Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Preston Phro (or simply Phro as most know him) is a Coloradoan attempting to fit in in Tokyo. (Surely, he would succeed if not for his unruly hair.) He puts his master's in classical Japanese literature to good use by writing silly stories and articles for the Internet. Having lived in Nara, Osaka, and Yamaguchi before moving to the Kanto area, he's quite happy to finally have a place to call home! When not writing, he enjoys annoying his wife by plucking at his shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese instrument not entirely unlike a banjo) and pestering her with questions about Japanese history. He also occasionally attempts to remember all the stuff he's forgotten since university.
Posted by Preston Phro (Page 35)
We’re sure many of you readers are as sick of hearing about the Japan heat as we are suffering it, so let’s talk about some different weather! In specific: Rainy days and umbrellas!
Posting on Japanese news and community site My Navi News, a university student has asked the online community for its take on his somewhat unique predicament he found himself in after using everyone’s most hated insect to prevent his umbrella from being stolen.
A shocking murder case has come to light in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, involving at least two high school girls–one of whom was the victim–and the communication smartphone app Line.
The body of the 16-year-old high school girl was found in the mountains outside of Kure City on July 13, after an ex-classmate was taken by her family to the police to confess.
Is it hot in here or is it just me?
No, it’s definitely hot! Even the Japanese Meteorological Agency agrees with me! And according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency, or JMA, while the daytime temperatures might be coming down a little bit, the nighttime temperatures at the Tokyo meteorological observatory are hovering around 27.5 degrees Celsius (81.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
The smartphone is perhaps one of the neatest inventions we have. They allow unprecedented access and communicative abilities—until the #$%& battery dies! What good is a five-inch screen with a quadcore processor and more gigs of ram than my last laptop if the battery is dead by noon? This has led to numerous power-saving methods, external batteries, and, of course, apps claiming to extend battery life. Today, we discovered one app that does a little more than just extend your battery life, it also creeps you out and makes you feel like a terrible pervert! Yah!
The other day, I was trawling through YouTube looking for shamisen music videos when I came across an utterly unique video called “Tokyo Kendama Project vol.2 Utakata.”
It featured the traditional Okinawan sansen three-stringed instrument played by the mysterious Gosamaru and composed by Tomoaki Ogre, the beautiful dancing of Kumi Arikawa, and a pair of strangely hypnotic gentlemen spinning some… things through the air. I’d heard of kendama before, as I imagine most people with even a fleeting knowledge of Japan have, but I’d never seen the toy wielded with such incredible finesse.
Fascinated, I had to know more!
Ichikawa City, in Chiba Prefecture, lies on the Edo River directly across from Tokyo and features its own zoo packed with adorable wildlife. Perhaps sensing how badly we all need some respite from the heat, the city posted the above picture to their Facebook wall, eliciting thousands of likes and an untold number of “Aaa!! Kawaiiiiiiiiiii!”s.
But just what lies beneath our dastardly pixelation? Swimming bunnies? Bathing cats? Scuba-diving puppies???
In any military, no matter how fancy your drones or how snappy your fighter jets, people are still the driving force. You’ll always need a few more good soldiers, which makes recruitment an essential and very important part of armed services.
The Japan Self-Defense Forces, or JSDF, are no different, and eagle-eyed people can spot posters pretty much anywhere. As you may expect, the JSDF in various prefectures also have Twitter accounts where they can post recruitment information and interact with potential service members.
Recently, the Miyagi area recruiter garnered Internet attention by crafting a tweet based on a scene from the school girl anime, Love Live!
If hell is other people, then the worst thing about driving is other drivers.
Have you ever noticed that? No matter what happened, I guarantee it’s the other drivers’ faults, not mine. If you don’t believe me, look at my driving record! Not a single ticket, citation, or even a traffic stop in Japan! (Okay, I admit, I’ve never actually driven here.)
But what bugs Japanese drivers the most?
Ah, election season in Japan! While for other countries this might mean a deluge of angry black-and-white TV commercials, in Japan it mostly means street-side speeches.
Last week, Prime Minister Abe swung by Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture to support local candidate Masako Mori, who’s the current minister of the Consumer Affairs Agency. And what did he talk about?
How great Fukushima-produced food is, of course!
It’s the end of the first semester of the Japanese school year, and you know what that means: party time!
No, wait, sorry, it means kimatsu shiken, the end of semester tests. Man, what a drag.
Fortunately, some teachers at least have a sense of humor about it. Here are nine examples of anime-inspired attempts to spice up tests!
Some of the smartest and cutest creatures to ever flip in and out of the sea, dolphins have long captured the imagination and hearts of us land-dwellers. Dolphin watching excursions seem to be as popular as whale watching excursions, and there’s hardly anyone who isn’t thrilled by these friendly mammals’ smiles and enthusiastic squeaks.
