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Google Street View captures view from top of Mt. Fuji, negates only reason to climb it
There’s a saying in Japan about Mt. Fuji that goes to the tune of, “You ought to climb it once, but only a fool would climb it twice.”
That’s because, as yours truly learned just last weekend, climbing Mt. Fuji is a lot like spending up to eight hours repeatedly swinging a mallet into your knees as hard as you can. It’s also – at least this year, after having been declared a World Heritage Site – so crowded you’re guaranteed to be spending the climb with your face in dangerous proximity to someone else’s ass at all times.
Lucky for those that haven’t climbed it yet, Google Street View strapped some poor sucker with 100 pounds of weird Google robot gear, maybe gave him a bottle of water and some peanuts, and told him to walk right on up and take some pictures from the top. “It’ll be cool,” they probably said. “We promise.”
- Internet, Korea
- (cool • culture • Google • Street View • technology)
Nine Taiwanese accused of smuggling 60.75kg of gold in their anuses
- Master Blaster
Jul 23, 2013
Customs authorities in South Korea are pleased to announce that they have cracked a smuggling ring in which gold was brought into the country via people’s cracks. Police have issued warrants for the arrest of the alleged mastermind of the crime, a 47-year-old man going by the name of Zou, along with eight accomplices.
Japan sets new world record for largest mailbox, now ready for your puny mail
- Jessica
Jul 18, 2013
A lot of world records are inherently silly. Sure, you could set a record for the most mascot characters dancing in sync, but why would you? Because you are Japan, that’s why! And now Nippon has grabbed another who-even-thinks-of-that world record: largest mailbox.
- Japan, Korea
- (mail • world record)
Least surprising news ever? China and Korea are the most anti-Japanese of all Asian countries
- Andrew Miller
Jul 17, 2013
Despite most Asian countries being notably fond of Japan, according to the results of a recent public opinion poll carried out by an American research organization, China and Korea have a distinctly poor image of the land of the rising sun, and it appears to be getting worse over time.
- China, Japan, Korea
- (opinion poll • Shinzo Abe)
Has Japan’s K-Pop bubble burst? Weakening yen hits major Korean record label hard
- Philip Kendall
Jul 13, 2013
It wasn’t so long ago that everywhere you looked in Japan there were ads for Korean pop groups, cosmetics and health drinks. More people than ever were snapping up Korean language textbooks and, despite territorial squabbles and a few extreme-right noise makers, Japan was positively leaping on anything prefixed by the letter ‘K’.
Recent reports, however, suggest that all is not well in the K-Pop (Korean Pop music) camp in Japan, with major Korean record label and talent agency S.M. Entertainment reporting losses of more than 70 percent compared to the same period last year. Has the K-Pop bubble finally burst in Japan?
Three nations come together in friendship to share their dumpling wrapping skills
- Casey Baseel
Jul 11, 2013
The dumplings known in Japan as gyoza are typically filled with diced cabbage and pork. Most of the time they’re also packed with enough garlic to make them as dangerous a temptation for office workers on their lunch break as a frosty mid-day beer.
Even though China, Japan, and Korea all have distinct food cultures, being so close to one another on the map means that some things are bound to cross borders. Case in point: all three countries love gyoza, and rightly so!
But while they’re united in their love for the food is universal, it turns out each nation has its own unique way of wrapping them, as our Japanese correspondent living in Germany recently found out.
Korean Gymnast Shin Soo-ji’s pitch has one heck of a wind-up
- Master Blaster
Jul 10, 2013
The ceremonial first pitch is a century-old tradition of baseball, where we get to watch notable politicians and celebrities try their hand at the great American pastime. There’s a lot of entertainment to be had to see if these outsiders can get the ball across the plate cleanly or at least avoid bouncing it.
Then, every once in a while, someone comes a long and revolutionizes the first pitch. This recently happened in South Korea when rhythmic gymnast Shin Soo-ji stunned the audience and redefined the phrase “throw like a girl”.
