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Company Accidently Recreates Milky Way Using a River in China
- Master Blaster
Aug 22, 2012 - Tweet
The river you see here has been used by the residents of this part of Wenzhou, China daily for doing the wash. However, on the morning of 9 August they awoke to a puzzling sight.
The river had been dyed a milky white color overnight.
Jellied Eggs, Pleasing to the Eye and Good for the Skin
- Karen Bremer Masuda
Aug 21, 2012
Did you know that along with the ultra violet rays of the sun, summer heat reduces collagen in the skin? We have enough to worry about with what aging does to our collagen reserves! The winter provides lots of opportunity to boost collagen intake through eating gelatinous ingredients like pork and chicken cartilaginous cuts of meat, in nabe, the hot-pot dish where everyone helps themselves while sitting around a steaming pot of simmering ingredients. But who wants to eat nabe in summer!
Gelatin is the answer! Gelatin consists of collagen and is used to gel things. A web search for good gelatin recipes resulted in finding jellied eggs from this website, ediva, “Jellied Eggs: Great Recipe for Easter”. Well it isn’t Easter but never mind, jellied eggs can also be eaten in the hot summer, a cooling healthy treat. Read More
- Japan
- (collagen • eggs • food • food molds • food presentation • gelatin • health • healthy snack • hors d' oeuvres • protecting summer skin • skin care)
Korean Net Cafe Bans Japanese Customers Unless They Proclaim Korean Sovereignty Over Contested Islands
- Steven
Aug 21, 2012
Japan and Korea have not been on the best of terms recently, thanks mostly to a territorial dispute over literally a couple of rocks known as Takeshima to the Japanese and the Dokdo islands to Koreans.
As so, now may not be the most welcoming time to visit Korea if you’re Japanese, and vice versa.
To cite an extreme, in Korea there is even one net cafe that has gone so far as to post a sign outside reading: “No Japs Allowed.”
But if you read the fine print, you’ll notice that the management isn’t being completely unreasonable with the ban.
- Japan, Korea
- (Dokdo islands • politics • Takeshima)
“Slime” Flavored Gum Now on Sale in Japan, Grants 1 XP
- Steven
Aug 21, 2012
Dragon Quest’s Slime was always one of the tastier-looking characters in the series. I mean, come on, he’s basically a blue gummi with a face drawn on—how could you not want to stick that in your mouth and chew on it?
Well now you can, with Fit’s MAGIQ Slime Flavor chewing gum by Lotte!
- Japan
- (Dragon Quest • food • Lotte • slime)
First World Problem: Trying to Say Your Coffee Order, Becoming a Quivering Blob. Here’s an App to Help the Wannabe Coffee Connoiseur.
- Danielnishina
Aug 21, 2012
As we all know, part of Starbucks’ appeal is its big menu and many choices, which naturally lead up to customizable orders. Seeing people rattle off all the options that comprise their beverage of choice is almost enough to make you develop an inferiority complex for just wanting a plain coffee. Read More
Danish Variety Store “Tiger” in Osaka Can’t Keep Up With Japanese Shoppers, Shuts Down Soon After Opening
- Danielnishina
Aug 21, 2012
Danish variety store, Tiger, had recently opened up its first store in Osaka, Japan, in the shopping area known as American Village. Little did they know about the propensities of the Japanese shopper.
Or maybe they just didn’t give them enough credit. In this case, it was the intensity of Japanese shoppers that resulted in the store having to unexpectedly shut down. Despite having the experience of managing stores in 16 different countries, Tiger underestimated the insatiable drive of Japanese people to shop, even if it meant queueing in line for hours and hours.
All this trouble for the European answer to the 100 yen shop... Read More
- Europe, Japan
- (100 yen shop • business • Osaka • shopping • tiger • tiger store)
Oops! Chinese Mob Ravages Japanese Restaurant During Anti-Japan Protest, Later Finds Out it was Owned by Chinese
- Steven
Aug 21, 2012
Anti-Japanese demonstrations have been sweeping across China since Sunday in response to Japanese activists unfurling Japanese flags on a disputed island in the South China Sea, four days after Chinese activists landed on the same island.
Undoubtedly the most high-profile of the protests was in Shenzen, where some Chinese protesters burned Japanese flags and even turned violent, vandalizing Japanese cars and breaking into a local Japanese restaurant.
What the angry Chinese mob didn’t realize was that, like most Japanese eateries outside of Japan, the restaurant they ravaged was owned and operated by Chinese.
- China
- (anti-Japan • doing it wrong • protest • Restaurant)
Increase in Lightning Observed Across Japa… What the Hell Is That?!
- Master Blaster
Aug 21, 2012
In addition to two months of temperatures over 35℃, Japan has recently been hit with a spate of lightning storms. In fact, when writing a previous story my building was hit by lightning knocking out my computer and forcing a rewrite. The son of a…
Anyway, with all this lightning around and pretty much the entire population carrying cameras built into their phones, a person’s natural inclination is to try and take a picture of a bolt.
One person though was not only lucky enough to actually be able to catch a bolt in a photo, but found something far stranger.
