral hit in Japan, but is it a trend worth joining?
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
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
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
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】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Instant Tokyo nostalgia – Beautifully bittersweet brand-new video looks like it was shot 17 years ago
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Pringles Chocolate, but with a Japanese twist, is the snack hack you should be trying right now
Travel to a Japanese convenience store at an active volcano
New Japanese KitKats come in sakura flavour, with poetic symbolism for success
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Mt. Fuji’s “field sakura” coming into bloom as Shibazakura Festival begins
Smallest hotel room in Tokyo? This cheap stay for two will turn friends into lovers
Is It Possible to Take a Photo of Mount Fuji from Kyoto? One Teacher Says Yes
Studio Ghibli answers Spirited Away fan questions, reveals exciting facts and trivia behind the film
Drive My Car becomes first Japanese film to receive Academy Award Best Picture nomination
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japanese art site Pixiv now lets you make your own 3-D model for free, and in English!
Howl’s Moving Castle’s scene-stealing dog is here to clean your home as a plushie mop