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Why a Nagasaki graveyard is one of the best places in Japan to find a seat
When your feet are killing you, rest in peace at the cemetery! Particularly for people coming to Japan from other countries, one common gripe is the severe lack of outdoor seating such as benches....
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Cup Noodle flavored Umaibo snacks coming, but getting one is a little tricky
A little luck might be needed to get your favorite. Cup Noodle is an instant ramen brand that likely needs no introduction around the world, but Umaibo snacks might be a little less known outside...
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The 10 best spicy foods for 2021 as chosen by our Tokyo writer
Start pouring the milk, because it’s heating up in Japan. An interesting effect of the pandemic has been an uptick in spicy food consumption in Japan. Some have attributed this to the increase in home...
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Yamazaki Bakery once again donates bread to evacuation centers at almost...
Thousands of pies and buns arrive at facilities within hours of asking. On what was meant to be a holiday week in Japan, torrential rains fell over much of the country causing widespread flooding and...
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Cup Noodle celebrates 50th birthday with Cup Noodle pouches
Handbags available in your choice of regular, seafood, or chili tomato. Even though it’s now half a century old, instant ramen brand Cup Noodle hasn’t stopped changing and innovating. This year, they...
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Electronic grandchild “Ami-chan” developed by Takara Tomy
The future of grandparenting is now! It’s time we faced some hard truths, grandchildren are inefficient drains on our time and money. Sure they have their moments and will sometimes produce goods and...
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Team behind Paralympic opening ceremony kept secret for fear of past scandals...
Once bitten, twice shy. With the Tokyo Olympics behind us, a majority of Japanese people seem to feel it was a worthwhile endeavor in the end. However, that wasn’t the case in the days leading up to...
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Man claiming to be Russian who swam to Japan seeking asylum appears in...
What would drive someone to swim between countries? Shibetsu is a small fishing town on the east coast of Hokkaido with a population of only a few thousand people. It’s also one of the few corners of...
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Osaka man arrested for smearing poo on teen’s backpack
Suspect claims stress from work and divorce as the reason. At about 8:40 p.m. on 29 July, a 17-year-old young woman was walking through the streets of Suita City, Osaka Prefecture when she began to...
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How to make the largest taiyaki fish-shaped sweet bean pancake in the world
Not your ordinary tall fish tale. The enduring charm of taiyaki – cakes shaped like sea bream (“tai” in Japanese) and filled with sweet bean paste or custard – is easy to understand for anyone who’s...
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Gold-medal-biting Japanese mayor scribbles letter of apology to staff
It’s the lack of thought that counts. One of the enduring figures of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has to be Mayor Takashi Kawamura of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture. After the sporting event concluded, the...
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Osaka pachinko parlor volunteers to become public vaccination center
The machines will be turned off at the time, so no need for earplugs. Although momentum has been slowing building, Japan’s vaccine rollout is still slower than many other developed countries....
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Sapporo man attempts to rob store with lighter, goes as you’d expect
A story on the lighter side of crime. With guns being extremely hard to come by in Japan, armed robbers here usually resort to large kitchen knives for intimidating store staff into handing over...
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Kim Jong-un summoned to appear in Tokyo District Court
It doesn’t hurt to ask. The legal system in Japan runs a strict protocol to help ensure fairness. Rules must be followed to the letter without bias, even if there are times when bias is usually...
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We recreate the KFC-Kenya-exclusive Nyama Nyama Burger in Japan【SoraKitchen】
Double your pleasure, double your fun, with the great taste of a double-nyama bun. Long time readers of this website might be aware that our Japanese writer Go Hatori enjoys visiting the African...
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Russian man who swam to Japan was reportedly kicked out of Japan in 2011 for...
The authorities probably know who he is, but now the question becomes what to do with him. About a week ago news broke about a mysterious man claiming to be a Russian who swam to the eastern Hokkaido...
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Tokyo acid attack suspect caught in Okinawa, was victim’s senpai in...
More details of the crime emerge, but the question of “why” remains. On 24 August, residents of the upscale area around Shirokane-takanawa Station were shocked when a sudden attack involving a...
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Multi-orchestra video game music festival to be held at the online Tokyo Game...
TGS2021 is making the best of yet another online convention. With summer gradually fading away, it’s once again time for the semi-annual Tokyo Game Show (TGS) to hit the scene, bringing all sorts of...
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Tuna-can-shaped Super Super Super Big Cushions, and more coming to crane...
Super Super Super Big Cushions can only be won in a contest but come with a month’s supply of Sea Chicken! Sure, you have rings shaped like cans of tuna on each finger, but how are people supposed to...
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Japanese police struggling with growing number of “CAN invaders” used to...
Don’t let anyone invade your CAN! Last July, news broke about a man who was arrested for driving a stolen Lexus to steal another Lexus, which triggered a lot of talk about how often these types of...
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