- Internet, Japan
- (lightning • photography • twitter)
Thousands of Goldfish Exhibited Artfully in Nihonbashi
- Karen Bremer Masuda
Aug 20, 2012
The art of goldfish exhibiting can be fully appreciated at this Art Aquarium and Night Aquarium Exhibit called Edo Cooling Goldfish. Sponsored by Diners Card and running from August 17th (Friday) till September 24th (Monday) at the Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, the exhibit consists of artfully arranged aquariums where, the stars of this display, the kingyo, or goldfish, swim around demonstrating their own beauty, as well as being part of an intricate art presentation never seen before.
You have never, and may never again, see so many kingyo in one place at one time!
- Japan
- (aquariums • art • art exhibition • cooling • kingyo • summer outing)
Rey Ayanami’s Spear of Longinus is a Large and Unsightly Broken Churro
- Steven
Aug 20, 2012
On August 15, Japanese convenience store chain Lawson launched a Evangelion tie-in campaign to promote the November release of the film Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.
Like any other Japanese convenience store promotion, Lawson is selling a small collection of limited-edition Evangelion goods and snacks. Among them is a package of 2 “churro sticks” called “Rei Ayanami’s Spear of Longinus,” supposedly modeled after the iconic weapon.
- Japan
- (convenience store • Evangelion • food • Lawson • Rei Ayanami)
What do Japanese People Put in Their Rice Balls? Top 22 Most Popular Onigiri Fillings!
- Steven
Aug 20, 2012
If you ever visit Japan and want to sample one of the staples of local cuisine, find a convenience store and grab an onigiri, or rice ball. Easy to make, plentiful in variety and an essential component of any bento lunch, the onigiri is to Japan what the sandwich is to the West.
But with so many different fillings, how do you know which onigiri to try out? If you want a taste of the REAL Japan, you need to eat what REAL Japanese people are eating, which is why we’d like to share with you this REAL list ranking the most popular onigiri fillings in Japan.
- Japan
- (convenience store • food • onigiri • survey)
Overseas Edition of “Prince’s Proposal” Getting Turned Down by Fans: “Princes Look Disgusting”
- Master Blaster
Aug 20, 2012
Unlike American game makers, Japanese video game companies often sweat over every detail before selling their games overseas to make sure it fits the culture. Although the sentiment is appreciated the results are often poor, as people in other countries enjoy those cultural differences more often than not.
Case in point is Prince’s Proposal’s (Ojisama no Puropozu) treacherous journey abroad. Prince’s Proposal is an otome game where your character, a university student, has a chance encounter with six princes whom you must find romance with by making the right choices throughout the story.
Its recent westernized incarnation called Be My Princess, however, decided to replace the stylish anime princes and characters with rubbery, emotionless ones.
New Hatsune Miku Music Video “ODDS&ENDS” Leaves the World in Tears 【Updated】
- Steven
Aug 19, 2012
There are literally tens of thousands of songs out there that use the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid software for vocals, but few can inspire and touch people’s hearts like the work of Japanese 11-member music group Supercell.
On August 14, Supercell released the music video for their new single “ODDS&ENDS,” their first song to feature Hatsune Miku in over a year and the opening theme for the upcoming Playstation Vita game “Hatsune Miku Project DIVA-f.”
Check out the video below and be sure to grab a box of tissues because Supercell has once again managed to pour more emotion into this virtual singer than can be found in most pop songs today.
Free Underwear! Innovative Business Set to Give Away Up to 7 Pairs a Month
- Master Blaster
Aug 19, 2012
I have to admit, I’m the kind of guy who clings to his underwear until it’s little more than two threads attached to a stretched out, useless elastic band. Guys tend to be creatures of habit and would rather put up with worn down shorts than go to the store to buy new ones.
Freepan (short for Free Pants) is a totally new patented service prepared to send up to seven free pairs of underpants every month – with free delivery!
Catch? Yes, there are a couple catches but not as bad as you might imagine.
- Internet, Japan
- (advertising • Free Pants • Freepan • underwear)
iPhone App “Burner” Let’s You Keep Your Original Number Clean or Get into All Kinds of Mischief
- Master Blaster
Aug 19, 2012
With mobile phones steadily evolving into smart phones the days of prepaid units may one day slip away from us. However, a new app called Burner keeps the tradition of making and receiving anonymous phone calls alive on your regular smart phone.
The app is named after a slang term for a cheap prepaid mobile phone that could be untraceably used in illegal dealings. Once the job is done, you can just toss the burner in a dumpster severing all connection with that number. This app saves the trouble of getting and disposing of a handset by putting the burner inside your iPhone side by side with your regular service. Yet this app surely can be used for legal purposes too… right?
- USA
- (burner • iPhone • prepaid phone)
Bill Gates Building a Mansion in Japan!? We Investigate!
- Karen Bremer Masuda
Aug 18, 2012
Rumor has it that the world-famous Bill Gates has started building a vacation home in Japan’s premier mountain resort town Karuizawa, Nagano!
After it was substantiated in an article in Shinken Shinbun, a local construction periodical, the Bill Gates Mansion became the talk of the town. The land for it includes an area of 19,979 square meters. It will be one-storied and go down two stories into a basement. There will be a heliport and a private underground road accessing the grounds where a 2000 square metered garden is planned.
