SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

Featured

Weird
Studio Ghibli
Jobs

January, 2016 (Page 18)

【2016 Lucky Bag Roundup】We buy a 3,000-yen, 5-kilo Lucky Bag of junk in Akihabara

Master Blaster
Jan 4, 2016
Tweet

Mr. Sato visits the Iwayuru Junk Shop in Tokyo’s Akihabara district in search of a true lucky bag: one where you don’t know what you’ll get inside.

Japan
(Akihabara • fukubukuro • junk • Lucky Bags • shopping)

Checking out Muji’s lucky bag: Almost 10,000 yen worth of stuff for a fraction of the price

KK Miller
Jan 4, 2016

$Checking out Muji’s lucky bag: Almost 10,000 yen worth of stuff for a fraction of the price$

US$100 worth of Muji stationery for less than $10? It must be Lucky Bag time!

Japan
(2016 • fukubukuro • Lucky Bags • muji • stationery)

【2016 Lucky Bag Roundup】 Evangelion Lucky Bag’s in our office, all’s right with the world

Master Blaster
Jan 4, 2016

The fukubukuro fun continues as we snag a lucky bag crammed full of merch, including limited edition items, from the Evangelion Store Tokyo-01.

Japan
(Evangelion • Evangelion Store Tokyo-01 • fukubukuro • lucky bag • Yurushito)

Top 10 searched keywords from Japanese Google in 2015 include terrorism, rugby, and Splatoon

Scott Wilson
Jan 4, 2016

It’s been a busy year for Japan!

Japan
(2015 • Isis • list • my number • retrospective • Rugby World Cup • Splatoon)

【2016 Lucky Bag Roundup】Contents of McDonald’s 2016 lucky bags revealed!

KK Miller
Jan 3, 2016

Want to see what you can get in one of McDonald’s lucky bags this year? So do we!

Japan
(2016 • fukubukuro • Lucky Bags • McDonald's • mystery shopping)

【2016 Lucky Bag Roundup】 Lucky Bag favorite Starbucks is back in 2016, we see what’s inside

Master Blaster
Jan 3, 2016

A new year means new lucky bags! So, how’s the haul from Starbucks? We find out after waiting in line all night!

Japan
(coffee • fukubukuro • lucky bag • new year • shopping • Starbucks)

Celebrate the New Year with kimono dogs!

Oona McGee
Jan 3, 2016

What better way to usher in a new year in Japan than with a cute collection of dogs in kimono?

Japan
(cute • cute dogs • dogs • kimono • new year • pets • traditional)

How far will 10,000 yen get you at Prada?

Master Blaster
Jan 3, 2016

If you’re up on your currency exchange rates, the answer won’t shock you.

Japan
(fashion • Prada • shopping • socks)

We bought one million yen worth of scratch lottery tickets to test the chances of winning big

Mike
Jan 2, 2016

We dropped 1 million yen (approximately US$8,300) on 5,000 Japan National Lottery scratch-off tickets to see if buying in bulk translates to bigger wins.

Japan
(experiments • gambling • lottery • money)

Madoka Magica fans are ready for a “magical girl”-off thanks to some new accessories

KK Miller
Jan 2, 2016

Are you able to suitably show off your appreciation for one of the most critically acclaimed magical girl anime in the last five years? If not, come see what is in store after the jump!

Japan
(bracelets • jewelry • Madoka Magica • shopping • watches)

Parody of One-Punch Man opening is the punchiest thing you’ll see today【Video】

KK Miller
Jan 2, 2016

Tongue-in-cheek comic and anime hit One-Punch Man might feature the most powerful character ever, but that doesn’t preclude it from having the funniest character ever too.

Internet
(anime • funny • Lethal Soul • manga • One-Punch Man • Parody • videos)

New school in Iraq to provide a Japanese-style education

Master Blaster
Jan 2, 2016

Impressed with Japan’s ability to quickly rebuild after the Second World War, some educators in Iraq are looking to instill similar values in their own youth.

Japan, W Asia
(education • elementary school • Iraq • war)

Creative drawings to reply to wedding invites are all the rage in Japan right now 【Photos】

Meg Murphy
Jan 2, 2016

How do you reply to a friend’s wedding invitation: with a simple check mark in a box, or a thoughtful work of art?

Japan
(artwork • manga • twitter • wedding invitations)

Parody of Akira movie poster makes pretty much any character look as cool as Kaneda【Art】

KK Miller
Jan 2, 2016

Akira‘s theatrical poster is almost as iconic as the movie itself. But who knew that a character walking towards their ride could look as badass as Kaneda?

Internet, Japan
(AKIRA • Dragon Ball • Final Fantasy • Parody • poster)

Cats pretending to be humans get caught in the act, give adorable synchronized reaction

Scott Wilson
Jan 2, 2016

The Three Mus-cat-teers are at it again!

Japan
(cats • cute • cute animals • funny • funny twitter post)

Happy New Year from RocketNews24!

Philip Kendall
Jan 1, 2016

And just like that, 2015 was no more! It’s now January 1 all the way across Asia, which means it’s officially the Year of Monkey! Happy New Year, everyone!

We’ll be putting our feet up for the rest of today, but we promise we’ll be back tomorrow with more of the news, cuteness, cats, food, fukubukuro, Mr Sato and all the weird and wonderful stuff from Japan and Asia that you know—and hopefully love—us for.

Thank you for continuing to visit our site, share our stories and follow us on Twitter and Facebook (281K and counting!!), and for helping us to grow and grow. 2015 was very good to us, but here’s hoping that 2016 will fill us all with the sprightly energy of a whole mess of merry monkeys and that we can continue to make our little site even better—although hopefully without any poo-slinging.

Stay tuned, Rocketeers, and have yourselves a great New Year’s Day!

Global
(2016 • happy new year • Japan • Year of the Monkey)

Number fortune-telling: What your birth date can tell you about your own shortcomings

Krista Rogers
Jan 1, 2016

In order to change yourself for the better, one Japanese website is offering a simple way to identify your own faults based on your date of birth.

Internet, Japan
(birthdays • fortune-telling • numbers • prediction)

NEW GAME! author tweets teaser site link for anime adaptation site

Jamie Koide
Jan 1, 2016

Moe-style anime NEW GAME! gets new official website with TV broadcast and cast reveal info.

Japan
(adaptations • anime & manga • Anime Japan 2016 • New Game! • Shotaro Tokuno • twitter)

McDonald’s Singapore makes clever, delicious-looking use of its Instagram account【Photos】

KK Miller
Jan 1, 2016

With so many celebrities and businesses with their own social media accounts, how can you make sure you attract users and get them to follow you? McDonald’s does it by making you see their food in a whole new way.