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June, 2014 (Page 5)

Columbia Records Japan changing name in support of national team’s game against Colombia

Casey Baseel
Jun 24, 2014
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Things aren’t looking too good for Japan’s soccer team as it goes into its third and final game of group play at the World Cup. After a heartbreaking loss in its opener against Ivory Coast, and then a contest with Greece in which neither team’s shots could find the net, it’s do-or-die time for Japan, which is going to need quite a bit of help, and possibly luck, to advance to the Round of 16.

But all of the myriad tie-breakers Japan needs to go its way won’t mean anything if it can’t defeat group powerhouse Colombia, which currently has a 2-0 record. With all of Japan hoping for a victory over the South American nation, Team Japan is getting a little bit of extra moral support as the Japanese arm of Columbia Records is changing its name to help cheer on its local sports heroes.

Japan
(business • soccer • sports • World Cup)

Seriously a lot of people want to marry this Paraguay soccer supporter

Mike
Jun 24, 2014

You know you’re pretty famous when you have your own Wikipedia page. Sure, some people just take the shortcut of writing their own Wiki and acting like they’re a big deal (I’m looking at you, weird Dungeons and Dragons extra with suspiciously specific and in-depth Wikipedia entry), but when other people write a page all about you of their own accord, you kind of know you’re a big deal.

That’s what happened with Paraguayan model and actress Larissa Riquelme when, in 2010, a photographer caught her celebrating a Paraguay team goal at the 2010 South Africa World Cup and the globe collectively paused, sucked in their breath, and shifted awkwardly in their chairs.

Global, Internet, Korea
(culture • fashion • football • photos • soccerf)

Fried Godzilla with a side of Mothra: a plate of epic proportions

Oona McGee
Jun 24, 2014

Since his first appearance back in 1954, Godzilla has cut his teeth on dozens of films and taken down a number of enemies in the process. When it comes to the battle of the batter, however, it seems Godzilla and his mate Mothra have walked away defeated, as there’s no shaking off a coat of oil and Japanese breadcrumbs.

Japan
(anime • food • funny • Godzilla • manga)

The Philippines Bureau of Immigration is so “Happy” to see you, they’re flash-mobbing

Preston Phro
Jun 24, 2014

If you’ve ever traveled abroad, you’ve probably had to deal with immigration personnel of some kind. And if you’re like most people, not all of those experiences have been exactly ideal. Of course, you can’t really blame the immigration workers–after all they have stressful jobs and have to deal with grumpy travelers who’ve just stepped off long flights.

You might say that they should focus on increasing the number of immigration personnel, streamlining the immigration process, or at least giving travelers free bottles of beer. And, in fact, the Philippines Bureau of Immigration agrees with you about the first two–but they also had another idea: Flash mobs!

Trust us; it’s a better idea than it probably sounds at first.

SE Asia
(dance • flash mob • happy • Pharrell Williams • Philippines)

Is there any explanation for this creepy doll someone found in Singapore?

Mike
Jun 23, 2014

Is there anything creepier than finding an inexplicable, crazy-looking doll on the street? No, probably not.

Porcelain dolls especially have that sort of old-timey, “back when science couldn’t explain things” vibe that makes them even creepier than, say, a Cabbage Patch Kid you found in your now-adult sister’s closet. So it’s not surprising that when somebody found this one sitting at the base of a tree in Singapore, the Internet took notice.

SE Asia
(creepy • doll • reddit • weird • wtf)

Valley of the 9,000 dolls: One man’s incredible collection

Scott R Dixon
Jun 23, 2014

For the parents of the world who refuse to let their children play with gender non-confirming toys, Jian Yang from Singapore should serve as a warning to what may happen if you don’t let kids be kids. The 30-something professional wasn’t allowed to have a doll growing up, but started collecting them when he got older and is now the proud owner of roughly 9,000 dolls.

While he hasn’t gone as far as some doll enthusiasts to sate their obsession, he has spent at least US$350,000 in the last 20 years on his ever-growing collection. Click below to see pictures of Yang’s enormous stash and to learn more about what drives this self-described “toy nerd” to buy this many dolls!

SE Asia
(Barbie • collection • doll • hobby • Singapore • toys)

4 Japanese beauty fads that Westerners just don’t understand

Cara Clegg
Jun 23, 2014

Beauty standards and trends differ from culture to culture, so something that’s fashionable and pretty to one woman can be completely can be bizarre, sometimes even ugly, to another half the world away. This is especially true in the case of Japanese beauty fads, which often leave Westerners thinking, “Why on earth are you doing that to yourself?!’ while Japanese fashion magazines insist that it’s the path to ultimate kawaii-ness.

