Tag: Akihabara | RocketNews24

Akihabara

Grand Theory of Moe: the Past, Present and Future of Maid Cafes

May 6, 2013 by Preston Phro
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When it comes to Japan, Akihabara is one place you’ll find on almost every tourist’s map. The name alone immediately brings to mind everything from games, manga, anime, figurines and AKB48 to Gundam, computers and electronics. Still one thing stands out as being particularly iconic: maid cafes.

Most visitors to Tokyo have stopped by one of these cafes at least once, and even if you haven’t, you’re probably familiar with the concept: cute, young women in fluffy “maid” skirts serving drinks and food while giggling with customers and, often, putting on shows. But have you wondered where these cafes came from? Read More

Six People Injured by Escalator in Akihabara, Once Again Proving that People in Tokyo Use the Wrong Side of the Escalator

Apr 26, 2013 by Master Blaster
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On 24 April at approximately 9:25 a.m., six people were injured while riding an escalator in Akihabara Station, Tokyo.

All the victims suffered injuries as serious as broken fingers when a piece of metal siding became bent upwards blocking the clearance between it and the rubber handrail.

Sadly, this digital carnage could have been easily avoided if people in Tokyo just stood on the right side of the escalator like normal people.

Apr 25, 2013 by Oona McGee
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If you have an eye for detail, you might just recognize the place in the image above. It’s an awesome rendering of Tokyo’s Akihabara. And it’s from the skilled hand of a former quantum physics researcher turned picture jockey.

John Hathway (pseudonym), the Japanese artist who created the picture, is known as a picture jockey (PJ) because he builds images the same way a disc jockey mixes tracks; by improvising with new patterns and arrangements and blending backgrounds to create totally unique and exciting works of art.

Now he’s teamed up with Tokyo Otaku Mode, a popular site for all things otaku, to celebrate their 10 million-plus likes on Facebook. They thanked fans in a unique way, with the release of this gorgeous image, and a rare picture jockey performance.

Jan 11, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Sleeping! Hand holding! Awkward conversation and pent-up sexual frustration!

What you’re about to witness, ladies and gentlemen, is “cuddle cafe” Soineya’s new oshiri makura (lit. butt pillow) service; the latest in awkward things that men can pay to do with young girls who don’t actually like them.

The concept is simple: a pretty girl enters your private booth, lies on her front and lets you rest your head on her bottom. But don’t drift into too deep a sleep, there, sonny- just one minute of oshiri makura action will cost you an incredible 1,000 yen (US$11).

Jan 9, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Rumor has it that among the numerous maid cafés, manga, DVD, and video game shops in Akihabara, Tokyo, there exists a unique corner full of vending machines.

The machines contain typical fare for Japan – colas, teas, snacks, condoms, and such – but are guarded by savage penalties unbecoming of the general levels of politeness in this country. In fact, often involving dismemberment, these penalties seem more at home in a bleak post-apocalyptic Thunderdome type society than urban Tokyo.

Few know about this legendary group of vending machines outside of Akihabara aficionados. So our reporter, Kuzo, decided to venture up the electric river of Akihabara in search of the Heart of Vending Machine Darkness.

Dec 3, 2012 by Karen Bremer Masuda
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Electronics aren’t the only things coming out of Akihabara these days! If you’re a pudding lover, you’ll be thrilled with this tasty custard dessert, something that karaoke and leisure company Pasela has on their menu at their newest venture, bakery Honey Toast Cafe.

And that’s not all! The custard dessrt is served in the cutest little pottery honey pot which you can take home with you!

With the entire first floor of the giant leisure site being a bakery, you can enjoy a variety of bread and sweet treats- this pudding included- before heading up to the seventh floor to scream into a microphone. Or, if you don’t need to let off steam with a little karaoke, you can remain downstairs and go straight to the pudding! Read More

We Visit Otaku Cooking School, Kitchen a la Mode, Find it Isn’t Just for Nerds

Nov 17, 2012 by Steven
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One of the most common stereotypes of nerds, or otaku as they’re known in Japan, is that they cannot cook and subsist on a diet of instant noodles and soft drinks.

