Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
weird (Page 162)
KURE 5-56 is Japan’s version of WD-40. It’s hard to make a connection between a lubricating spray and Star Trek, but one Japanese company managed to do just that, incorporating clips from the newest movie, Star Trek Into Darkness, into a commercial. The company also gave rise to their own version of first officer, Mister Spock, and he’s…interesting.
Apple’s iPhone 5S went on sale in Japan on September 20, with electronics aficionados, including our own Mr. Sato, lining up days in advance in order to purchase one on launch day.
Obviously, you have to love your electronics to be willing to camp out on the sidewalk, especially with a typhoon hitting the Tokyo area right before the new model’s release. Blogger Junichi Suzaki wondered if there might be something other than the promise of shiny new tech convincing people to spend multiple days and nights in line, though, and found a surprising motivation for the people at the head of the line.
A Nagaski area public toilet is proving that the future that Blade Runner envisioned is now, and it’s in Japan.
The public toilet in question is apparently about a 10-minute walk from the station proper, at an unassuming location near a pedestrian underpass. To even gain access to the toilet requires you to figure out a complex series of buttons and probably pass a retinal scan to ensure you aren’t a Replicant.
Japanese seem to love giving their drinks an unexpected twist. They’ve tried hot ginger ale, orange juice that looks like soy sauce, and a milk drink with tomato and lemon flavoring. Compared to those wacky creations, Yakult’s popular probiotic dairy drinks seem positively pedestrian, but now they’ve upped their game.
Care for a hot, potable yogurt, anyone?
Located in a remote section of a remote prefecture of Japan, Kumamoto’s Amakusa City faces the same problem a lot of rural towns do: its population is dwindling as children born there generally have to leave to pursue an education or career, and few move back.
As part of an effort to boost the remaining residents’ spirits, as well as hopefully garner a little tourism publicity, Amakusa recently held a World Santa Congress.
As Japan’s most prodigious celebrity endorser, Hello Kitty certainly keeps busy. In this month alone, we’ve seen her grace Toshiba’s SD cards, and even transform herself into a cute, cuddly dislocated tooth to hawk toothpaste.
With such a hectic work schedule, it’s understandable that Kitty-chan should want to relax the same way many of us do after coming home from a long, hard day at the office: by cracking open a cold beer. Even then though, the hard-working feline is on the clock, with a new line of Hello Kitty Beer.
What will they think of next? From Japanese toy company, Takara Tomy, makers of an indoor kite and robotic tropical fish, comes a fried shark toy that looks good enough to politely refuse to eat.
If you only started playing video games in the last 10 years, you may not know how good you’ve got it. These days, every system includes a hard drive to save your progress, and with most games offering frequent opportunities to do so or doing it on your behalf, even the worst screw-up isn’t going to lose you more than 15 minutes or so of progress. With dozens of online FAQs and YouTube demonstrations for the most popular titles, there’s no need to waste time getting killed by the same boss over and over again.
But back in the day, things were different. Before every home had multiple Internet-capable devices, gamers were completely on their own whenever they entered a new stage, and death usually meant going all the way back to the beginning of the level, if not the entire game. How did old school gamers deal with this kind of frustration?
In the case of one of our Japanese correspondents by biting the controller.
We were recently duped into thinking some high-quality pieces of Sailor Moon fan art were from the upcoming new installment in the anime franchise. In light of this, we’ve decided to be more skeptical about news concerning the lunar-themed heroine.
From now on, we’re not believing anything until we’re holding the real deal in our own two hands! Which is just what we did with a set of adult-size Sailor Moon bibs.
Have you ever walked by, say, a fried chicken restaurant that had a chicken mascot and been slightly disturbed by the implications of a food-themed character? If you eat the chicken there, aren’t you essentially killing the mascot? And why on earth is he so happy about it?
Japan is full of stuff like this. Pigs selling tonkatsu, chickens shucking poultry, dumplings who dream of being eaten by grandma. And now, Sanrio – famous for giving birth to everybody’s favorite mouthless kitty – is jumping on the food character bandwagon with this odd mascot with an edible head made out of grilled fish.
Recently popping up on Twitter, a supermarket ad declaring a unique event has received a lot of attention here in Japan. However, as the person who originally tweeted it comments, this advert may also be a “premonition of disaster.”
Since September 5, Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan has started selling what they call a “corn potage fritter.” It sounds fancy, but when you really get down to it, it’s just deep-fried soup. To our Japanese reporter who hasn’t been versed in the wide variety of bizarre things Americans manage to fry up at county fairs across the United States, the very idea of fried soup was quite surprising. Half-convinced that such a snack even existed, he went down to his nearest KFC and gave it a try.
For the girl who just loves to eat. This new bra for the fall and winter season promises to expand with the help of a “secret hook” to allow you to comfortably fill your belly.
During the height of summer, we’ve been known to plonk ourselves down in front our home-made air conditioner with a pile of sliced watermelon or even chilled soba noodles and mentsuyu dipping sauce as a way of keeping cool while engaging in our favourite pastime of filling our faces. But we never imagined for a second that someone would put noodles, yoghurt and fruit together in one dish.
Tokyo and Osaka-based noodle chain Tsurutontan, specialists in udon wheat-flour noodle dishes, is currently offering patrons something rather tropical with its Mango Yogurt Udon. The very thought of eating a cold, sweet version of one of our favourite kinds of noodle at once excited us and made us feel a little bit queasy, so we sent one of our bravest reporters over to try it out. Find out what they thought after the jump.
