Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
weird (Page 172)
Japan never fails to amaze when it comes to transforming the quotidian into cute. I mean, this is the country that turns cucumber-stealing, human-throttling swamp monsters into adorable toys for kids. The country’s latest go at cute-ification comes from Hello Kitty producing toy company Sanrio: Kirimi-chan, a walking, talking salmon fillet, who is set to debut next month with a line of kawaii craziness.
Over the past several months, we’ve seen wave after wave of wearable Sailor Moon merchandise, from accessories to lingerie to even bibs. But what about the other colossal ‘90s anime hit featuring combat-ready adolescents, Evangleion? Is there no new way to dress yourself in a way that shows your love for the franchise that ping pongs back and forth between scenes of its 14-year-old protagonists battling horrific aliens and coming to grips with the sexual confusion and frustration of puberty?
Why yes there is, and you can keep yourself warm at the same time with this crazy zip-up Evangelion hoodie.
Japan gets a lot of press for its continued whaling operations, but it’s not the only country that still hunts whales. Iceland also fishes a couple hundred whales a year and is one of the last remaining commercial markets for whale meat.
In fact, during the upcoming winter festival of Þorrablót, the traditional nosh is pickled whale fat along with such delicacies as burned sheep heads and pickled sheep testicles. Now what’s a real Viking to wash all that down with? Why, whale beer of course!
It’s been a little more than a year since we reported on ttongsul, or Korean feces wine. And while many of our readers enjoyed sampling the beverage vicariously through the five victims brave young ladies we recruited for the taste test, others took us to task for not having our regular staff knock back a glass of dookie-liqueur.
In an attempt at penance, we traveled to Korea to snack on poo-shaped cakes.
Living in Japan has done a lot to broaden my palate. For example, over the last 10 years my take on tofu has gone from “jello’s boring cousin” to “actually pretty good, especially with a little bit of sesame or spicy sauce.”
That said, I’m still not sold on soy milk. While the idea of popping open a soybean pod and finding delicious morsels of beef sounds like some sort of wonderful dreamland, the potential magic of bovine/bean cross-over doesn’t do much for me in reverse, and in general I’ll happily pass on drinkable soy.
Hoping to change my mind are two upcoming additions to soy giant Kikkoman’s line of flavored soy beverages: pear and cola.
In a strange story out of Hyogo Prefecture, a man has been arrested for squirting an unwanted, creamy white liquid onto an unsuspecting high school girl. And while the substance in question isn’t as disgusting as it could have been, it’s still pretty gross.
Pop quiz, guys: Your girlfriend approaches you and says she’ll wear whatever panties you tell her to, and she won’t even get mad if you choose the ones that reveal too much or make her look fat. What do you do? Go for the safe, hip-level sailor stripes? How about the slightly creepy but non-offensive teddy bear print? Go for broke and tell her to go commando?
This is the kind of question men of the Internet apparently pore over, because this image with the above question popped up on a Japanese Internet forum recently.
Japanese marketers love a good crossover product. We recently covered the very strange Mountain Dew-corn chip mashup, a Pizza Hut-Evangelion pairing, and any number of Hello Kitty crosses. But even weirdness-loving Japanese may be put off by news of the latest crossover collaboration between Circle K-Sunkus convenience stores and menstruation-tracking website Luna Luna: a pink steamed bun.
For better or worse, Japanese culture has made its way to the US and now sushi, cosplay, anime, and a number of other bizarre hybrids (sake bombs, anyone?) are fully integrated into American life. Now it seems maid cafes, those sickeningly sweet pink restaurants where waitresses act as servants, have made their way across the Pacific.
Located in New York City’s Chinatown, Maid Cafe NY brings a little bit of one of Japan’s strange subcultures to the United States. But will American patrons feel comfortable being greeted by cute maids in frilly outfits saying, “Welcome home my master and my princess”? Let’s take a closer look at Maid Cafe NY and find out.
OK, we’ve all been there. Maybe it was the venti coffee this morning or maybe you’ve caught a bug, but one thing is certain: you need a bathroom right now or a change of pants is going to be in order. Most of us manage by hook or crook to find a toilet or at least a concealing clump of trees in this situation, but one guy decided that the middle of the road seemed like a nice place to drop a deuce and he wasn’t going to let anything – even an emergency vehicle – disturb him.
The subject of plastic surgery has come up in a number of our past articles, but did you know there’s a certain cosmetic surgeon here in Japan who is practically a national celebrity? If you’ve spent some time in Japan, you may have heard of Dr. Katsuya Takasu, known for his chain of clinics for cosmetic procedures, the Takasu Clinic. Although he’s strictly a cosmetic surgeon by profession and not a media personality or entertainer, his face and name are recognizable to virtually everyone in Japan, thanks in large part to a series of unique ads that have aired on TV over the years.
Well, it now seems the good doctor will be coming out with some goods that have nothing to do with plastic surgery, but still boldly feature pictures of himself, and the sheer visual impact of these goods have definitely caught the attention of Japanese netizens. But don’t take our word for it, see the pictures yourself!
