Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
weird (Page 157)
Part of the excitement of traveling is trying foods that you have never seen, heard of, or even contemplated before. So when our lodging in the wilds of Nikko offered roasted salamander for dinner, I had to give it a try. Not just to satisfy my curiosity and my pride, but to report back to you, dear reader, about what amphibi-lizard on a stick tastes like.
China has become one of the world’s fastest growing car markets. On a macroeconomic scale, this is due largely to demand rising as Chinese consumers enjoy greater prosperity, coupled with more and more automakers putting an effort into building and selling their products in China.
On a microeconomic scale, though, we think at least a few car sales in the city of Foshan are from people who lost their nerve about using public transportation after spending too long waiting at a bus stop that has a demolished building going down around, and even on top of, it.
This year, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood made a major push to establish itself as the place to celebrate Halloween in Japan’s capital. Things got off to a pretty low-key but still impressively creative start with a costume contest on one of the local train lines, but that was nothing compared to how jumping Shibuya was on the night of October 31.
Unfortunately, when you funnel that many people into one place, some of them are going to exhibit some pretty poor manners, as evidenced by the mounds of litter some revelers left behind. In response, volunteers sprang into action cleaning up the trash, but instead of a pat on the back for their hard work, some Twitter users decided to take them to task for what they felt was a shameless play for attention.
Six men and women were bitten by a wild boar in Akiruno and Fussa cities in Tokyo on Friday morning.
So we might be a little late to the party on this one – on account of being at other parties that involved a lot of drinking – but we’re still taken with the Halloween spirit, and it looks like Thailand is too, because we managed to scrounge up a bunch of spooky, possibly “haunted” photos from the area recently.
Let’s say you’re designing a menu for a restaurant, and you want to serve parfaits. More precisely, you want to serve as many different kinds of parfaits as you can think up. How far do you think you could make it towards that goal before things got completely crazy?
Apparently the tipping point to culinary weirdness is about 195 varieties. How did we calculate that? Well, on a recent visit to Kyoto, we found a café that has about 200 different types of parfaits, including five that’re topped with things like corn dogs and deep-fried prawns.
Every couple of months, a situation will crop up where the legal rights holder to an anime comes in and quashes some sort of unauthorized derivative work. Fans don’t always let the letter of the law stand in the way of how they express their passion for their favorite shows, though, and defenders often assert that no harm is actually being done, so long as the rights holder wasn’t already producing the same product. There’s no need to shut down an unlicensed T-shirt operation, the argument goes, if the company isn’t actively producing shirts itself.
Maybe that was going through the head of one Nagoya resident when he noticed a glaring oversight in the marketing machine behind hit anime One Piece, and decided to start selling one-dollar bills with copied stickers of the series’ band of pirates.
A while back, we took a look at an odd online retailing episode when a Japanese customer ordered a single persimmon from Amazon Japan. Sure, it was weird enough to find out that Amazon sells produce, not to mention that you can purchase it in individual pieces. What really got our attention, though, was the comically oversized box it shipped in.
But just when we thought the company’s packaging couldn’t get any crazier, we received our most recent order from Amazon. What’d we order? Cardboard boxes. How’d they ship it? Inside six more cardboard boxes!
It’s hard to think of a more Japanese condiment than wasabi, but even among diners born and raised in Japan, you can find people who order their sushi wasabi nuki, or without wasabi. We can see why, since not everyone who loves the flavor of raw fish also enjoys the sensation of simultaneously having their sinuses cleared and their tongue set on fire.
What’s a little harder to understand, though, is why the makers of wasabi-beef flavored potato chips have decided to offer a wasabi-free version of their salty snacks.
If there’s one unwritten, universal rule of the Internet (other than Rule 34), it’s that you can’t purposefully make something “go viral.” As you read this, there is almost certainly a team of marketing people in a boardroom somewhere trying to figure out a way to leverage that crazy “Shibe Doge” into an ad campaign that will almost certainly never succeed.
But one former Microsoft employee apparently thinks she can buck the trend with her new invention, the “Donut Selfie.”
We’ve talked before about all the cool Kit Kats Japan gets, but the chocolate-covered wafers aren’t the only sweet indulgence with exclusive-to-Japan versions. Once a year or so, Pepsi releases a special flavor for the Japanese market, too.
This winter the soft drink maker is bringing back a popular hit from a few years ago, with the return of strawberry milk Pepsi.
It looks like wasabi, feels like wasabi, and tastes like wasabi, but this small green tube is actually filled with toothpaste. Wasabi flavored toothpaste. Yes, the popular Japanese condiment that accompanies sushi can now be enjoyed while brushing your teeth – as long as you don’t mind a few extra tears in the morning.
In perhaps the one case in which broadly dismissing an entire group of exotic-looking people by saying, “Eh, they all look the same to me,” maybe isn’t all that offensive, the 2014 Miss Korea contestant lineup once again looks eerily like a lineup of I, Robot-style doppelgangers.
This year saw around 50 finalists, whom the agency holding the competition saw fit to line up in a photo roster for our viewing pleasure:
Niconico is Japan’s biggest video sharing website – apart from that other one – and this week sees their unique café and creative space re-open in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.
The new nicocafe aims to bridge the gap between the online and offline worlds with its online interactive ordering system, which allows viewers watching at home to order items to be delivered to the guests at the bar!
