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June, 2014 (Page 16)

Sailors Uranus and Neptune are here to save your lips with Sailor Moon lip balm

Casey Baseel
Jun 6, 2014
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With just a month left until the premiere of Sailor Moon Crystal, we’re so close to seeing anime’s most successful team of magical girls back in action for the first time in almost 20 years. Fans around the world are licking their lips in anticipation, which begs the question, aren’t they going to chap?

Thankfully, you can count on the Sailor Scouts to help you out of such a jam, with new Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune lip balm containers.

Japan
(anime • fashion • manga • Sailor Moon)

Hello, Sailor (Moon) – First trailer finally released for Sailor Moon Crystal

Casey Baseel
Jun 6, 2014

If you’re hungry enough, even a handful of breadcrumbs will seem like a sumptuous feast. Such was the case in April when the producers of the hotly anticipated anime Sailor Moon Crystal finally released a modest amount of character artwork for the series, years after the series was announced.

And while the main course of the series premiere itself is still a month away, fans can now savor this tasty appetizer: Sailor Moon Crystal’s first official trailer.

Japan
(anime • manga • Sailor Moon • trailer • video)

Powered by eels – We eat at the founder of Honda’s favorite unagi restaurant

Casey Baseel
Jun 6, 2014

Soichiro Honda, the man who founded Honda Motor Co., was once quoted as saying that the best-selling car cannot be the best-driving car, because the compromises needed to become the former are incompatible with the lack of compromises required to be the latter.

It’s hard not to respect a person with such unflinching standards, and even want to emulate him a little. So when we found out one of the legendary engineer’s favorite restaurants was just a short train ride from our office in downtown Tokyo, we decided to check it out. Even after we found out it’s famous for its grilled eel livers.

Japan
(cars • food • restaurants)

Get ready to rock! 38 awesome covers of video game music in 17 minutes

Preston Phro
Jun 6, 2014

It goes without saying that here at RocketNews24, we love video games. While we might not always agree on which system is the best (PC MASTER RACE!), there’s no doubting that we’ll never complain about plunking our butts down in front of a screen and killing some baddies. In fact, some of us are even going to E3 this year for…uh, you, our dear readers! We promise that we are in no way totally, completely, and utterly thrilled to be attending. It’s all for you!

See how much we love you?

And what else do we love besides video games and our super awesome readers? Well, I can’t speak for everyone here, but I love some tasty metal riffs. Which is exactly what makes this medley combining music from 38 different games so awesome. Check out the 17 minutes of awesomeness below to see if your favorite game made the cut! Read More

Internet
(covers • metal • music • video games • YouTube)

Tokyo and Osaka girls become yabai friends with world’s first long-distance purikura

Megumi Matsuki
Jun 6, 2014

Do you remember the first time you stepped inside a puri-kura booth? Short for “Print Club”, these booths that produce small photo stickers seemed like a passing fad to me when the machines first came out in 1995, but fast forward 19 years and the club is still going strong. And why not? Just hop in with your friends or special someone, make goofy faces, doodle some nicknames or hearts, then presto! Out comes a sheet of colorful stickers.

The booths themselves have come a long way during that time, incorporating a vast amount of technological wizardry, but now M&M’S Japan has unleashed an altogether different kind of beast. For a special event held on May 24, the confection giant installed a pair of booths, one in Tokyo and one in Osaka, collectively dubbed the “Friends Maker”, the world’s first puri-kura machine that allows total strangers in separate booths to make photo stickers together.

Video coverage of the event was released on May 30 and it looks like so much fun, we wish for the candy company would set up these machines in every city!

Japan
(chocolate • fun events • M&M's • photo stickers • puri-kura • purikura • sweets)

Is this tequila ramen with pitch-black broth and action movie tie-in macho enough for you?

Casey Baseel
Jun 6, 2014

In recent years, ramen has been making a name for itself as a respectable, in some cases almost gourmet meal. Japan’s favorite noodle dish has even reached the point where some women feel it’s an acceptable choice for a dinner date (provided you follow certain rules).

That doesn’t mean ramen has been entirely gentrified, though. There’s one noodle joint in Tokyo that’s currently offering a throwback to the machismo that used to define the dish, with a bowl of ramen that has an action movie tie-in and is seasoned with tequila.

