Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
wtf (Page 27)
Chubby cats? Check. Photographer cats? Check. Cat nuts? Sure, if you’re into that kind of thing. But cool cats propping themselves up on a makeshift bar? Okay, I think that’s a first even for us!
Recently posted to YouTube by Japanese user Chikatama, the following video sees white Scottish Fold Tama and his ginger pal Fufu hanging out on a typical weekday evening, too cool to start a conversation but for some reason never wanting to go home. Suffice it to say it cheered us right up!
There’s a ramen noodle shop in Akasaka, Tokyo, appropriately called Akasaka Ramen, that’s been around for ages. One of the reasons it has lasted so long is a menu item that gets a lot of press: the Jumbo Spare Rib Challenge. If you can polish off this bathtub-sized bowl of ramen in 20 minutes or less, you will get 10,000 yen (about $100), and probably a stomachache.
Think you’ve got the guts to get the glory? Well, you probably don’t.
Shot by a couple during a visit to Cambodia and uploaded to YouTube just last week, the following video treats us to a ride on one of Cambodia’s “bamboo trains” — worryingly shaky, home-made bamboo pallets balanced on a pair of train wheels and fitted with a disconcertingly large engine.
After all, what trip abroad is complete without experiencing some potentially perilous activity that you’d never dream of doing in your own country?
Ramune was one of the first carbonated beverages in Japan and can still be found today in various supermarkets or at festivals and public baths around the country. Over a century after its first appearance, Japanese customers have tended to go for the big name colas, which has in turn caused Ramune producers, such as Osaka’s Hata, to come up with some novel flavors in an effort to stir up interest.
Most recently, a corn flavored Ramune was developed and has celebrated 100,000 bottles sold since its release in March. In honor of this, I picked up some of Hata’s more unique flavors for a whirlwind review of these often overlooked Japanese sodas.
In 1963, Kazuo Ishikawa was convicted of the murder of a high school girl in Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture. A member of the Buraku, Japan’s historical untouchable caste, Ishikawa grew up poor and uneducated, and the police built the case against him by taking advantage of his naivety, by capitalizing on social prejudices, and by manipulating an already unfair legal system to their advantage. Now 74, he is still fighting to clear his name and to make sure others have access to a fair trial.
The spider crab is the largest living crab on the planet and, as its name suggests, looks like the terrifying offspring of the unholy mating of a coconut crab and a Goliath tarantula. So it’s no wonder that watching one of these monstrosities shed its entire exoskeleton is nightmare-inducing, as this video shows.
The Google Street View car, once something that people would have simply watched roll by while scratching their heads in confusion, has become so ingrained in popular culture that should we ever spot it trundling down our own street many of us would immediately bound in its direction like excited golden retriever in an attempt to get our ugly mugs plastered on the internet for all eternity.
It’s rare, though, to see the the famous car running into trouble with the law.
Excuses are like anuses; everyone’s got one. That’s the reasoning behind the Edible Anus line of chocolates created in England. These handcrafted chocolates represent something that transcends cultural boundaries to offer creamy sphincter shaped goodness to the whole world, even reaching Japan where netizens have been left open-mouthed at the idea of munching on a chocolatey orifice.
This bizarre room listing gives a whole new meaning to “open-air layout.” A Tokyo real estate agency is advertising this room with a 160-square-meter (524 ft) balcony attached. It all seems like a fantastic deal until you realize that, while the balcony is indeed enormous, it dwarfs the room itself – which is a mere 25 square meters and somehow manages to cram a bathtub, toilet and kitchen inside.
Any photographer will tell you that you always have to be aware of your light sources. Especially with people, the wrong kind of lighting can someone look completely different, usually in a bad way.
This young photo bug took that advice to heart when he attended a cosplay event in China. Realizing that work outside of a studio pits a photographer in a battle with sometimes unpredictable lighting, this man fitted several brackets to his back, each supporting an external flash.
Despite being a made famous by thousands of Japanese TV shows and comics, cute “sailor suit” uniforms and their ilk are not limited to schools in Japan alone. As we’ve seen before, high schools all across Asia kit their female students out with a variety of stylish getups, with the girls themselves often making their own modifications, usually quite aware that they are wearing outfits that millions of people across the world think are cute or just plain sexy.
But it appears that Japan’s reign as the school uniform capital of the world may soon be over. Bringing fashion and cartography together at last, a specially designed map of Taiwan which provides photos of the school uniforms the girls in each particular area are rocking has become a big hit online this week.
