Clik here to view.
Pokémon Centers across Japan giving special in-game Clefairy to customers who...
You also must wave your fingers to be eligible. Pokémon Centers, stores which deal in all kinds of Pokémon-themed items from plush toys to clothing, can be found in many major cities across Japan and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
JR East to release official train simulator on Steam on 20 September
Take control of some of the world’s busiest train lines. The East Japan Railway Company, more commonly known as JR East, is the largest railway in Japan and has lines running from Tokyo and its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Japanese card game teaches us the different patterns and textures of fish
Know your cherry trout from your rainbow trout to crush your opponent. One of the more embarrassing things about moving to Japan was bringing my utter lack of fish knowledge with me. I used to have an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tropicana’s Japanese licensee in hot juice for cartons that boast “100% Melon...
All the taste of melon with hardly any of the melon! Advertising often involves bending reality just enough to entice people to a product without getting in trouble for outright lying. For example,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spoons and bowls that use electricity to make food taste saltier to go on...
Take this news without a grain of salt. Last April we reported on the development of a pair of chopsticks that can make food taste saltier without actually adding salt. At that time the developers at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Does eating ramen out of a pot in the bathtub change the taste?
The answer may mildly shock you. We recently reported on the nearing launch of a bowl and spoon that uses a mild electrical current to make food taste saltier without adding any salt. When the news...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Buddhist metaverse “Teraverse” in development at Kyoto University, includes...
I guess you could call it a meta-metaverse. The metaverse has taken the world by storm, or talk about it at least, since there hasn’t been a whole lot in the way of a real mainstream metaverse except...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bizarre bicycle vandalism reported to mayor of Komono Town, mayor admits to it
And so ends the shortest investigation ever. The town of Komono in the northern part of Mie Prefecture is a quaint place to live, but also not immune to strangeness. The occasional irrational driver...
View ArticleClik here to view.
We buy Amazon Japan’s lowest-rated perpetual motion machine
Finally, proof that perpetual disappointment is possible! Our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma has bought a lot of low-rated items from Amazon, and despite their often justified bad reviews, he could...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Japan’s population of people over 100 surpasses 90,000 for first time
A vast majority of those in triple digits are women. In Japan this 19 September is a holiday known as Respect for the Aged Day, honoring those of us who have managed to stay on this mortal coil the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Imperial Hotel Tokyo offers crustless bread…in the sense that it never had...
Bread as naked as the day it was born… I’m the kind of weirdo that actually likes crust on bread and even loves the heels when I get a chance to have one. But in Japan sandwiches are very widely sold...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Japanese police to introduce video function to emergency 110 calls
A welcome update to an essential service. Even after living in Japan for many years, I occasionally worry if I’d be able to properly navigate a call to either of Japan’s emergency numbers, 110 to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Japanese curry chain in Thailand has a surprisingly Japanese dish not found...
Sometimes the most Japanese stuff isn’t even in Japan. The distinction is often made between the curries of Japan and that of other countries in that Japanese curry is much more mild and sweet tasting...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Four bikers dressed as Spider-Man arrested in Saga City
With bitchin’ bikes come bitchin’ responsibility. Although rarely the most pressing problem facing Japanese society, the issue of young Japanese men riding motorbikes wildly is a persistent one. Known...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why is Asuka standing next to Colonel Sanders? Because it’s Thursday of course!
Two legends at what they do, just hanging out. Although the world is connected like never before, there are still a lot of divisions created by differing cultures and especially languages. Take this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New capsule toys reinvent Japan’s hanko personal seal stamp whether you like...
Hanko fun for people of all ages and about 38 names. Japan’s traditional way of signing documents with a wooden stamp known as a “hanko” has come under increased scrutiny recently. In our digital age...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One Piece to take over all of Times Square on October 8th
Start spreadin’ the news… One Piece Film: Red came out in Japan last August amid a great deal of fanfare such as two major clothing brand tie-ins and then went on to be the top-grossing film by a huge...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A visit to one of Japan’s motorcycle Shinto shrines
You don’t have to be a motorcycle enthusiast to visit here, but it helps. There are tens of thousands of Shinto shrines all over Japan and they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They also have a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The All Japan Club Association hopes wooden club makes long-awaited comeback
Clubs aren’t just for cavemen and goblins anymore! When was the last time you’ve even thought about a big old wooden club, let alone held one? Granted there isn’t as much use for a heavy lump of wood...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Times Square taken over by Straw Hat Pirates ahead of One Piece release 【Pics...
New Yorkers are seeing Red. There appears to be no stopping the roll that the film One Piece Film: Red is on. Now into its third month of being the number one film in Japan and raking in 16.2 billion...
View Article