SoraNews24 —Japan News—
Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Featured
- Weird
- Studio Ghibli
- Jobs
fashion (Page 72)
Lifelike lion and tiger backpacks from Japan will make everyone who sees you say, “Oh my!”
- Casey Baseel
Nov 15, 2014 - Tweet
There are two important things to bear in mind regarding Japanese fashion. First is that, since so many people use public transportation, they almost always need some kind of a bag or backpack to carry their stuff in when they go out. Second, after spending all week wearing a mandated uniform or bland business suit, come the weekend, some people are overcome with the urge to express their individuality to the fullest with their clothing and accessory choices.
With that in mind, just about the fastest route away from your button-down Monday to Friday look is to slip on a backpack that’s the exact shape and size of a tiger’s head.
Who needs scissors? Stylist in Vietnam slices customers’ hair with samurai sword
- Casey Baseel
Nov 14, 2014
About a month after I moved to Japan in college, my hair was getting pretty shaggy, so I asked my host dad where I could get a trim. The place he took me to was an old-school barbershop, and I remember being surprised when instead of using electric clippers on the back of my neck, the barber used a straight razor.
Still, that wasn’t nearly as big as the shock some customers get when they walk into this hairdresser’s in Vietnam and see the stylist slicing people’s hair with a Japanese sword.
11 things Japanese women want men to know about their breasts
- Casey Baseel
Nov 9, 2014
Let’s say you love looking at the moon. You’re enchanted by its beautifully full and round shape, and sometimes you find it so enticing you’d like to reach out and touch it (with its permission, of course).
But all that ardent admiration still doesn’t mean you actually know anything about the moon, does it?
That’s not too far from the relationship some men have with women’s breasts, according to this list of 11 things Japanese women wish more men understood about their chests.
Close Sisters Bras: The Frozen-inspired lingerie that changes color when you’re near a friend
- Casey Baseel
Nov 8, 2014
Once a year, lingerie manufacturer Triumph designs a special bra that highlights social trends in Japan. The company shows off each year’s version at a press event, which always has two models, despite the fact that the bras they’re wearing have always been identical.
This year, though, the two-model system is more than just a way of upping the glamorous eye-candy quotient, since the patterns and color on the 2014 bras miraculously change when they’re close to each other.
Do you dress like Tokyo or Osaka? Study creates one outfit for every Japanese prefecture
- Casey Baseel
Nov 6, 2014
Japan isn’t that big geographically, but it’s still divided up into 47 different prefectures. Even though it’ll usually only take you a couple of hours to pass from one into the other (and even less if you’re on the Shinkansen), each has its own unique feel to it. Depending on where you are, people eat different foods, celebrate holidays in different ways, and even like different clothes, as shown by a study that reveals how Japanese women like to dress by prefecture.
- Japan
- (culture • fashion • prefectures • style)
Pretty Indonesian sisters share everything including good looks and sweet style 【Photos】
- Cara Clegg
Nov 5, 2014
Sisters Elle and Jess Yamada from Indonesia do everything together, and that includes making a name for themselves on the fashion blogosphere. The lovely ladies are in their early twenties and have a combined total of nearly 250,000 Instagram followers, write for their popular blog on their website, and run a clothing line called Gowigasa. They’re also apparently really awesome at hulahooping, and won their high school’s hula hoop competition.
But we know what you really want is to get a good look at these two beauties, so read on to find a selection of photos after the cut.
- SE Asia
- (beautiful girl • beauty • fashion • models)
Become an ultra-cool Ultra(salary)man with these limited-edition neckties
- Audrey Akcasu
Nov 4, 2014
In Japan, black suits are as ubiquitous with salarymen as uniforms are with high school students. Usually, though, the look is pretty unremarkable: black suit, white shirt, subdued tie, black shoes, black belts…and the same thing every day. Suit and menswear chain Aoyama, however, is looking to not only spice up the old suit look, but also help salarymen channel their inner space alien superhero (or villain).