The vicuña, for those of you had never heard of it before (guilty!), is, according to humanity’s savior Wikipedia, one of two wild South American camelids (you know, llama-like animals) living in the high alpine areas of the Andes. Its coat is said to produce the finest wool in the world. It also happens to be the most expensive for a variety of reasons, including that the animals will starve themselves to death if held in captivity, meaning they cannot be farmed, and shearing wild ones can only be done once every three years, and even then only about three pounds of the animal’s hair can be harvested.
So, I guess that explains why a seller on Amazon Japan was trying to offload what I am sure is a very nice futon quilt for 67,200,000 yen (about US$674K).
But is it worth the price? Well, there’s only one way to find out: time to call accounting for some cash and place an order.
So it’s come to this, has it? Rocketnews24, after eating pretty much everything under the sun, has reached the last bastion of disgusting culinary curios.
Of course, we’re talking about Philippine balut, or duck fetus eggs. We’ve been here before, but somehow we felt this needed revisiting.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of Tokyo Disney Resort. The affiliated hotels and theme parks are putting on an almost year-long celebration, complete with a special happiness themed parade and nightly fireworks spectacular, not to mention the reopening of the hit attraction, Star Tours. In light of all the extra excitement, management felt it necessary to add some extra rules and requests on the official Tokyo Disney site. While some of these new items were quite reasonable and occasionally intuitive, one line in particular set off warning bells for those wishing to visit the park.
We’re actually surprised nobody had this idea before. A Korean national has uploaded a photo of him – for the squeamish let’s say, um, “micturating” – all over Yasukuni Shrine and vowed to continue to defile the sacred landmark every time a Japanese politician makes an insensitive remark.
A Sapporo cosplayer found himself on the wrong side of the law recently after apparently putting together the world’s most realistic stormtrooper outfit. So terrifying was the costume that someone mistook him for a real life soldier and ransacker of peaceful planets and called the cops after spotting him strolling through JR Sapporo Station.
Upon hearing rumors swirling around the internet that a search on Yahoo! Japan’s struggling search engine does something strange when you enter the words “death” and “die” in Japanese, our reporter went to check it out. Could Japan’s most popular online search tool have revealed the sinister truth about a household name?
Toad, the mushroom-headed character from the Super Mario series of video games that dates back almost 30 years now, is a character known to millions around the globe. Clear a castle in the original game and he’s there to break the news that the princess isn’t actually there. Slip on a banana peel while burning rubber in Super Mario Kart and it’s often his shrill voice you’ll hear echoing through the enormous green pipe tunnels. Need a man to pick and throw vegetables super fast in Super Mario Bros 2? Toad’s your guy.
Little did we know, though, that Toad has been harbouring a terrible secret the entire time we’ve known him. One that shocked Japanese fans and Twitter users to the core when the following photo came to light.
All this anime is clearly getting to Japanese people’s heads. Japanese media has fallen hook, line and sinker for this seemingly impossible, anime-inspired helicopter design, breathlessly reporting that Ghost in the Shell-style vehicles are being designed by the (Japan Self Defence Force) JSDF right now.
Some brave soul on Twitter decided to stick some expired color contacts onto a Hello Kitty soap dispenser, inadvertently creating the above monstrosity that is guaranteed to turn every trip to the bathroom into an unnerving test of mental fortitude.
Foreign traveler caught trying to sneak into Japan by climbing down rope from cruise ship
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
Starbucks at Shibuya Scramble Crossing reopens, but is it really bigger and better than before?
History’s largest force of Samurai Colonel Sanders deploying to KFC Japan branches
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
Orange Juice Crisis ’24 – Japan’s OJ supplies drying up
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Icon’s Mac & Cheese Burger contender for best burger in Tokyo【Taste test】
McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
All-you-can-drink deal for US$4 in Shinjuku is one of the best finds in Tokyo
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of societyBad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screensMcDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy day
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about itStudio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat ReturnsStudio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in TokyoBad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screensMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950sForeigner’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
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Orange Juice Crisis ’24 – Japan’s OJ supplies drying up
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Icon’s Mac & Cheese Burger contender for best burger in Tokyo【Taste test】
McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
All-you-can-drink deal for US$4 in Shinjuku is one of the best finds in Tokyo
Japanese city encouraging visitors and locals to cosplay as ninja for annual Ninja Festa
Cruising around Gunkanjima, Japan’s otherworldly “Battleship Island”【Photos】
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
New Uniqlo x Pokémon collection coming to Japan this month!
Japan now has a giant pizza sandwich called Meat Mountain, packed with 18 different types of meat
The secret lives of Japanese families: 8 unusual household rules revealed
Resol Poshtel: Cheap capsule hotel in Tokyo is a hit with overseas visitors, and we find out why
Japan’s first-ever wanko soba conveyor belt restaurant opens in Tokyo
