RocketNews24 / Bringing You Yesterday's News From Japan and Asia, Today (Page 3)

Silly Pun Leads to Great Dessert – Special Strawberry Shortcake Available Just Once a Month at Japanese Convenience Store

3 days ago by Casey Baseel
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In almost every company in Japan, payday is on the 25th of the month. While this means every month feels a little like Christmas, it also means that if you’ve been partying a little too hard for the last 30-odd days, around the 22nd, your bank balance might be looking pretty dismal.

But no matter how much you try to cut back, man can’t live on bread alone. Looking to treat yourself to the most meager luxury possible, you might stumble into a branch of the Japanese convenience store Lawson, where there’s a special treat to brighten your day that’s available only on the 22nd of each month. Read More

84 Percent of Women Don’t Want to See Nipples at the Office, World’s Least Surprising Survey Says

3 days ago by Mike
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With summer fast approaching and people shedding layers to stay cool, every businessman faces a decision of vast importance: what type of undershirt to wear beneath your white button-up.

Men, if you’ve never given this any thought before, consider this fair warning: A Nikka Spa! survey of 100 female office workers confirms that your choice of undershirt could have grave and far-reaching consequences and the wrong choice might even get you accused of sexual harassment.

3 days ago by Master Blaster
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No. No it cannot.

Nevertheless, this has been the headline being fervently retweeted around Japan today as some people seemed to have found another new way to thin out the country’s smartphone-using populace a little.

3 days ago by Michelle
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We can’t decide whether this is the cutest or creepiest thing we’ve ever seen. This train, which transports passengers to the Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, Japan includes a carriage with a children’s play area and stuffed animal seats. Zoo-goers can snuggle up with pairs of owls, reindeer, wolves, giraffes, polar bears, and many more.

3 days ago by Philip Kendall
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The penguins! They’ve… lost their heads!!

There’s no Photoshop trickery involved here – just living, breathing penguins wandering around their enclosure in Hokkaido’s Asahiyama Zoo with nothing but air where their heads ought to be. What on earth is happening on Japan’s northernmost island!?

3 days ago by Master Blaster
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Throughout my time in Japan I’m often reminded of how “awesome” I am at using chopsticks at every possible moment by the locals (a phenomenon compounded by my being left-handed).

Yet despite this excessive praise for eating like a human, I still feel I have a lot to learn about manipulating said utensils with more poise and grace. That’s why I’m excited to have found this instructional video that has answered all my questions and more.

Please, join us in learning how to use chopsticks like an expert through this video. And for all our Asian friends who think they have chopsticks mastered, I’m sure there is something for you to learn too!

3 days ago by Rachel Tackett
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Even royalty can get a sweet tooth from time to time, and in the blistering heat of a Japanese summer, what could be a better way to satisfy the urge for sweets than a big bowl of ice cream? Of course, when dealing with the imperial family, not just any old brand of ice cream will suffice. That’s why in 1968 a special recipe for handmade ice cream was developed for their royal highnesses, the Emperor and Empress of Japan. It’s called Snow Royal and can still be purchased from Snowbrand-Parlor (雪印パーラー) in Hokkaido..

3 days ago by Philip Kendall
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A photo currently doing the rounds on Chinese bulletin board sites is proving to be real head scratcher as people try to work out how it could have been taken.

In a world where software like Photoshop can transform pretty girls into bare-chested boys and young men into female wrestlers, the internet masses have come to view the world through suitably cynicism-tinted glasses. After close inspection, however, there’s nothing to suggest that this photo is anything but the real deal and that there’s no underhand digital trickery involved. So how on earth could this incredible feat of balance be possible?

4 days ago by Casey Baseel
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The anime/merchandising franchise Evangelion is one of the few animated series, like One Piece or Gundam, to have achieved true cultural mainstream status in Japan. Even people who have never watched an episode of the TV series (or seen an installment of the movie, or read a chapter of the comic, or played one of the pachinko machine adaptations, or shaved with one of the Eva razors, or eaten one of the Eva burgers… like we said, franchise) can recognize its iconic characters and giant robots.

It wasn’t always like that, though. When Evangelion (or simply Eva, as its fans call it) began airing in 1995, its robot designs took some getting used to. Whereas most anime robots were inspired by a body builder’s physique, Eva’s machines had an almost gangly appearance, with lanky limbs, stooped posture, and what appeared to be tennis shoes. Their fragile look would turn out to be a perfect match for the psyches of their teenaged pilots, but things didn’t start out that way, as shown in Eva’s early planning portfolio. Read More

Hello Kitty Melons Selling for an Exorbitant Price in Japan

4 days ago by Michelle
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Japan seems to have mastered the art of growing cute fruit. Heart lemons, star cucumbers, and even the infamous square watermelons are all testaments to the lengths farmers in Japan will go to in order to provide the masses with adorable fruit. The newest delightfully deformed fruit to hit the market is a musk melon with an image of Hello Kitty etched into the rind. However only a select few who are quick (and rich) enough to snatch them up will be able to enjoy the flavor of Hello Kitty’s melons in their mouth.

