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Kendama master takes the game to a whole new level 【Video】

Krista Rogers
Feb 21, 2014
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Almost everyone in Japan has played kendama at some point in their lives. Most people learn how to play it as a pastime during their childhood, then eventually move on to other activities after they get the hang of it and become bored. A select few, however, go on to hone their skills to perfection and actually compete in organized competitions similar to yo-yo tournaments. Enter 22-year-old Hiroki Iijima, who has not only mastered all the regular tricks in the book but has also combined his love for street dancing to create a new freestyle activity: “kendama street dancing,” if you will.

Skeptical? We’ve got video proof of Hiroki’s awesome skills right here. Prepare to be dazzled!

Ancient Chinese instrument can mimic Super Mario Bros. music with startling fidelity

Master Blaster
Feb 20, 2014

Searching “Super Mario Theme” on YouTube will yield many unique renditions on a range of instruments including guitars, pianos, church organs, ukuleles, wine glasses, flutes, and 11-string basses. And while they’re all special and unique in their own way, no non-electric instrument can truly replicate that distinct 8-bit sound of the original game.

…Or can it? The sheng (shou in Japanese) is a Chinese musical instrument whose origins date back to 1,100 BC, and in a YouTube video that has recently taken Japan by storm we can see that this traditional instrument was way, way ahead of its time as it perfectly imitates the background music and sound effects of the original Super Mario Bros.

Underground pipe explodes, creates a 10-metre man-made geiser in Kanagawa Prefecture

Philip Kendall
Feb 12, 2014

Japan’s Kanto region just can’t catch a break recently – first heavy snow brings the capital city to its knees (and this writer given the X of denial as he was told “Sorry, sir, the flight has already departed” after it took five hours to reach the airport in it), and now giant columns of water are spurting up out of the ground.

“Are you married yet?” – Chinese ad attempts to guilt-trip young women into trying the knot

Philip Kendall
Feb 12, 2014

Chinese dating company Baihe.com has taken the unusual step of producing an ad that attempts to guilt-trip young women into marriage. In it, an elderly woman who is steadily inching closer to death pesters her granddaughter to find a man and tie the knot, constantly asking, “Are you married yet?”

Eventually – and we swear we’re not making this up – the troubled young woman resolves that she should stop “being picky” and decides to marry right away.

The full WTF? video after the jump.

Man in India viewed as a god for his really long butt hair

Master Blaster
Feb 11, 2014

They say America is the land of opportunity, but India seems well on its way to taking that crown. Where else can a man acquire a group of followers for having a 37cm (14.5 inch) tail of hair growing just above his butt crack?

SoftBank’s mascot dog behaving badly at bizarre press conference

Cara Clegg
Feb 8, 2014

Japan’s SoftBank Corporation recently put together a typically bizarre commercial to advertise their new student discount service, and held a press conference to announce it. In attendance was the famous SoftBank dog, and a couple of large pears, who all got a little over-excited. When dealing with huge talents like these, things don’t always go to plan…

Beautiful Korean woman earns a living with Internet videos of herself…eating dinner? 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Feb 4, 2014

Today, we’d like to talk to you about Seo-yeon Park, a young woman living in South Korea. Ms. Park used to have a respectable position at a business consulting firm, but being an attractive young woman, she discovered that she could attract a large audience by posting videos of herself online. Many of the people watching can’t do the things she does, others can but feel they shouldn’t. Deep down inside, though, everyone who watches Park’s videos, in which she gives herself the pleasure and satisfaction most can only dream of, secretly longs to follow her unbridled example.

Eventually, Park’s online activities, which started out as a hobby, became so encompassing that she quit her job. Her online exhibitionism is now a full-time gig for which she has adopted the stage name The Diva.

As we’re sure you’ve already guessed, Park has crossed over completely into the world of producing Internet videos of herself eating piles of delicious food, and is making a comfortable living from it.

My Little Pony gets an anime twist in fan video

Anime News Network
Feb 4, 2014

Swedish fan Karl Ehrnström, also known as Galaxyart, has just finished a personal project where he took the characters from My Little Pony and animated them as cute girls.

Live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service film’s 2nd trailer previews Jiji

Anime News Network
Jan 30, 2014

Mainichi Shimbun’s Mantan Web began streaming the second full trailer on Monday for the live-action film of Eiko Kadono‘s fantasy novel series Kiki’s Delivery Service (Majo no Takkyūbin). The trailer previews Mai Kuraki‘s theme song “Wake Me Up,” and also shows the first footage of Kiki’s black cat Jiji (played by K-ON!‘s Minako Kotobuki).

Multiple witness reports of mysterious lights over Okinawa 【Video】

Master Blaster
Jan 26, 2014

At approximately 9:00pm on 23 January, reports started coming into the Okinawa Times about a strange array of lights over their capital city Naha. Japan’s Self Defense Force and astronomical experts are without answer, yet witness accounts and videos claim a dozen or so bright orange lights appearing to hang and shift around in the sky could be see in the area.

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Join Sharla on a Japan love hotel adventure!

Krista Rogers
Jan 23, 2014

One of the weird, fascinating things about Japan that makes many foreigners giggle is the presence of so-called “love hotels.” In many Japanese cities, you and your lover can rent a hotel room for either a few hours of fun (less expensive) or overnight for a whole lotta fun (more expensive). Often, love hotels will have a particular theme in decor throughout the building, which may even vary room to room. To get an idea of just how crazy the decorations can be, check out this photos collection of some of the most outrageous love hotel rooms Japan has to offer.

If you’re curious to learn more about the differences between a typical hotel room and a love hotel room, however, YouTuber Sharla in Japan has uploaded a video documenting her stay at a love hotel with a friend. Sharla wants everyone to know that you don’t have to go to a love hotel with your significant other or for clandestine nooky; it can be just as fun to go with your pal or use the places as a cheaper accommodation alternative! Hear more about what Sharla has to say and watch her fun video after the jump!