- Internet, Korea
- (baseball • first pitch • Shin Soo-ji • video)
Korean government plans to erect giant robot on disputed island, strongly opposed by Korean netizens
- Master Blaster
Jul 8, 2013
All around the world, young and middle-aged adults have fond childhood memories of giant robot cartoons. I can remember watching Autobots brawl with Decepticons over their endless hunt for energon cubes. Meanwhile, South Koreans were enjoying Robot Taekwon V.
Robot Taekwon V was such a hit that even today the Korean government uses its robot protagonist’s likeness to promote the nation’s claim to ownership of the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo in Korea, Takeshima in Japan), a disputed island that has recently renewed some tensions between Korea and Japan. However, a recent plan to erect a statue of Taekwon V has been met with strong resistance from South Korean net users who feel that instead of being intimidating, the statue would cause Japanese citizens to laugh.
Going to Seoul this summer? You might want to bring a flashlight…
- John Stuart Translations
Jun 26, 2013
South Korea’s nuclear power industry, ranking fifth in the world in terms of generating capacity at 20,739 megawatts, continues to be rocked by scandal and misconduct. Currently nine of the country’s 23 plants are offline, meaning the supply capacity situation is the worst the country has ever experienced. Though Japan’s power supply is also in a precarious state with only 2 of its 50 nuclear plants operating, the situation in South Korea is said to be much more severe, and many fear power outages such as those experienced in September 2011 will recur.
Proof that not all cats hate water – Korean kitty takes a dip 【Video】
- Philip Kendall
Jun 18, 2013
Since the average domestic cat’s experience of water is limited to being shut out in the rain or being pinned down and bathed by their owner because, after one too many garden adventures, their fur is a filthy, matted mess (and that was not a fun afternoon, let me assure you), it’s little wonder that there’s a commonly held belief that all cats hate H2O. As the following video proves, however, there are some cats out there that love nothing more than a nice, long dip in the hot water.
Korean Remote Controlled Turtle Project Making Slow But Steady Progress
- Casey Baseel
May 16, 2013
One year when I was in junior high school my parents gave me a radio controlled car for Christmas. It was the perfect gift for a young boy right in the middle of dealing with the most awkward, confusing psychological change that comes with puberty (no longer thinking riding a bike is cool, but still being too young to drive a car). I loved that R/C car, so much that I kept playing with it outside as it started to rain one day, eventually frying the circuits so that it never ran again.
But things would have been different if my parents had been researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or KAIST. First, everyone would have been surprised by how two Korean scientists ended up with a Caucasian son with blond hair. And next, they could have hooked me up with a controllable water-resistant reptile, like the remote controlled turtle KAIST is currently developing. Read More
Green Day Vocalist Compares Psy to Herpes Infection, Psy Unsure if That’s a Good or Bad Thing
- Mike
May 10, 2013
Looks like Green Day’s frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, needs to add anger issues to his growing list of ailments requiring rehab. Armstrong was apparently infuriated by the success of Korean pop star, Psy, and his record breaking sensation, Gangnam Style, which made its rounds while Armstrong was serving a stint in a clinic for alcohol and prescription pill abuse. The rocker experienced a “flareup” of sorts at the news that Psy’s epic follow-up, Gentleman, was racking up similar praise.
Battle of the Rice: Korean Rice Trumps Japanese as Koshihikari Loses Out on Top Spot
- Cara Clegg
May 5, 2013
Say ‘sushi’ and you automatically think ‘Japan’. But a recent taste test by the experts suggests that the perfect sushi may not be 100 percent Japanese. Read More
- Japan, Korea
- (Japanese cuisine • rice • sushi)
Hyundai Ad Uses Suicide to Promote New Car, Causes Outrage and Sadness in the UK
- Philip Kendall
Apr 30, 2013
As much as we might bemoan their very existence when they interrupt our favourite TV shows or appear ad nauseam prior to YouTube clips, when done well ads can be genuinely entertaining. With each shot written, debated, edited and otherwise laboured over sometimes for hundreds of hours, successful ads become pop culture in their own right and are often of higher quality than the shows whose commercial crevices they are stuffed into.
An ad recently aired in the UK, however, become a talking point for all the wrong reasons when it depicted a man trying to kill himself by breathing in the exhaust fumes produced by what transpires to be a particularly environmentally friendly type of vehicle: Hyundai’s iX35.