Japan
(alcohol • food • movies • ramen • restaurants • weird)

Déjà vu? Japanese baseball’s movie poster spoof is sure to get fans’ attention

Krista Rogers
Jun 6, 2014

When we first saw the above poster advertising a Hanshin Tigers farm league baseball game, we did a double-take and sat there scratching our heads for a few minutes. “That poster looks so familiar…but something seems just a little off,” we mused. After mulling it over for a few minutes, it finally dawned on us: “Oh, that image is almost an exact copy of a recently released movie’s promotional poster!”

Can you figure out which movie this poster is parodying?

Japan
(baseball • Hanshin Tigers • Koshien Stadium • promotion • X-Men • Yomiuri Giants)

Hiroshima’s crème marche is half cream puff, half custard cone, and all delicious

Casey Baseel
Jun 6, 2014

Even under normal circumstances, we’ve got nothing against desserts, whether they be in parfait or donut form. So when we got off the train at Hiroshima Station, stepped through the ticket gates, and saw a newly opened pastry shop, we knew a detour was in order before we headed to our hotel.

Of course, we’d just spent two days biking the 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) across the Inland Sea on the Shimanami Kaido cycling course, and no dinky dessert was going to satisfy the appetite we’d built up. Thankfully, the shop had something special in its display case: cream puff custard cones.

Japan
(cream puffs • food • sweets)

Become MASTER OF NUGGETS with this heavy metal recipe book

Fran W
Jun 6, 2014

Have you been looking for a way to combine your love of thrash metal with your enthusiasm for trying new food? As you may know, we at RocketNews24 are always looking for ways to mix up new musical experiences, so we were tickled to discover Metal-Meshi, a tour through headbanging history told through metal-inspired recipes!

The brainchild of Tokyo-based foodie and blogger Yasunario, Metal-Meshi takes its name from “meshi”, a slightly slangy, rough-sounding Japanese word for hearty food.The book offers up over 60 mammoth-sized dishes that put some of Japan’s other Americana offerings to shame! So what kind of gastronomical excitement has Yasunario come up with?

Japan
(food • metal • Metal-Meshi • music • Yasunario)

The number 1 ‘most satisfying’ city in the world is….TOKYO!!!

KK Miller
Jun 6, 2014

The world is a huge place, and where you spend your hard-earned money and time off is a big decision. With so many fabulous locations around the globe, how do you choose what is the best destination for you? The answer seems obvious: ask the people. With tools like Yelp and Wikitravel, crowd sourcing your best vacation spot is easier than ever.

One of the most popular travel sites, Trip Advisor, has released a survey asking its users to rank its top 37 cities, and Japan has something to celebrate before the World Cup even begins: coming in at #1 in the world!

Japan
(survey • Tokyo • travel • Trip Advisor)

Suicides drop for second year in Japan, still leading cause of death among young adults

Casey Baseel
Jun 6, 2014

The Japanese government recently released its 2014 white paper on suicide in the nation. While the continuing downward trend in the number of people taking their own lives is encouraging, the statistics also revealed the sobering and troubling fact that suicide is the leading cause of death among Japanese aged 15 to 34.

Japan
(culture • data • health • mental health • statistics • suicide)

These awesome university dining hall breakfasts only cost 100 yen

Angelina Lucienne
Jun 6, 2014

When was the last time you spent 100 yen (US$.98) on breakfast and felt satisfied? Sure, your dollar menu Sausage McMuffin tasted good, but after hitting your stomach like a greasy, calorie-laden brick, did it really keep you going until lunch? I thought not. Prepare to be jealous (and perhaps say “OC desu!“) of the following parade of filling breakfasts purchased at Japanese university dining halls, each for an unbelievable 100 yen.

Japan
(breakfast • campaign • food and drink • students • university)

Viral zoo video of ‘headbanging’ bear hides a dark, sad truth

Preston Phro
Jun 6, 2014

Most of us have been to a zoo at least once. As children, it’s often the highlight of a weekend–watching the prowling big cats, hearing the bellowing elephants, and petting the adorable rabbits–it’s almost too good to be true. Unfortunately, “too good to be true” may be more accurate than we want to admit.

