Mike

With nothing better to do in his native Ohio, Mike took a leave of absence from all responsibilities in life and came to Japan for the first time in 2006. After several years of what amounted to an extended vacation with occasional Japanese lessons, circumstances led Mike to finally settle down in Tokyo and get serious about life in 2009. He’s worked at magazines, a Japanese ad agency, and currently works in the entertainment industry. He also co-founded and writes for the humorous Japan news website Tokyodesu.com.

Posted by Mike (Page 28)

Capcom PlayStation 4 graphics technology more lifelike than a rich otaku’s robot girlfriend

We already know Sony’s PlayStation 4 is going to be great. We’ve already reserved a space for it under our TV and earmarked a couple of our old consoles for sale in order to pay for it. But this new footage from Capcom’s PS4 game engine has us eying our firstborns, wondering if it’s really worth hanging onto them when we could sacrifice them to Dark Lord Taro Aso to have him spirit us a brand new PS4 ahead of launch.

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Giant mushroom will either provide you with months worth of meals, or days worth of psychedelic high

This mushroom spotted in China weighs a whopping 15 kilograms (33 pounds) and measures over a meter in height, baffling scientists and piquing the interest of recreational users of psychoactive substances everywhere.

Apparently, researchers are still unsure as to what type of mushroom this monstrosity is, meaning it has an equal chance of tasting delicious, killing you, or turning you into an enormous, nigh-invincible super version of yourself (if you operate on video game logic, which as we all know is infallible).

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Welcome to summer hell: Chinese lake becomes a sea of humans and rubber rings

Summer in Asia is hot. Like, really, really hot. Seeing mirages hot. Cooking whole English breakfasts on the sidewalk hot. But no matter how hellish the summer heat gets, we will never, ever, ever set foot in this Chinese lake.

The above is the Hieronymus Bosch-esque hellscape of what is quite possibly the world’s most crowded summertime attraction: a lake in Suining City, China.

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Japanese Internet baffled by culturally confused Hollywood adaptation of 47 Ronin legend

Hollywood is carrying on its tradition of making white people the lead protagonists in movies about samurai with the 2013 47 Ronin, headed by Keanu Reeves.

But while the Japanese didn’t seem to bat an eyelid when it was revealed (spoiler) that Tom Cruise was literally the last samurai, the 47 Ronin trailer is raising eyebrows in Japan for its weird comic book treatment of the famous national legend that is said to be the most revered example of the samurai code of bushido.

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Google Street View captures view from top of Mt. Fuji, negates only reason to climb it

There’s a saying in Japan about Mt. Fuji that goes to the tune of, “You ought to climb it once, but only a fool would climb it twice.”

That’s because, as yours truly learned just last weekend, climbing Mt. Fuji is  a lot like spending up to eight hours repeatedly swinging a mallet into your knees as hard as you can. It’s also – at least this year, after having been declared a World Heritage Site – so crowded you’re guaranteed to be spending the climb with your face in dangerous proximity to someone else’s ass at all times.

Lucky for those that haven’t climbed it yet, Google Street View strapped some poor sucker with 100 pounds of weird Google robot gear, maybe gave him a bottle of water and some peanuts, and told him to walk right on up and take some pictures from the top. “It’ll be cool,” they probably said. “We promise.”

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We try shaved ice doused in Dom Perignon, feel like comically rich billionaires looking for novel ways to spend money

Reporters get a lot of unexpected perks. Occasionally, our editor will demand we interview a porn star or go stuff donuts in our faces on the company dime. That’s great, for sure. But truth be told, the greatest perk of being a reporter is that not only is it expected you’ll be drunk around lunchtime, it’s even encouraged!

And so it went that we were asked to sample some shaved ice doused in Dom Perignon, because everything is better doused in Dom Perignon. Go ahead, pour a bottle over your head and walk down the street. See if you don’t get a couple of phone numbers.

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Fukuoka Aquarium porpoises play relay with magical underwater bubble rings

Fukuoka Aquarium’s black finless porpoises proved themselves to be the true wizards of the sea earlier this month when they began blowing incredible bubble rings like Gandalf the Grey high on pipe-leaf, even passing them back and forth relay-style.

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Lotteria to offer bizarre milkshake flavor based on horror flick The Ring

Apparently, if you could taste fear, it would taste like cool lemonade.

Starting July 27, Japanese burger chain Lotteria will offer a limited-time lemonade shake flavor themed after classic Japanese horror icon Sadako – the unmistakable and absolutely horrifying long-haired ghost girl from The Ring.

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We brave the Tokyo heat to munch on these limited edition Krispy Kreme summer doughnuts

‘Tis the season of the “Summer Gentei” (“Summer Specialties”) in Japan; an exciting time of year where near every food vendor in the country offers up some sort of cold, frozen, or energy-packed  limited edition summer-themed menu. And even the foreign chains are getting into it, with Krispy Kreme Japan currently offering three new summer-only doughnuts and two summer-themed drinks. Because we love you, we went and stuffed our faces.