- Japan
- (Bill Gates • construction of luxury mansions • heliport • Karuizawa • rich and famous • summer hideaways • vacation resorts)
Website Lets You Check if Anyone Was Murdered or Committed Suicide in Your Home
- Master Blaster
Aug 18, 2012
None of us wants to live in an apartment or house where someone was killed, also known as stigmatized properties. It’d be pretty creepy in the least. However, in Japan the desire to not live in a place like that is so intense that you’d think Poltergeist was a documentary.
Oshima Teru is an up and coming website that also must be a real estate agent’s worst nightmare. Its main purpose is to map out every property where unnatural deaths occurred. Originally only focusing on the Greater Tokyo Area, they have expanded into nearly worldwide coverage including North America and Europe.
Domino’s Pizza “Manager of Excellence” Pawns His Domino’s Themed Rolex Reward, Company Appears Shaken
- Master Blaster
Aug 18, 2012
There are many pizza places in the world but very few have achieved the worldwide notoriety of Domino’s Pizza. So it’s comforting to know that they reward their workers handsomely when outstanding work is done.
In Japan, a manager deemed “excellent” by the corporation gets rewarded a Rolex watch. Granted the Rolex is engraved with the Domino’s logo in places, but it’s still a Rolex, and it’s worth a pretty penny too according to the pawn shop one was sold to.
Horror Movies Recommended to Scare Away the Summer Heat! So, Which Horror Movies are Popular in Japan?
- Kay
Aug 17, 2012
It’s a fact of life that summers in Japan are hot and humid, and the Japanese people have a long history of trying to find ways to cool down in hot weather. One tradition that has come about as a result is the telling of terrifying horror stories in the summer, for the purpose of getting “chilled with terror”. And right now with the summer in full swing in Japan, we are indeed in need of some “chilling”.
Well, to help those of us desperate to feel just even a little bit cooler, Japanese entertainment group Culture Convenience Club (CCC), which operates TSUTAYA, one of the largest Video/DVD rental chains in Japan, has released a list of the 20 most-rented horror movies in Japan over the past three decades (1983 to 2012 to be exact). So, let’s see which movies made the list! Read More
- Global, Japan
- (DVD rentals • horror movies • Tsutaya)
Turntable Rider Converts BMX Bike Into Musical Instrument
- Steven
Aug 17, 2012
Yo dawg, Japanese smartphone-based bike-sharing service Cogoo heard you like freestyling, so they stuck a DJ mixer into your BMX bike so you can freestyle while you freestyle.
- Japan
- (BMX • music • technology • Xzibit)
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Recent Posts
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Today
How to watch Studio Ghibli’s new anime in Japan, with a special after-dark outdoor screening for Halloween
New Shinkansen platform vending machine sells local-flavor treats from 127-year-old snack maker
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Megadeth guitarist becomes voice of reason regarding tourists dancing at shrine in Japan
Japan’s Suica Penguin character is “graduating”, and you can choose its successor
We tried Japan’s Wobbly Beer Glass that forces you to drink water, and it humbled us
Japanese restaurant chain offering free food for a year if you beat massive meat bowl challenge
Tokyo’s Rikugien Garden announces nighttime foliage illumination event ahead of autumn
Legendary Pokémon statues installed in downtown Tokyo, will be there through the fall
Eel sauce is our new favorite cooking hack for making any dish sweet and savory with zero hassle
Weekly
Kyoto temple bans visitors from wearing kimono
Lego PlayStation recreates Sony’s original console, makes unusual choice for games to salute
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Japan’s Suica Penguin character is “graduating”, and you can choose its successor
Tokyo ward looking to change lodging laws, ban more than half of its Airbnb-style rentals
Megadeth guitarist becomes voice of reason regarding tourists dancing at shrine in Japan
How to watch Studio Ghibli’s new anime in Japan, with a special after-dark outdoor screening for Halloween
Mister Donut releases new sweet potato doughnuts in Japan, and we’ve ranked them from best to worst
New Pokémon anniversary song is 22 minutes long, features all 1,025 Pokémon species [Video]
New Transforming Business Card case brings anime mecha to Japanese work meetings
Monthly
12-year-old British girl who went missing in Tokyo found safe after visiting anime sites around Yokohama
7-year-old boy left behind on Mt. Fuji by his own dad
Japan’s final Penguin Suica train cards have already shipped, and when they’re gone, they’re gone
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Study finds hundreds of people in Indonesia legally named after Naruto, Inuyasha, other anime stars
Japan approves foreign resident visa renewal fee increases of up to 967 percent, starts soon
Japan tripled its departure tax to fund tourism but is using the money on cherry blossoms and bears
Solo travel in Japan: Hidden beer garden in Tokyo is a haven for single visitors
Kyoto temple bans visitors from wearing kimono
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
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Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
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We tried Japan’s Wobbly Beer Glass that forces you to drink water, and it humbled us
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Anime magical girls grow to gigantic size with new Madoka Magica plushies [Photos]
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