Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
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Fashion can be a bit bewildering at times–we’re still not sure if we can wear Lady Gaga’s meat dress after Labor Day or not. So we’re don’t really want to start criticizing anyone’s fashion choices, even if we do have some serious questions. Like the “boob shirt” above that, for some inexplicable reason, went viral last week here in Japan.
Our guess is that Japanese Twitter users were applauding the economic use of fabric. Saving fabric is an essential part of reducing global warming, right?
Twitter photo comics were the platform for a six-panel post-breakup transformation meme earlier this year.
Using the tagline “you broke up with me ’cause that girl’s cuter?” (‘ano ko no hou ga kawaii kara’), the comics typically show a girl transforming herself from a bookish persona into a fully made-up “cute” version of herself.
Then, men started doing them too. And cats. And babies.
There’s a lot to be seen and learned from your car seat while driving on the roads around Japan. While cat-patterned tail-lights, unique modes of communication and building your own Batman bike are some of the more obvious ways to get noticed, there are also more subtle yet equally effective ways to create an impact in traffic, and do a bit of advertising while you’re at it!
They say a dog is man’s best friend. But if these pictures are anything to go by, Spider-Man’s best friend is a cat.
Not only does this 1/6 scale Spider-Man come with a puffer vest, he’s also the perfect size to take all kinds of adorable pictures. Join us after the jump for Spider-Man hanging out with pets; tucked up in a cat bed; and showing what an awesome dad he is.
If you’ve been playing Pokémon Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire, you’ll be familiar with cute little critter, Mudkip, one of the three starter Pokémon in the new game. Mudkip may start life as an adorable water-munchkin, but many Japanese fans felt that things take a turn for the worse when he evolves into Marshtomp.
Gone are the big doe-eyes and baby features, replaced by a glassy-eyed stare that Japanese Twitter users are calling “too scary for words”. Obviously, the only thing to do was to start Photoshopping Marshtomp’s head onto things. What else is the internet for?
If you ever played Pokémon as a kid (or even as an adult!), you’re probably familiar with the Substitute move and the adorable plush “decoy” your pocket monster could use to sop up some damage. But as cute as that little substitute was, didn’t you always kind of wish that it looked a little bit more like a plush version of the pokémon you were using?
Maybe not, but that didn’t stop one Japanese Twitter artist from drawing 64 Pokémon as Substitutes!
Call us jaded, but usually when we think of the Internet, we think of a cesspit of erotic fan fiction, toxic message boards and comments sections filled with ignorance, anger and bad grammar, punctuated by the very occasional glimmer of the web’s potential for greatness, usually in the form of reddit AMAs.
One of those glimmers came a few days ago when a Japanese Twitter user posted a plea for help from fellow net users in decoding a message left behind in his late uncle’s diary.
This week’s large earthquake that struck Nagano, Japan was unfortunately quite damaging. The magnitude 6.7 quake brought down over 140 houses in the area, injuring at least 40 people. When an event like this occurs, everyone switches on their TVs to see how bad things were and where it struck. In Japan, people will often turn to NHK, their nationally funded broadcasting service. Normally a trusted news source, NHK decided to expose the conditions of an otaku’s room where his unique collection was scattered across the floor.
How did they get such an in-depth look at the damage done to a local resident? Was there a connection with someone within the TV station? Did they rush to his home to capture the footage first hand? Nope, they simply pulled the photos “From Twitter” without asking for permission. Can NHK actually do that?
Give any kid a piece of chalk, and they’re likely to draw some quick doodles on the board. Some stick figures; the logo of some group or team they’re especially fond of; perhaps even a wang or two if there are no adults around. But some kids will use that same piece of chalk to create veritable masterpieces that are so good, you’ll never want to erase them.
You won’t want to miss this collection of impressive chalk art after the jump! Here’s celebrating the talented work of artistic Japanese students.
As an adult, I never really find myself attached to one particular hairstyle. Every time I get a cut, that’s a one or two-month commitment at best before I get to change it around all over again. But for kids, the barber can apparently be a pretty harrowing experience. After all, especially for younger kids, they’ve been rocking the same ‘do for almost their entire lives. Also, it probably takes some learning to overcome the instinctual aversion to sharp objects being brandished near your face.
Not that I have kids or anything, but I’ve heard taking them to the hair salon can be… let’s just say a bit of a handful.
That’s why many Japanese salons have decided to go the extra mile and give kids the VIP treatment:
Halloween may be over for this year, but the weather gods in Saitama clearly hadn’t got the message on Wednesday morning this week, as the city was shrouded in a mysterious thick fog – with an even more mysterious name!
Parking can be tricky sometimes, but when you’re trying to manoeuvre a large vehicle around tight spaces in a Japanese carpark, things can get a little scary.
Thankfully nobody was hurt in the accident pictured above, yet after the photo was posted on Twitter there was one thing everyone wanted to know: how come the rear wheels were hanging in mid-air?
In many Western cultures, the owl is often regarded as a symbol of wisdom. But when you stop to think about it, wouldn’t a more fitting bird for that title be the crow?
If you’re not convinced now, we’re pretty sure you will be after seeing what clever strategy this particular crow uses to crack open an acorn!