You’ve been through a bubble wrap case, iPhone underpants, and even talked to your friend using a piece of toast, but those are just fads. You want something that will stand the test of time. Well, every little kid has used a banana as a phone, so why not transform your iPhone into a banana? It’s timeless.
It’s barely even autumn and yet Japan’s beverage makers are showing off their new winter warmers. Hot on the heels of Coca Cola’s Canada Dry Hot Ginger Ale, Japan’s Kirin drinks company has unveiled a new hot version of its popular carbonated drink, Kirin no Awa.
Given that the apparently rather promiscuous Hello Kitty will lend her likeness to just about everything, from doughnuts to assault rifles, it’s only a matter of time until the world is plastered in Hello Kitty spawn and our little human children are asking where all these frighteningly cute mouthless kitties come from.
Well, thanks to the curious mind of Moistproductions.com‘s Jason Freeny, you can now get your hands on a helpful tool to explain!
Fall is right around the corner, and winter is around the corner after that, and after that… wait, back up, you’re just going to end up in the same place you started. Let’s focus on fall.
Fall in Japan, like every season in Japan, is a chance for companies to come up with new seasonal convenience store items with fancy color-coded packages. And in summer’s case, tons and tons of salt. In the fall, especially, manufacturers gear up with all kinds of crazy concoctions because it’s (probably) a verifiable fact that everybody eats like a damn starved pig in the fall and they know you’ll eat or drink just about anything if they put some pretty fall leaves on the package.
It’s no secret that the RocketNews24 team is pretty enamored of life here in Japan. It’s hard not to have a good time in a country with such deep traditions and cultural events throughout the year.
That said, I always get just a little homesick when autumn rolls around. As great as Japanese festivals are, they simply can’t match American county fairs in terms of fried food offerings.
Thankfully, KFC Japan is ready to take a little of the sting out of fall this year with a new menu item: fried soup.
The feeling of wanting to pick one’s nose is something that every boy and girl can relate to. Unfortunately, society frowns upon people who blatantly go on a booger hunt. In Japan, even blowing your nose in public can be considered bad manners! We’re not sure how sniffling up your snot for hours is better than dispelling it all in one go, but that’s beside the point.
Bandai has a brand new product to ease that natural urge. When your nose has an itch that you’re just twitching to pick, here’s a prosthetic nose that you can pick even in public!
Burger King Japan creates Kyoto Whopper, its most Japanese burger ever, with Kyoto rice merchant
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
What’s it like in Shibuya on Halloween this year?
Starbucks Japan unveils new Holiday goods for 2024
Japanese communities giving their skylines a spring clean and saying goodbye to power lines
Japan’s Best Home Senbero: Costco brings a touch of health to drinking at home for under US$10
New Akita Inu and Hachiko marshmallows are the best and squishiest souvenirs from Japan
Nintendo launches new Nintendo Music service with decades’ worth of iconic game tunes【Video】
‘90s J-pop/drama star Ryoko Hirosue stars in amazing McDonald’s Japan vid…with her younger self
Foreigner accidentally allowed to vote in Japanese election, ballot will remain validNintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
Tokyo Disneyland loses top-attendance crown for Japanese theme parks for second year in a row
Foreign man arrested for grabbing former AKB48 idol on Tokyo street, forcing her to ground
Starbucks Japan unveils new limited-edition Christmas menu at Reserve Roastery Tokyo
Non-tourist trap fish market in northeastern Japan captures our hearts with amazing sashimi
McDonald’s Japan debuts new anime girl mascot character with incredibly long name
Adorable Totoro embroidered bags return with anti-reselling protection in place【Photos】
Kyoto becomes City of Yokai, with Night Parade of One Hundred Demons festival this autumn
Japan’s newest life-size Gundam is finished, receives Shinto blessing in Osaka【Video】
One of Japan’s most awesome rail passes, the Seishun 18 Ticket, just got a lot less awesome
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Studio Ghibli releases new insect whistle necklace from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Totoro sequel anime Mei and the Baby Catbus will screen at Ghibli Park this winterNintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
Starbucks Japan unveils Halloween Frappuccino for 2024, and it’s like drinking a magic spellTokyo Disneyland loses top-attendance crown for Japanese theme parks for second year in a row
Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno returning to anime with new project for 50-year-old franchise
Studio Ghibli releases new Howl’s Moving Castle goods that capture the magic from the anime movie
Adult Jam Bread causes a stir at store in TokyoKyoto becomes City of Yokai, with Night Parade of One Hundred Demons festival this autumn
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
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closedJapanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Japan’s Best Home Senbero: Costco brings a touch of health to drinking at home for under US$10
New Akita Inu and Hachiko marshmallows are the best and squishiest souvenirs from Japan
Nintendo launches new Nintendo Music service with decades’ worth of iconic game tunes【Video】
‘90s J-pop/drama star Ryoko Hirosue stars in amazing McDonald’s Japan vid…with her younger self
Foreigner accidentally allowed to vote in Japanese election, ballot will remain valid
Foreign man arrested for grabbing former AKB48 idol on Tokyo street, forcing her to ground
What happens if you feed pufferfish poison to pufferfish? Japanese scientists trying to find out
Video claims that if you can read a certain font, you are probably not Japanese【Video】
Our reporters try a yakiniku sauce called “Even Women Garlic” to figure out what that means
Original Totoro plush toys from 80s and 90s re-issued for Studio Ghibli exhibition
Six ice creams you should try at Baskin-Robbins Japan, according to staff who work there