4 days ago by Oona McGee
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As regular readers will no doubt be aware, Japan is home to more than a handful of peculiar bars and restaurants. From a robot eatery to a restaurant that serves up dirt, there’s no end to the exciting dining experiences available here. But did you know there’s a wealth of strange and intriguing cafes around as well? Come with us as we take you to Tokyo and neighbouring Yokohama to visit some of the most unusual, crazy, beautiful cafes in Japan.

4 days ago by Preston Phro
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The free hug boom that swept the world nearly a decade ago also made it to Japan. Though only on shaky legs, it seems.

In case you don’t remember or somehow missed it, the idea was that people would stand around in public areas holding signs that read, simply enough, “Free Hugs.” If interested, anyone was welcome to step forward for a warm embrace. Ostensibly, it was an attempt to spread love and peace, and it did seem to bring a lot of smiles to a lot of people. Overall, a net positive.

Though the movement seems mostly to have quieted, one Japanese writer in Tokyo has described his recent experience meeting some Japanese Free-Huggers. Read More

Cool Japan: Big Data Helps Predict Japan’s Next Big Hits (With Awesome ‘Weather’ Map)

4 days ago by Cara Clegg
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Japanese exporters may have been suffering lately, but Japan still has one major export up its sleeve: Cool.

And now there’s a new strategy for spreading Cool Japan across the world. Up until now businesses haven’t really connected with what’s popular, but from here on a new public-private initiative will use “big data” to more comprehensively measure and predict the foreign appetite for Japanese culture. Read More

Japan’s Top 10 Favourite Cat Breeds for 2013: Who will be Top Cat?

4 days ago by Oona McGee
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There’s no doubt that Japanese people are fond of their cats. After all, many of them have grown up with a furry friend companion, even if it was only a virtual cat like Doraemon or Hello Kitty. Now, there are cat cafes where people can pay to pass the time with some feline company, and owners can enhance their relationships with a spot of cat massage. With all this feline love, though, we have to wonder which breeds would be the nation’s most beloved? To find out, we toyed with the idea of putting puss against puss in an old-fashioned beauty pageant. But then, after thinking about the inevitable cat-fights, we decided to take a look at a survey of 10,000 respondents instead. Surprisingly, the top ten breeds remain unchanged again this year, as they have for several years. Read More

Take a Ride on Japan’s New Amphibious Bus and See the Sites of Tokyo!

4 days ago by Andrew Miller
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Japan’s latest tourism offering looks set to capture the attention of both sightseers and locals seeking a spot of adventure. From the Japanese company that embarked on such enterprises as the open air double-decker bus comes the “land and water bus”. The development of the vehicle is part of a new Tokyo sightseeing strategy undertaken by Japanese automobile company “Hinomaru Bus”. The service, dubbed “Sky Duck Tokyo Splash Tour”, launched on March 2013 and has been fully booked since its first day of operation.

4 days ago by Preston Phro
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Becoming obsessed with The Legend of Zelda after getting it as a birthday present at the age of six, one fan has found a way to bring items from the game into the real world.

How, you ask with images of magical blacksmiths dancing in your head. Simple: 3-D printing!

This fan, who documents the creations at the incredible blog Hyrule Founder, recreated the 8-bit items as 3-D, digital models and printed them with a high-quality 3-D printer. Read More

‘He Ain’t Ugly, He’s My Robot’ – Creative Use of Garbage in China Results in One Man’s Robo Pal

4 days ago by Philip Kendall
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“Johnny Five… is alive!” Despite both betraying my age and likely alienating half of my audience by using a quote from an obscure 80s robot movie, I can’t help but think that if this young man’s robot could speak, he’d immediately thank his lucky stars that his master breathed life into what was once little more than a pile of junk. You see, the two-metre-tall robot standing with his arm around ingenious inventor Tao Xiangli here was built at home using nothing more than parts salvaged from scrap.

4 days ago by Mike
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Japanese college students, having apparently resigned themselves to living out the stereotype that Japan is one big, racially homogenous hive mind, seem to be foregoing their chance to really do something unique after years of mandatory school uniforms and opting to just wear whatever the guy or girl next to them is wearing.

This is resulting in some eerie Twitter photo galleries of literal rooms full of students wearing more or less the exact same outfit.

5 days ago by Philip Kendall
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Despite being a country where firearms are incredibly rare and licences to own them notoriously difficult to obtain, there nevertheless remain thousands of gun nuts in Japan. Thankfully, the majority of firearm fans here are content to spend hours poring over photos and technical diagrams of weapons, occasionally visiting shooting ranges or watching videos of pretty girls squeezing off a few rounds while dressed as French maids.

For those who prefer to have something to play with at home, there are airsoft guns from makers such as Tokyo Marui, which feature a shockingly high level of detail and come with all manner of bells and whistles in an attempt to recreate the experience of firing the real thing without the risk of death, serious injury or being arrested. But as aesthetically pleasing as these firing replicas are, one key element was always missing: sound.

Enter: Bakuon Gun-Sound replicas.

5 days ago by Preston Phro
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Most famous artists, no matter how original, tend to work in established mediums. Even Picasso and Dali, who flaunted the rules of perspective like biker gangs buzzing cabbies, are known mostly for their paintings. But every now and then, someone comes along and blows our minds with utterly gorgeous work in an extraordinarily unique medium.

Today, that mind-blower is Ryo Sehata. And just what is his medium? Why, none other than regular, shop-bought cellophane tape.