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Japan (Page 1690)

Breathtaking Nagaoka Fireworks Will Make You Want to Spend a Summer in Japan

Steven
Aug 9, 2012
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Summer in Japan is all about matsuri, or festivals. Young people dressed in yukata walking through streets lined with food stalls and game booths, the rowdy, drunken group of local men carrying a giant mikoshi shrine through the crowd while yelling “Washoi! Washoi!” and, of course, the fireworks.

The Japanese take fireworks very seriously, which is why Japan is home to some of the most spectacular fireworks displays in the world. To see what we mean, the fireworks show at this year’s Nagaoka Matsuri in Niigata prefecture has been generating buzz on the net thanks to some amazing video footage posted to YouTube. Check it out below!

Japan
(festival • fireworks • Niigata • summer)

COCOROBO Is the Funnest Vacuum Cleaner Ever! I Know That’s Not Saying a Lot but It’s Really Fun

Master Blaster
Aug 8, 2012

When robot vacuum cleaners first hit the scene about a decade ago, they appeared to signal the end of lugging around traditional upright models. However, with a pretty hefty price tag and comparatively limited cleaning ability, they haven’t exactly caught the world on fire.

Seeing this, Sharp has developed a robot vacuum cleaner destined to light a fire under consumers: ladies and gentlemen, meet COCOROBO (also affectionately known as, RX-V100W). So what makes COCOROBO so great? Well, for starters, it’s remote-controlled and able to talk with people.

Japan
(COCOROBO • robot • Sharp • vacuum)

Japanese Criminal Arrested After Visiting Police on the Advice of His Victim

Master Blaster
Aug 8, 2012

A 19 year-old male university student was arrested on suspicion of violating the Minor Offenses Act for attempting to video tape inside another female university student’s room.

The shocking part was how he came to be arrested. Before starting the story, I would like to emphasize that this criminal was enrolled in an institution of higher learning, which should imply a certain level of intelligence.

Japan
(crime • peeping • smartphone • stupid)

“Sutra Master” is Cute, Confusing, and a Little Controversial, Goes on Sale at Comiket 82 by Ryoho Temple

Master Blaster
Aug 8, 2012

Tokyo’s famous Comic Market (Comiket) 82, the world’s largest doujinshi convention, is set to kick off on 10 August. We can be sure to expect cosplayers and original comics a plenty, but one particular creation has be stirring up a fair bit of hype weeks before the gates open – the PC game Sutra Master.

Sutras are, in a nutshell, short pearls of spiritual wisdom like something you might find in a high-brow fortune cookie and are often compared to prayers in other religions. Taken from Buddhist texts and often chanted during meditation or religious ceremonies, sutras are generally treated with solemn dignity but Sutra Master takes them to a weird new place.

China, Japan
(Comic Market • Comiket • moe • Ryoho Temple • Sutra Master • video game)

“Shiba Inu Plump Booty Curry” is the Curry of Choice for Dog-Lovers and Booty-Lovers Alike

Steven
Aug 8, 2012

The Shiba Inu is one adorable little ball of fluff, especially from behind. I mean, who can resist that curled up tail nestled atop a plump little posterior that shakes back and forth as they trot along.

Japanese blogger and Shiba Inu-lover Takedatake has recently found inspiration in that captivating rear view for a novel at-home recipe he calls: “Shiba Inu Plump Booty Curry.”

Instructions on how to make the dish follow below:

Japan
(booty • cooking • curry • cute • food • recipe • Shiba Inu)

Hungry For Some Singaporean Food? You Can now Enjoy a Taste of Singapore in Central Tokyo!

Kay
Aug 7, 2012

If you’ve visited Singapore, you may be familiar with the tasty local noodle dish, hokkien mee. Well, now that the Singapore Restaurant and hokkien mee specialty shop “Yac Man” has opened in Omote-Sando, those of you based near Tokyo won’t have to travel all the way to Singapore to get your fix! And since we’re always on the lookout for new and interesting foods, we sent one of our reporters to “Yac Man” to see what hokkien mee is all about.

Japan, SE Asia
(fried noodles • Hokkien Mee • Singapore • Yac Man)

Adorable New “Pokemomo” Brand Goods Coming to Pokemon Center Stores Across Japan

Steven
Aug 6, 2012

Collecting is one of the predominate themes of the Pokémon franchise and Nintendo never seems to run out of new things for fans to spend their Pokédollars on.

For example, on August 3, The Pokémon Company reveled, “Pokemomo,” their newest lineup of adorable Pokémon merchandise featuring the artwork of Japanese illustrator Momo Okada.

Japan
(cute • Momo Okada • Pokemon • shopping • video games)

Watch a Businessman Go to Work on an Adorable Sewn Bento

Steven
Aug 6, 2012

A lone salaryman walks in to a room with bento in hand and sits down at a table to enjoy his lunch in privacy. He unties the knot holding together the bandana bundle to reveal a small brown bento box and chopsticks case. Finally, the man removes the lid from the bento to unveil a mouth-watering assortment of…colored yarn?

