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“It’s just like Disneyland!” Our Japanese reporter visits the love hotel where dreams are made

If Japan’s love hotels range from cheap ‘n’ cheerful to downright bizarre, Sky Paradise Rakuen must rank as one of the most marvellously ridiculous. While enjoying a discreet tryst with your partner of choice, you can also take a ride on a gondola under a sparkling jewel-encrusted sky and gaze from your balcony out over theme park-style attractions.

Disney don’t do love hotels, but if they did they’d probably look like this!

Naturally, our Japanese reporter couldn’t resist heading down to Sky Paradise to check in and check it out. Just for research, of course.

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In pictures: Everyday life in China and Hong Kong, 1868-1872【Photos】

Scottish travel writer and photographer John Thomson was one of the first western photographers to travel to the Far East. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, he travelled extensively in China, recording what he saw for posterity.

From elaborately dressed brides to working fishermen, Thomson captured landscapes and city scenes, people and places. The result is a captivating insight into the everyday lives of Chinese people almost 150 years ago.

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Here are the 15 most amazing home made robots, tanks, and vehicles in China

China is known as an industrious nation and, after pictures surfaced of one Chinese teacher who built a phenomenal “Iron Man” Hulkbuster replica in his garage, it seemed like the right time to take a look at some of the country’s most impressive home made inventions.

From full size, working airplanes to wooden, yet electronic cars, the Chinese have spent anything from a couple of months to several years, knocking up some pretty impressive modes of transports and robots.

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Valley of the (creepy) dolls: Nagoro has hundreds of scarecrows but almost no people

On a recent trip to Shikoku, we heard about a small town tucked away in the Iya Valley called Nagoro. Like many small rural towns in Japan, the human population has dwindled to almost nothing in recent years. Unlike other towns, though, Nagoro doesn’t look empty. That’s because it’s populated by hundreds of scarecrows.

Of course we had to go check it out.

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Heartbreaking photos inside the bedrooms of children who died in last year’s South Korean ferry disaster

A year ago Thursday, a ferry carrying 476 people sank off the coast of Incheon, near Seoul, South Korea, during a routine trip to the island of Jeju.

In all, 295 people aboard the Sewol perished, many of them high-school students and teachers who were on a field trip. Many of the bodies still have not been recovered.

Since the disaster, controversy has centered on the South Korean government’s response. Some argue the government attempted to whitewash its accountability in the incident; others have called for a thorough investigation.

Parents of the students who died in the catastrophe are still reeling from their loss a year later. Many still keep their children’s rooms intact to keep their memories alive. Reuters photographer Kim Hong-Ji visited their homes and documented the families and the rooms.

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Hirakawa Zoo’s Twitter feed packed with baby otters, extreme levels of cuteness

Ahh, the internet. It used to be that if you wanted snorgle-worthy pictures of baby animals, you had to go out and take them yourself, risking skinned knees, mozzie bites, and the occasional head cold to do so. Now, we can sit back in the comfort of our own beanbag chairs and have the cute come to us.

The latest digital goldmine to be discovered? The Twitter feed of the Hirakawa Zoo in Kyushu, where a pair of baby Asian small-clawed otters have been bringing the cute in a big way.

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Forget Tokyo’s giant Gundam statue, we wanna visit this plastic-bottle Gundam in Tochigi!

We’re pretty big fans of Odaiba’s full-scale Gundam statue, which towers over Tokyo Bay at an incredible 18 metres tall. But there’s nothing quite like homespun charm, and we’re equally delighted to discover the existence of a plastic bottle version, built single-handedly by one enthusiastic sake shop owner in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

Our friends over at off-the-beaten-track Japan travel site Another Tokyo went to check it out last month, and this is what they found.

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The times they are a-changin’: Snapshots of Tokyo 50 years ago vs. today【Photos】

Once upon a time, Tokyo was nowhere near the sprawling megalopolis that it is today. Long ago, it wasn’t a sure thing that the small fishing village known as Edo would someday become one of the most bustling cities in the world.

But let’s skip Tokyo’s early years and fast-forward to a slightly more recent age. Ever wondered what the city looked like half a century ago, before the towering skyscrapers and iconic neon lights? Today, we are proud to present a visual comparison of Tokyo, 50 years ago versus the modern day!

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Nine of our Japanese writers share the restaurants they absolutely must visit again!

Have you ever had a meal so good that you decided you absolutely had to come back at least once before you kicked the bucket? It might have been some tiny restaurant on a beach or a five-star establishment in Shinjuku, but we imagine lots of people have some special place where the food was just freaking perfect.

So, we asked our Japanese writers what those places were for them and compiled the answers. You’re welcome! Click below to find out the ten places (someone cheated) they absolutely must visit again and see if your favorite eatery made the list.

