Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
oji-san
You might think that middle-aged is synonymous with uncool, but middle-aged men in Japan, or oji-san, are currently something of a hot item.
Young Japanese women find a certain type of dorky oji-san to be “totes adorbs, yo” and are driving a boom in oji-san-related goods, including quite a number of apps featuring cutely crotchety oji-sans. Here are a few we’ve recently discovered.
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy day
Mt. Koya planning to instate visitor’s tax to cope with huge tourist numbers
Osaka governor suggests lowering voting age to 0 to curb population decline
Suntory x Super Mario collaboration creates a clever way to transform into Mario【Videos】
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches
Is Japan’s massive Shizuoka steak sandwich really as delicious as it looks in promo photos?
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
French 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 characters
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to KyotoRed 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
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
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 goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
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 TotoroJapanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotesAll-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 month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutionsMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
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
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches
Is Japan’s massive Shizuoka steak sandwich really as delicious as it looks in promo photos?
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
20 things to buy at the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo store
We try out “Chan Ramen”, an underground type of ramen popular in the ramen community
Harajuku Station’s beautiful old wooden building is set to return, with a new complex around it
Lawson convenience store teaches us how to make okonomiyaki with no knife or bowl 【SoraKitchen】
The shit didn’t hit the fan, it IS the fan – Testing Daiso’s 100-yen Handy Poo Fan
Find a red envelope on the ground? Here’s why you should never pick it up
A taste of Japanese curry usually only sold overseas, at Tokyo’s Curry House CoCo Ichibanya World
We stress-test Uniqlo’s “Impressive Jacket and Pants” to see if they live up to their names
Everyone cuts their toenails wrong, says Japanese doctor, and here’s how to do it correctly