Read on for four Japanese beauty fads that are all the rage among Japanese girls, but which are hard to understand from a Western perspective.

Japan
(beauty • fashion • makeup)

Chinese man’s privates take 7-hour “furlough” after gruesome bike accident

Scott R Dixon
Jun 23, 2014

While bikes are an easy, economical and environmentally friendly way to get from A to B, a 19-year-old Chinese man recently learned that there’s no such thing as a safe way to get around town.

Click below to read the story of how this unfortunate young man, after losing control of his bike and smashing into a tree, spent seven hours with his testicles separated from his body. You might want to cross your legs for this one, guys.

China
(accident • bicycle • bike • China • gross • Guangzhou • wtf)

15 beautiful Japanese sweets to cool you down this summer

Oona McGee
Jun 23, 2014

Japanese summers are hard to bear. With high humidity levels, the energy-sapping heat has such an overwhelming effect on the body there’s even a word for summer lethargy in the Japanese lexicon: natsubate.

Luckily for us, Japan has developed a number of unique ways to fight the summer heat. One of the best ways to cool down is in the sensory pleasure of traditional Japanese sweets featuring watery wonderlands, night skies and gorgeous hues of blue. We’ve found 15 of the best summer sweets that are so amazing they’re more like edible works of art.

Japan
(Kyoto • summer • sweets • wagashi)

Attack on Titan real escape game heads to Saitama

Anime News Network
Jun 23, 2014

The Attack on Titan real escape game series, “Escape from a Certain Fortress Town,” has proven very popular — no surprise given the popularity of both its tie-in manga and the real escape game series in general. The games scheduled for Tokyo in August have already sold out. To meet this demand, SCRAP (the games’ organizer) will hold two more Attack on Titan real escape games in Seibu Dome in the Tokyo suburb of Saitama on July 5 and 6.

Japan
(anime • Anime News Network • Attack on Titan • escape game)

Tonight vs Hotel Tonight – Did GREE just rip off one of America’s most popular hotel apps?

Angelina Lucienne
Jun 23, 2014

Smartphones and tablets improve almost faster than consumers can keep up with, and the apps designed for them change even more quickly. That means that there is a lot of opportunity for plagiarism. But surely sometimes it’s just a coincidence, right? It’s not out of the question that two developers could realistically be trying to fulfill the same need.

This week has brought us one more heated internet debate: Is hotel application Tonight by Japan’s GREE a rip-off of North American app Hotel Tonight, or are their similarities just coincidence?

Japan
(apps • controversy • copy • GREE • hotel booking)

Time to fight! Japan-only Hyrule Warriors special editions come with awesome Triforce clock

Philip Kendall
Jun 23, 2014

I’ve never really been one for special editions of video games. At first they seem like a great idea, with terms like “rare” and “collector’s edition” making us feel like we’d be missing out if we didn’t pick one up, but when you later realise that there are thousands of other people out there with the same cheaply made “limited” trinkets – most of which are likely to end up in landfills a few years down the line anyway – that Master Chief helmet or deluxe orc statue suddenly doesn’t seem quite so essential.

The Triforce clock that comes with special editions of upcoming Wii U hack and slash title Hyrule Warriors, however, is by far the coolest gaming goodie we’ve seen in years, and for once I’m actually considering paying extra money for the additional chunk of plastic.

Japan
(clock • cool • Hyrule Warriors • nintendo • Triforce • video games • Zelda)

Pancake on a stick: Roky makes all your pancake popsicle dreams come true

Preston Phro
Jun 23, 2014

Is there anything better than breakfast for dinner? Well, okay, that’s a silly question. Obviously nothing is better than night-time breakfast–pretty much everyone would agree that sitting down to a plate full of pancakes drenched in syrup at 7 pm is simply awesome. And the best thing about breakfast-as-dinner is that it’s easy to make! Pancakes, eggs, bacon–all easy to throw together without much culinary skill needed.

But sometimes even flipping a pancake is just too much work. Thankfully, Roky – a machine that produces pancakes in the shape of popsicles – ensure that you needn’t lift a finger when ignoring basic dietary advice.

