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This is how a Japanese pro wrestler’s breakfast looks: Huge! 【Photos】
- Casey Baseel
Sep 13, 2015 - Tweet
If you’ve grown up eating bacon and sausage for breakfast, a Japanese morning meal can be refreshingly light. Generally consisting of a slice of grilled fish, small bowl of white rice, miso soup, and some vegetables, Japan’s take on the most important meal of the day will give you enough energy and nutrients to kick-start your body while leaving out excess fat and calories that can have you ready to crawl back into bed for a nap.
But not everyone in Japan has such a modestly sized breakfast. In fact, pro wrestler Manabu Nakanishi’s breakfast looks more like dinner…for a family of four!
Foreign worker in Japan fends off armed robber with single word, gets no respect from local media
- Casey Baseel
Sep 13, 2015
At some point in life, someone is going to ask you a question that makes you feel uncomfortable. How much money do you make? How many people have you slept with? Just what did happen to all of your political rivals from the junior high student body president election?
Quite often, though, you can get out of answering by asking in return “Why do you want to know?” As a matter of fact, the question “Why?” is so disarming it can even prevent armed robbery, as one foreigner working in Tokyo just found out.
- Japan
- (awesome • convenience stores • crime • foreigners in Japan • funny)
Google Street View now lets you tour the glowing samurai, dragons of the Nebuta Matsuri festival
- Casey Baseel
Sep 8, 2015
Just about every community in Japan puts on a local festival in the summer, but few are as spectacular as Aomori City’s Nebuta Matsuri. For almost a solid week, gigantic floats topped by lanterns shaped like samurai and dragons are paraded through the streets, accompanied by dancers and musicians.
But while Aomori is one of the largest cities in the largely rural Tohoku region of Japan, its relatively remote location in the northeastern corner of the country’s main island of Honshu means not everyone can make it out to see the festivities in-person. As long as you’ve got an Internet connection, though, you can get a taste of the fun with Google’s awesome Nebuta Matsuri Street View that lets you see the amazing floats even closer-up than spectators standing on the sidewalks the towering works of art are carried by.
MegaBots wants your help to ensure American victory in the first ever giant robot fight
- KK Miller
Sep 7, 2015
Earlier this summer, RocketNews24 brought you the breaking news that the United States’ MegaBots had built a giant robot and had challenged Japan who, to no one’s surprise, already had a giant robot themselves. This challenge for robot supremacy was quickly accepted and the ante was upped to include melee combat.
MegaBots couldn’t back down from a challenge they issued first, so it was back to the drawing board in preparation for next year’s battle for national pride. They have some ideas, but are going to need your help to “kickstart” an American victory.
- Internet, Japan, USA
- (awesome • crowdfunding • KURATAS • MegaBots • robots • technology)
This group of Japanese kids tear up the dance floor at the World of Dance competition 【Video】
- Meg Murphy
Sep 5, 2015
There was an overflow of talent, skilled dancers, and amazing performances at the World of Dance competition held in Los Angeles last month, but this boy’s dance group from Japan made a particularly strong impression on the audience. Not only were their moves awe-inspiring and beautifully synchronized, but the fact that everyone in the group was of high school age or younger made their dance all the more incredible.
Watch the full video below and be blown away by the high-flying flips, spins, and awesome soundtrack!
- Global, Japan
- (awesome • break dancing • video • World of Dance • YouTube)
If you’ve got the cash, you can pre-order this stunning Ghost in the Shell ukiyo-e print
- Preston Phro
Sep 5, 2015
A critical darling, Ghost in the Shell may well be one of the most beloved anime in history. Its compelling story, engaging characters and beautiful art all combine to make one of the most exciting franchises we can name, so it’s little surprise that 25 years after its release, the film remains a fan favorite to this day.
In celebration of the first film and the entire franchise, a special product has been announced: a limited-edition series of ukiyo-e prints featuring images from Ghost in the Shell! But when we say limited-edition, we really do mean limited — only 300 copies will be made!
And they won’t come cheap either…
- Japan
- (art • awesome • Ghost in the Shell • ukiyo-e)
These giant straw dinosaurs would probably rip any straw man to shreds
- KK Miller
Sep 3, 2015
If you are a farmer in Japan, there’s a good chance you’re a rice farmer, so after harvesting all your crop, you end up with a lot of straw. Most farmers will stack the straw together and either dry it out or roll it up to dispose of it. Sometimes you will see them burning it as well because that straw is good for nothing.
