Tag: Tokyo (Page 2) | RocketNews24

Tokyo

Top Five Worst Places to Visit in Japan

Jan 24, 2013 by Michelle
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According to a recent survey conducted by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), as of September 2012, numbers of foreign tourists visiting Japan reach 430,000, an increase of 32.7 percent. Japan’s tourist industry suffered as a result of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, but it looks like tourism is on the rise in Japan once again.

When foreigners do find themselves in Japan, travel guidebook in hand, they are inundated with advice regarding must-see places. But the worst part about taking a trip is arriving to one of these “must-see” locations and realizing it isn’t all that great. That’s why we’ve gathered up a list of the top five most disappointing tourist spots in Japan as recommended (unrecommended?) by users on Reddit.

Jan 17, 2013 by John Stuart Translations
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In a review of the current five-day school week currently being used in public schools across Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said it is considering Saturday classes and a re-introduction of the six-day school week that was phased out between 1992 and 2002.

New curriculum guidelines mandating increased classroom hours resulting from a re-examination of the Ministry’s Yutori Kyoiku, (pressure-free education) program were introduced to elementary schools last year, and fully implemented in junior high schools this year. In seeking the use of Saturdays, the Ministry hopes to improve the academic ability of the nation’s youth by securing more teaching hours. It also hopes to dispel concerns of a widening “education gap” between public schools and private schools, many of which continue to implement Saturday classes.
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Paying Just $11 a Day, Subcontractors Ripping Off Fukushima Nuclear Accident Decontamination Workers

Jan 15, 2013 by John Stuart Translations
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The Tokyo Shimbun has discovered that workers involved with national government controlled cleanup projects resulting from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are being ripped off by subcontractors.

Despite being able to rent lodging facilities from the government and others for free or for very little money, contractors forcibly deduct inflated accommodation and meal charges from workers’ pay. When the 10,000 yen (US$111) a day “danger pay” provided to contractors by the government (read: taxpayers) is taken into consideration, it means the contractors themselves end up forking out a measly 1,000 yen (US$11) a day per worker.
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Japan Celebrates Premiere of Game of Thrones with Ice Castle Theater — in the Worst Location Possible

Jan 13, 2013 by Yoshio
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Some of you in the English-speaking world have probably heard of a little fantasy TV series called Game of Thrones. It’s won a few awards here and there, has a fairly enthusiastic fan base, and — let’s face it — is all around a huge freakin’ deal.

While America and the rest of the world fill their goblets with mead in anticipation of the March 31 premiere of season 3, Japan is finally getting their first taste of the series when season 1 airs on January 27 — and they’re promoting it by holding free screenings of the first episode in a castle built from actual blocks of ice.

Jan 9, 2013 by John Stuart Translations
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Living in an earthquake-prone country like Japan means constant vigilance in terms of disaster preparedness. Though the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011 struck during daylight hours, there’s no guarantee that a disaster of similar magnitude won’t strike at night. Most people keep a flashlight or two at home, however, if power is cut as a result of an earthquake, as groping your way around in the dark while in a panicked state might not be as easy as you think.

Thankfully, Tokyo’s Force Media group has come up with an ingenius solution to this problem. And it’s much more than just a regular-old flashlight…
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Tokyo’s Pico Pico Cafe: Where Video Games Meet Coffee

Jan 9, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Despite having visited the town of Kichijoji in Tokyo on a near daily basis for over a year, it wasn’t until I sat down with video game developer James Kay and started chatting about our mutual love of pixels and coffee that I learned about Pico Pico Cafe, a cosy corner perched at the top of a eight-storey building just minutes from Kichijoji station.

After dropping the staff a line, RocketNews24 headed over for a coffee and a chat. We hadn’t gone two steps inside, however, before we found ourselves completely enamoured with the unique cafe’s warm, homely interior and – perhaps most of all for this life-long gamer – the subtle dashes of video game culture in every other nook and cranny.

Tons of cool photos after the jump.

Dec 26, 2012 by Steven
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Our reporter was walking through downtown Tokyo on Christmas Eve (alone, of course) when suddenly from behind a large posse of Santas on motorcycles came riding up from behind, filling the streets with the sound of roaring engines and holiday cheer.

Dec 21, 2012 by Karen Bremer Masuda
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If you think “Closed Restaurant: Jewels of the Lady” sounds more like a mystery novel than an eating establishment, you’d actually be half right.

Early next year, the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo will be offering patrons the chance to participate in a unique dining experience that mixes good food with a riddle-solving treasure hunt. The event is aimed at young women and requires participants to apply in teams of two, with one of the members a female.

Dec 13, 2012 by Steven
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One of the many wonderful things about modern technology is that it not only allows us to visit new places from the comfort of our homes, but also to experience familiar places in completely new ways.

For example, I have visited Tokyo numerous times over the three years I have called Japan my home and I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what the city is all about: skyscrapers, bright lights, crowds of busy people, corn man. But run all that through high-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging, record it in time-lapse, and watch it on YouTube in 1080p and the city sights I know so well take on a completely different, almost otherworldly, appearance.