For their 50th anniversary, Aoyama has collaborated with the Ultraman franchise to create a line of Ultraman neckties. In an announcement from Tsuburaya Productions, the company that produced the original Ultraman TV series in 1966, it was revealed that there will be eighteen unique Ultraman inspired designs available for a limited time.
Japanese high school holds annual contest to decide the prettiest “girl” in school
- Mike
Nov 3, 2014
The whole concept of an all-boys high school is kind of cruel when you think about it. You take a bunch of young men who have only recently hit puberty and are practically oozing hormones out of their pores and lock them in a prison-like environment filled with nothing but other males for the majority of their teen lives.
So it’s understandable that at least one Japanese all-boys high school, faced with an utter lack of girls to ogle, chose to get a little creative… by holding an annual beauty pageant to determine the prettiest “girl” in school.
- Japan
- (cosplay • crossdressing • fashion • Tokyo)
New Studio Ghibli sunglasses will make anime fans look like fat pigs
- Casey Baseel
Oct 30, 2014
Totoro may be Studio Ghibli’s most iconic roly-poly creation, but he’s not the only corpulent character from Hayao Miyazaki’s animation house. 1992’s Porco Rosso stars Porco, a heavyset seaplane aviator in 1920s Italy who happens to have the head (and build) of a pig.
But while Porco may not have typical leading man looks, he exudes a dashing, gallant aura, which extends to his cool old-school cool shades. If you’d like to copy his style without duplicating his physique, you’re in luck, as you can now buy official Porco Rosso sunglasses.
- Japan
- (anime • cool • fashion • glasses • Hayao Miyazaki • movies • Studio Ghibli)
11 predictions Japanese people made hundreds of years ago about the future
- Casey Baseel
Oct 29, 2014
For a large chunk of Japan’s history, there wasn’t much time to think about the future. Instead, most people’s days were filled with more immediate concerns, like trying to figure out how to survive the civil wars that were all the rage in the country during most of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.
Things finally settled down in the early 1600s, though, and ordinary Japanese citizens entered into a long period of internal stability. Finally having enough time to muse about things to come, they came up with a list of predictions about Japan’s future, some of which are nowhere near how reality has turned out, and some of which were spot on.
Attack of the Clones: Finalists in this year’s Miss Korea contest once again looking eerily alike
- Mike
Oct 29, 2014
In perhaps the one case in which broadly dismissing an entire group of exotic-looking people by saying, “Eh, they all look the same to me,” maybe isn’t all that offensive, the 2014 Miss Korea contestant lineup once again looks eerily like a lineup of *I, Robot-*style doppelgangers.
This year saw around 50 finalists, whom the agency holding the competition saw fit to line up in a photo roster for our viewing pleasure:
- Internet, Korea
- (fashion • Miss Korea • plastic surgery • weird)
Impractical yet adorable Hello Kitty school uniform set for spring debut
- Evie Nyan
Oct 28, 2014
In many countries around the world, mandatory school uniforms are the bane of students’ lives, with their unflattering shape and drab color scheme. Their purpose seems to be to help pupils blend into a homogeneous mass of unfashionable conformity, and are often enforced under the logic that they “promote modesty” and “prevent distractions from learning”.
In Japan, however, it’s completely different. The Japanese tend to put a lot of stock in uniforms of all kinds, and school uniforms, which signify the wearer’s youth, are considered a prime status symbol. Now everyone’s favorite mute cat, Hello Kitty, is getting in on the action with her special snowy-white sailor suit for spring!
- Japan
- (cute • fashion • Hello Kitty • School uniform)
What do black holes and Gundam have in common? Here’s a hint: Schwarzschild!
- Preston Phro
Oct 28, 2014
Here’s a riddle for you: What do Gundam and black holes have in common? And, no, it has nothing to with giant robots or CERN-style technology gone crazy. It’s actually about…fashion.
Well, fashion might be a bit of an exaggeration, but we’ll give you a hint. What’s weird about the way Fumina Hoshino, from the new Gundam Build Fighters Try, wears her skirt?