Nothing that is, unless you’ve got an art student handy. Enter Amy Goda, an aspiring artist currently studying art in Niigata Prefecture. She has taken the leftover straw after the harvest and has fashioned some pretty awesome straw sculptures that might make you think the land is alive.
They’re back! Pikachus overrun Yokohama for second straight year and dance up a storm! 【Videos】
- Casey Baseel
Aug 19, 2015
Although I’ve never witnessed either in-person, I’m sure that the running of the bulls in Spain’s Pamplona and the return of the swallows each spring to their nesting grounds in Southern California are wonderful sights to see. And yet, I think I’m still happiest with what we get here in Yokohama: an annual visit from packs of Pikachus!
Just like they did last year, the loveable Pokémon once again overran the Minato Mirai harbor district for a week this August, But just like Nintendo’s Pocket Monsters routinely acquire enhanced abilities with each new video game or anime installment, in the time since their last appearance in Yokohama our adorable visitors had learned some new moves…dance moves!
Read on for all of our videos and photos of Pikachus grooving and swaying to hip-hop, hula, and more, with costumes to match!
This is what ramen with 100 slices of chashu roast pork looks like
- Casey Baseel
Aug 12, 2015
Earlier this month, we decided to find out just how many hard-boiled eggs you can fit into a bowl of ramen/human stomach, and found out that 10 was a doable and delicious number. But while an egg is a nice accent to a bowl of Japan’s favorite kind of noodles, the king of ramen toppings is chashu, the slice of roast pork that adds some heft and protein to the meal.
Most ramen in Japan comes with a solitary slice of chashu, but some places allow you to pile on more pork. Since we’d already gone with ten times the normal amount of toppings with eggs, we decided to raise the scale to the second power and chow down on a bowl of ramen with 100 slices of chashu.
Real-life Ghibli clouds appear as awesome thunderhead forms in the Tokyo skies 【Videos】
- Casey Baseel
Aug 7, 2015
If you’ve ever spent the summer in Japan, you know that it’s not the heat, but the humidity that makes many people want to take refuge indoors with the air conditioning blasting. But the silver lining to this cloud is the clouds themselves, as all that moisture in the air can turn Japan’s summer skies into a stunning puffy white landscape.
On the evening of August 5, skywatchers in the Tokyo/Yokohama area that turned their eyes to the west saw a towering, lightning-spitting thundercloud so powerfully majestic it immediately drew comparisons to one of Studio Ghibli’s most beloved anime.
- Japan
- (anime • awesome • beautiful • Hayao Miyazaki • Laputa • nature • Studio Ghibli • video)
How do they make those amazing life-size anime statues? We find out (and snap tons of pictures)
- Casey Baseel
Aug 3, 2015
The twice-yearly Wonder Festival exhibition is all about models of anime, video game, and other 2-D characters. Just like with model airplanes or trains, you can often find multiple versions of the same character in different scales, usually several times smaller than the heroes and heroines they’re based on are actually supposed to be.
Walking around the convention, though, we came across two stunning life-sized figures. It wasn’t just their size that impressed us, though, but their amazing attention to detail. Not only did we stop to gawk and snap pictures, we also got an explanation of how they were made, and it involves a 3-D printer!
You can take this 33,000-pound robot for a virtual test drive, watch it dance to J-pop 【Video】
- Casey Baseel
Jul 19, 2015
Now that we’re living in the age of giant fighting robots, it’s time to update the list of things a fully capable member of society needs to be able to do. And while many anime make piloting a huge mecha as simple as falling into the cockpit and learning as you go, it’d be irresponsible to assume things are so easy in the real world.
That’s why we sent one of our reporters to check out a 15,000-kilogram (33,000-pound) giant robot that’s on display in Tokyo right now. Not only is it awesome to look at, its creators will even let you take it for a virtual test drive.
- Japan
- (awesome • cool • events • robots • Super Guzzilla • technology • VR)
Giant Attack on Titan coin bank will help you save up a colossal pile of change
- Casey Baseel
Jun 27, 2015
As you may have noticed, there’s a lot of Attack on Titan stuff to spend your money on. Add in the fact that not one, but two theatrical features are coming this summer for the phenomenally popular franchise, and fans are probably feeling the need to economize and cut back on their discretionary expenditures to make room in their budget for more Titan-related ones.
And if you’re pinching your pennies, what better place to store them than in a gigantic 1:100 scale Colossal Titan coin bank?
Blackboard art contest produces entries that will take your breath away
- KK Miller
Jun 26, 2015
Idle hands are the devil’s play things, so why not occupy them with a monetary prize incentive? Japanese blackboard maker Nichigaku noticed that students have been creating some very impressive artwork on school blackboards. So what better way to promote Nichigaku’s product than to sponsor a nationwide chalk art contest?
