technology (Page 25)
There’s a new megaphone in the works that can translate the speaker’s message into three languages—and people in Japan can’t get over how ‘Doraemon’ the whole thing is.
Are you hosting a large event with lots of guests? Maybe it’s time to call in AI Samurai to help with crowd control!
The machines are available at arcades and amusement centers in the “purikura” section and offer over 1,500 designs.
Now in its third year of testing, the artificial intelligence just earned its best mock entrance exam score yet.
Sony announced on Tuesday that after four decades, it will stop shipping Betamax (or Beta) and MicroMV video cassette tapes next March. The company explained that it is ending sales in these formats in light of the changing marketplace, due to the end of analog television broadcasts in Japan in 2012, the decreased demand, and other factors.
Tokyo Disneyland is a popular destination at any time of the year, but when the holiday season approaches, the theme park swells with visitors keen to get in on the festive spirit.
One of the highlights of the season is the “Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dream Lights”, where a number of well-known Disney characters appear on large floats dressed up in spectacular light displays. Accompanied by music, the scene is also accompanied by huge crowds, eager to receive a wave from the likes of Mickey, Snow White or even Woody from Toy Story.
Now there’s a fun way to avoid the crowds and enjoy the illuminated parade from the comfort of your own home. It’s called the “Sync! Illumination” and it lets you link up with your friends’ cellphone screens to create an awesome interactive show.
A delegation of anime huggy pillows appeared on the red carpet at the recent Tokyo International Film Festival, but they weren’t the only non-human stars whose work was featured at the event. Also screening was Sayonara, a new film written and directed by Koji Fukuda. The fact that one of the Japanese-produced movie’s two female leads is a foreigner would be notable enough on its own, but what really makes Sayonara unique is that her costar is an android.
In the case of a cardiac arrest, every second counts, which is why over the past decade Japanese health organizations have deployed a large number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public areas, with the current count somewhere over 300,000 units.
Eventually the country would like to see that number expand to one in every building, but for the time being the first priority is AED accessibility, leaving some foreign tourists surprised to find that AEDs in places that might seem a little odd at first: like vending machines.
Think cat ears are only appropriate for cosplay and on Halloween? Think again!
Thanks to a highly successful crowd funding campaign, these amazingly awesome cat ear headphones are now, after what feels like an age since we first discovered them, hitting the market, and just begging to be worn just about anywhere.
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With all the companies working on self-driving cars right now, it can be difficult for companies to differentiate themselves from competitors.
Yamaha, however, is sure to stand out from the crowd with their newest project Motobot, a robot designed to ride a motorcycle on its own. But simply riding a motorcycle isn’t enough—the company’s hope is to eventually create a machine that can “surpass” humans!
If you saw this car on the street, you’d half expect a comically large number of clowns to come piling out of it. But it turns out despite its Looney Tunes-esque look, there’s a noble—if somewhat bizarre—concept behind this new car from Toyoda Gosei.
This is the “Flesby,” a new concept car that Toyoda Gosei will display at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show next week, with the “concept” being essentially that the entire outer body of the car is one gigantic airbag. Let’s take a look.
Virtual reality is a huge topic in the news right now, and with the many VR headsets to be released soon, we imagine the topic will only get hotter. Of course, gamers aren’t the only ones excited about the technology, and plenty of university students have taken a shine to the options virtual reality provides.
The International collegiate Virtual Reality Contest started in 1993, and since then it’s been one of Japan’s best places to find virtual reality project made by students from Japan and abroad. What you might not expect though is just how odd some of these projects can be, with everything from simulated pants wetting to simulated creepy ear whispering.
Are you tired of using plain old cream-colored masking tape for your masking needs? As you should be! Why keep using the same old drab colorless stuff when you have awesome options like this that will give any surface you apply it to the look of an electric circuit? Nazca Electric Circuit Masking Tape will snazz up any surface, your accessories, and more!
With their heated seats, hidden sensors and warm water cleansing systems, Japanese toilets are used to being the centre of attention in hotel bathrooms, public restrooms and ordinary residences all around the country.
Now its time for their next-of-kin to get an upgrade, with a new machine set to revolutionise toilet paper dispensers, making it possible to automatically cut sheets and even fold the final edge into a neat little triangle for the next person to use.
The somewhat euphemistically named process of “denailing” has remained a popular torture method since medieval times and, according to the sort of creepily detailed Wikipedia page for the method, it remains in use today.
There are a few good reasons for that. It apparently leaves no permanent marks or injury – after the nail grows back, of course – and requires only the most basic of tools to pull off. It also objectively hurts like hell and there’s something about the tips of the toes and fingers being manipulated that leaves a person feeling unbearably vulnerable.