Considering a tattoo? Take it for a removable test run with these tattoo sleeves
- Mike
Oct 20, 2014
The whole reason tattoos are so cool is that they literally become a part of you after you get one. They can’t be erased – at least not without some expensive laser surgery. There’s a certain cool factor in being confident enough in your feelings about Professor Farnsworth or the Triforce to get them permanently etched into your skin.
On the flip-side, though, it’s all too common for people to get a tattoo that they later very much regret. Whether it’s the name of a college girlfriend you’ve long since broken up with, the name of that emo band you thought was cool in the early 2000s, or a veritable collage of anime characters from the 80s and 90s, some tattoo choices can come back to haunt you.
That may be a thing of the past, though, now that Japanese companies are offering removable tattoo sleeves!
Cosplay as you cook with new Sailor Moon aprons!
- Evie Nyan
Oct 17, 2014
If you’re a woman in her late twenties in Japan, chances are you grew up obsessed with Naoko Takeuchi’s “Magical Girl” manga series Sailor Moon and its accompanying anime. Given Japan’s love of natsukashii (nostalgic) cuteness, it’s really not that shocking that there’s now a thriving market out there for adult-appropriate Sailor Senshi outfits and accessories – we’ve even recently seen a trend for grown women wearing Sailor Moon undies. Not content with mere ribbon-bedecked panties? Well, now you can replace your dingy old curry-stained cooking apron with a stylish and colorful Sailor Moon version! In the name of the Moon… let’s get cooking!
Anime and real-world basketball collide with Nike’s Slam Dunk Air Jordans
- Casey Baseel
Oct 17, 2014
While most popular sports anime are about baseball or soccer, creator Takehiko Inoue’s basketball story Slam Dunk is one of the most popular series of all time. Beginning as a manga in 1990 before making the leap to animation in 1993, Slam Dunk played a huge role in boosting basketball’s popularity in Japan.
Slam Dunk’s print and TV run also coincided with four of NBA legend Michael Jordan’s professional championships. Now, the two icons are teaming up with Nike to bring sneaker fans Slam Dunk Air Jordans.
Futago koude: The hot new fashion trend of Japanese women dressing like twins
- Casey Baseel
Oct 16, 2014
In always fashion-conscious Japan, each year brings a handful of would-be hot new trends. Some of these go on to be hits, like the way many women have been dying their hair brown for the last 15 years. Others, like the high-waist bikini many fashion magazines were pushing last spring, never really catch on.
Now, a new look seems to be gaining traction with young women, in which they head out for a day on the town with a friend wearing nearly identical outfits.
Thai schoolgirl uniforms poised to edge out traditional Japanese ones in Japan?
- Mike
Oct 13, 2014
It looks like Japanese girls can’t get enough of schoolgirl uniforms these days. Once loathed by their wearers as stuffy, boring and a symbol of conformity (pretty much kryptonite to teenagers), Japanese girls have – over the last few decades – come to embrace the schoolgirl uniform as a sexy, fashionable and customizable wardrobe choice in and out of the classroom.
The problem, though: It looks like it isn’t Japanese schoolgirl uniforms that girls really want nowadays. What they really want are Thai schoolgirl uniforms.
Wear your love of anime on your stomach with Totoro Tummy hoodies and tees
- Casey Baseel
Oct 9, 2014
Although he increasingly dealt with heavy themes and narratives as his career went on, legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro is a film of almost non-stop good vibes, with scene after scene filled with childlike whimsy, wonder, and joy. Wouldn’t it be nice to take a break from the worries of the workaday world and live inside the 1988 classic for a day?
Of course, if we’re talking animated flights of fancy, why stop at being just any character in the movie, when instead you can become Totoro himself with this lineup of Totoro apparel.
- Japan
- (anime • cool • fashion • Hayao Miyazaki • Studio Ghibli • Totoro)
Nintendo fan’s Super Mario kimono is an awesome mix of retro gaming and historical fashion
- Casey Baseel
Oct 8, 2014
You could make the argument that Nintendo is the most “Japanese” of the major video game companies. Obviously that’s a label you can’t apply to Microsoft, but even compared to internationally focused Sony, with design studios and production teams all over the world, more of Nintendo’s products are developed domestically, and many in Kyoto, the quintessential Japanese city.
