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Cara Clegg
After discovering anime in her early teens, Cara decided she wanted to live in Japan. Of course her parents thought it was just a fad... but 11 years, a university degree in Japanese Studies, and a whole lot of culture shock later, here she is. She currently works a day job whilst writing and translating otome games in the evenings. Her hobbies include anime, manga, sci-fi & fantasy TV shows, and starting countless things that will never get finished.
Posted by Cara Clegg (Page 11)
South Korean government blamed for incompetent response to Sewol ferry disaster
- Cara Clegg
Jul 1, 2014 - Tweet
After the initial dust settles on the scene of a tragedy there comes the more protracted, but often less news-worthy, battle for answers and accountability. From the outset Korean authorities have come under fire from the public as well as government officials who claim that the immediate response to the incident was not good enough, and the accusations of incompetence continue to mount.
- Korea
- (crime • sewol • Sewol ferry disaster • tragedy)
Fast food flavour cup noodles recreate the authentic American experience in a pot
- Cara Clegg
Jun 29, 2014
Japanese people love their cup noodles, there’s now doubt about it. You can see endless varieties on sale at the conbini or supermarket, from the ordinary to the weird and wonderful. Recently Nissin Foods has released two limited edition cup noodle flavours to be sold at AEON which are definitely at the weirder end of the scale: Cheeseburger Noodles and Hot Dog Noodles.
- Japan
- (cheeseburger • cup noodles • fast food • food • hot dog • Nissin)
Ivory Coast’s grass-eating goalie amuses Japanese fans after elimination
- Cara Clegg
Jun 26, 2014
After Japan’s hopes of advancing in the World Cup were dashed by a 1-4 defeat to Colombia, Japanese football fans have been looking for something to get them smiling again. And Ivory Coast’s goalie provided just the opportunity.
- Africa, Japan
- (football • goalkeeper • Ivory Coast • soccer • World Cup 2014)
Frozen’s songs in regional Japanese dialects somehow work amazingly well【Videos】
- Cara Clegg
Jun 25, 2014
It all started with the Japanese version of “Let it Go”, the hit song from Disney’s latest animated movie Frozen. But that wasn’t the only song to be localized, and now amateur singers are getting even more local with creative versions of Frozen’s songs in their own regional dialects. Join us after the jump for two of the best.
Bandai to release super-mega-retro-robot made up of Doraemon and friends
- Cara Clegg
Jun 24, 2014
Some of Japan’s most famous characters created by legendary manga-ka Fujiko F Fujio have been turned into robots by Bandai, which can then be combined to create an even more epicly-super-cool robot of retro awesomeness!
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.
Why do I look normal in my home mirror, but hideous when I catch my reflection in a window?
- Cara Clegg
Jun 17, 2014
Have you ever had that experience where you’ve left the house in a good mood, convinced that you look great, until you catch a glimpse of yourself in a shop window or a reflective surface and then your whole day is ruined? You were sure when you left the house that morning that your makeup was done to perfection, and you looked healthy and vibrant, but now it’s like you’re looking at a different person, someone who’s about ten years older and hasn’t slept for a week.
- Global
- (human face • lighting • mirror)
The singularity is coming: Eerily lifelike androids converge in Odaiba for exhibition
- Cara Clegg
Jun 13, 2014
What does it mean to be human? That’s the question being asked in a thought-provoking new exhibition of stunningly lifelike androids, which also suggests that maybe the singularity could be closer than we think.
- Japan
- (AI • Android • Hiroshi Ishiguro • Japanese robot • robot)
Samurai in Brazil shows off incredible freestyle football skills ahead of World Cup
- Cara Clegg
Jun 9, 2014
There’s now less than a week left until the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and media and businesses all over the world are gearing up. Japan is no exception, with celebratory events going on and brands rushing to launch special themed products. In amongst it all, one particular advert from Cup Noodle maker Nissin has caught our eye for its great combination of traditional Japan and modern Brazil.
- Japan, S America
- (commercial • Cup Noodle • football • Nissin • samurai • soccer • video • World Cup 2014)
Japan slowly begins to openly discuss crossdressing men in heterosexual relationships
- Cara Clegg
Jun 8, 2014
Crossdressing and genderbending are not only long-time staples of Japanese anime and manga, but also of TV and celebrity culture. From this, anyone would think that Japan was one of the most open and accepting countries when it comes to people who don’t fit into traditional gender roles or relationships. However, the reality outside of media and entertainment is often quite different. Family and work life are both still clearly divided down gender lines, and men who engage in anything that blurs or crosses these lines are generally shunned. But could the girl who dumps a guy just because he turns up to a date in a dress be the one who’s really missing out?
Western otakus’ top 10 sexy manga and anime girls all have one thing in common…
- Cara Clegg
Jun 7, 2014
There are so many 2-D girls out there with different hairstyles and colours, body shapes, and personalities, although they do all share the same big googly eyes. And apparently the sexiest of them all share something else in common too. Did your waifu make this list of the top 10 sexiest female anime characters?
