SoraNews24 —Japan News—

It was quite a show at the Rakuten Eagle Fan Festival 2015, where players from the Japanese professional baseball team dressed as female look-alikes drew the most laughs and smiles from the audience.

Japan
(baseball • crossdressing • funny • Rakuten Eagles • sports • video)

Musician’s Japanese ‘translator’ has no idea what she’s saying, can’t get over her hair【Video】

Jamie Koide
Nov 25, 2015

When Australian musician Tal Wilkenfeld randomly asked a fellow coffee shop patron for translation help, we don’t think this was quite what she was expecting.

Internet, Japan
(bass • Billboard Live • funny • lost in translation • music • Tal Wilkenfeld • YouTube)

Watching these fish feed is a little freaky and frightening【Video】

Jamie Koide
Nov 22, 2015

Feeding fish is an innocent pastime — unless you’ve got a whole pond and a thousand fish instead of a small tank! Then it looks more like a horror movie!

China
(feeding • fish • nature • scary • YouTube)

Survey shows most Japanese employees don’t like Western-style work socials

Jamie Koide
Nov 21, 2015

With December less than two weeks away, Japanese companies are beginning to make preparations for their annual bounenkai (end-of-year) and shinnenkai (New Year) parties. Even if they’re the kind of people who sometimes duck out on after-work drinks with the boss, most Japanese employees are painfully aware that skipping the biggest corporate celebrations of the year is tantamount to career suicide.

Because large-scale events usually require more space than your average drinking party, many Japanese companies have recently been moving away from typical sit-down enkai banquets and are holding more Western-style events where staff are encouraged to move around freely and interact over a few drinks.

But according to a recent survey, these Western-style work socials are overwhelmingly unpopular in Japan. Here are the top seven reasons why.

Japan
(bounenkai • holidays • Japanese business • Surveys • work)

Plus-sized Naomi Watanabe is Japanese netizens’ latest fashion inspiration

Jamie Koide
Nov 17, 2015

Naomi Watanabe is the comedian-turned-model and fashion designer largely responsible for Japan’s pocchari, or chubby, trend which is still going strong, and paving the way for large and lovely girls nationwide, from idol group la BIG 3 to the more recent Shangrila maid cafe.

Now, Watanabe is making waves across Japanese social media for her fashion-forward hair.

Japan
(fashion • hair • models • Naomi Watanabe • plus size)

Park Hyatt Hotel honors hotel guest’s request to stay in Bill Murray’s “Lost in Translation” room

Jamie Koide
Nov 17, 2015

On vacation in Tokyo but feeling a little “lost in translation”? Well, if you’ve got the cash to splash, why not make your Japan experience even more memorable by paying homage to the classic comedy-drama of the same name by staying at the Park Hyatt Hotel, considered by some to be Tokyo’s best luxury hotel.

For those who are extremely fortunate, as one Reddit user recently found, you might even score a fabulous night in the suite used by Bill Murray in the movie.

Japan
(Bill Murray • Bill Murray's room • hotels • Japan sightseeing • lost in translation • movies • Park Hyatt Hotel • shinjuku • Tokyo)

EXO calls on the Force in their new Star Wars tie-in single【Video】

Jamie Koide
Nov 14, 2015

With just over a month until Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters, Star Wars fever has taken the world by storm, and Korea is no exception! K-pop group EXO has recorded a tie-in single, named “Lightsaber”, for the Korean release of the film, and a music video for the song was released on YouTube earlier this week. As you may expect, it quickly went viral, reaching almost two million views in the last few days.

Internet, Korea
(collaboration • Disney • EXO • Hollywood movies • K-pop • lightsaber • MV • Star Wars • YouTube)

Farting sheep set plane’s alarm bells ringing during flight to Malaysia

Jamie Koide
Nov 10, 2015

We all have different ways of getting through long flights, like settling down for some inflight entertainment, reading a good book, or possibly trolling fellow passengers. But one thing everyone tries not to think about is what might happen if the plane were to suddenly experience an emergency while thousands of feet up in the air.

For one unlucky group of passengers last month, they experienced just that, and for what might be the strangest reason we’ve heard yet: some very gassy sheep.

Global
(animals • farting • funny • sheep • Singapore Airlines • travel • video • wtf)

Young martial artist slices through the competition, takes the internet by storm

Jamie Koide
Nov 10, 2015

Female fighters in Japan and all across the globe and are inspiring a whole new generation of young women to take up martial arts in what has traditionally been considered a male-dominated domain, like this adorable pint-sized warrior who’s starring in a new music video.