Kitchen a la Mode is a new cooking school in Akihabara that hopes to get otaku off their chairs and into the kitchen by providing simple, hands-on cooking lessons with cute girls.

You may remember reading about Kitchen a la Mode on our site last month. Curious as to how the school has been doing since opening, RocketNews24 sent its handsomest American correspondent (me) to Kitchen a la Mode to experience moé cooking firsthand. Check out his (my) report below!

Oct 28, 2012 by Steven
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Despite their irrepressible desire to rip off and devour our flesh, people love zombies. Zombie movies, zombie books, zombie games, zombie theme park events… people are just as obsessed with “consuming” zombies as they are with consuming us.

And now, with Halloween just around the corner, there are more ways than ever to get your zombie fix. In Japan, for example, you can even sit down and have cute zombie maids serve you coffee at the zombie maid café, Maid of the Dead.

Oct 12, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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Akihabara; world-famous home to everything otaku! Cosplay, electronics, comic-books, videogames, maid cafés, pop idol pubs, trading card stores; Akihabara- or Akiba to the locals- is where it’s at.

For years, swarms of young men with poor social skills (and cool folks like you and me, too…) have been heading into Akihabara to buy figure models of girls in bikinis with disproportionately large breasts, locate hardware for their new gaming PC, or spend an hour in the company of cute girls dressed as maids who giggle as they put “love spells” on guests’ food before sending them home more frustrated than ever.

As reported by Hamster Sokuhou earlier today, a fun new establishment has recently thrown its doors open to Akihabara’s masses, inviting them to come and cook with their cast of female chefs, each ready to guide the hands of young men who, until now, were perhaps too shy to touch a woman’s measuring jugs for real.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Prepare yourselves for the next level in awkward interaction with females in exchange for cash!

Sep 28, 2012 by Steven
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Sometimes, after a long, stressful day, there’s nothing more comforting than crawling into bed with your significant other and falling asleep in their arms.

But what if you don’t have anyone to cuddle with in the first place? If you’re in Japan, you might think to go to a soapland or some other kind of brothel, but then you’d have to deal with all that sex when you really just want to close your eyes and rest in the warmth of another’s body.

But wait! Before you resign yourself to another lonely night of shedding tears on your Rei Ayanami dakimakura, why not stop by Soineya, Japan’s first “co-sleeping specialty shop,” where customers can pay to sleep in the arms of a beautiful girl—with no strings attached!

Jun 26, 2012 by Jessica
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Let me describe a scene for you: a crowd of Japanese are gathered around steel drums in a little shanty of a building open to the summer air. Some are drinking beers in plastic cups, others disposable one-cup sakes. Most are eating from unheated cans of food with plastic cutlery, chasing it with sips of their chosen brew. Around them are shelves of unfinished wood, stacked high with a stupendous assortment of cans, probably enough to last several months. Think this is a scene from a disaster shelter in Tohoku? Perhaps an end-of-the-world movie? Think again. It’s Saturday night at one of Osaka’s most unique “restaurants”, the long-standing and popular Kanso, where there’s no menu except the cans on the shelves. Try to contain your excitement, because this monument to apocalypse-chic may be coming to a city near you. Read More

Otomo Exhibition Features Original Drawings from Akira, Domu and More

Jan 31, 2012 by Jessica
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This is an exhibition you won’t want to miss, particularly if you have even the slightest artistic inclination. 3331 Arts Chiyoda is hosting a collection of renowned manga artist Katsuhiro Otomo’s original drawings. Read More

Japanese Idols Pour Hot Water In Your Instant Ramen At Akihabara Cafe

Jan 25, 2012 by Steven
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Tokyo’s electronics and pop culture mecca Akihabara is a land of strange fantasies. And nothing spells business opportunity like strange fantasies.