So, if you happen to be melting in the Japanese heat this summer, why not head out to Ishikawa Prefecture where you can cool off in the ocean—and have a 98-percent chance of seeing some dolphins!
While kendo is an inherently violent sport–after all it’s basically the Japanese version of fencing–the general perception is that it’s more about calm, carefully-coordinated attacks than all-out aggression. In fact, kendo very strictly adheres to etiquette and respect, with competitors generally expected to act with the utmost sportsmanship.
Unless you happen to be a cop.
Go to college, get a job, meet a guy or girl, and…don’t get married?
A recent survey suggests that almost one-third of Japanese people just can’t see the point in tying the knot and settling down. And after you see what some of them have to say about marriage, you might understand why!
Oh, dear heavens! What’s this?
Is Tokyo having freak, concentrated snowfall in the middle of summer? Have Mr. Freeze and Iceman been duking it out in Ginza? Is it a cotton candy terrorist attack??
The console war between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 was fairly vicious, with Sony just edging out Microsoft in terms of total global sales.
This time, though, Sony seems to have no intention of letting things run that close. In the United States, Sony has, as you probably know, set the PlayStation 4 price a full $100 lower than the Xbox One. Microsoft, of course, argues that the Kinect more than makes up for the difference, though that’s up to consumers to decide.
But in Mexico, the pricing war has gotten even fiercer. How much fiercer?
Since the early days of the Internet, online shopping has been fraught with deceit. And, despite the hard work of many companies, there’s still a lot of trepidation when bidding in Internet auctions. Inevitably, anyone is bound to wonder: “Will they really send the goods?” “Are the pictures accurate?” “Are these beautiful bicycles actually soon-to-be stolen items?”
That’s right, we said “soon-to-be-stolen,” not “stolen!”
Often overlooked in favor of Kyoto, Nara Prefecture is one of the most beautiful and significant places—culturally and historically—in Japan. If you happen to be traveling in the Kansai region, we cannot urge you enough to make the time to swing by!
In fact, there’s so much to see that we can’t possibly tell you about every amazing place in Nara, but here are a few of our favorites!
Despite the best efforts of Microsoft and RIM, it seems that most of the world’s smartphone markets are largely divided into iPhone and Android users. As iteration after iteration of the latest and shiniest devices appear on our shelves, the debate over which is best grows ever more intense. While it would be impossible to pick a definitive winner in the smartphone race, we could go a long way to figuring it out by looking at how many users each system has attracted.
Enter Gnip, an IT company from the US that specializes in social media, and their beautiful, firework-like, Twitter maps!
When sitting around drinking late at night, the conversation inevitably turns to superpowers and which one everyone wants.
Aside from a super healing factor and flight, one of the top picks is surely invisibility–though usually for some pretty diabolical reasons, like stealing your neighbor’s newspaper.
While we’re still not quite at the level of full-on invisibility cloaks, scientists have developed a way to make cells transparent! Invisible Woman this isn’t, but maybe it’s enough to sneak a midnight snack?
(Warning: some images may not be for the squeamish.)
In Japan, summer and winter mean bonus time, which is kind of like getting Christmas twice a year. Japanese workers often use the extra money to take a well-deserved vacation or to buy something big they’ve had their eyes on for a while.
R25, a website focused on business professionals and their lifestyle, conducted a survey with 300 businessmen to find out about last year’s bonuses. Let’s see what they discovered! Read More
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping center
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Anime girl English teacher Ellen-sensei becomes VTuber/VVTUber and NFT
Beautiful Red and Blue Star luxury trains set to be Japan’s new Hokkaido travel stars
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
Sandwiches fit for a sumo served up in Osaka【Taste Test】
Starbucks Japan adds a Motto Frappuccino to the menu for a limited time
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last monthJapanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotesFrench Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind charactersNew private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
Starbucks reopens at Shibuya Scramble Crossing with new look and design concept
Studio Ghibli glasses cases let anime characters keep an eye on your spectacles
Beautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour Totoro
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello KittyAll-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky loungeMore foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitelyMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
Sandwiches fit for a sumo served up in Osaka【Taste Test】
Starbucks Japan adds a Motto Frappuccino to the menu for a limited time
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
Katsudon vs. tonkatsu vs. katsu sandwich – What’s the best way to eat pork cutlet in Japan?
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Mt. Koya planning to instate visitor’s tax to cope with huge tourist numbers
Wendy’s releases a Pretzel Roast Beef Burger aimed at foreign tourists in Japan
Japanese convenience store packs a whole bento into an onigiri rice ball
McDonald’s Japan releases a pancake pie for new retro kissaten coffeeshop series
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sakura tree falls on man at Sannenzaka near Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto 【Breaking News】
There’s a new world’s largest anime robot statue, and it’s not in Japan【Photos】
