summer (Page 12)
We’ll show you how to order off the menu at Starbucks to create a mind-blowingly delicious frappucino that tastes like a cheesecake-based Tiramisu.
These are some literally cool cats.
Samurai warrior designs get a warm-weather overhaul with colourful patterns and unique sheer fabrics.
An online retailer offers stylish new coil stands to keep insects out of your barbecue and impress friends at the same time.
Say hello to summer with the sweet tang of a new cheesecake McFlurry made with a very special Japanese citrus fruit.
Seattle-based chain adapts to Kyoto style with summertime seats that offer a taste of traditional culture as you sip your coffee.
With lanterns, cocktails and one thousand unusual goldfish, this is the coolest place to hang out in your yukata this summer.
And there was much rejoicing.
Summer in Japan can be brutal if you’re not used to the humidity. At least one of the writers here at the RocketNew24 office has melted into a puddle of and had to be reconstituted in a meat locker last month. Fortunately, the heat is starting to abate and autumn is in sight!
But while we’re happy we won’t have to worry about being liquefied anymore, there is one thing we’ll miss: Playing in the pool. We can’t do that once winter has set in and we’re missing the summer sun, but at least we’ll have this insanely adorable video of a dog whose owner steals its every attempt to get a shower.
Oh summer vacation. For little kids (and big kids too!) it’s a time to finally throw off those backpacks, forget about homework, and have fun all day long running around outside or playing video games. If you’re the mom or dad of one of those kids, though, you’re often left to clean up in their wake.
And the same is true in Japan too. For the most part it’s moms who’re left to run after kids giddy with the freedom of no school. They’ve even started a Twitter hashtag for it: #SummerVacationStupidKids.
What kind of things do Japanese kids do to drive their parents crazy? Are they the same as the rest of the world or completely different? Read on to find out!
Recently, our Japanese reporter Aya Ayabe went out to an izakaya [Japanese pub] and finished her revelries with an order of sudachi rice, sudachi being a type of sour Japanese citrus fruit. The slightly bitter flavor really hit the spot in the midst of the nighttime summer heat, and it got her thinking: “What would happen if I cooked rice with some ponzu sauce [a citrus-based sauce which mixes sudachi with other citrus fruits and soy sauce]?” Still curious, the next day she tried making a batch for herself, and the results were apparently quite epic: “This is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me all summer! I’ll never forget this day as long as I live.”
In any case, Ayabe would like to share her extremely simple recipe for creating ponzu rice with you–a delightfully refreshing treat for the dog days of summer which can be enjoyed either hot or cold.
So, mint is an extraordinarily versatile, exceedingly summer-appropriate ingredient. It can add a refreshing bite to savory dishes, is the essential main ingredient in basically all of the world’s best ice cream flavors, and is the star of the show in that most refreshing of summer beverages, the mojito (without which would basically just be watery rum).
Mint is the miracle substance that makes Asia’s hellish, your-buddy-just-spontaneously-combusted-hot summers just the slightest bit tolerable; a fact that beverage and snack makers in Japan are finally catching onto, with each passing year seeing better and more diverse mint-infused offerings.
But lemon and mint? That’s the new flavor combo Pepsi is banking on to be the next big thing with its new “Pepsi Special Lemon Mint” drink offering, and we’re just the slightest bit wary.
There’s been a lot of hoo-haa recently over nip-nips, hasn’t there? On the western internets, ladies are in a huff that their female nubbins are being covered up by the online censors, but in Japan it’s male nurples that are getting on everyone’s nerves.
Turns out that Japanese ladies can’t stand the sight of male chesty-buds, and in this hot weather, lots of businessmen are going out and about without undershirts on. The result? A barrage of constant eye-trauma for the ladies who say that the men who are flaunting their areolas at them are committing sexual harassment! Oh my!
Are Japan’s strict trash collection days getting you down this summer? Are you plugging your nose and counting down the days until the next burnables collection because your garbage is rotting away in the summer heat?
If you’re like me, you hate Japanese summers for a slew of reasons, one of which being all the putrid smells that come with the increased heat and humidity of the sticky summer months. You may also often rush out the door on the morning of burnables collection day and forget to take out your bag of raw and rotting garbage, leaving you to deal with the stench until the next trash collection day rolls around.
But there is a really simple solution to this problem, as well as quick tricks for dealing with other stinky situations like funky-shoe smells and unpleasant, grimy sinks. Find out how after the jump!