Students all over the country submitted incredible pieces of art that turned that “boring thing you stare at every class” into something beautiful that you can’t believe was created with just chalk. Join us after the jump as we show you some of the best submissions from the Nichigaku Blackboard Art contest.
- Japan
- (art • awesome • blackboard • chalk • chalkboard art • contest • Nichigaku)
Sushiro is making sushi so delicious that even McDonald’s should be worried
- KK Miller
May 20, 2015
If you’ve spent much time in Japan, chances are you’ve eaten at a conveyor belt sushi (kaitenzushi in Japanese) restaurant. One nice thing about these restaurants is that they also offer many child-friendly sushi dishes on their menu. These dishes also double as foreigner-friendly, so that those who aren’t so fond of raw fish and other seafood can enjoy sushi too.
There are so many different chains in Japan, it’s often hard to figure out which one to go to, but anyone who sees the sign for Sushiro best head there soon as the chain has a new dish that is oddly satisfying.
- Japan
- (awesome • bacon • Conveyor belt sushi • food • Kaitenzushi • sushi • Sushiro • weird)
Japan celebrates Children’s Day by flying beautiful carp streamers 【Photos】
- Casey Baseel
May 7, 2015
While people in Japan put up decorations to celebrate different holidays, most of them are placed inside the home, such as the dolls for Girls’ Day/Hina Matsuri in March or the vegetables displayed during Obon in the summer. Out in public, though, though, you’d be hard-pressed to tell one Japanese holiday from another, with the exception of Children’s Day/Kodomo no Hi on May 5.
That’s because when Children’s Day rolls around, all you have to do is look up at all of the beautifully awesome carp streamers flying overhead,
- Japan
- (awesome • beautiful • carp streamers • Children's Day • cool • culture • Kodomo no Hi • koinobori)
Time to get a Gundam haircut at this barber shop guarded by a team of mobile suits
- Casey Baseel
May 1, 2015
It’s said that barbers’ poles, with their interlaced contrasting stripes, are a holdover from the Middle Ages, with the red and white symbolizing blood and bandages. In those days, the field of surgery was still at such an early stage in its development that the guy who cut hair would also handle operations and amputations. After all, cutting was cutting, right?
In our modern era, though, you’d never think of asking your doctor to take a little off the sides, nor would you trust your hairdresser to remove a tumor. So isn’t it time for barber shops to get a new symbol, like this one in Aomori with a compliment of giant Gundam statues hanging around outside?
Truth in advertising: Lotteria’s monstrous Burger with Everything on It is exactly that
- Casey Baseel
Apr 29, 2015
You can probably describe about 90 percent of fast food with some combination of the words “convenient,” “greasy,” and “delicious.” In the case of Japanese hamburger chain Lotteria, though, you’ll want to make an addition to your vocabulary list: “crazy.”
Oh, sorry, looks like a typo slipped through. That should actually be “crazy!!!”
Lotteria is sort of the playground daredevil of the Japanese fast food scene. On just about any given day, you’ll find at least one item on the menu that seems to have been created not so much because it’s a good idea, but so that the restaurant can say, “Hey guys! Look at what I can do!” Every now and again, though, Lotteria gets its batch of crazy sauce just right, which is why it’s bringing back the awe-inspiring Burger with Everything on It.
Pikachu outbreak to happen again in Yokohama this summer, this time with dance fever!
- Casey Baseel
Apr 21, 2015
Half-way through April, all of the cherry blossoms are gone from the Tokyo area, and while it’s good to know that they’ll be back in 12 months’ time, it’s always kind of a bummer to see them go.
Thankfully, though, there’s plenty to look forward to as the weather starts to heat up. For example, traditional festivals and amazing fireworks displays take place all across Japan during July and August. Plus, it looks like there’s a new annual summer event now, as the city of Yokohama is going to once again be overrun by Pikachus this year, and this time it sounds like all 1,000-plus of the unbearably cute Pocket Monsters have come down with dance fever!
Cosplay paradise! Haco Stadium Tokyo complex has 33 themed rooms waiting for your photo shoot
- Casey Baseel
Apr 15, 2015
Last week, we took a look at the amazingly accurate recreation of a room from popular anime Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun. That’s was only one limited-time room at the awesome Haco Stadium cosplay complex, though.
Haco Stadium actually has 33 permanent cosplay rooms, meaning you can make the cosplaying rounds of a Japanese high school, samurai residence, fantasy castle, and science fiction backdrop, all without ever having to leave the building.
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