We’re not sure how happy you’d be to actually receive some of these menu items, though…
When I first chanced upon these soft toys, I was really confused. By the word tetrapod, I thought the oddly shaped plushies were meant to resemble an entire classification of animals including myself and my neighbor’s cat. However, after doing some research, I discovered that tetrapods are actually concrete structures used in coastal water irrigation. And some genius decided that these should be made into limited-edition soft toys that belong in your room instead of next to the ocean.
These peculiar plushies are available for pre-order between October 18 to 26 only, so if you’re a fan of these huge solid blocks of concrete that cover a worryingly large amount of Japan’s coastline, hurry and grab them whilst stocks last!
As awesome as smartphones are, do they really help us to better communicate with one another? Sure, it’s nice to be able to instantly talk with anyone, regardless of whether you’re at home or out and about, but there are certain things we lose by doing it with the help of technology. Even as mobile phones’ audio and video capabilities continue to improve, they’re still not perfect. Without talking face-to-face, you can’t pick up on every facial expression, hear each subtle change in inflection, or reach out and hold someone’s hand should the conversation turn emotional or romantic.
Unless you’re using this iPhone case that’s an eerily detailed replica of a human hand.
On a budget? Stuck for a Halloween outfit? How about turning yourself into a “2.5D” hero and scaring the life out of everyone you encounter with this series of free printable masks?
Join us after the jump to find out how you can become a beautiful, yet kind of creepy, manga character without spending a penny.
While it may not have the hippest image in the U.S., Domino’s Pizza has built a fanbase for itself in Japan with a string of unique promotions and weird humor. So we’re sure plenty of people were sad to hear that on October 26, Domino’s Japan is closing down its online store where you can order pizzas for delivery or pickup.
Luckily, this has turned out to be just another one of the chain’s quirky jokes, since it’s also opening a new online store on October 27. In other words, it’s just a website redesign, but in addition to serving up plenty of tongue-in-cheek drama, Domino’s is also offering discounts for customers who play along with the joke and say goodbye in a variety of ways.
It hasn’t made its way to the same level of international culinary stardom as sushi and ramen, but I don’t think I’ve ever introduced a foreign visitor to Japan to melon bread who didn’t fall in love with it. Despite containing no actual melon (the name is thought to come from the pattern scored into the bread’s upper crust), the Japanese bakery mainstay is a definite winner thanks to its sugar-dusted, crisp outer layer. Melon bread delivers just enough flavor and crunch to satisfy your craving for something sweet and stimulating, while at the same time hiding its one undeniable weakness.
The center is just plain white bread.
Bakery Yamazaki Pan seems to have accepted the treat’s shortcoming, and has responded in a temptingly logical way: selling bags of just the crust.
For the most part, we tend to think of candy as being something for kids. Sweet flavors just seem to go with the sweet era of youthful innocence.
But what if you’re an adult who craves a sugar rush, but you still want the world to know that you’re a stone-cold badass? Then you carry your candy inside a skull-shaped lollipop case.
The other side of Shibuya Station has a great restaurant for trying tamagokakegohan
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Fives places around Japan to appreciate the plum blossoms this season
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Poop is in full bloom at the Unko Museums for cherry blossom season
Legendary pie cafe Anna Miller’s finally returns to Tokyo after three-year absence
Cute coffins now available at Tokyo’s coffin relaxation salon[Photos]
Playing Switch 2 games with just one hand is possible thanks to Japanese peripheral maker
Japan’s famous Crunky chocolate becomes chewing gum…and it has the weirdest taste and texture
Now is the time to visit one of Tokyo’s best off-the-beaten-path plum blossom gardens
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on EarthNow is the time to visit one of Tokyo’s best off-the-beaten-path plum blossom gardensNaruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Can you eat lunch in Tokyo for less than 500 yen?Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Japan releases first official sakura cherry blossom forecast for 2026Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamedStarbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Archfiend Hello Kitty appears as Sanrio launches new team-up with Yu-Gi-Oh【Pics】Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourismTake a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning looks to be affecting tourist crowds on Miyajima
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your homeJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Legendary pie cafe Anna Miller’s finally returns to Tokyo after three-year absence
Cute coffins now available at Tokyo’s coffin relaxation salon[Photos]
Playing Switch 2 games with just one hand is possible thanks to Japanese peripheral maker
Japan’s famous Crunky chocolate becomes chewing gum…and it has the weirdest taste and texture
Now is the time to visit one of Tokyo’s best off-the-beaten-path plum blossom gardens
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
One Piece Day to be held outside Japan for the first time this March, admission is FREE!
Downloads of 39-year-old Guns N’ Roses song increase 12,166 percent thanks to Gundam
Man arrested in Japan after leaving car in coin parking lot for six years, racking up three-million-yen bill
New zombie ship sets sail in Japan, includes Shinkansen tickets and all-you-can-eat sushi
Cats and dogs apologising at Japanese press conference is our newest gacha capsule toy obsession
Shizuoka hot springs town invites you to see one of the longest hina doll displays in Japan
Hey, Japanese taxi driver! Take us to the best Turkish rice restaurant in Nagasaki!
Shimane has a secret hot spring town that feels like stepping into an old Japanese film