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Philip Kendall

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Hailing from Liverpool in the UK, Philip Kendall made Japan his second home in the summer of 2006 after dolefully abandoning his childhood dream of becoming a ghost buster. Setting up camp in beautiful Fukushima prefecture, he brought joy to literally hundreds of junior high school children as ‘that tall, handsome teacher’ or more often ‘the one with the big nose,’ before relocating to Tokyo at the end of 2011.

Writer, foodie, gamer and eternal student of the Japanese language, Philip now works as a freelance writer and translator, submitting to Tokyo Weekender magazine and website and Learn Japanese Pod, as well as co-running Suds, Grub & Joe- a website dedicated to all things beer, food and coffee-related in Tokyo. Follow his ramblings on his personal blog or on twitter.

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Posted by Philip Kendall (Page 3)

Playing with pandas: Do Adventure World’s zoo keepers have the best job ever?【Video】

Philip Kendall
Dec 15, 2015
Tweet

Ice cream taster; sleep research participant; full-time sperm donor. There are few jobs that could ever be described as truly enjoyable, but playing with an adorable panda cub is probably one of them.

Japan
(Adventure World • cute • Japan • pandas • video • Wakayama • zoo)

“World’s first washable smartphone” goes on sale in Japan accompanied by cheese-tastic ad【Video】

Philip Kendall
Dec 12, 2015

Foolishly allowed a sticky-fingered child to hold your phone? Have a crippling fear of germs and wish you could disinfect everything? Now there’s a smartphone you can wash with soap and water!

Japan
(ad • AU • germs • KDDI • smartphone • soap • tech • video • washable)

Toyota wants Japan to think of its new model Prius as an “erotic” vehicle【Video】

Philip Kendall
Dec 11, 2015

Why drive a boring old hybrid when you could have an Erotic Vehicle?

Japan
(ad • commercial • eroi • Japanese TV • Prius • TOYOTA)

Two-way mirror demon prank reveals that the scariest thing in the world is ourselves【Video】

Philip Kendall
Dec 10, 2015

What could be scarier than looking in a mirror and seeing a demon staring back at you? How about being too engrossed in your smartphone to even notice…

Japan
(Horror • prank • scary • two-way mirror • video • yokai)

Chinese company mimics levitation trick, unamused authorities immediately shut it down【Video】

Philip Kendall
Dec 10, 2015

Whether it’s deserved or not, China has something of a reputation for producing convincing copies. Another thing the country is known for, however, is having authorities that do not suffer fools gladly…

China
(arrest • bus • China • floating • illusion • magic • stunt)

Why do the Japanese call the UK ‘Igirisu’?

Philip Kendall
Dec 5, 2015

Amerika. Itaria. Kanada. The majority of countries are known in Japan by names that sound vaguely similar to their native monikers. So why on earth do the Japanese call the UK ‘Igirisu‘?

Japan
(countries • etymology • Igirisu • Japan • name • UK)

Everything you need to know about dining at a sushi restaurant—in handy infographics!【Pics】

Philip Kendall
Dec 4, 2015

Many of us dream of eating authentic sushi in Japan. But do you know the proper decorum for ordering? How about paying the bill? And what’s the difference between nigiri and narezushi, anyway?

Japan
(etiquette • food • how to • infographic • Japanese food • sushi)

The 21st century Game Boy we wish Nintendo were working on【Pics】

Philip Kendall
Nov 26, 2015

We’re sure Nintendo is busy creating something new and exciting to release into the world, but we kind of wish this is what they were working on…

Global
(consoles • design • Florian Renner • Game Boy • nintendo • tech • video games)

10 badass four-character phrases to add to your Japanese language toolkit

Philip Kendall
Nov 14, 2015

With enough hard work, anyone can learn to speak and read Japanese. But you know you’ve truly made it as a Nihongo master only when you can effortlessly break out a few yojijukugo, or four-kanji idioms. Join us after the jump for 10 of our favourites!