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The online men’s magazine AskMen recently announced the world’s horniest countries, with Greece proudly taking the top spot, China coming in at number four, and Japan – against all odds – mysteriously absent from the list altogether.

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This summer drink recipe is so easy even we were able to make it

After our extremely delicious hot steamed bun tip for keeping cool during the brutal Tokyo summer, we decided to follow up with an iced drink recipe to accompany those sweet, soft buns. We’re still talking about bread, right?

The only problem was we spent all day snacking on steamed buns and experimenting with other ways to keep cool and we had to hurry up and make something or risk missing happy hour. So we settled for the old standby of throwing a few things from the fridge together in a bowl. Would you believe it turned out great!

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Tokyo heat melting food samples, you could be next

If it isn’t already clear from the sudden influx of summer heat-themed RocketNews24 articles over the past few days, summer is officially upon Tokyo and this year she’s out for blood.

At time of writing, the temperature is expected to reach a high of 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), the streets empty as the oppressive heat drives everyone indoors like so many ants scrambling from a magnifying glass beam.

Don’t believe it? No worries, we’ve brought photographic evidence:

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Hot steamed buns are a great way to cool down in summer, says our slightly crazy Japanese reporter

I used to have a co-worker who, on the hottest of summer days, would drink a pint of hot water through a straw and claim it helped cool her down. Naturally, everyone thought she was insane or belonged to some weird religion, or both, and would try to avoid working a shift alone with her.

But it looks like her weird sect of Scientology or whatever it was may have been onto something, as our Japanese reporter swears by eating microwaved steam buns to cool off in the summer.

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US$125,000 power suit lets you battle Kaiju, snack without getting Cheeto fingers

Meet the Powere Jacket MK3, an elaborate power suit clearly inspired by anime and hitting the market just in time to ride the wave of excitement over Guillermo Del Toro’s Kaiju Vs. Robots monster movie, Pacific Rim.

Though the power suit is far less impressive than the towering robots of the film, according to the below video, it lets you achieve all kinds of superhuman feats, including running at faster speeds, lifting heavy objects, and eating Cheetos without getting orange powder all over your fingers.

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Enjoy a 1,000-yen burger and feel like the King of McDonaldland with this embarrassing special seating

McDonald’s Japan last weekend introduced the first in its limited-time lineup of luxury quarter pounders with the 1,000 yen (US$10) “Black Diamond,” which features truffle shavings and thick-cut bacon.

Some McDonald’s locations, apparently unconvinced their usual clientele would spring for the exorbitantly-priced burger, decided to go above and beyond by offering a special seat for anyone who ordered the menu item.

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A day in the life of a Japanese anime director

If you thought being an anime director was all cosplay groupies and cool action figures, think again. Turns out it’s long, long hours in front of a computer, less-than-fancy convenience store dinners and tons of office all-nighters.

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Riding the B Line in Argentina? Better bring a Japanese dictionary

There’s apparently a running joke in Beunos Aires, Argentina, that if you’re planning on riding the subway’s B Line, you’d better bring a Japanese dictionary. No, Argentines don’t have a bizarre and nonsensical sense of humor; it turns out the country imported the B Line’s trains from Japan and didn’t even bother to change all the Japanese writing.

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Japanese gifts most wanted by foreigners

As a foreign resident of Japan, I take occasional trips back home. And on such occasions, I almost always find myself at a surprising loss for ideas when souvenir shopping for friends stateside.

Sure, there are obvious choices: Hentai manga makes a great gag gift, for example, but you’re bound to go on some kind of watch list if customs decides to randomly inspect your luggage. Yukata seem universally appreciated by new-agey aunts, and quirky Japanese toys are great for kids. But foolproof, sure-to-please-anybody gifts are surprisingly hard to pick out.

Luckily, a Japanese reporter at Excite Japan, who travels frequently and thus has lots of souvenir purchasing experience, has revealed the top Japanese gifts most likely to please friends and family abroad.

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Unfortunate Google employee forced to wander alone on eerie abandoned island for Street View photos

Google Street View seems to have its priorities all out of whack. While only just getting around to snapping the more remote areas of mainland Japan and having yet to cover the majority of Canada, Google sent out one intrepid employee to explore the completely abandoned Japanese island of Gunkanjima.

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Our reporter visits anti-aging diner in US, feels 20 years younger

The endless influx of American hamburger and pancake chains onto Japanese shores is perpetuating the stereotype that the American diet is basically nothing but an artery-clogging combination of grease and lard peppered with artificial flavors, but for American expats sick of being asked “Do you love hamburger?” by Japanese acquaintances, help may be on the way.

Rumor in Japanese foodie circles has it that the next American food chain to come to Japan may just be True Food Kitchen, an Arizona restaurant focusing on so-called “anti-aging” recipes made from healthy, natural ingredients.

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