So it’s kind of ironic that the company’s best-known character, Mario, is Italian. Still, the video game hero is one of the best choices for a symbol of Japanese pop culture, and now he’s been combined with Japanese traditional culture in an awesome Mario kimono.
- Japan
- (cool • culture • fashion • kimono • nintendo • Super Mario • video games)
-
Recent Posts
- Get the taste of the U.K. in Tokyo with 99 Flakes, meat pies, and Jaffa Cakes
- Japanese government hires leading comedy agency to explain national defense spending
- Starbucks Japan unveils new winter drinkware collection with limited-edition Stanley cups
- Pokémon doughnuts pop up at Mister Donut, with a new gathering that’s bigger than ever
- Discount retailers known for massive bargains releases massive Japanese egg sandwich
-
MOST POPULAR
- Today
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Yearly
Today
Pachinko parlor operator arrested for not obscuring the act of gambling well enough
Starbucks Japan unveils new winter drinkware collection with limited-edition Stanley cups
Pokémon doughnuts pop up at Mister Donut, with a new gathering that’s bigger than ever
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Discount retailers known for massive bargains releases massive Japanese egg sandwich
First-ever cafe on Tokyo Imperial Palace Garden grounds is now open
Japanese government hires leading comedy agency to explain national defense spending
Liquid croissant coffee is coming to Japanese stores this month
Starbucks Japan reveals this year’s lucky bag, but you’ll have to act fast to get one
Tokyo to build new crematoriums to meet surging demand
Weekly
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
Beautiful Ghibli diorama kits lets you build anime characters’ homes inside yours [Photos]
Life-size Monster Hunter dragon statues to be built at Japanese shopping mall
Evangelion announces collaboration with Hard Rock Cafe
Cold Stone is closing its final branch in all of east Japan, but it’s going down singing
Liquid croissant coffee is coming to Japanese stores this month
Studio Ghibli homeware brand’s faux oil lamp brings light, smiles, and Kiki’s Jiji to your home
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Starbucks Japan releases now Tokyo Reserve Roastery Christmas drinkware collection [Photos]
Monthly
Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
What’s it like to stay in a Japanese container hotel?
Beautiful Ghibli diorama kits lets you build anime characters’ homes inside yours [Photos]
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
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
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
-
RECOMMENDED STORIES
First-ever cafe on Tokyo Imperial Palace Garden grounds is now open
Japanese government hires leading comedy agency to explain national defense spending
Liquid croissant coffee is coming to Japanese stores this month
Starbucks Japan reveals this year’s lucky bag, but you’ll have to act fast to get one
Tokyo to build new crematoriums to meet surging demand
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Continuing cyberattacks hit Japanese arcade hard [Photos]
Beautiful Ghibli diorama kits lets you build anime characters’ homes inside yours [Photos]
Japan’s free stock image site of muscular men doing whimsical and mundane things reveals rankings
Get the taste of the U.K. in Tokyo with 99 Flakes, meat pies, and Jaffa Cakes
Princess Mononoke was going to look totally different, new Studio Ghibli artbook shows
Mr. Sato searches for the mysterious new wall of fortune in Tokyo
Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
Starbucks Japan releases now Tokyo Reserve Roastery Christmas drinkware collection [Photos]
-
-
Categories