Japan
(four-character • idiom • kanji • learn Japanese • phrases • yojijukugo)

Muji enters the tiny house game, showcases its line of wonderfully minimalist ‘Muji Huts’

Philip Kendall
Nov 10, 2015

Japan does small better than pretty much any other country in the world. From intricate origami to beautiful bonsai to sushi made with barely a dozen grains of rice, the Japanese people are known for their dexterity and attention to detail.

It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that Japanese retailer Muji is now getting into the tiny house movement and recently showcased its range of prefabricated ‘Muji Hut’ minimalist homes and hangouts.

Japan
(architecture • home design • MUJI HUT • photos • retreats • tiny house movement)

London mayor Boris Johnson takes out 10-year-old Japanese kid during fun rugby match【Video】

Philip Kendall
Oct 15, 2015

It’s not every day that an enormous blonde-haired bear of a man comes to your school, agrees to play a quick game of rugby with you and then proceeds to knock you on your 10-year-old arse rather than let you win the ball.

But then, it’s not every day that London mayor Boris Johnson is visiting Japan…

Japan
(Boris Johnson • international relations • Japan • London mayor • rugby • tackle • video)

20 of the best outfits seen at this year’s New York Comic Con 【Pics】

Philip Kendall
Oct 14, 2015

As the more worldly wise of you will no doubt already know, New York City is not in Japan. Nor is it in any other part of Asia. But as you’re probably also aware, we at RocketNews24 just can’t pass up a bit of quality cosplay when we see it, especially when much of it is based on characters from the island many of our team now call home.

Sadly, our bosses refused to pony up the cash for a plane ticket to the Big Apple so we could check out New York Comic Con 2015 for ourselves, but our friends over at Pixable (you do know we’re on Pixable now, right?) were there with cameras in hand, and they were good enough to share their photos with us.

Check out 20 of our favourite cosplayers at New York Comic Con 2015, after the jump.

USA
(anime • cosplay • Costume • movies • New York Comic Con 2015 • photos)

Attack on Titan fans left “waiting”, start tweeting, as subtitles freeze during first screenings

Philip Kendall
Oct 1, 2015

With part one of the live-action movie adaptation released for the first time outside Japan on Wednesday this week, fans of the hugely successful manga and anime series Attack on Titan were no doubt incredibly excited to see their favourite giant-slaying characters brought to life by living, breathing Japanese actors.

Little did then know, however, that when one of the English subtitles added to the movie for its North American release would appear on-screen, **it would remain there—for a full 20 minutes—**while the action continued behind it.

Japan, USA
(Attack on Titan • error • I've been waiting for this day! • Live action • movie • subtitle • twitter)

Super Mario Bros. creator explains how and why he designed World 1-1 of the 8-bit classic 【Video】

Philip Kendall
Sep 9, 2015

Ahead of the launch of Mario-themed level-building game Super Mario Maker, video game industry legend Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with veteran game designer Takashi Tezuka to take questions from journalists and show off its features.

Before leaping into the level creation proper, however, Miyamoto took a few minutes to talk about the creative process that is involved in building a Super Mario level, talking his audience through the steps he and his team took when creating the original Super Mario Bros., and explaining why World 1-1 of the game—for many their first ever brush with Mario on Nintendo’s 8-bit system—was built the way it is.

You’ve no doubt cleared this level countless times by now, but you may not have realised the hidden genius and careful planning that went into the positioning of every block, pipe, and pit of doom.

Global
(level design • nintendo • Shigeru Miyamoto • Super Mario Bros. • Super Mario Maker • video • video games)

Five types of foreigner you’ll meet in Japan

Philip Kendall
Sep 5, 2015

Japan attracts all kinds of people from all over the world. Some come to work, others come to play, and thanks to its relatively low crime levels, high standard of living and abundance of delicious food, Japan is a very easy place to call home for a while. Plus, isn’t Japan where all those anime, video games and ninjas come from? It’s got to be worth a visit!