- Japan
- (anime • anime girls • beautiful girl • top 10)
Tweeters urge Japanese to donate to Serbian flood relief as repayment for Tōhoku support
- Cara Clegg
Jun 5, 2014
Japan is no stranger to natural disasters, and the world rose up in support after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011 left thousands dead and millions homeless. Now it’s time for Japanese people to repay that kindness by supporting one of their greatest benefactors through their own period of crisis.
- Europe, Japan
- (2011 Tohoku Earthquake • Balkans • charity • disaster relief • donations • flooding • Serbia)
Kit Kat aims to bring train travelers back to Tōhoku with ticket biscuit
- Cara Clegg
Jun 5, 2014
Japan probably has the world’s largest and most bizarre selection of Kit Kat flavours on offer, but this latest release is about more than just tickling your tastebuds. Nestle Japan is offering a specially-packaged version of their classic biscuit to help recovery in areas destroyed by the devastating tsunami of March 2011.
Surreal samurai art exhibition mixes the historical with the bizarre
- Cara Clegg
Jun 3, 2014
The Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art is located in Yamazaki, a place of historical significance in Japan since medieval times when it served as a field of battle for Toyotomi Hideyoshi to avenge the betrayal and murder of his lord Oda Nobuaga. The museum is currently hosting an exhibition that pays homage to the samurai of those ancient times, in a very modern and surreal fashion.
- Japan
- (art • Japanese art • Kyoto • samurai • Tetsuya Noguchi)
“I tape them to my monitor” – Weird things people in Japan do with their cat’s fallen whiskers
- Cara Clegg
Jun 3, 2014
As a cat owner, I’m used to having cat hair on absolutely everything. But every so often in amongst the clouds of fur I find a dropped whisker lying alone on the floor, and for some reason it feels wrong to just throw it away. Turns out I’m not alone, and some people go a few steps further when it comes to storing these precious mementos of their feline friends.
Hand-drawn Godzilla poster used at tiny Taiwanese movie theatre is beautiful in its own way
- Cara Clegg
May 30, 2014
Director Gareth Edwards’ new take on Godzilla takes full advantage of the latest advancements in CGI technology to bring the iconic monster back to life, bigger and badder than ever before, and the promotional posters and teaser trailers stirred up plenty of hype before the movie’s release. But would you be rushing into the movie theater if you saw the above poster?
- Taiwan
- (Film poster • Godzilla • Hollywood movies • movie • poster)
Macabre Japanese ukiyo-e reveal gothic side to art of the floating world【Pics】
- Cara Clegg
May 29, 2014
When you think of Japanese ukiyo-e, or woodblock prints, you probably think of Hokusai’s beautiful landscapes in his Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji, or the stylized prints of beautiful courtesans in traditional Japanese dress. But there are also many pieces of Japanese art and ukiyo-e from the Edo to the Meiji period (between 1603 and 1912) that represent a more mythical and macabre side of Japan.
The following is a collection of 20 pieces that all contain skulls or skeletons in some form, many of them by renowned and famous artists of the time.
Bones of mythical Japanese water demon to go on public display
- Cara Clegg
May 28, 2014
Every Japanese person knows about kappa, the tricksy and sometimes dangerous, yet strangely polite, water demons from ancient folklore. But how many have actually seen one in real life?
Next month, people will have the chance to, when parts of a supposedly real kappa go on display in all their mummified glory.
- Japan
- (kappa • legend • mummy • mythical creatures)
Our writer tries out Hong Kong’s ‘killer sushi’, lives to tell the tale
- Cara Clegg
May 28, 2014
For some of our Western readers, just the idea of raw fish might be enough to turn stomachs. Now imagine the kind of sushi that even Japanese folk can’t handle. We’ve previously introduced Hong Kong’s ‘Myosho sushi’ store, nicknamed ‘killer sushi’, on our Japanese site, but in the name of journalism we decided that a hands-on report was necessary. And so we sent our brave and strong-stomached writer out into the field.
- China
- (bad food • Hong Kong • sushi • weird food)
Grumpy tweet receives backlash, Netizens discuss morality of sitting on floor
- Cara Clegg
May 26, 2014
You never know what’s going to cause a mini Twitter storm in this day and age. One grumpy commuter caused fellow netizens to take sides on an issue that is surely one of the great debates of the modern era – should teachers be making their students sit on the floor of a train?!
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Recent Posts
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MOST POPULAR
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Today
Two Tokyo neighborhoods to gather on bridge and shift their recognized border through tug-of-war
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Hello Kitty ready to keep you company in the bathroom with new dessert-aroma Sanrio toilet paper
Pachinko parlor operator arrested for not obscuring the act of gambling well enough
Japan’s new matcha vending machines serve freshly prepared matcha in five different strengths
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Weekly
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
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Liquid croissant coffee is coming to Japanese stores this month
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First-ever cafe on Tokyo Imperial Palace Garden grounds is now open
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Monthly
Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
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New Studio Ghibli anime gets extended run at the only cinema in Japan where it’s being shown
Osaka’s famous Glico Running Man will be removed and replaced with a new-look sign
Studio Ghibli creates illustrated Kyoto sightseeing map, available at any 7-Eleven Japan store
Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
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Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
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Restaurant opens in Japan with all-dementia waitresses, serves up ramen, awareness, and kindness
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