Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
train
The JR East Musashino Line sure has an impressive track record when it comes to trains being delayed due to unusual circumstances. And after a most bizarre early morning collision on Friday last week, the rail line can add another reason to that list.
Although the details of the incident are still murky, one thing is for certain–no one ever expected this to happen in the middle of Tokyo!
Weirdness broke out on the afternoon of 16 November in Osaka. Several witness claimed to have seen a woman jump onto the tracks of Izumiotsu Station just as a train was approaching. However, after the train arrived there was no sign of injury and the woman was last seen running away on the platform.
How the woman got on the tracks, survived the train, or escaped is unclear and an investigation is underway. Internet detectives well-versed in manga, however, are assuming that she was summoned by a big black orb in an apartment somewhere.
Sometimes, after a long day of napping and begging for treats, a cat’s just gotta get out of the house. And what better way to get around than by Japan’s famously on-time and impeccably clean railway? If you’re still walking or taking taxis to your desired destination, take a lesson from these street-smart felines and hop on a train!
Cell phones, and smartphones in particular, are amazing tools. They let us keep in touch with our friends and family, provide us with incredibly convenient maps and directions when we are lost, and are the ultimate tool in settling bar bets. They are our life support, our life line to everything, so what happens when our every waking moment revolves around it?
There have been numerous issues recently about people who endanger those around them when they constantly look at their phone while walking. A junior high school boy in Nagoya found out just how dangerous staring at your phone can be, both to himself and to the hundreds of people he put in danger.
There’s something about being on public transport that seems to bring out the worst in us. Whether we’re talking on our phones, bringing smelly food onboard, or taking sly swigs of chūhai when we think no one’s looking, most of us are guilty of some kind of train faux pas.
A company in Japan has come up with an ingenious design solution to a very particular kind of anti-social behaviour – people taking up more than their fair share of space on the train.
Get inspired for the weekend with this fun YouTube video from Down Under! It’s sure to leave a big smile on your face and an itch to get your dancing shoes on.
Saitama prefectural police said Monday that a 54-year-old police officer has been arrested after he assaulted two train station attendants.
Most of us grew up being taught to respect our elders. In fact, this is one of the most fundamental values traditionally taught to Chinese children. But the video we’re about to see is a stark reminder that the times they are a-changing, and that even in China there are some real brats who think nothing of verbally abusing their elders.
Watch as this little Chinese girl threatens to kill the older woman after she apparently took a photo of her misbehaving onboard the train.
A man suspected of groping a woman on the JR Yamanote line escaped by jumping onto the tracks at JR Ebisu station in Tokyo on Thursday night. His actions delayed trains along the Yamanote line for about 30 minutes, TBS reported Friday.
A 41-year-old police sergeant from the Osaka Tondabayashi police station has been arrested after it was discovered that while riding in a train, he put his smartphone between a woman’s legs.
Komabatodamae Station was the scene of a bizarre suicide yesterday as two men who seemingly had nothing to do with each other took their own lives by leaping in front of the same train.
At around noon on 11 August, an express train struck and killed the men after they jumped into its path about 20 meters apart.
A stamp rally, a promotional event in which you rush, saunter or dawdle around a local area collecting rubber stamps from checkpoints, is a popular summer activity in Japan. It often takes the form of a themed rubber stamp chained to an inky board that can be found at each station along a railway line, thus encouraging kids (and their accompanying, ticket-buying parents) to visit a bunch of places by train during the summer holidays.
Rubber stamps aren’t just for kids, though. Adults are welcome to collect the stamps in a book to keep for themselves, or if you catch ’em all on the promotional leaflet and hand it in to the organisers, you can sometimes win some cool prizes or goods relating to the show or characters being promoted. And this summer, Attack on Titan attempts to bring the stamp rally kicking and screaming into the 21st century, with a railway rally entitled Attack on Chichibu. The twist: it’s a stamp rally where there aren’t any stamps.
Ever felt the sudden urge to go on a solo journey to some place unknown, or just to wander around aimlessly to take a break from the sights and sounds you’re accustomed to? This cat in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, seems to have caught the wanderlust bug too, and hopped on to a local train for a ride!
Scientists at Southwest Jiaotong University in China have built a prototype testing platform for a near-vacuum high-speed maglev train that is theoretically capable of reaching speeds up to 2900 km/h or about 1,800 mph. Currently, the fastest commercially operated maglev reaches just 431 km/h and even the world record is just 581 km/hr.
Imagine getting on a train after slogging through the slush-filled streets of Tokyo under a grey cloud-filled sky. With the usual packed row of seats, you’re forced to stand while you manipulate your Twitter feed with only one hand.
Then you begin to notice and odd sensation in the hand you’re using to keep your footing as the train jerks and rattles along. The strap you had unwittingly chosen feels a little different to normal. Looking up, you discover that it is in fact in the shape of a heart, and next to it is another heart-shaped hand strap being held into by another. Then your two eyes meet and you’re both struck by what Michael Corleone referred to as a “lightning bolt.”
This is exactly the kind of scene Japan Rail East hoped will play out in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day when they installed a single pair of heart-shaped hand straps on trains running along the Keiyo Line.
When you’re crammed into a train car during rush hour in Japan and almost everyone has a smartphone in their hands, you sometimes can’t help but look at what someone’s doing on their phone. Moreover, when you have a mix of seated and standing commuters, things get even more interesting, enabling a perfectly positioned passenger to sneak peaks at an unsuspecting person’s private messages. As you’d expect, you come across some really weird stuff when no one thinks you’re looking. Let’s take a look at five anecdotes from passengers who just happened to glance over at their nearby passenger’s phone.