But today, instead of talking about the myriad things Japan has to offer visitors, we’re going to have a bit of fun by taking a closer look at some of the visitors themselves. You might not encounter each of these five types of people if you’re staying in Japan for just a couple of weeks, but if you’re here for work or an extended sojourn, then you’re bound to meet at least a couple of them along the way…

Japan
(characters • foreigners • gaijin • Living in Japan • Personality • visiting Japan)

The cosplay of Comiket 88: Sailor Moon, Splatoon, Love Live! and more【Photos】

Philip Kendall
Aug 14, 2015

Comiket 88, the world’s largest dojinshi fair, is now underway at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre. And while thousands of people are already rushing to buy some of the best and rarest anime, manga and video game merch money can buy, others were there for one thing only: cosplay.

Despite the beating sun and intense humidity that comes as standard with Summer Comic Market (you did read our Comiket survival guide, right?), the almost complete lack of shade outdoors did not deter Tokyo’s cosplayers, who stood out for photo after photo, striking their best poses and wowing our reporters with their incredible outfits.

Join us after the jump for a look at some of our favourites!

Japan
(anime • Comiket 88 • cosplay • Costume • event • Japan • photos • Super Mario Bros.)

North Korea establishes its own time zone in order to stick it to “wicked Japanese imperialists”

Philip Kendall
Aug 7, 2015

Were they granted the ability to manipulate time and space, we’re fairly certain that most world leaders would choose to go back in time in order to benefit their own country somehow, replaying disastrous moments in their history and righting wrongs that would later cost them dearly. (One can only imagine a world in which the likes of Katie Hopkins and Donald Trump were never put in front of a camera…)

But today, totalitarian dictatorship North Korea declared that it would be turning the clock back by just 30 minutes, thus establishing “Pyongyang Time”, in order to mark its independence from the “wicked Japanese imperialists” who meddled with their clocks to begin with.

Japan, North Korea
(colonisation • Japan • North Korea • Pyongyang Time • time zone)

Awesome retro faceplate turns your New Nintendo 3DS into an old-school Game & Watch

Philip Kendall
Jul 31, 2015

With its Super Famicom-esque face buttons, the New Nintendo 3DS is already rocking the retro in a big way. But if you’d like your portable console to look even more old-school, this fully functional Game & Watch-themed faceplate from Japanese gadget and accessory maker Colombus Circle is sure to do the trick!

Japan
(3DS • cover • Game & Watch • nintendo • video games)

The more you know Mario: The unusual Japanese names of Nintendo’s Super Mario characters

Philip Kendall
Jul 16, 2015

If, like me, you grew up playing Super Mario Bros. on the NES, then you’re no doubt super excited for the launch of Super Mario Maker this coming September. Exclusive to Wii U, the game allows players to build their own worlds, using every block, enemy and power-up (plus a few new ones) from a whole host of Super Mario games, then share them with players all around the world.

For those of us who never quite gave up on our childhood dream of making games for Nintendo especially, Super Mario Maker is shaping up to be the ultimate celebration of 30 years of Mario, and the thought of throwing all your favourite bad guys into bizarre platforming situations has us positively giddy with excitement.

With that in mind, today we’ve decided to take a quick look at some of the characters we know and love from the Mario franchise. To spice things up, though, we’re going to be introducing you to their original Japanese names and explaining a little about the meanings behind them. Think you know Mario? Let’s find out!

Japan
(characters • Japanese • names • nintendo • Super Mario Bros. • video games)

Head your way to freedom in curiously titled virtual reality game “Headmaster” 【Video】

Philip Kendall
Jun 19, 2015

Oculus, Sony, Valve, and even Samsung have been heralding virtual reality as the future of gaming and entertainment for what feels like an age now. The few glimpses we’ve seen of the fledgling technology have both impressed and intrigued us, but titles that resemble the kind of games we can expect to play when these companies finally launch their respective headsets are still few and far between.

The unusually named Headmaster, however, is a good example of what we can probably expect to play as the technology finds its feet.