experience

We try the bizarre ‘Get Your Finger Chomped By A Sturgeon’ experience at a Hokkaido aquarium

Our reporter gets her finger bitten by a sturgeon yet lives to tell the tale.

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Heading to Hiroshima? Here’s a plan to enjoy three local activities on Miyajima in one day

Our reporter shares her day of soaking up a little bit of the local marine farming, global cuisine, and a walk through the past. 

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A chance to experience what goes into making Japan’s Chitose Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival

Winter enthusiasts will gain a deeper understanding of the behind-the-scenes efforts involved with this breathtaking Hokkaido festival.

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Writer’s retreat ryokan — Tokyo inn treats you like novelist on deadline, with strict “editors”

Learn what it feels like to be a novelist with an editor hounding you about your manuscript!

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Here’s what happened when our three middle-aged reporters got makeovers with new makeup for men

“I feel pretty, oh so pretty!”

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Love kabuki? Now’s your chance to take the stage as an actor — if you have the cash

If you’ve ever wanted to be a kabuki actor, now you can train like a professional thanks to Kabuki Taro!

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New pop-up cafe in Tokyo offers drinks with hands-on animation, art and design on the side

Next time you feel like taking a coffee break, why not head over to the NagaLatte Cafe in Harajuku, where you can try Snow Brand Milk’s newest beverage and experience what it’s like to work as a manga illustrator, animator, or other creative professional?

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Believe it! Now you too can become a ninja at the Ninja Academy in Nara Prefecture

There’s no sexy-no-jutsu training here.

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Dress like an aristocrat from the Nara period at new costume rental shop in Nara【Photos】

We sent our reporter to a shop in Nara where you can dress as a noble from the Nara period (AD 710-794) and even stroll around town in your costume!

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A Shower and Bar on an Airplane?! The Emirates Airbus is More Like a Hotel

Ever wanted to see the inside of a luxury aircraft, but don’t have the dough to make your dream a reality? One of our normally frugal writers decided to splurge and take a business class flight on an Emirates Airbus A380. Surprised by the wide array of perks the flight offered, she documented the best parts of the trip. Take a look at her photographs of the surprising amenities, like an inflight bar lounge and shower, which make this plane seem more like a hotel. It’s not quite the same as boarding the plane yourself, but unlike the flight, reading this article won’t cost you a penny and you’re free to move about the cabin at any time.

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Don’t Forget Your ‘Wrap Towel’! Our Female Reporter Experiences Japanese Mixed Public Bathing for the First Time

When it comes to mixed bathing in public, it is an experience that perhaps most of us are unfamiliar with. In many respects the aspect of unfamiliarity is only just the beginning; acting naturally around not only strangers, but those of the opposite-sex — whilst baring all, no less — is undeniably something that requires great courage! It is with such bravery that our female reporter, Tomoe, entered into a Japanese “konyoku” to experience what all the fuss was about first hand!

“Admittedly, the male bathers’ glances were something that played on my mind a little, however this in itself had its own element of fascination,” admits Tomoe.

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Life in Mini: Our Reporter Mr. Sato Turns Himself into a Tiny Plastic Figure

Just a few weeks ago, this writer excitedly introduced you to Omote 3D Shashin Kan, the new 3D photography and modelling studio in Tokyo that immortalizes customers as tiny, intricately detailed figurines for just a couple of hundred dollars apiece.

Despite wanting to head down to the fancy new studio myself and decorate my apartment with a collection of mini mes, after much discussion in the office and comments being made like “too handsome” and “they might not have enough plastic to model your nose,” the RocketNews24 crew decided it best to send reporting legend Mr. Sato to do the honours instead.

This is no ordinary photoshoot.

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