Employees at the campus co-op store at Nihon Joshi Daigaku may work at Japan’s oldest private women’s university, but when it comes to making their special offer displays, their attitude is anything but old-fashioned. Their witty, super-honest pricing displays regularly have the Japanese Twitterverse in stitches.
Join us after the jump for six of the best!
Sometimes, you’re surfing around on the Internet to find weird Japan news to write about and can’t seem to find anything except one of those old “I thought this thing was that thing, but it was another thing,” Twitter comparison pictures and you kind of just have to run with it. I know, oddly specific scenario, but we’ve all been there, right?
Like, check out this thing that looks like a bird. We already know it’s not a bird, but can you use some of the clues in the photo to figure out what it really is?
Rumored to be the new wave to take over the long-running multimedia kid’s series Pokémon, Youkai Watch and its various colorful characters can be seen all over the streets in Japan. Just as how Pokémon posters and merchandise used to be visible almost everywhere, the streets and shelves are now occupied by Jibanyan and his fellow youkai counterparts from the hit series Youkai Watch.
Pokémon has yet to back out from the race though, as loyal fans who loved the series since they were kids continue to shower their love (and money) on Pikachu and his hundreds of mystical friends. What are fans to do? Cling on to the old, or embrace the new? Check out the ingenious solution Twitter user @umeko_kj8 came up with after the break!
For a dedicated entrepreneur, potential business ideas are everywhere. You just have to keep your eyes open–after all someone had to come with idea for zippers first. The problem, though, is telling the difference between a crazy-but-great business idea and a simply crazy idea. And sometimes it’s much easier to tell them apart, like this bizarre suggestion.
Japan continues to show its love for all things “cute“. So, what has about 24,000 retweets and 31,000 favorites on Twitter right now? We’ll give you a hint, it begins with a ‘C’ and end with an ‘AT’. You get three guesses and the first two don’t count.
You may have heard the name Takeshi Natsuno before. A Keio University professor, former Senior Vice President at NTT Docomo, Sega Sammy big-wig, and creator of i-mode, he is by all accounts an intelligent, not to mention extremely tech-savvy, dude. So you can imagine the surprise the good residents of the city of Sendai felt when he took to his Twitter account earlier this week to publicly disparage their home town as being “too lame for words”.
Just what prompted this sudden outpouring of ire? Well, it seems Mr Natsuno felt rather short-changed when he attempted to use his prepaid Suica IC Card to ride the Sendai subway. Suica is a Tokyo-based IC card system. Sendai is not in Tokyo. You can probably see where this is going.
Where will it end? It seems like the Japanese internet still can’t get enough of the kabe-don phenomenon.
Over the past year, we’ve seen the trend evolve from the romantic aspirations of high school girls everywhere to incredibly intense displays of affection. This time, we’re proud to bring you 12 more glorious tweets of the kabe-don in action–and don’t think that humans are the only ones ‘walling’ it up!
Kyoto Whopper divides customers at Burger King Japan
Taking the Kyoto overnight bus for the first time
Starbucks Japan unveils second Holiday Frappuccino for 2024
Japan’s caramel gacha machines offer sweet thrills, but do they deliver?
Japanese burger chain no longer serves onion rings, but offers intriguing replacement【Taste test】
Forbidden area at Japanese mountaintop shrine opens to the public for first time in 400 years
Hello Kitty isn’t a cat!? We called Sanrio to find out!
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
New card game makes Japan’s saunas even steamier
How to properly pronounce “Ghibli” and other fun trivia about the legendary animation studio
One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippersGhibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Berserk T-shirts coming to Uniqlo for launch of new Manga Curation line【Photos】
Mario Kart Happy Meal toys arrive at McDonald’s Japan, and SoraNews24 has the whole set!【Photos】
After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
Tokyo park’s sea of clouds, nighttime illumination, and cosplay days make now perfect time to visit
Samurai ritual suicide contest cancelled by organizer in west Japan
Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
Flying dango: Unique tourist site where Japanese sweets are flown to you over a gorge
American jackass tourist arrested after carving name into gate at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine【Video】
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Tokyo Disneyland loses top-attendance crown for Japanese theme parks for second year in a rowGhibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Ghibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle theme
Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in Japan
Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quitAfter cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
What’s the deal with akebi, the perfectly purple, alien-like fruit that’s in season now in Japan?
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
[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
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Forbidden area at Japanese mountaintop shrine opens to the public for first time in 400 years
Hello Kitty isn’t a cat!? We called Sanrio to find out!
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
New card game makes Japan’s saunas even steamier
How to properly pronounce “Ghibli” and other fun trivia about the legendary animation studio
New product aimed at Japanese women and cosplayers helps to create a slimmer, taller nose
Japan’s new difficult-to-drink-from beer glass protects your liver, but it’s a brutal experience
Japanese department store rooftop is a secret oasis where you can escape the crowds in Tokyo
Made In Japan Fender Limited Edition Hello Kitty Stratocaster now on sale in Japan
Yakuza vending machines coming to real-world Tokyo neighborhood that inspired Like a Dragon games
Katsu weight showdown! Which Japanese supermarket gives you the most tonkatsu meat for your yen?
The 5 best Japanese bento to buy at Kyoto Station