All of which has us wondering why anyone would voluntarily use this tool, which is clearly just a re-purposed torture device, to fix their ingrown toenails, regardless of how amazingly well it supposedly works.
Thanks to the world of smartphones, we’re now able to connect to ourselves on a physical level in a way we never could before. Fitness apps and wearable devices like the Fitbit wristband allow us to monitor everything from the number of steps we take to our walking speed and heart rate.
While activity trackers usually take physical data from our wrists, Japanese eyewear brand JINS is taking a very different approach by monitoring not only our physical but also our mental state, with the new JINS MEME glasses. Using a number of built-in sensors to gather data from the eyes and body, now you can monitor everything from posture to alertness levels and find out how your body and mind “age” alters throughout the day.
Considering some of the cute critters we’ve seen recently, you might have come away with the impression that Japan is all generous birds and adorable yet spatially confused dogs. But you still shouldn’t let your guard down, because as this video shows, you never know when you’re going to run into a robot dinosaur that breaks away from its handlers and rampages through a crowd.
It’s no secret that in Japan selling the fantasy of an anime or video game sweetheart is big business. But is everyone with a 2-D crush simply a lonely soul using the fictional character as a substitute for a lack of real-world interaction with the opposite sex, or do some people just prefer having a virtual romantic prospect? One Japanese technology company is aiming to find out, using the power of science.
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Tokyo’s Super Mario Christmas decoration displays are super cool【Photos】
Sailor Moon and J-pop mega-star Ayumi Hamasaki team up for collaboration, pre-defeat scalpers
Japanese company develops classy heavy metal band frames for glasses
This downtown Tokyo cafe is like a time machine that takes you back 50 years into the past
Japanese train station vending machine has the best souvenirs for rail otaku
Police called out to investigate suspicious Santa in Wakayama
Japanese government will check and judge new baby name pronunciations, presents guidelines
Kura Sushi has a new parade-delivered whole cake dessert, but what’s it like to eat?【Video】
Studio Ghibli showcases traditional craftsmanship with new wallet range
Will our cosplay lucky bag purchase leave us feeling sew lucky or hemmed in?【Photos】
Weekly
- This downtown Tokyo cafe is like a time machine that takes you back 50 years into the past
- Japanese company develops classy heavy metal band frames for glasses
Station of despair: What to do if you get stuck at the end of Tokyo’s Chuo Rapid Line- Studio Ghibli showcases traditional craftsmanship with new wallet range
Major Japanese city is abolishing extracurricular activities at all of its middle schools
One of Japan’s rarest sweets is a sell-out hit that looks and tastes like frost- Japanese government will check and judge new baby name pronunciations, presents guidelines
Mysterious light-up rainy night-sound Totoro figure doesn’t actually show a scene from the anime
Shakey’s is back! All-you-can-eat pizza chain returns to downtown Tokyo’s Shinjuku
Starbucks Japan releases a new Frappuccino that looks and tastes like a floral bouquet
Monthly
Possessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
Uniqlo announces first-ever collaboration with horror manga master Junji Ito【Photos】
J-pop mega star Ado reveals she’s been living in the U.S., may not understand language acquisition
Starbucks Japan is calling it quits with paper straws
Japan’s most popular castle raising ticket prices by up to 200 percent for non-local tourists
Furikake rice seasoning sales are soaring, which is bad news for Japan as a whole- Japanese company develops classy heavy metal band frames for glasses
Studio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fans
Studio Ghibli heroine cardigans give you warmth and strength to face everyday challenges
Eight unforgettable hot springs, as recommended by Japan’s “Professor Bath”
Yearly
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers- Possessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
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Police called out to investigate suspicious Santa in Wakayama
Japanese government will check and judge new baby name pronunciations, presents guidelines
Kura Sushi has a new parade-delivered whole cake dessert, but what’s it like to eat?【Video】
Studio Ghibli showcases traditional craftsmanship with new wallet range
Will our cosplay lucky bag purchase leave us feeling sew lucky or hemmed in?【Photos】
Moving, burping No Face coin bank figure is back to receive your Ghibli fan generosity【Photos】
Totoro towels gently glow in the dark to set the Ghibli nighttime mood in your home【Photos】
Japanese Twitter user illustrates the difference between schoolgirl uniforms in major cities
Find a red envelope on the ground? Here’s why you should never pick it up
How to make amazing sweet apple pancakes using a rice cooker 【RocketKitchen】
Chikawa beats out Evangelion and Super Mario to win Japan Character Award 2022
We try ice cream with a topping of natto fermented soybeans, because the Internet told us to
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