In Japan, Christmas is a romantic couples’ holiday on par with Valentine’s Day. Families gather over New Years, but on December 24th and 25th, couples go out for romantic dinners and singletons pine for someone to share the Christmas spirit with. Of course, some people don’t let the lack of a real world romantic partner stop them from feeling some holiday love.
On popular message board Himasoku, an anonymous user posted “live coverage” of his Christmas date with his virtual girlfriend. Spoiler alert: things get very naughty.
It may look like some CG monster out of Cloverfield, but the monstrosity above is actually a giant isopod, a type of crustacean that lives deep in the sea. Yes, that Pekinese-sized pill bug actually exists. And now, you can have an iPhone case that looks just like it!
A peculiar flower that resembles Darth Vader has just bloomed at the Kyoto Botanical Garden, causing rebels in the Kyoto metropolitan area to tremble in fear. With two deep pitted areas and a smaller one in the middle, as well as a bulbous cap with curled edges, it appears the Sith Lord has been reincarnated as a flower.
We’ve already covered South Korea’s attitudes about plastic surgery; basically, that it’s considered at worst a necessary evil for some folks to get ahead in life.
That cultural attitude has led the country to be widely considered the world cosmetic surgery capital, and has even led a handful, like this obsessed woman, to spend years of their lives and hundreds of thousands of dollars artificially perfecting their appearance.
Itasha, literally “painful cars,” are vehicles tricked out with all kinds of crazy body work and paint jobs so that they look like something out of an anime and are supposed to “hurt” just to look at. There’s a vibrant subculture of itasha owners and fans in Japan and they meet up every now and then to show off their wheels and talk shop. Take a look at our photo gallery and see if you don’t get a little depressed over your own car’s lack of fins.
Shimane Prefecture, located along the northwestern edge of Japan’s main island of Honshu, is commonly the butt of jokes. At best, it’s often confused with neighboring Tottori Prefecture, and at worst, it’s forgotten about altogether.
Despite its natural beauty and historical sites such as the Grand Shinto Shrine of Izumo, there’s no getting around the fact that Shimane is a quiet, rural place. Even in the prefectural capital of Matsue, there’s usually not much going on.
Except, perhaps, for a recent poltergeist attack.
Until now, we never really understood what all the fuss was about roses. Women seem to love them, and men seem to spend inordinate amounts of money to purchase them for their sweethearts. But now that we’ve seen the pitch-black Turkish Halfeti Rose, we’re starting to understand that roses can be not only dangerous, kind of smelly and enchanting all at the same time, they can also be the perfect centerpiece of the most hardcore heavy metal album or low fantasy book cover of all time.
So, let’s say you wake up one morning, unlock your smartphone, and find yourself bombarded with all caps texts from friends about some “zombie apocalypse.” And probably a few Instagram selfies, too, just to mark the occasion.
You look out the window and, sure enough, there go a few zombies shuffling down the street, moaning about brains.
What would you do??
Playing Switch 2 games with just one hand is possible thanks to Japanese peripheral maker
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Legendary pie cafe Anna Miller’s finally returns to Tokyo after three-year absence
The other side of Shibuya Station has a great restaurant for trying tamagokakegohan
Poop is in full bloom at the Unko Museums for cherry blossom season
Fives places around Japan to appreciate the plum blossoms this season
Japan’s new difficult-to-drink-from beer glass protects your liver, but it’s a brutal experience
Here comes Japan’s newest fruit dessert sandwich: 7-Eleven’s purple Blueberry Sandwich!
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 Earth
Now is the time to visit one of Tokyo’s best off-the-beaten-path plum blossom gardens
Can you eat lunch in Tokyo for less than 500 yen?
New Family Mart cinema opens inside Japanese airportJapan’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 blamed
Archfiend Hello Kitty appears as Sanrio launches new team-up with Yu-Gi-Oh【Pics】Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on EarthForeign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
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
The other side of Shibuya Station has a great restaurant for trying tamagokakegohan
Poop is in full bloom at the Unko Museums for cherry blossom season
Fives places around Japan to appreciate the plum blossoms this season
Japan’s new difficult-to-drink-from beer glass protects your liver, but it’s a brutal experience
Here comes Japan’s newest fruit dessert sandwich: 7-Eleven’s purple Blueberry Sandwich!
Now is the time to visit one of Tokyo’s best off-the-beaten-path plum blossom gardens
Japanese thug wear from Birth Japan perfect for those breaking bad next year
We put the internet’s “techniques for emptying your bladder with morning wood” to the test
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
It’s illegal for yakuza to go to professional baseball games in Japan, Tokyo arrests remind us
Room 404: What happened when we stayed in an unlucky hotel room in Japan
McDonald’s Japan hack: What happens when you put an apple pie inside a Big Mac?
Starbucks Japan adds cult drink to its permanent coffee menu due to popular demand
Great Gundam news! Japan’s life-size moving giant robot statue won’t close down this year after all