We give Mr. Sato a Gyro Bowl: Can it withstand even his creepiest undulations?

Master Blaster
Jan 22, 2014

It’s a little known yet unsurprising fact that Mr. Sato loves a nice bowl of potato chips. However, much to the chagrin of his colleagues, he loves them so much that he begins to flail his limbs around wildly when he gets some.

After brushing the crumbs off the keyboards and shopping around online, the rest of the RocketNews24 staff found Gyro Bowl. For only 2,480 yen (US$24) this German-engineered bowl boasts a full 360° of spill prevention. All that combined with Mr. Sato’s inherent love of orange spinny stuff made this purchase a no-brainer. When the bowl arrived it was time to fire up the cameras and see how Gyro Bowl held up to Mr. Sato’s chip dance of joy.

Oh boy, that’s pretty racist: Vine Japan edition

Mike
Jan 22, 2014

We’ve already covered extensively Twitter’s propensity for bringing out the stupid in people – both in Japan and the world at large – so we knew it was only a matter of time until users of Twitter’s video-based cousin, Vine, just couldn’t help themselves anymore and started making Vine entries to elicit the collective eye rolling of millions.

And so, taking the dubious honor of the first subject of our hopefully not ongoing new segment, “Oh Boy, That’s Pretty Racist,” is Japanese Vine user Indodeen, who demonstrates for us how to have fun with blatant racial stereotypes by pretending to be a poorly-acclimated Indian man living in Japan.

Epic win for live-action Attack on Titan video made by German fans【Video】

Krista Rogers
Jan 21, 2014

Live-action adaptations of your favorite anime series are sometimes painful to watch. On rare occasions, they’re actually pretty decent, even though stories with supernatural or sci-fi elements tend to be especially difficult to reproduce faithfully in real life…or so we thought until now. Before now, many people have commented that a live-action version of the insanely popular Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人) would be impossible to execute well. But a group of enthusiastic German fans have proven everyone wrong with their amazing video which runs like a movie trailer! This production has truly raised the bar for fans around the world. One more important detail: they have real horses!

Chinese pickpocket technique avoids fingerprints by using chopsticks【Video】

Jessica
Jan 21, 2014

Pickpockets are famous for their nimble fingers, but the drawback of that approach is that they have to actually get close enough to get their grubby fingers in your pockets. Unless, of course, the pickpockets are using chopsticks to grab the goods. Or at least they are trying to…

Fan makes detailed clay figure of Hayao Miyazaki, even his cigarettes look life-like

Master Blaster
Jan 17, 2014

Hayao Miyazaki has created some of anime’s more memorable characters, winning legions of fans all around the world. As such you would imagine that along with the thousands of pieces of fan art, an aspiring sculptor somewhere would pick up the gauntlet and recreate some of them in three dimensions.

One sculptor answered that call, and set out to make the ultimate Ghibli character from clay: Mr. Miyazaki himself… We hear his friends say he’s “a real character.”

World-famous actress Maggie Q warns rich Chinese men that shark fin soup just isn’t cool

Philip Kendall
Jan 16, 2014

Unlike numerous other animal rights groups, non-governmental organisation WildAid aims to combat the problem of illegal wildlife trade – most notably the killing of sharks for their fins, elephants and rhinos for their precious ivory, and tigers for their skins – by attacking the problem at its source: the people whose money encourages it. The group’s message is simple: “When the buying stops, the killing can too.”

With the help of numerous high-profile figures like footballer David Beckham and even Britain’s Prince William, WildAid puts pressure on the people providing the demand for these “luxury” items. This week, world-famous actress, animal rights campaigner and, in our opinion, full-time babe Maggie Q appeared in the group’s newest commercial, which aired in China. The ad, titled “Impress”, aims to dissuade wealthy Chinese from eating shark fin soup, with Maggie telling both her date and TV-watching China that although there are many ways to impress a woman, shark fin soup is definitely not one of them.

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Super limber Chinese lady shows world insane stretching routine【video】

Scott R Dixon
Jan 13, 2014

Have you made that New Year’s resolution to be healthier but just can’t seem to make the commitment to work out? Is the only flexible thing in your life the elastic band around your sweatpants after you gorge yourself on cake? We think we can motivate you into a more active lifestyle by seeing a Chinese lady in her 50s doing her morning stretching routine that will be sure to shame you into eating healthier and exercising more!

Absolutely wow: Dawn of the new year seen from 30 km up【video】

Preston Phro
Jan 12, 2014

The new year has arrived and it feels like we’ve already fallen into the same old routine. A well-known and comfortable routine, so we’re not complaining! But it is a bit sad to let the wintry festivities go.

Fortunately, there’s still a bit of fun to be had leftover from New Year’s Day: One enterprising Hokkaido resident took it upon himself to film the dawn of the new year–from the freaking stratosphere! He posted the video on YouTube and it is absolutely beautiful.

Lights! Shadows! Action!! 3 awesome videos from Japanese performance troupe Shiro-A

Philip Kendall
Jan 10, 2014

Shiro-A have been around for over 10 years now, but it’s surprising how few people have actually heard of them. Combining technology, music, dance and comedy to create visually spectacular shows, they continue to wow audiences all over the world, and the snippets we have for you today are bound to leave you wanting more.

The group members perform in front of (or was it behind!?) a series of screens, onto which numerous graphics are projected while live DJs create an accompanying soundtrack. The performances always begin relatively simply, but soon explode into what we can only describe as perfectly choreographed visual chaos, with pumping beats accompanying splashes of colour as group members appear to be physically manipulating the digitally mapped images in real-time.

Be sure to check these guys out!