Japan
(food • new product • pancakes • wtf)

Idol Aimi Sekiguchi recreates One Piece’s the Going Merry with a 3Doodler, blows our minds

Preston Phro
Jun 23, 2014

As the technology grows, 3-D printing is starting to really come into its own. You can make nearly anything with it–from spaceship engines to incredibly ugly pistols. And while it’s still going through growing pains, the appearance of the 3Doodler, a handheld 3-D printing “pen,” signals that we might not be far from Star Trek-like replicators and holodecks. Okay, maybe that you won’t be able to go swashbuckling with Riker any time soon, but you might be able to join Luffy and the rest of the One Piece gang!

While many people were understandably skeptical of the 3Doodler, this video by Aimi Sekiguchi shows just what the device is capable of…and it’s quite a lot actually. Watch as she builds the entire Going Merry ship in miniature!

Internet, Japan
(3-D Printing • 3Doodler • Going Merry • One Piece)

Keep your skin purr-fect with a feline face pack featuring characters from Cats the musical

Oona McGee
Jun 23, 2014

Once upon a time, face packs were plain. They were white, wet and definitely something you wouldn’t want to be seen wearing. Now, beauty masks are finally becoming beautiful, with newly released endangered animal designs and even prints featuring dramatic kabuki makeup.

From the end of this month, the cats will come out to play. And not just any cats. These are the famous felines from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats. With four cat face packs to choose from, now you can look after your skin and play out your feline fantasies at the same time!

Japan
(beauty • cats • cute • fashion • musicals)

Leadership does nothing despite public harassment of Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member

Preston Phro
Jun 23, 2014

Sexual harassment in the workplace is always a problem–there’s nothing to debate in that statement. But it becomes a doubly serious problem when you’re a politician and your workplace is the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

While we’d like to think that politicians would, at the very least, know how to behave themselves in public, it turns that some Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members could use a lesson.

Japan
(Ayaka Shiomura • LDP • Minna no To • Osamu Yoshiwara • sexual harassment)

Study kanji while taking a whirlwind tour of Kyoto with this beautiful video and GIFs!

Megumi Matsuki
Jun 22, 2014

We recently brought to you a collection of GIFs inspired by the thrilling city of Tokyo, designed by artists from around the globe. Now it’s Kyōto’s turn! A company called COG has created a highly stylized, four-minute animated film by dynamically fusing the original imperial city with kanji characters, and some scenes are now available as GIFs.

So get ready to hop aboard the city’s famous electric trolley and zoom though quintessential Kyōto sights like the Sagano Bamboo Forest and Daimonji bonfire. Along with two other GIFs making waves online, you’ll find yourself immersed in Japanese motifs that are anything but quotidian, and if you’re learning the language, see if you can name all 18 of the kanji characters used!

Japan
(animation • GIFs • kanji • Kyoto • tourism • travel)

Soft and sweet — adorable Hello Kitty bread now available in western Japan for limited time!

Kay
Jun 22, 2014

What’s cute, sweet, soft and golden brown? Why, Hello Kitty bread, of course! Yes, we’ve seen the internationally famous cat transform into numerous forms, including many delectably edible ones, and once again, we get to be treated to another example of Ms. Kitty doing a bit of business while filling our stomachs with sweet goodness.

Now, we know Hello Kitty’s been busy with her 40th anniversary celebrations, coming up with collaborative products like the special edition Super Alloy Kitty and even helping out with charity, but we always love to see her transformed into tasty treats, whatever the occasion. Let’s take a look at what she has in store for us this time!

Japan
(bread • Hello Kitty • Kitty no Sanpomichi)

Be careful how you talk about “spaghetti” in Japanese — you may sound unhip

Master Blaster
Jun 22, 2014

Although Italian in origin, the words pasta and spaghetti are now everyday words in English. Thanks to the foods’ proliferation around the world these words can also be found in Japanese, pronounced pasuta and supagettī respectively.

But in recent years, it seems as if the word “spaghetti” has been falling out of favor in Japan, being replaced by the word “pasta.” Although in English the distinction between “spaghetti” and “pasta” is pretty clear (pasta being the foodstuff, spaghetti one of its many varieties), it seems there is a whole other world of nuances when the words cross over into Japanese.

Japan
(food • Japanese • language • pasta • spaghetti)

Watch as lucky scooter rider sent flying by car is saved by an inflatable pool【TomoNews Video】

TomoNews
Jun 22, 2014

This man making an illegal turn on his scooter has a small kiddie pool (and a whole lot of luck) to thank for saving his life after a collision sends him flying through the air without a helmet.