In fact, a certain Japanese video that has recently gone viral due to its “cute” footage shows just how traumatizing zoos can be for their animal residents.

Global, Internet, Japan
(bears • elephants • stereotypy • zoos)

A Chinese airline might start letting flyers bid on seat upgrades

BUSINESS INSIDER
Jun 6, 2014

It’s time to bid goodbye to discomfort while flying.

Chinese airline Cathay Pacific is considering starting an online auction program where customers could place bids to upgrade their seats, according to the South China Morning Post.

China
(airfare • airlines • bidding • Cathay Pacific • flying)

TRANSFORM! And write while you’re at it, too — with these cool shape-shifting Transformers pens!

Kay
Jun 5, 2014

Okay, so the type of pen that you use in your daily routine may not be the most important detail in your life. But when you have a fun and attractive pen to write with, it helps to make your day just a little bit brighter, doesn’t it? In that spirit, we’ve already introduced you to a line of lovely Sailor Moon pens in one of our past articles, but this time, we’ve found some pens that may be a delight for those of you more into the robot/mecha genre. They’re Transformers pens, and yes, they actually change shapes — so Transformers fans, get ready to “transform and roll out” the letters!

Japan
(pen • Sentinel • Transformers)

JR unveils amazing luxury train that we’d like to live in like high-class hobos

Casey Baseel
Jun 5, 2014

Last spring, Japan Railways, operator of Japan’s fabled bullet trains, unveiled its design for a new Shinkansen that will whisk travelers to northeastern Japan as they relax at the onboard foot baths. Then came the announcement of an overnight train servicing Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima with amenities rivaling those of a fancy hotel.

Now, it’s east Japan’s turn, as JR East has released new images of its upcoming luxury sleeper train for the region, plus its passenger suites that look genuinely large enough to live in.

Japan
(cool • trains • travel)

Coca-Cola giving away specialty bottlecaps in Vietnam to promote reusing their plastic bottles

Master Blaster
Jun 5, 2014

You have to hand it to Coca-Cola. Despite being the best-selling cola brand and one of the biggest companies in the world, they certainly don’t seem to rest on their laurels. Like a hungry up-and-coming business, they’re always coming up with new gimmicks in each of the 200 countries they operate in, whether it be personalized bottles in Japan or, like now in Vietnam**, a set of functional caps which can transform your empty bottle into a water gun, pencil sharpener, night lights and more after you’re finished with it**.

SE Asia
(Coca-Cola • recycle • Vietnam)

【TBT】A day in the life of a Japanese anime director

ロケットニュース24
Jun 5, 2014

If you thought being an anime director was all cosplay groupies and cool action figures, think again. Turns out it’s long, long hours in front of a computer, less-than-fancy convenience store dinners and tons of office all-nighters.

Japan
(anime • DLE • entertainment • TBT • Tokyo)

Upcoming PS4 and Vita title One Way Trip is one of the trippiest games we’ve ever seen

Philip Kendall
Jun 5, 2014

I’ve played my share of weird and psychedelic video games over the years. I’ve flown through space firing beams of energy to create musical beats while every colour of the rainbow zips by my face, played games that have sporadically erased the contents of my inventory to make me think I was losing my mind, and intentionally touched more fuzzies to get dizzier than most would ever dare.

But One Way Trip, an indie game coming to PlayStation 4 and Vita next year, looks like it’ll be one of the craziest rides I’ll ever have the pleasure of taking without giving the police cause to visit my home.

Global
(One Way Trip • playstation • Sony • video games • wtf)

“Is Japan racist?”: New video humorously confronts long-standing question

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jun 5, 2014

There have been several commercials pulled off the air in Japan that some have dubbed “racist” and plenty of online banter to add to the debate. But we’ve also seen anti-anti-Korean protesters in Tokyo willing to stand up against truly hateful right-wing activists and many other examples of Japanese citizens whose actions seem to show that Japan is not as xenophobic as some may believe.

So is Japan racist? It seems there isn’t a clear-cut answer, but leave it to “twin brothers” Ken Tanaka and David Ury to bring us a humors video confronting this long-standing question.