But another young female athlete found herself suddenly in the spotlight for her proficiency in multiple martial arts, catching the attention of viewers all across the world by channeling her inner ninja with an amazing video of her performing her best sword fighting techniques.

Internet
(cool • kids • martial arts • swords • U.K. • video)

Ramen Jiyujin serves up ramen and attractions to fill your appetite【Photos】

Jamie Koide
Nov 8, 2015

According to a program that recently ran on TV, there are more than 100,000 ramen shops across Japan, and because competition is so fierce, most are lucky to survive for even two or three years. In order to succeed in the chaotic ramen business, many shops are starting to come up with ways to offer not only a good bowl of steaming noodles and broth, but also a one-of-a-kind experience that will keep customers coming back for more.

And Ramen Jiyujin, based on theinr overwhelming number of supporters on social media, has managed to accomplish just that, with a take on ramen that is only limited by your imagination. Take a trip with our Japanese reporting team to Yokohama to see the shop for yourself!

Japan
(interesting • IZMYLAND • Japanese cuisine • ramen • Ramen Jiyujin • restaurants • Yokohama)

Cracked smartphone screens could be a thing of the past far sooner than we thought

Jamie Koide
Nov 7, 2015

Every year, tech giants like Apple, Samsung and HTC give us more features and better, often bigger, displays to look forward to in our smartphones. But so far they still haven’t managed to come up with a way to tackle perhaps the most common problem users have, which is dropping your phone and cracking the screen.

However one research team at Tokyo University is hoping to change that by creating glass that is nearly indestructible. If the team achieves its goal, the glass could be used in everything from buildings to consumer electronics as soon as 2020.

Japan
(cool • glass • iPhone • science • Smartphones • techology • Tokyo University)

“Whiteday” – A Korean virtual reality horror game that’s sure to get your heart racing【Video】

Jamie Koide
Nov 6, 2015

White Day, observed on March 14, is celebrated in Korea the same way it’s celebrated in Japan: by men confessing their love or returning the affections of the women who gave them chocolate on Valentine’s Day.

But what happens when your plans to leave the girl of your dreams a sweet surprise get you locked inside your school and running for your life, chased by possessed janitors and other ghastly haunts? You get the horror game Whiteday: A Labyrinth Named School, which is getting a re-make and will be released later this month.

Korea
(Horror • playstation • ROI GAMES • Sony • video games • white day • White Day: A Labyrinth Named School)

“Amazing Kyoto” shows us sides of Japan’s old capital we’ve never seen before — in two languages!

Jamie Koide
Nov 5, 2015

Kyoto, which was the capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years, is one of those cities that looks beautiful no matter what time of the year it is**.** But out of all the seasons, autumn is by far the most popular time to visit, and now that the leaves are beginning to change people are also starting to plan trips to catch a glimpse of Kyoto’s gorgeous fall scenery.

If you happen to be one of those tourists, we have just the book for you, a unique insight into city by foreigners who now call Kyoto their home, called Amazing Kyoto.

Japan
(books • cool • Discover Kyoto • foreigners in Japan • Japan travel • Japanese culture • Kyoto • Kyoto Fan)

Japan has vending machines for just about anything, including emergency care

Jamie Koide
Nov 4, 2015

In the case of a cardiac arrest, every second counts, which is why over the past decade Japanese health organizations have deployed a large number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public areas, with the current count somewhere over 300,000 units.

Eventually the country would like to see that number expand to one in every building, but for the time being the first priority is AED accessibility, leaving some foreign tourists surprised to find that AEDs in places that might seem a little odd at first: like vending machines.

Japan
(AED • cool • emergency care • medical treatment • technology • vending machines • YouTube)

Cute Levi imposter wins over Japanese Twitter

Jamie Koide
Nov 3, 2015

Attack on Titan fans who pre-ordered the new Levi figure by Good Smile were no doubt super-excited when orders started shipping last month. But one buyer, who goes by the username @Levi_Eren_Karin on Twitter, couldn’t help but tweet about her surprise when the contents inside weren’t quite what she had been expecting…

Internet, Japan
(Attack on Titan • cats • cosplay • cute • funny • pets • twitter)

Japanese netizens unsure about Dhalism’s new look in Street Fighter V

Jamie Koide
Nov 3, 2015

Leading up to the much-anticipated release of Street Fighter V early next year, trailers showcasing the roster of characters have gradually been popping up online. The most recent of which revealed that Dhalsim, the stretchy yoga master with a penchant for fire, would be making a comeback, something which left some players feeling rather underwhelmed since he’s not exactly a crowd favorite in Japan or abroad.

But whether or you’re a fan of the character or not, few could deny that Dhalsim’s new look is a little bit confusing.