Clik here to view.
Chiba man arrested for writing “Amazon!” on Shinto shrine
Looks like he’s either really happy or really angry about online retail. On 15 December, the normally tranquil precincts of Sakuragi Shrine in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture, were sullied by a mysterious...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Every police station in Kanagawa accepting funeral home bribes,” according...
Defendant in bribery case claims he’s far from alone. On 15 February, the trial began for former officer of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Sei Kato on corruption charges. Kato stands accused of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Exquisite Fist of the North Star shochu set on sale for limited time
Shochu and ceramics so good, your head will explode. There’s something about the post-apocalyptic martial arts series Fist of the North Star that lends itself well to hard liquor. That’s probably why...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Email spam exhibition held online by Japanese telecom giant
Finally, an exhibition for con artists. It’s Cyber Security Month again in Japan! This is the time of year when we’re all prompted to ask ourselves: “Am I cyber secure?” It’s an issue that the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Japan’s favorite edible roots now in eraser form, and sexy eraser form!
Some like mistakes hot. You can tell a lot about a person by the erasers they keep. From anime fans to gamers, everyone needs to remove some poorly planned pencil markings from time to time. And now...
View ArticleClik here to view.
We Pokémon GO to Utsunomiya City for some Pokétourism
Join us on a Polywhirlwind tour of Utsunomiya. The wave of Pokéfuta, manhole covers decorated with various Pokémon, continues to sweep the nation. For hardcore fans of the game like our own Ikuna...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tokyo ramen chain brings the heat with Carolina Reaper miso soup
Come on, baby. Don’t fear the reaper. It is said that one of the cultural side effects of the pandemic in Japan has been a rise in spicy food consumption. It would seem that the increase in people...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Business trends suggest young Japanese people just aren’t into jeans any more
Blue jeans are not their lovers. A realization that comes with age is that old people don’t really dress like old people. We just dress like we always have, but the fashions themselves become old...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hokkaido man found naked in laundromat in middle of the night
The Emperor’s Birthday new clothes. In Japan, 23 February is the new emperor’s birthday and as such a public holiday. This year it happened to fall on a Wednesday, making the previous day like a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gamer sake Gaming Rainbow coming this spring, cans illustrated by past and...
Proving once again that there’s nothing you can’t make gaming and/or gamer. These days it seems like you can get anything in a “gaming” format. Gaming chopsticks, gaming eggs, and gaming apartments...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ukraine chapters from manga “If There Is Conflict, Call Hatta” released for...
The geopolitical series hopes to educate people on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 24 February, just as Russia was launched its invasion of Ukraine and people were trying to make sense of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hinnyari Snack Time for cats helps pets look cool and stay cool
All the cool cats in Japan have one. Now that the Winter Olympics are behind us and all the creepy men dressed like pandas on the street have gone home, its time to prepare for the blistering hot...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Behold! It’s a rare 7-Eleven “Grand Opening Commemorative Lucky Bag”
They say that to simply gaze upon one is lucky. Longtime readers of this site will no doubt be familiar with fukubukuro, or “lucky bags,” which are sacks of a shop’s various merchandise sold at a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can a 42-year-old straight guy get into Boys’ Love manga? Let’s find out at...
They say you can’t teach an old dog new homoerotic literature. The other day, I heard about a new online English-language manga service called MangaPlaza. Run by NTT Solmare, it’s a part of a growing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kyoto City official arrested for bribery with old-timey gold coin
Arrgh, me corruption’ll cost ye a shiny gold doubloon! Kyoto is considered one of Japan’s richest areas of history and traditional culture. Loaded with centuries-old places and customs, even the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tasting the Top 5 Lunch Packs in Japan at Yamazaki Plaza in Chiba Prefecture
Join us on a pilgrimage to the mecca of Lunch Packs. The Tokyo Summer Olympics was a controversial event, but one reason that made me happy it was held was that it helped spread the greatness of Lunch...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Major manga convention Jump Festa 2022 to release panels for free viewing...
One of Japan’s biggest cons finally opens to the rest of the world. Jump Festa is an annual manga convention held by Shueisha, the publishers of the leading publication Weekly Shonen Jump among...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Carp Gyoza dumplings coming to Hiroshima supermarkets, probably contain no...
It’s more of a “carp in spirit” kind of thing. Gyoza is one of Japan’s most beloved foods. Those garlicky fired dumplings of Chinese origin hit all the right notes in terms of taste, cost, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Japan’s most state-of-the-art vintage Showa clothing shop opens online
The future of vintage clothing is here! When you think of vintage clothing, cutting-edge AR tech doesn’t often come to mind. However, thanks to the prolonged pandemic, businesses like them that often...
View ArticleYamaha designed a brass mouse, and it’s a thing of beauty
I don’t even play a wind instrument and want this. With the widespread use of smartphones, tablets, smart speakers, and all other sorts of devices, it’s not crazy to assume the days of the humble mouse...
View Article