Couple uses NOSTALGIA ATTACK! And with personalised features and 8-bit graphics, it’s a CRITICAL HIT!!
retro (Page 4)
Fried bread, fruity ciders, and more tasty treats from across Japan and across generations.
The forgotten tactile pleasure of turning a clicky dial to change the television channel can be had again!
Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten, knows that despite being in business for 300 years, you haven’t really made it until you own Boardwalk, Mayfair, or in this case Kyoto’s Nishijin Textile Center.
Nostalgic Japanese candy meets fragrant incense for a scent-sational retro treat that won’t rot your teeth or split your pants, but might burn a hole in your rug…
Our man investigates the artistic effects of using an iPhone vs. a disposable camera—the latest photo trend in Japan—to take pictures.
Live out your fantasies of love-making in Japan’s bygone eras at this unusual love hotel in Osaka.
We’ve all got at least one thing that we carry around with us that could use a quick recharge on the road. For most of us it’s our cell phone, but it’s not inconceivable to carry three, four or even more gadgets that could use a juice boost while away from home.
There are plenty of on-the-go solutions available to you, but soon you can buy one that says as much about you as all the portable gaming systems you carry around.
Last year, over 13 million foreign visitors took a trip to Japan. Many of the country’s best attractions, though, are actually hundreds of years old. That means that while they’ve been drawing more international travelers than ever in the 21st century, they were hardly being ignored in the 20th, as shown by this collection of retro-cool travel posters from the early and mid-1900s.
You might imagine that, in 2015, with smartphone, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS, few gamers would ever want to go back to the simple graphics of the original Nintendo Game Boy. But you’d be very wrong. People go out of their way to make their high-tech gizmos play the old-school games of yore. Call it nostalgia, call it silly, but many call it simply, awesome.
Video game peripheral and accessory manufacturers Hyperkin just announced some new plans for a Game Boy-esque accessory into which you can insert your smartphone and play original Game Boy games. Now this sounds pretty good, but it’s already getting mixed reviews.
Some people like to live a minimalist lifestyle – keeping the bare minimum of possessions and even living in tiny houses to help stave off clutter. But the vast majority of people who’ve lived a long, full life tend to have stores of secret treasures stacked up that can still be both fascinating and valuable today. When one Twitter user caught their grandma in the act of throwing away a box of old postcards and photos, they rugby tackled the old dear (erm, figuratively) to prevent her from trashing some priceless artefacts of the past. Join us after the jump for a good gander at granny’s box of memories!
If you grew up playing video games, you’ll understand something that modern day kids with their newfangled graphics and gameplay streaming antics don’t get – the power of nostalgia! Nostalgia is what makes us dig up landfills full of buried cartridges, and waste hours of our lives watching old videos of NES start-up screens. It’s why we still want to play the classics, so we can remember the good times, when being able to navigate an entirely different world through your TV screen still seemed like magic. It’s no wonder that rare old retro games can still sell for a pretty penny, although most often they’re snapped up by collectors who want them for their rarity rather than to add lovingly to their own game collection. Because, while nostalgia can be a powerful emotion, we mere mortals couldn’t even contemplate dropping around $10k on a mere video game. Yet that’s exactly what the owner of a rare, factory sealed copy of NES game Stadium Events can (at the time of this writing) expect to bring in from the eBay auction that’s currently in progress.
So just what is Stadium Events and why is it worth so much darn moolah, anyway?
When you buy a fukubukuro (lucky bag) from a store in Japan, you can usually be sure that the value of their contents will surpass the amount you paid for the bag; it’s a guarantee, or else no one would ever buy them! But when you decide to buy a fukubukuro from a secondhand store, you certainly can’t feel 100% sure that you will get your money’s worth.
Are your secondhand items going to be in good condition? Are you going to be getting some good value? Or are you getting the games that even the secondhand store just wants to get rid of? Let Tokyo’s most famous used video game store Super Potato help you decide after the break.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how much is a pixel worth? We guess that really depends on how many pixels are in a piece of art. The following works by @1041uuu certainly capture more than your ordinary dots of color. You are going to wish your life was as fantastic as these nostalgic, creative and inspired GIFs capturing everyday life in Japan.
There’s no denying that smartphones are awesome. They can send messages, let you browse the web, take photos and play thousands of songs, all while fitting into your pocket, ready to be used anytime, anywhere. But for some of us, none of that convenience can compare to the fun of fitting a cassette tape into a cassette player and pressing play.
Now there’s a gadget that lets us have the best of both worlds: the joy of thousands of songs combined with the lost art of old-school push button technology. Now that fluoro’s back in fashion, there’s never been a better time to pull on those leg warmers, download some Madonna circa 1985 and experience music the way it used to be.




















Studio Ghibli releases the My Neighbour Totoro tea caddy, with a magical self-closing lid
Japan now has a “for foreign tourists only” Mt. Fuji sightseeing train[Video]
A secluded British mansion in Chiba is a hidden holy land for afternoon tea lovers
Fake police phone scam also highlights dumb stereotype about how foreigners speak Japanese[Video]
Create a tiny Ghibli anime world on your bookshelf with new miniature papercraft art kits
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Japan’s budget chain restaurant Saizeriya might just be the perfect first date location
Draw like a Studio Ghibli anime artist with exclusive watercolour set approved by Hayao Miyazaki
Tokyo government organizes food truck event to clear out delinquent/homeless teen gathering area
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Cherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Nine amazing off-the-beaten-path cherry blossom spots in Japan for yaezakura and shidarezakura
Stunning central Japan wisteria festival is like a purple fantasy straight out of a Ghibli movie
When will the cherry blossoms reach full bloom in Japan this year?[Forecast]
Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones
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
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
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
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Japan’s budget chain restaurant Saizeriya might just be the perfect first date location
Draw like a Studio Ghibli anime artist with exclusive watercolour set approved by Hayao Miyazaki
Tokyo government organizes food truck event to clear out delinquent/homeless teen gathering area
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Bontan Ame: the candy that survived 100 years of leaks, bombings, censorship, and floods
The etiquette rules for visiting Shinto shrines in Japan
Why you should be adding Calpis to your beer in Japan
The life of Satoru Iwata, late Nintendo CEO, remembered in documentary
Late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata to be awarded Lifetime Achievement award
Dr. Pepper fans create online map of Japan cataloging everywhere you can buy the divisive drink
“Dedicated to Satoru Iwata” is the musical Balloon Fight tribute we have been waiting for
The Perfect Vending Machine – for when you gotta have those fresh cut apples
How to write “sakura” in Japanese (and why it’s written that way)