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Wander through the forest with Princess Mononoke in these beautiful photos from Oregon cosplayers

Tesla Cosplay are an all-female group who describe themselves as “five girls from Oregon who decided to add a little ‘awesome’ to their lives”. And looking at these photos from their recent Princess Mononoke shoot on location, we think they’ve achieved that aim!

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Mr. Sato visits the Retro Space Saka Hall, full of syringes, Mediocrity, and bittersweet memories

While visiting the city of Sapporo, our adventurous reporter Mr. Sato stumbled upon this bizarre looking complex called the Retro Space Saka Hall. The whole place looked incredibly sketchy, but that was right up his alley.

Little did he know, however, that this dingy-looking industrial complex nestled in snow would almost move him to tears.

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Steam Garden 8: Travel through time at Tokyo’s premier steampunk event 【Photos】

As we promised a few weeks ago, we swung by Steam Garden 8: Meiji Democracy and took in the sights and sounds! With more photos than your Facebook feed after a weekend of drunken revelry, we are happy to report that Steam Garden is both an amazing way to spend a Saturday, and an event you’ll definitely want to check out as soon as you can.

Click below for some highlights of the steampunk event and tons of fashion and cosplay photos!

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“Feel” and experience Kyoto’s Kiyomizu Temple from afar via Tumblr

Last month we were delighted to hear that one of Kyoto’s most famous sight-seeing spots, Kiyomizudera, has an Instagram account. The thing about Kiyomizudera though, is that it’s not really just a tourist spot, it is a functioning temple serving hundreds of people every day and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site. The site’s grandeur expands past the temple itself, to the beautiful surrounding scenery and view of the Kyoto cityscape, which can be enjoyed from the temple’s location, perched atop Mt. Otowa. Even the everyday religious events around Kiyomizudera are worthy of appreciation.

With all of this in mind, the temple has come out with an official Tumblr website, which they hope will allow viewers to not only see the temple through pictures, but to really feel and embrace its atmosphere.

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“In the name of the moon!” See the Sailor Senshi as ’90s video game sprites

With over 30 million copies of the original manga sold, a popular anime adaptation (who can forget the lengthy, fabulous transformation sequences?), and even a lingerie brand, the Sailor Moon franchise has spread to every corner of the globe since its inception in 1991. The series is enjoying renewed popularity at the moment thanks to the reboot series Sailor Moon Crystal.

Given the prominence of the nineties anime Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon in the public consciousness, some might not be as familiar with a number of spin-off video games–understandably so, considering that most of them were never released outside of Japan. In the pictures below, see Sailor Moon and company in all their pixellated glory.

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The wonderful (male) cosplayers of Winter Wonder Festival 2015【Photos】

If you look at most cosplay galleries online, you would think that the hobby is dominated by females. You wouldn’t be wrong, but that doesn’t mean that the male cosplayers should be ignored. Last weekend at Makuhari Messe, costumers of all genders gathered at Winter Wonder Festival 2015. RocketNews24 has already brought you the female cosplayers, but here are the friggin’ cool guys who were also there to strut their stuff.

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World’s largest internet hub in Aomori?

Twitter user @rairacp_62 spotted this building in Aomori and something about it seemed very familiar…

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“There’s a cat in the window”: A giant compilation of the cutest peeping Toms you’ll ever see

Have you ever had the experience of pulling back your curtains, only to be met by a pair of luminous, unblinking eyes from the outside?

If you have, you’ll be able to sympathize with the following Japanese Twitter users who glanced up at their windows and happened to see one or more furry feline visitors staring back. Either way, you’re sure to enjoy this compilation of (the good kind of) peeping Toms!

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Check out the awesome cosplay at Comiket 87! 【Photos, Photos, and more photos】

It’s the end of December and that can mean only one thing: Comiket is in full swing! Today was only the first day, but the cosplay (and the crowds) were utterly amazing. With about half a million people expected to visit over the three-day event at Tokyo Big Sight, you should hardly be surprised that people from all over Japan–and some from around the world–flock to the doujinshi spectacular.

We headed down on Sunday afternoon and captured a few photos of our favorite cosplayers. And by “a few” we mean “a metric crapton.”

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  • Dec 19, 2014

Wish you could check out Tokyo’s Christmas illuminations? Well now you can! 【Video】

We appreciate that while many of you are interested in Japan and Japanese culture, not all of you are able to visit the Land of the Rising Sun quite so easily. But Christmas is a great time of year here in Tokyo, what with all the lights, decorations and hand-holding couples, so in order to share the various seasonal sights with you we took the liberty of putting together a little slideshow.

Join us after the jump for a photo tour of Tokyo’s best Christmas illuminations!

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