For example, take Noodle Café, a recently-opened restaurant where real Japanese female idols poor hot water into a cup of instant ramen for you. For 800 yen (US $10.30).

Nov 19, 2011 by Mac Denny
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Many Japanese restaurants serve a “yama-mori,” or “mountain-sized,” serving of rice and other main dishes, but Adachi’s in Akihabara may boast the biggest one in the country.

Adachi’s claim to fame has always been its large portions. The first Adachi’s operated out of the Kanda Market, and its clientele were people who worked in the fruit and vegetable market. They worked up huge appetites by performing manual labor from the early morning hours, and regular portions would not fill their bellies. It was then that the elder Adachi decided to provide huge portions.

The affable younger Adachi told me all about it during my first visit to the restaurant. The restaurant is famous for letting its patrons eat to their hearts’ content, and anyone who has ever dined there knows that the “regular” portion of rice is five to six times larger than normal. Read More

New AKB48 Cafe & Shop Fun Experience For Fans and Non-Fans Alike

Oct 14, 2011 by Steven
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It seems like there is no stopping the phenomenon that is Japanese female idol group AKB48. The group’s popularity continues to snowball in both Japan and overseas, they recently launched their own sketch comedy program, and just about everywhere you go you’ll find merchandise labeled with the girls’ smiling faces.

Keeping up with this unrelenting march is AKB’s newest attraction, the AKB48 Café & Shop, which had its grand opening September 29 in Akihabara, Tokyo.

The venue, located right outside the Denikigai Exit of Akihabara Station, is a large, one-floor space that holds a theatre area with regular showings of AKB48 concert videos and a buffet to eat while you watch, a shop stocked with exclusive AKB48 merchandise, a private event room where it is said members will come and visit, and a café.

Customers may enter the café portion without reservation and entrance to the shop is limited to café customers. The theater area and private group room require reservation and cost 2700 yen and 10,000 yen respectively.

On opening day eager fans waited to get in the cafe in a line that didn’t get any smaller even after it turned dark.

To be honest, I only know about AKB48 as the average person. However the café is about much more than just eating and does an excellent job at providing an enjoyable experience – even if you aren’t a die-hard fan. Read More

Fishing for Panties: Men Drop Lines for Drawers at Akihabara Adult Superstore

Sep 6, 2011 by Mac Denny
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The goldfish booth is a favorite pastime at Japanese summer festivals. Kids plop down a couple coins and get a flimsy paper net with which to catch goldfish out of an inflatable pool. The object is to catch as many fish as possible before the net breaks.

For one day in Akihabara, grown men had the chance to fish for something far more exotic than some fish that will go belly-up in a few days. On August 28, grown men plopped down single 500-yen coins and got a string fixed with a metal hook with which to catch plastic balls out of an inflatable pool.

The fantastic prize? Striped panties wadded up and stuffed inside the balls. Oh, Japan.

The event took place at adult superstore “m’s” in Akihabara. Overwhelmingly popular Akihabara information site Akiba Blog reports that the women’s underwear came in blue, pink, and green striped patterns.

Some would call this event nothing more than a chance for perverts to snatch women’s underwear in broad daylight with their dignity intact. Perhaps it’s better to believe that the men who lined up to go fishing for panties were looking for presents for their girlfriends and wives.

Source: Akiba Blog

Will It Vend? Akihabara’s Mystery Vending Machine Is Beverage Gachapon

Jul 19, 2011 by Steven
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When you’re thirsty you can always rely on the vending machine to be there waiting for you with a selection of chilled beverages. With the summer sun beating down upon us day after day, we find ourselves seeing out the vending machine’s oasis even more.

However, we recently came across one vending machine in Akihabara, Tokyo that we were slightly reluctant to exchange our silver with: several of the drink selections were covered with a label reading “???” Read More