We’re not even halfway through summer here in Japan yet, and already we’ve seen a number of strange collaboration combinations, including barley and eel soda and soft-serve sushi.
This time we’d like to introduce another curious combination, in the form of a new Mercedes-Benz x Ice Monster shop that recently popped up in Roppongi, Tokyo. But what do luxury car makers know about making the perfect frozen ice treat? Our ever-popular reporter Mr. Sato heads out to investigate.
Japan may have an image as an all-work and no-play sort of place, but you’ve got to give the country credit for coming up with Umi no Hi. Observed on the third Monday of July, Umi no Hi literally means “Ocean Day,” but “Marine Day” and “Beach Day” would also be acceptable translations. It’s a national holiday expressly created to give everyone a day off to go have fun at the beach, and it just might be the greatest socially accepted reason ever for blowing off work.
This year, Japan got so into the spirit of the holiday that even people in prefectures with no coastline swore they could smell the sea. But was this just a summery olfactory hallucination, or a legitimate Umi no Hi miracle?
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Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
Saltiest ramen in Japan? Ikebukuro White goes viral for crazy salt levels
7-Eleven Japan upsizes popular products like egg sando and pork ramen but how big are they really?
7-Eleven Japan now has ramen machines…but only at 41 stores
Live-action Princess Mononoke stage cast appears in costume for first time[Video]
7-Eleven Japan is releasing Greedy chocolate chip and whipped cream sandwiches
Nintendo reveals live-action Legend of Zelda movie is coming sooner than we’d thought
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“They’ve got be kidding me.” – Mayor in Japan fed up with off-season Mt. Fuji hikers needing rescue
Starbucks Japan adds a new Frappuccino and Milk to the menu, but are they worth the calories?
Weekly
Japan now has gyoza doughnuts, and they taste like no other doughnut we’ve tried before
Starbucks Japan releases two new “chunky” drinks… and matching gel designs for our nails
Mt. Fuji hot spring inn gets even more beautiful after dark with Firefly Festival
Japanese criminals are now using crabs to hunt for burglary targets
Japan releases new ramen sandwiches… that don’t taste like ramen- Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
This train station bento boxed lunch shop has been in business for nearly 100 years- 7-Eleven Japan now has ramen machines…but only at 41 stores
Don’t miss the Tokyo Tower City Light Fantasia ~Summer Landscape 2026~ event during your travels
Does one of Japan’s favorite chocolate brands work with the Pringles chocolate hack?
Monthly
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
The average age of Japan’s hikikomori shut-ins is getting older, survey shows
Japan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at home
New Kyoto Converse sneakers celebrate Japan with traditional kimono fabrics for your feet
Brand-new Pokémon manhole covers coming to help the recovery of a disaster-stricken part of Japan
Japan’s awesomely beautiful Alpen Route snow corridor is now open
Wisteria season starts early with blooming of Japan’s Great Wisteria in its beautiful garden
Japan’s new Pokémon jackets give you the look and powers of the Kanto starter trio
Injuries on stairs in Tokyo highlight an overlooked design flaw
Move aside, convenience store egg sando – there’s a better version of the iconic sandwich in Japan
Yearly
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
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
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa- Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
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7-Eleven Japan is releasing Greedy chocolate chip and whipped cream sandwiches
Nintendo reveals live-action Legend of Zelda movie is coming sooner than we’d thought
161-year-old Kyoto confectionary maker releases new edible Pokémon lineup
“They’ve got be kidding me.” – Mayor in Japan fed up with off-season Mt. Fuji hikers needing rescue
Starbucks Japan adds a new Frappuccino and Milk to the menu, but are they worth the calories?
Now you can carry the unnerving terror and beauty of Noh masks with you with new pouches from Japan
Starbucks Japan releases two new “chunky” drinks… and matching gel designs for our nails
Don’t miss the Tokyo Tower City Light Fantasia ~Summer Landscape 2026~ event during your travels
Japan’s largest online resale site banning scalper sales of McDonald’s new anime Happy Meal toys
Man tells Nintendo HQ “I’m going to blow you all the hell up,” gets arrested by Kyoto cops
Japan now has gyoza doughnuts, and they taste like no other doughnut we’ve tried before
Japan releases new ramen sandwiches… that don’t taste like ramen
Mt. Fuji hot spring inn gets even more beautiful after dark with Firefly Festival
War in Iran causing dark development for potato chip packages in Japan
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