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Japanese Twitter user wows Internet with hologram wristwatch, cat tank, and steampunk creations
- Preston Phro
Sep 29, 2015 - Tweet
For as long as we can remember, holograms have been one of the coolest science fiction technologies that still haven’t quite lived up to the promises of our favorite films and TV shows. We’re a long way from chatting with Mark Twain on the holodeck, basically, but that doesn’t mean current “hologram” technology isn’t cool!
One of the neater everyday hologram-like technologies you can easily buy is a propeller clock. In fact, using a simple microcontroller, some LEDs, and a spinning motor, you could even build your own propeller clock. But this enterprising Twitter user decided a propeller clock wasn’t enough and ended up making a propeller watch! It’s not entirely practical, but it is completely awesome!
Eggplant found with naturally grown-in accessory holder
- Master Blaster
Sep 27, 2015
In Japan “straps” can be found everywhere. They’re like key chains, but with an elastic band. People primarily attach them to their mobile phones, but you can also spot them on anything else under the sun like gym bags or sleep apnea machines.
Now it seems that mother nature is getting in on the action by creating an eggplant with a loophole just right for attaching straps to. And attach straps is just what the lucky owner did.
Japanese fan seemingly upset at Brazil soccer win trolls Tokyo Game Show toilet
- Jamie Koide
Sep 26, 2015
Considering soccer is one sport Japanese athletes both male and female excel at compared to others, it’s easy to see why there’s so many fans of the Japan National and Women’s National Football Teams.
That’s why it may not be so surprising that after the men’s soccer team’s humiliating 0-4 defeat against Brazil last year, fans were feeling a little sour. But just how long do sports grudges last? Apparently quite awhile if you go by this picture of a certain popular Brazilian player that someone stuck in one of the urinals at the most-recent Tokyo Game Show.
Coin laundries in Japan are now more popular than ever, but what makes them so good?
- Jamie Koide
Sep 25, 2015
If you’re used to using a dryer when you do laundry in your home country, you might be in for a surprise if you ever move to Japan. Despite the country’s numerous technological advancements to make your life easier, clothes dryers here pale in comparison to many overseas models, and they aren’t something you’ll find in your average Japanese household. Instead, most Japanese people prefer to hang their washing outside to air dry.
Sure it’s a more affordable and ecological way of doing things, but what do you do when the rainy and typhoon seasons make drying clothes outside impossible or you have too much laundry to hang outside all at once? It’s time for a trip to the laundromat, or what Japanese like to call a koin randorii (coin laundry). In fact, they’re becoming so popular that over the past 10 years the number of coin laundries across Japan has almost doubled, despite little growth in the laundromat industry world-wide.
But why is the coin laundry business suddenly booming? We decided to find out!
- Internet, Japan
- (coin laundry • housework • laundromat • laundry • Living in Japan • trending now • twitter)
Japanese PM Abe accidentally thanks the inventor of the retweet while trying to reach Indian PM
- Master Blaster
Sep 24, 2015
Some of you may have noticed during the royal rumble that ensued in the Japanese Parliament late last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe quietly slipped out while members of his party continued to fight back a horde of angry legislators so that they could usher in changes to the way the constitution is understood. At first, I wondered why he would duck out at such a moment, but then I remembered: it’s his biiirthdaaay♪
Yes, on 21 September, Japan’s fearless leader turned 61. Unfortunately his age is really starting to show in his lack computer savvy. We already know the PM has his own Twitter account after Abe revealed that he pays his Twitter fees just like the rest of us. But apparently he still hasn’t grasped how to use the “@” symbol properly when a message of thanks to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi accidentally went to the wrong guy, who also just happened to help develop Twitter.
- Global, Internet, Japan
- (Birthday • India • Narendra Modi • politics • Shinzo Abe • twitter)
Twitter users share 16 heartwarming moments of kindness in Japan
- Mike
Sep 15, 2015
It’s far from the happiest place on earth, but Japan certainly has a reputation for kindness and hospitality. Most foreigners that visit the country return home with starry-eyed tales of over-the-top customer service and even random acts of kindness from total strangers.
