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Material that cools down by glowing developed by researchers in Chiba and Osaka

Master Blaster
Sep 22, 2024
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Cool!

Japan
(COK • cooling • glowing • materials • perovskite structure • robots • sci-fi • science • University of Chiba • University of Osaka)

Neo Shinjuku Atsushi: New cyberpunk restaurant bar serves post-apocalyptic food in Tokyo

Oona McGee
Aug 12, 2023

Like stepping into a futuristic world where everyone lives — and plays — underground.

Japan
(bars • COK • cool • dystopia • dystopian • futuristic • izakaya • Japanese food • Japanese restauramts • Neo Tokyo • NEON • neon signs • new openings • restaurants • sci-fi • shinjuku • Tokyo)

Japanese toilets now measure fatigue levels at highway rest stops

Oona McGee
Apr 14, 2021

We test out the new system to see if it really can gauge tiredness while you have your pants down.

Japan
(bidet • COK • holograms • Japanese toilets • new technology • sci-fi • tech • technology • Toilets • washlets)

Japanese toilets become even more high-tech with new floating panels

Oona McGee
Feb 16, 2021

New system aims to keep you and your rear cleaner than ever before.

Japan
(bidet • COK • holograms • Japanese toilets • new technology • sci-fi • tech • technology • Toilets • washlets)

Mr. Sato tries to make himself invisible by wearing mirror paper, creates cool modern art instead

Dale Roll
Jul 9, 2020

As it turns out, wearing reflective material has multiple unintended side effects.

Japan
(art • Costume • crazy • funny • invisible • mirror • modern art • Mr. Sato • sci-fi • weird • why?)

Station in Tokyo starting to look like a futuristic dystopia a little too early

Master Blaster
Apr 15, 2020

Guess it’s time to start scavenging for overshields and gravity hammers already.

Japan
(coronavirus • COVID-19 • Microsoft • Photoshop • sci-fi • self-isolation • Tokyo • train station • Windows 7)

Mr. Sato may be only person on Earth who really liked the film “Armageddon of the Dead”

Master Blaster
Jul 13, 2018

Mr. Sato revisits and reviews the 2012 classic that critics called “a confusing mess” and “so much unwanted junk.”

Japan
(Armageddon of the Dead • B-movies • movies • Mr. Sato • sci-fi • Solid State • zombies)

These Pokémon GO illustrations depict a world we’d love to live in【Art】

KK Miller
Aug 19, 2016

Or, at the very least, they would make a fantastic urban fantasy young adult novel series.

Internet
(art • Dane Cozens • evolutions • Pokemon • Pokémon GO • sci-fi)

“Kowloon Walled City” arcade is a dystopian cyperpunk-lover’s dream come true【Video】

Scott Wilson
May 27, 2016

Metal doors, steel tunnels, neon lights, rust everywhere—the end of the world never looked so cool.

Culture, Entertainment, Japan
(arcade • cyber • cyberpunk • dystopia • game centers • kawasaki • Kowloon Walled City • sci-fi)

New ad for Nissin’s U.F.O. brand of instant yakisoba is all kinds of weird【Video】

Mike
Mar 25, 2016

Caution: Watching this deliciously bizarre ad may cause your entire head to turn inside out and your knees to violently explode.

Japan
(commercials • cup noodles • Nissin • Parody • sci-fi • TV • video)

The future is (almost) now with Mitsubishi’s proposed “Aerial Display” hologram tech

Mike
Feb 23, 2016

Mitsubishi says it’s coming close to perfecting the kind of floating “hologram” images seen in sci-fi films—and it hopes to introduce the “Aerial Display” technology in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Games & Tech, Global, Japan
(holograms • Mitsubishi • sci-fi • technology • Tokyo Olympics)

Aomori’s fabled Nebuta Festival 2015 to feature Star Wars floats

Mike
Jul 6, 2015

Aomori Prefecture’s legendary Nebuta Festival – which takes place in early August every year – has always been one of those big festivals on my Japan bucket list.

