Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Tamashii
Star Wars fans have been blessed recently with a veritable Imperial March of fantastic toys. Many fans dream of possessing the coolest, best action figure out there and Bandai has been making it pretty hard to choose just one. They’ve made the choice a little more difficult with their newest toy now, however, which is modeled on a new character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Move over Fett clones, the troopers have a new captain in town. Fall in line for Captain Phasma.
With just under four months to go until we finally get Episode 7 of Star Wars, many people have a galaxy far, far away on their minds. Some people are clamoring for any and all kinds of movie tidbits, while other fans are desperately trying to avoid all spoilers. Which means it’s the perfect time to release some “alternate reality” Star Wars toys to the public.
Although, when your toy is this cool looking, any time is the perfect time.
Beautiful new Final Fantasy T-shirt collection on the way from Uniqlo【Photos】
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
Foreign English teachers in Japan pick their favorite Japanese-language phrases【Survey】
Randomly running into a great sushi lunch like this is one of the best things about eating in Tokyo
Hey, Japanese taxi driver! Take us to your favorite restaurant in Tsuruga City!
New Japanese mascot character: A train station monster that grabs children who don’t mind the gap
Enjoy viewing Kyoto’s cherry blossoms from above on a guided zipline tour
How to properly eat a traditional Japanese tonkatsu meal
Kyushu-exclusive Black Mont Blanc goes nationwide in a “Special” way
Sakura season schedule is screwed up, so we had a no-cherry blossom cherry blossom party in the officeDisney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
We try out “Chan Ramen”, an underground type of ramen popular in the ramen community
New Studio Ghibli bedding sets are cool in all senses of the word
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese thingsForeign English teachers in Japan pick their favorite Japanese-language phrases【Survey】
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
There’s a park inside Japan where you can also see Japan inside the park
Japanese convenience store packs a whole bento into an onigiri rice ball
Hanton rice — a delicious regional food even most Japanese people don’t know about, but more should
Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest pet product line announced by Square Enix
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
Japan’s bone-breaking and record-breaking roller coaster is permanently shutting down
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Foreign passenger shoves conductor on one of the last full runs for Japan’s Thunderbird trainOur Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Kyoto bans tourists from geisha alleys in Gion, with fines for those who don’t follow rules
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour Totoro
Domino’s Japan now sells…pizza ears?
Toyota built a life-sized Miraidon Pokémon and are letting people test drive it this weekend
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Studio Ghibli’s new desktop Howl’s Moving Castle will take your stationery on an adventure
New Japanese mascot character: A train station monster that grabs children who don’t mind the gap
Enjoy viewing Kyoto’s cherry blossoms from above on a guided zipline tour
How to properly eat a traditional Japanese tonkatsu meal
Kyushu-exclusive Black Mont Blanc goes nationwide in a “Special” way
Sakura season schedule is screwed up, so we had a no-cherry blossom cherry blossom party in the office
Which fictional anime school would you like to enroll in? Japanese fans vote in online survey
Hey, have you eaten the news? – Japanese “noodle newspaper” comes with writing on the soba
Why are the Los Angeles Dodgers wearing the caps from Nagoya’s professional baseball team?
Fantasy RPG-style cosplay weapon shop opening in downtown Tokyo
Osaka’s creepy cute mascot speaks for first time, adds more fuel the creepy OR cute debate【Video】
Can cats cut the cost of power? Japanese delivery company with a cat-themed name investigates
Can’t go to conveyor belt sushi? Major Japanese chain will bring the conveyor belt to you!
Supermarket sushi becomes a hot topic with foreigners on Reddit, but is it any good?