What follows is some hardcore lunchtime needlework.

Internet, Japan
(bento • food • Nico Nico Douga • video • YouTube)

Young Japanese Women Becoming Less Interested in Sex, Survey Says

Steven
Aug 5, 2012

For the past few years, Japan has been in a fuss about soushoku danshi, literally translated as “herbivore boys.” These are young men who represent the antithesis of the rowdy, skirt-chasing, big-spending corporate man associated with the 1980s bubble economy: they’re passive, conservative with money, prefer to stay in instead of going out drinking with coworkers and are generally uninterested in sex.

Such personal lifestyle choices wouldn’t be considered problematic if Japanese society wasn’t struggling with a declining birthrate and low consumer spending. But when an ever-increasing portion of your male population is enjoying their evening with a cup of tea at the local manga cafe when you need them to be out buying cars and procreating, you’ve got a situation on your hands.

To make matters worse, a survey conducted by The Japanese Association for Sex Education (JASE) reveals that the number of young Japanese women who have had sex has decreased dramatically over the past 6 years.

Perhaps the ladies of Japan have finally given up on trying to get their male counterparts into bed and joined convent themselves.

Japan
(high school • soushoku danshi • survey • university)

How to Make a Horror Bento, Perfect for Fights with Loved Ones

Master Blaster
Aug 4, 2012

We’ve covered the phenomenon of charabens in the past ranging from the extremely cute to the downright bizarre. However, as with any art form, the horror genre cannot be left out. Inspired by some photos of horror bentos found online a reporter from the website Pouch, Hotaru Yamakawa, has decided to make her own series of 3 horror bentos and help you make your own.

Japan
(bento • charaben • Horror • zombie)

Even Non-Alcoholic Drinks Should be Limited to 20 Years Old and Up According to Survey

Master Blaster
Aug 4, 2012

To all our under-age readers, I feel for you. Understandably, alcoholic drinks are off-limits as they can be harmful to your growth at a young age. But now, it seems the adults want to take away your non-alcoholic drinks as well according to a recent survey.

Japan
(age limit • alcohol • non-alcoholic)

We Take a Slow Ride to the Disputed Russian/Japanese Island of Sakhalin, Taking a Boat Can be Much More Enriching than a Plane

Master Blaster
Aug 4, 2012

While in Hokkaido I decided to go to the Sakhalin Island just North of Japan. This island has had a long history of passing between Russian and Japanese control for centuries. In the closing days of WWII Russian forces took the entire island although no treaty was made to officially declare their ownership.

As a Japanese person it stung a little to need a visa to visit this Sakhalin but the dispute over this island has been quieted recently. A Japanese Consulate was established there and businesses in Japanese frequently make the trip thanks to warming ties between the two countries.

And so I decide to make the most of this journey by taking a ship rather than a plane. Ultimately it was full of surprises – good and bad.

Japan

America Flexes Its Marketing Muscles by Turning a Bland Japanese Condiment into the Hippest New Diet Food

Master Blaster
Aug 3, 2012

A common addition to many Japanese dishes is a substance called Konjac (Konnyaku in Japanese which may sound confusingly like Cognac). It’s a peculiar, virtually tasteless gelatinous mass that admittedly has an excellent texture to it.

What may come as a shock to millions of Japanese people is that America is beginning to embrace this garnish not as the Japanese have, but as a replacement for conventional pasta.

Thanks to the West’s keen marketing sense, Japan’s often underappreciated purplish-grey slab gelatin has been reborn there as Miracle Noodles!

Japan, USA
(Konjac • Miracle Noodles • pasta • Shirataki)

Mr. Sato Cosplays as Slime and Waits in Line 24 Hours to Purchase Dragon Quest X

Steven
Aug 2, 2012

August 1 was a big day for Japan as it marked the release of Dragon Quest X, the latest installment in the iconic series and the first to force players to play online. While the release of a new Dragon Quest game is usually something akin to a national holiday here, many people were wondering if mandatory online play wasn’t too tall of an order for a series traditionally known for sticking to its tried and true formula.

To get an idea of just how excited the country really is over Dragon Quest X, we sent resident reporter Mr. Sato to a video game shop in Shibuya the day before release to stand in line until the store opened the game went on sale the next day at 7:00 am.

Of course, anyone can wait in line for a day, but it takes a true Dragon Quest fan like Mr. Sato to wait in line for a day dressed as the series’ most beloved monster, slime.

Japan
(cosplay • Dragon Quest • Mr. Sato • video games)

We Head to the Location of OS X Mountain Lion’s Desktop, “Blue Pond” and Soak In the Mysterious Beauty First Hand

Master Blaster
Aug 2, 2012

Installed on the recently released OS X Mountain Lion is a breathtaking image of an aquamarine pond with trees growing out of it. We previously gave you the impressions of the photographer Kent Shiraishi, but now we went straight to the real Blue Pond in Biei, Hokkaido to see if it lives up to the photo.