Even though the festival is one of the prestigious few festivals to receive the staggeringly long designation of Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, we’re willing to bet the festival is largely overlooked by Western visitors. This is, probably, largely due to Aomori’s fairly remote location; it’s a real pain to get to from Tokyo, Osaka or any of the other major cities outside of Sapporo.

But then, what if that wasn’t the biggest reason foreigners aren’t totally aware of this great festival? What if the real reason was the festival’s lack of Star Wars characters?

Luckily, whether or not that’s the real case, that sore lack of Star Wars characters at the Aomori Nebuta Festival is going to change this year.

Japan
(Aomori • festivals • movies • Nebuta Festival • sci-fi • Star Wars)

There’s going to be a Tetris movie! And it’s going to be a “sci-fi epic”!

Fran W
Oct 2, 2014

It might not be the most obvious choice for a Hollywood blockbuster, but ’80s classic Tetris will be getting a movie adaptation “sometime in the near future”, the Wall Street Journal reports. And Larry Kasanoff, chief executive of Threshold Entertainment, says the film will be a “sci-fi epic”!

Threshold Entertainment is the movie company behind Mortal Kombat, and they’ll be working together with The Tetris Company to develop a sci-fi film based on the classic game. “Everyone knows that Tetris is one of the best known, most beloved brands in the world,” Kasanoff said. “What everyone doesn’t know yet is this epic sci-fi story that we’re going to tell. That’s what’s really exciting.”

Global
(movie • sci-fi • Tetris • Threshold Entertainment • video games)

Photos of Gollum-like creature spotted in China turn out to be a sci-fi actor taking a pee

Philip Kendall
Jun 27, 2014

The good thing about being out in the woods when nature calls is that, short of letting rip on a nest of angry fire ants, nature usually doesn’t mind where you go.

It’s probably a good idea not to take a bathroom break while dressed like a creature from The Lord of the Rings, though, or chances are you’ll scare the life out of passing tourists and end up with photos of your peeing self all over the internet.

China
(Gollum • Lord of the Rings • sci-fi • weird)

Star Wars “Cos-Me” hangers now on sale in Japan – Turn your coat into Vader’s cloak!

Philip Kendall
Apr 11, 2014

A few weeks ago, online shopping site Run@Town began selling a series of special edition Star Wars themed notebooks. Although they were basically just a standard-issue school notebooks with jackets featuring images from the original three films, they sold out in the blink of an eye, and there are people still waiting for new stock to arrive. This week, the same online store announced another Star Wars tie-in, this time offering wooden hangers featuring busts of Yoda, C-3PO, a Stormtrooper, and smokes-20-a-day villain Darth Vader.

The best part is, by slipping them over the hanger, you can have the cast of characters wear your clothes, allowing you to create all kinds of weird mash-ups. And would you believe some of them actually look pretty cool? We have a feeling these are going to be Run@Town’s next sell-out item.

Japan
(collectables • cool • cosplay • hanger • movies • sci-fi • Star Wars)

Fresh out of a sci-fi film! Make your own “head in a jar”!【Instructions】

Joan Coello
Mar 29, 2014

April Fools’ Day is just a few days away! Are you prepared for it? Perhaps the pranks we picked out earlier this week were lacking some impact. Well, that’s because we kept the best for last!

If you’re looking for something that will shock the entire family or add a little excitement to your otherwise boring workplace, check out this homemade head in a jar! Be it for April Fools’ or for Halloween, this creepy artifact is bound to raise some hairs, and the best part is, no blood is involved in the making. Instructions after the jump!

Internet
(April fool • cool • creepy • halloween • prank • sci-fi • wtf)

Japanese-language Chinese news site predicts future of aircraft carriers, uses sci-fi images

Preston Phro
Aug 27, 2013

As the proverb goes, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and nothing produces necessity like war. For better or for worse—mostly for worse—war and military conflict have played a large role in technological progress throughout the history of humankind. While we seem to finally be calming down a little bit as a species in some regards, it is obvious that war is not over and will probably be around for many years to come. And, of course, no one wants to be the country that got left behind in the arms race, right? Still, when you see some of the predictions about the future of aircraft carriers from this Chinese news site, you might wonder if they haven’t mistaken “possible future” with “science fiction TV show.”