Have you ever looked over while riding the Yamanote Line and saw the coolest guy you’ve ever seen? Sure he was probably wearing fashionable clothes and had great hair, but what was he doing? A poll conducted by Japanese mobile phone provider, NTT Docomo, reveals the top 10 things cool guys do on the train.
It’s all happening on Asia’s trains this week, isn’t it? According to Southeast Asian news sources, a man dressed in “samurai” garb faces up to five years in prison and “flogging” after jumping the ticket gate and then brandishing a full-length samurai sword on board a busy subway train on Monday this week.
In Japan, it is still considered “rude” to do things like talk on the phone or apply makeup on the train. Although the latter is becoming far more common as people come to realise that a girl touching up her war-paint in public is hardly the most scandalous act one can engage in, there are still many, mostly of the older generation, who believe that it should not be done in shared spaces and to be so openly “vain” is simply shameful.
We wonder, then, what the average older Japanese citizen would think if they saw a commuter like the young lady in the following video, who has thrown caution to the wind and slaps on a cleansing face mask during her travels.
Displaying all the skill and grace of a two-year-old holding a cushion over their face and shouting “You can’t see me!”, a man in Beijing was recently captured on video lying beneath the seats of a subway train and stroking the legs of a female passenger as they appeared in front of him.
Prepare for your day to get that little bit creepier.
Japanese etiquette lesson: Should you fold up your own futon when leaving a ryokan inn?
We put Mr. Donut donuts in a hot sandwich maker to see which one turns out best【Taste Test】
Miyazaki City mistakenly sends over 2M yen in meat to 140 people, instructs them to eat it anyway
Weirdest convenience store drink in Japan? New drinkable Happy Turn makes stomachs turn
Spy x Family anime cafe opening, non-secret agents welcome too
Starbucks Japan’s new melon Frappuccino is part of a Japanese pun-themed dessert menu
Our writer loses 6 kilograms (13 pounds) in 1 month with help from these Japanese 7-Eleven foods
Frozen Japanese sake: A fantastic way to make easy summer cocktails
Is it time for men in Japan to start using parasols? Survey says guys ready to get out of the sun
Instant bear curry from the northeastern mountains of Japan【Taste test】
Spy x Family T-shirts from Uniqlo let you make your love of the anime an open secret【Photos】
Japan’s one-person instant ramen pot may be the one and only cooking gadget we need
Japanese teen calls cops on man she thinks is holding a knife, turns out he just has old tech
1,600 empty seats at major Japanese gymnastics competition reserved by single unpaying person
Look at this awesome vision of how beautiful a modern Pokémon Red and Blue remake could be【Video】
Japan’s most convincing “beware of crows” sign spotted
Why does Japan’s most famous ocean legend end at this temple in the middle of the mountains?
Why are there different counters for animals and people in Japanese?
NHK can now pester you through your mail thanks to new service from Japan Post
Strawberry mochi dumpling vending machine made our Japanese station dungeon crawl worth it
Japan to begin accepting tourists from the U.S., three other countries this month
Hotel guest who boiled crabs in room’s kettle angry to have to pay for damagesSpy x Family T-shirts from Uniqlo let you make your love of the anime an open secret【Photos】Japan’s one-person instant ramen pot may be the one and only cooking gadget we need
Japanese woman receives Kobe beef croquettes after waiting nine years, and she was lucky.
Sumo wrestler vs. 16-month-old toddler: The cutest match you’ll ever see【Video】
Let’s find out if mixing milk and a lemon-lime soda makes cream soda
American visits Japan, wonders why McDonald’s only sells beef bowls, not burgers
The new Bake Off Japan on Amazon Prime is everything we ever wanted (aka more Bake Off!)【Review】
Pizza Hut’s new Oreo pizza is like nothing we’ve ever eaten before
Mandarin orange peels aren’t trash, they’re treasure! Three chimpi tips to reuse your mikan skins
Move over grilled cheese — we’ve discovered the tastiest toasted sandwich yet【Recipe】
One Punch Man manga artist’s amazing “practice” drawing is so good we think he might not be human
How to use the new floating hologram registers at 7-Eleven
Liev Schreiber’s son deemed “too beautiful” in Japan
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Top 10 anime women with biggest, most impactful breasts, voted by thousands of Japanese netizens
Japanese woman finds better way to make potato salad, we may not be able to go back to old style
Miss Universe 2021 Japan entry slammed for wearing “dead person’s kimono”
Mario isn’t number one? Nintendo plumber doesn’t win Super Mario series character popularity poll
Starbucks Japan’s new melon Frappuccino is part of a Japanese pun-themed dessert menu
Our writer loses 6 kilograms (13 pounds) in 1 month with help from these Japanese 7-Eleven foods
Frozen Japanese sake: A fantastic way to make easy summer cocktails
Is it time for men in Japan to start using parasols? Survey says guys ready to get out of the sun
Instant bear curry from the northeastern mountains of Japan【Taste test】
Man who gambled entire Japanese town’s COVID relief money arrested
Look at this awesome vision of how beautiful a modern Pokémon Red and Blue remake could be【Video】
Japanese Internet confused and intrigued by sudden influx of “choking Sasuke memes”
Passing the JLPT N1 — Here’s how I did it, so you can too!
Takeshi’s Castle, Japan’s craziest game show, is getting a new series from Amazon Prime Video
Heading to a Shinto shrine soon? You might not want to read these ghost stories before you go!
Which Japanese conveyer belt sushi chain has the best steamed egg custard? 【Taste test】
Super-deformed Elden Ring figures definitely won’t tarnish your interior【Video】