But, this isn’t just a case of the Japanese putting on a good front for visiting foreigners: heartwarming acts of kindness in Japan are pretty commonplace (although this isn’t a Japan-exclusive thing; let’s be honest). If you’re in need of a Japan-flavored pick-me-up today, check out these stories of people being awesome, via Japanese Twitter users:
- Japan
- (culture • cute • heartwarming • twitter)
SoftBank prohibits intercourse with its robot Pepper
- Master Blaster
Sep 15, 2015
With 1,000 units set to go on sale later this month, Japanese telecom giant SoftBank has high hopes for its domestic robot, Pepper. If the company wants to achieve its dream of a Pepper in every home, however, numerous ethical issues must be considered and overcome, one of which being the thorny matter of owners who attempt to treat their little robot like an altogether different kind of helping hand.
It seems that SoftBank is already trying to keep ahead of the curve, however, by clearly stating in its documentation for Pepper that sexual acts with the cheery robot are strictly prohibited.
Lone crayfish stands in defiance of floods
- Master Blaster
Sep 12, 2015
Various areas across northeast Japan have been struggling to cope with the massive amounts of rainfall that have led to flooding and landslides. The scenes of destruction have dominated the news in the past week leaving many concerned about their fellow citizens, friends, and family in the region.
However, one young woman in the area found a little message of hope from an unlikely ally, a crayfish standing tall in the middle of a flooded road with its claws raised to the sky and refusing to back down.
Mt. Fuji becomes Studio Ghibli’s Laputa following recent typhoon 【Photos】
- Meg Murphy
Sep 12, 2015
**Mount Fuji—**its almost perfectly symmetrical shape and towering, snow-topped beauty have long been a symbol of Japan, recognised the world round. It has also recently been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its strong ties to the Japanese culture. And now, in the clear skies following this week’s typhoon, it is also being called Laputa, as Twitter users are posting their impressive photos of the cloud-capped peak.
- Japan
- (Castle in the Sky Laputa • Hayao Miyazaki • Laputa • Mt. Fuji • photos • Studio Ghibli • twitter)
Four Western gestures that are difficult for Japanese people to understand
- Master Blaster
Sep 11, 2015
Earlier this week, a Twitter user turned to the masses in the hope of learning the meanings behind four common gestures she had often seen in Western cartoons. While many, if not all, of these may be instantly recognizable to our readers, in Japan they are seldom seen and for that reason look understandably odd.
We’ve already examined some Japanese hand gestures; now let’s see how the other half lives as Japanese Twitter users try to unravel the meanings behind licking our fingers and touching someone or “crab-like movement and bending fingers“.
Twitter user caught in Ibaraki flood tweets photos of his rescuers from inside helicopter
- Preston Phro
Sep 11, 2015
Coverage of the heavy rains and typhoon that have swept through Japan this week have dominated much of the news in the country. Today, TV screens were filled with reports on the devastating flooding in Ibaraki Prefecture, where waters burst through the banks and flooded the city of Joso. Images and videos of rescue operations have been widely broadcast on TV, and the news is nothing less than shocking for many.
But one Twitter user saved from the waters by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces wasn’t too scared to tweet photos of his rescue while still inside the helicopter!
“I was talking to my sister when…” Who did this manga artist mistake for her own sister?
- Preston Phro
Sep 10, 2015
In general, we expect people to be able to identify their family on sight, even if it’s just from the backs of their heads. After all, for better or worse, these are the people we grew up with, right? Who couldn’t pick their little sister out of a crowd based on nothing more than their profile or haircut?
Well, probably not many people, if we’re being honest. Hey, we may love our families, but we’re not spies. But it’s completely different when you mistake someone else for your sister when they’re not even the same species! Just ask this embarrassed manga artist, who had the sense of humor to post about her error on Twitter so we could all have a good laugh.
Five things you’d never expect to buy at a convenience store, but are actually really popular
- Scott Wilson
Sep 9, 2015
Convenience stories in Asia are known all over the world for actually living up to their name. Whether you need an emergency swimsuit, want to grab pretty much any drink ever made, or just have a hankering for some Evangelion donuts, a nearby conbini will suit your needs.
