SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Kick back and listen to Luna Lee gorgeously plays hits like “Stairway to Heaven,” “Voodoo Child,” “Back in Black,” and Adele’s “Hello” on a 1,500-year-old Korean instrument.

Internet, Korea
(AC/DC • Adele • culture • gayageum • Jimi Hendrix • Luna Lee • music • video)

Comedian Atsugiri Jason irks Japanese net users with offhand comment

Mike
Feb 24, 2016

Newly-minted minor celebrity and comedian Atsugiri Jason has raised Japanese hackles with a throwaway tweet that mildly criticized Japanese culture.

Internet, Japan
(Atsugiri Jason • backlash • comedians • comedy • culture • twitter)

Wearing a white mask will make you less attractive, according to Japanese researchers’ experiment

Casey Baseel
Feb 23, 2016

Experiments’ results found similar effects for men and women.

Japan
(beauty • culture • experiment • health • masks • romance)

Try traditional Japanese yabusame horseback archery from the back of a moving taxi in Yokohama

Oona McGee
Feb 15, 2016

For two days only, you’ll be able to try your hand at “Taxi Yabusame”, which involves hitting nine targets from the backseat of a cab.

Japan
(archery • cool • culture • events • taxis • yabusame • Yokohama)

Survey suggests that almost 40 percent of Japanese men are reluctant to eat alone in public

Evie Nyan
Feb 9, 2016

Apparently, some Japanese men really don’t like to eat alone in public. But are they simply too shy, or is there something else going on?

Japan
(culture • eating • food • Japan • Japanese men • society)

Old postcards reveal famous Japanese tourist spots as they appeared 100 years ago

Oona McGee
Feb 5, 2016

Glossy postcards of today have nothing on these atmospheric images.

Japan
(art • culture • Japanese history • New York Public Library • photographs • postcards • Tokyo • tourist sites)

7 odd behaviors in Japan as seen by Chinese tourists

Master Blaster
Jan 29, 2016

Last year about 5 million Chinese tourists visited Japan, and Chinese website NetEase was kind enough to compile a list of seven of Japan’s most unusual habits according to them.

China, Japan
(bicycles • culture • customs • fast food • miniskirts • strange • travel)

Japanese company develops unique “Air Bonsai” that floats and rotates in mid-air【Video】

Oona McGee
Jan 24, 2016

This is the first time we’ve ever seen a levitating bonsai.

Japan
(bonsai • cool • culture • Kickstarter • Kyushu • magic • traditional arts • weird)

What a powerpoint presentation by the Tokugawa Shogunate would look like in Edo period Japan

Oona McGee
Jan 20, 2016

In an era of executions and forced suicides, this is one presentation you wouldn’t want to doze off in.

Japan
(animation • computer • culture • design • Edo • funny • GIF • history • samurai • Tokugawa)

A surprising number of Japanese kids still bathe with their parents up until high school

Meg Murphy
Jan 19, 2016

As shocking as it may sound to a Westerner’s ears, some Japanese kids continue bathing with their parents up until high school. It turns out, though, that doing so may have a positive impact on their grades.

Japan
(bathing • baths • culture • kids • Parenting • statistics)

Merchant shipping posters invoke romance and wonder of Japan’s Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras

Oona McGee
Jan 19, 2016

There was a time when sumo wrestlers and kimono-clad ladies made shipping companies look beautiful.

Japan
(advertising • art • culture • history • Meiji • posters • ships • Taisho Era)

Kit Kat taxis blessed by Shinto priest offer good luck to test-taking passengers

Oona McGee
Jan 18, 2016

Now you can boost your chance of passing an exam by calling for a Kit Kat cab in Japan.

Japan
(chocolate • cool • culture • examinations • Kit Kat • sakura • school • tests • tradition)

What do Japanese kids want to be when they grow up? Businesspeople

Casey Baseel
Jan 16, 2016

It does pay better than being a superhero, after all.

China, Japan, Korea, SE Asia, Taiwan
(business • culture • jobs • kids • survey)

Japanese government recommends changing Buddhist temple mark on maps to avoid Nazi connotations

Casey Baseel
Jan 15, 2016

Use of Swastika-like maji symbol deemed “inappropriate” for maps for foreign users.

Japan
(Buddhism • culture • maps • Nazis • religion • swastika • temples • travel)

Five Japanese misconceptions about foreign male/Japanese female couples

Mike
Jan 13, 2016

Japanese blogger and internationalist Madame Riri explores five prejudices and misconceptions foreign male-Japanese female couples experience in Japan.

Japan
(culture • dating • internationalism • Madam Riri • romance • society)

Win “Exploring Kyoto” and “Kyoto—Heart of Japan” by answering this simple question! 【Closed】

ロケットニュース24
Jan 11, 2016

Heading to Kyoto soon? Simply want to know more about Japan’s ancient capital? We have the perfect book and DVD for you—and you could win them by answering one easy question!