Categories Select Category Africa (33) Anime & Manga (193) Art (64) Australia (42) C America (9) C Asia (17) Canada (59) Cats (72) China (847) Culture (180) Cute (187) Entertainment (248) Europe (345) FN24 (1) Food & Drink (314) Games & Tech (167) Global (1,073) India (11) Internet (2,198) Italy (13) Japan (34,560) Korea (375) Lifestyle (76) Mexico (6) Music (12) N Asia (4) New Zealand (11) News (61) North Korea (72) Oceania (10) Russia (56) S America (33) S Asia (66) SE Asia (378) Space (2) Taiwan (203) UK (18) Uncategorized (19) USA (978) W Asia (25)
-
Archives
Archives Select Month November 2026 (29) October 2026 (144) September 2026 (156) August 2026 (174) July 2026 (197) June 2026 (174) May 2026 (138) April 2026 (142) March 2026 (150) February 2026 (124) January 2026 (138) December 2025 (136) November 2025 (136) October 2025 (151) September 2025 (154) August 2025 (143) July 2025 (158) June 2025 (165) May 2025 (162) April 2025 (181) March 2025 (157) February 2025 (127) January 2025 (139) December 2024 (148) November 2024 (149) October 2024 (153) September 2024 (154) August 2024 (158) July 2024 (156) June 2024 (150) May 2024 (166) April 2024 (150) March 2024 (157) February 2024 (169) January 2024 (159) December 2023 (165) November 2023 (166) October 2023 (166) September 2023 (173) August 2023 (183) July 2023 (171) June 2023 (180) May 2023 (158) April 2023 (152) March 2023 (167) February 2023 (160) January 2023 (171) December 2022 (175) November 2022 (176) October 2022 (179) September 2022 (191) August 2022 (202) July 2022 (193) June 2022 (178) May 2022 (178) April 2022 (181) March 2022 (212) February 2022 (199) January 2022 (224) December 2021 (230) November 2021 (214) October 2021 (215) September 2021 (238) August 2021 (225) July 2021 (207) June 2021 (218) May 2021 (209) April 2021 (206) March 2021 (225) February 2021 (209) January 2021 (224) December 2020 (225) November 2020 (224) October 2020 (231) September 2020 (238) August 2020 (227) July 2020 (220) June 2020 (209) May 2020 (215) April 2020 (238) March 2020 (235) February 2020 (222) January 2020 (233) December 2019 (187) November 2019 (214) October 2019 (237) September 2019 (195) August 2019 (205) July 2019 (183) June 2019 (201) May 2019 (231) April 2019 (192) March 2019 (242) February 2019 (211) January 2019 (238) December 2018 (212) November 2018 (217) October 2018 (214) September 2018 (203) August 2018 (217) July 2018 (218) June 2018 (208) May 2018 (204) April 2018 (193) March 2018 (216) February 2018 (192) January 2018 (223) December 2017 (204) November 2017 (209) October 2017 (218) September 2017 (209) August 2017 (228) July 2017 (222) June 2017 (245) May 2017 (229) April 2017 (197) March 2017 (165) February 2017 (151) January 2017 (180) December 2016 (260) November 2016 (267) October 2016 (302) September 2016 (387) August 2016 (351) July 2016 (379) June 2016 (379) May 2016 (312) April 2016 (347) March 2016 (414) February 2016 (379) January 2016 (359) December 2015 (359) November 2015 (378) October 2015 (435) September 2015 (419) August 2015 (152) July 2015 (218) June 2015 (179) May 2015 (237) April 2015 (223) March 2015 (119) February 2015 (121) January 2015 (394) December 2014 (376) November 2014 (376) October 2014 (414) September 2014 (349) August 2014 (379) July 2014 (316) June 2014 (375) May 2014 (384) April 2014 (354) March 2014 (318) February 2014 (284) January 2014 (270) December 2013 (224) November 2013 (242) October 2013 (244) September 2013 (226) August 2013 (241) July 2013 (214) June 2013 (222) May 2013 (191) April 2013 (173) March 2013 (149) February 2013 (85) January 2013 (106) December 2012 (111) November 2012 (149) October 2012 (151) September 2012 (118) August 2012 (99) July 2012 (56) June 2012 (57) May 2012 (54) April 2012 (62) March 2012 (40) February 2012 (27) January 2012 (24) December 2011 (18) November 2011 (12) October 2011 (1) September 2011 (9) August 2011 (11) March 2011 (1)
-
- About Us | Jobs | Contact | Contribution | Partner with Us
© SoraNews24 —Japan News— / SOCIO CORPORATION
- Advertise |
- About Us |
- Work with us |
- Contact |
- Contribution |