But sometimes there are items available in conbini that don’t seem to make any sense… and yet people still buy them. Japanese netizens shared their most confusing yet surprisingly useful convenience store finds online, and we have them here for you. Would you ever admit to buying some of these?
- Japan
- (conbini • convenience stores • surprising • twitter)
It’s a boogie wonderland as Japanese cell phone provider desperately advertises iPhone 6
- Meg Murphy
Sep 8, 2015
With the iPhone 6s set to launch on September 9, the current model of iPhone will soon become old news. But if you’re one of those who doesn’t mind not having the newest, shiniest version on the market, you’re sure to be able to find a great deal, as stores try hard to get rid of back stock before herds of Appleheads flock to get their shiny new toy.
Take this au store in Japan, for instance, whose workers were out shaking things up with a special dance in an attempt to advertise their awesome iPhone 6 deals.
Whether nature or nurture, this cat definitely takes after its elders!
- Preston Phro
Sep 8, 2015
One of the great debates about child development is over nature versus nurture—are we the product of our DNA or our environment in which we grow? Most scientists seem to come down somewhere in the middle, suggesting that both play an integral role in who we become.
We’re not about to start arguing with folks who have PhDs, but we have discovered one of the most adorable examples of how nurture plays a role in the wild—or, at least, out in someone’s home. This cute cat has mimicked its way into Twitter’s collective heart and elicited far more than its fair share of “D’awwwwwww!”
Stray kitten finds loving home, shortly thereafter takes over and becomes immersed in anime
- Krista Rogers
Sep 6, 2015
When a stray kitten began following Japanese Twitter user @Kawasaki_Hina around like a little duckling, he decided to take her in and keep her for good. Within a short time, it became obvious the feline had made herself completely at home and had taken up a few of his ‘hooman’ hobbies to boot — including watching anime and playing the guitar.
Warning: Melt-in-your-seat adorable feline photos are coming up right after the jump!
Tanuki magically disguises self as cat to get food
- Master Blaster
Sep 3, 2015
Japanese raccoon dogs, or tanuki as they’re known over here, are animals with great significance in Japanese folk-lore. Among their many supernatural attributes such as giant scrota and swift speeds, the tanuki are also known for their purported shapeshifting abilities.
And though the above picture clearly dispels the size of their manhood, there appears to be some truth to their art of disguise. As the Twitter user who posted the photo explains, this little guy is actually pretending to be a stray cat so he can get some of the food laid out for him.
Japanese Netizens share Italian friends’ “most Italian moments”
- Mike
Aug 25, 2015
Throughout the world, the Japanese are known as being a particularly diligent and hardworking people, perhaps even to a fault. They are viewed as being bound by honor to devote their lives to their company and inner circle of closest friends and family.
Italians, on the other hand, are often thought to be, shall we say, extremely laid-back. Insofar as these things can be quantified, Italians work, on average, a bit less than those in many other countries, are quicker than many to hug and show affection, and are generally understood to be considerably less formal (and more, um… amorous) than the Japanese and others in both work and personal life. And with Japan being one of the most homogeneous countries in the world, and also being an island nation, it’s pretty common for the Japanese to exaggerate stereotypes even more than people from the rest of the world, as interaction with foreigners tends to be limited.
Which is why these “OMG, that’s soooo Italian!” Twitter stories Japanese Netizens shared about their encounters with Italian friends and acquaintances are apparently considered the pinnacle of comedy here in Japan. Let’s take a look.
Japanese Twitter user reveals why taxi drivers flock to Big Sight during Comiket
- Preston Phro
Aug 19, 2015
Comiket 88 is over now, sadly enough, but the Internet is still awash in the afterglow of dojinshi and cosplay. Of course, everyone is already looking forward to the next event this winter, from cosplayers to artists to taxi drivers.
Yes, you read that right, it seems that fans and artists aren’t the only ones who love Comiket! Apparently the massive event draws taxi drivers from all over Tokyo because it’s the best place to make money, according to one tweet that captured a ton of attention in Japan last weekend.
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