Food Rage: Korean Deported Over In-Flight Ramen Brawl
- Jessica
Apr 24, 2013
Over the weekend, a Korean businessman got into hot water when he complained about his in-flight meal on a trip to the United States. Apparently, he wasn’t satisfied with the taste of his ramen or with the service, and expressed his displeasure by assaulting one of the cabin crew. As a result, he was turned over to the FBI and prevented from entering the country.
Here’s what we know about this bizarre incident. Read More
- Korea, USA
- (ramen • weird news • wtf)
New Hyundai Concept Car Looks a Bit Like Dragon Ball Character Frieza’s Ride
- John Stuart Translations
Apr 17, 2013
South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai revealed its new E4U single-person concept car at the recently completed Seoul Motor Show. Egg-like in shape, the mobility device measures 92cm in width while standing 123cm tall. Hyundai believes the vehicle to be suitable for narrow streets in urban centers where speeds are generally slow.
Read More
- Global, Korea
- (auto show • automobile • concept car • cool • future • Hyundai • Seoul • technology)
Seoul’s Stunning Sky-High Urinals
- Master Blaster
Apr 10, 2013
South Korea has come a long way in toilet maintenance and design to the forefront of the world. With several cites boasting pristine public washrooms and at least one city offering tours of their facilities, potties are no joke here.
One highlight of South Korean toilet related beauty is the men’s room of N Seoul Tower atop Namsan Mountain in Seoul.
Built hundreds of meters above ground, these urinals are the perfect place for an acrophobe to confront their fears and keep a clean pair of pants. For the rest of us they offer a spectacular view while you take care of business.
- Korea
- (N Seoul Tower • toilet • urinal)
“I want to kill them!” Shocking Video of Young Japanese Girl Giving Anti-Korean Speech Appears Online
- Philip Kendall
Apr 3, 2013
In a video uploaded to YouTube yesterday, a young Japanese girl gives a harrowing speech on the streets of Tsuruhashi, Osaka, in which she openly expresses her hatred of Koreans. Amid cheers of support from members of her own group, the girl goes on to state her desire to kill the “piece of crap” Koreans living in the area, threatening a repeat of the Nanking Massacre in response to the Koreans’ “arrogance”.
The full, shocking video after the jump.
- Internet, Japan, Korea
- (anti-korean • Nanking • right-wing • shocking • video)
Hundreds of Japanese Raise Their Middle Finger to Right-Wing Anti-Korean Protesters in Tokyo
- Philip Kendall
Apr 2, 2013
Despite the enormous popularity of K-Pop, Korean food and beauty products, relations between Japan and South Korea have been strained for quite some time. In recent months, however, right wing groups have become increasingly vocal, with anti-Korean protests occurring more and more frequently, especially in areas where many Koreans congregate and live.
On 31 March in Shin-Ōkubo — a town situated just a couple of minutes away from Shinjuku on Tokyo’s Yamanote line and the location of a large Korean ethnic neighbourhood — hundreds of anti-Korean protesters marched through the streets carrying signs reading “Go back to Korea!” and labeling Koreans in Japan “cockroaches”. Thankfully, equally large numbers of liberally-minded Japanese also showed up to protest the protest.
Chinese Media Reports Korean Kimchi Promotes Weight Loss
- John Stuart Translations
Mar 26, 2013
As has been previously reported here, kimchi, the super-spicy fermented cabbage dish from Korea, appears to be one of the world’s healthiest dishes. Now, media sources in China are reporting that this fiery condiment is also beneficial for those seeking to lose a few pounds.
- China, Japan, Korea
- (calories • diet • health • low-calorie • obesity • weight loss)
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Today
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Beautiful Ghibli diorama kits lets you build anime characters’ homes inside yours [Photos]
Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
Japan’s mini Shikoku Pilgrimage walking tour left us feeling immensely satisfied
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Weekly
Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
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Monthly
Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
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Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
Chainsaw robots helping keep trains running safely in east Japan [Video]
New Studio Ghibli anime gets extended run at the only cinema in Japan where it’s being shown
Tokyo train station will play Godzilla theme song as new departure melody
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
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
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
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
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