Love Kit Kats? Wish you could get your hands on the amazing varieties available only in Japan? How about a whole box of them?
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Heading to Kyoto soon? Simply want to know more about Japan’s ancient capital? We have the perfect book and DVD for you—and you could win them by answering one easy question!
Calling all anime enthusiasts and obsessive collectors! Today we have a very special announcement that will put a big smile on your face and have you doing flappy hands like a sugar-rushing toddler in a toy shop. Thanks to the good people at Stone Bridge Press, we have one hardback and three electronic copies of the incredible The Anime Encyclopedia 3rd Revised Edition to give away!
Join us after the jump to find out how to make this book your own.
Rock-paper-scissors. Scissors-paper-stone. Roshambo. Elephant-man-ant. Whatever you call it, chances are you’ve played it at some point. In Japan, the game is known as janken, and is used to settle any kind of dispute or awkward situation, from who gets the last cookie to which parents have to sit on the PTA that year.
It’s not hard to see why janken is so popular in Japan: it’s simple, and everyone knows how to play. It’s also efficient (particularly if the thing being decided is trivial anyway). Decisions made by janken are stuck to religiously: in three years teaching Japanese schoolkids I never once saw a student complain about the result or demand a rematch. It’s seen as a fair way to make decisions, because the game is based on luck.
Or is it? A group of researchers from Chinese universities has published a paper that shows sure-fire ways to win at rock-paper-scissors. Join us after the jump as we explore how to outsmart small children at their own game!
Now that was fast!
It was just 10 days ago that we were detailing our adventurous reporter’s trip to the newly opened Omote 3D Shashin Kan photography studio to be scanned and turned into an ultra-detailed model, and we were told that it’d be a month before the finished product arrived. But would you believe it’s already here! In our sweaty little hands!
And the result is spectacular.




![[3D Photo Studio] Mr. Sato’s Very Own Lifelike 3-D model has Arrived! [3D Photo Studio] Mr. Sato’s Very Own Lifelike 3-D model has Arrived!](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/12/mini-sato.jpg?w=580)
China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning seems to be affecting Osaka’s Namba and Dotonbori neighborhoods
Major Japanese noodle chain is closing on Christmas Eve so workers can spend time with families
Studio Ghibli adds new Kiki’s Delivery Service music box to its anime merchandise shop in Japan
We suspected this Japanese cable car was an overpriced tourist trip, but we underestimated it
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Nintendo releases Metroid-shaped ice cube/cooking tray and Samus arm cannon pillow【Pics】
We slide down Osaka’s most famous tower and get free curry for it
Masterpieces of Japanese art brought to you through cake and cookies
Japan’s Cats and Dominos video warms the heart, makes us want to stay home and watch it all day【Video】
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods, drinkware and candles for the 2025 holiday season
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Yoshinoya adds first-ever chain-wide ramen with new beef and pork-broth noodle hot pot meals
Japan considering raising international traveler departure tax even more than previously reported
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting tourist crowds in Shibuya’s Don Quijote?
Studio Ghibli stamps lift your spirits with motivational phrases from Totoro
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting tourist crowd sizes in Nara?
Japanese train company is letting fans buy its actual ticket gates for their homes
Japanese town suing resident for being a jerk
New fish discovered and named “Vanderhorstia supersaiyan” for obvious reasons
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods and a rhinestone tumbler that costs 19,500 yen
Real-world Nausicaa Ghibli anime glider completes its final flight in Japan【Video】
Brand-new Pokémon park opens in Japan with larger-than-life-size Lapras【Photos】
Unique inclined elevator in Japan leads to a town that inspired Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting tourist crowds in Tokyo’s Asakusa neighborhood?
The 10 best day trips from downtown Tokyo【Survey】
Naturally brown-haired Osaka student sues government for forcing her to dye her hair black
Japanese government considering tripling departure taxes to combat overtourism
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
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 home
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】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Nintendo releases Metroid-shaped ice cube/cooking tray and Samus arm cannon pillow【Pics】
We slide down Osaka’s most famous tower and get free curry for it
Masterpieces of Japanese art brought to you through cake and cookies
Japan’s Cats and Dominos video warms the heart, makes us want to stay home and watch it all day【Video】
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods, drinkware and candles for the 2025 holiday season
This Osaka laundromat wants to clean more than your clothes; it also wants to clean you
Tokyo’s Ueno Station has an unmanned noodle restaurant on its platform, and its no-joke good
Japanese kimono parka combines traditional fashion with modern streetwear
Conveyor belt yakiniku: Our new favourite way to enjoy all-you-can-eat meat in Japan
Store where you pay to shoplift returns to Tokyo
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Japan’s National Tourism Organization posts achingly gorgeous promo video: “hope lights the way”
Otaku geek makeovers by Tokyo fashion expert go viral in Japan