Check out the video below!

Dec 13, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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Taking the train during weekday rush hours is a grind in pretty much any country, but Tokyo and Osaka are almost in a league of their own. We’ve all seen pictures and videos of station staff wearing white gloves leaning against walls of commuters and stuffing them inside trains to the point that the entire carriage tilts dangerously to one side, and no doubt many of you have experienced the sweaty, space-invading hell that is Japanese inner-city transport firsthand, but did you know that it doesn’t always have to be such a miserable experience?

Thanks to the knowledge being shared by Japan’s commuting elite this week, you might just be in with a chance of grabbing a seat – and with it a few cubic inches of breathing space – during your next rush-hour journey!

All eight seat-scoring secrets after the jump >

Dec 11, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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Eternal animé fan and Eurasian student Fabrice Requin is on a mission; a mission to transport his cardboard cut-out “bride” Holo around the planet and visit as many scenic locations together as possible.

Having already visited Singapore, Indonesia and China as well as many European locations, brave traveller Fabrice has recently caught the attention of the Japanese media who can’t get enough of his wacky adventures and admire his brazen, anime-loving spirit.

Dec 8, 2012 by Karen Bremer Masuda
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Did you know that a nap during your work day is a good thing? A power nap does wonders for productivity!

But it’s not like you can just sleep on the job. Luckily for those of us in Tokyo, there are quite a few cafes you can go to where sleeping is OK—in fact, it’s encouraged!

Naver Matome has put together a list of these “Nap Cafes”, places in the metropolis where worn-out salarymen can go to catch a few Z’s without having to resort to such drastic measures as setting up a bunk on the file cabinets at work.

Dec 8, 2012 by Master Blaster
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Even without ever having gone to Tokyo one can probably imagine the sprawling metropolis of 13 million people. It’s an ocean of buildings spackled with LED lights and paper signs threaded by vines of elevated walkways sitting atop a massive labyrinth of a subway system.

Of course it wasn’t always like this. Thanks to an incredibly well made and well preserved piece of film we can get a glimpse of a rare Tokyo. It was taken right between the city’s two 20th century destructions during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the 1944 firebombing campaign.

Dec 2, 2012 by Steven
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Japan provides its lonely men with plenty of way to find sweet respite from the emptiness and isolation of everyday life—provided you have the cash. And we’re not just talking about prostitution: you can rent a girlfriend at Moé Date for day of “simulate romance” or find a cuddle partner at Soine-ya to help you rest easy at night.

But what about the ladies? Women get lonely too, so it seems unfair that such services would only be available to men.

Believe it or not, even before either of the above establishments were in business, there was Soine-ya Prime, a dispatch service where women can hire a handsome young man to lay with her in bed for a night.

Nov 29, 2012 by Steven
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Men, no matter how old or how “masculine” they are, can learn a lot from crossdressing in public (trust us, we know).

But even if you do get the urge to unbuckle and skirt up, it can be difficult to find a time and place where going out in drag is socially acceptable. Throw in the added stress of having to coordinate an outfit and wig that sufficiently bring out your inner woman and the simple act of putting on women’s clothes and walking out the door can feel incredibly intimidating to first-timers.

Enter Onna no Ko Club, or Girls Club, a new club in Tokyo where curious men can go to experience the wonderful world of crossdressing.

Nov 27, 2012 by Karen Bremer Masuda
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The dish in the photo above looks like a dessert, something sweet to eat after a meal. But wait! It is the meal! It’s udon noodles in curry sauce and topped with whipped cream, to be exact, and it is absolutely delicious!

According to our trusty reporter Mr. Sato (Food Queen Sato, as he calls himself on Twitter), that is, who went to the noodle shop Shodai in Ebisu, Tokyo to taste this revolutionary spin on curry udon.

Curry udon is a standard noodle dish that can be found at just about any udon shop in Japan. It mixes the flavor of udon and curried rice by ladling curry sauce over a bowl of udon noodles. Simple, yet effective.

Throwing whipped cream into the mix doesn’t sound like it would end well. Usually these kind of things don’t. But what did Mr. Sato think about this unlikely combination?

Check his full report below! Read More

Tokyo Bug Eating Club to Hold Festival Tomorrow, Guess What’s on the Menu?

Nov 22, 2012 by Steven
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As icky as it sounds to many of us brought up in Western cultures, the human consumption of insects is common in many parts of the world.

Most Japanese people are on the same page as the rest of the developed world in thinking of bugs as unappetizing—not to mention creepy, gross, and/or scary— little creatures that have no place in the home, and especially not on the dinner plate.

However, there are some rural regions of Japan where insects are are a local delicacy, and have been so for centuries. In Nagano, the prefecture this writer calls home, you can walk into any supermarket and expect to find plastic packs of grasshopper (inago) or stonefly larva (suzumushi) boiled in soy sauce, and sometimes even read-to-eat packs of boiled wasp larva mixed in with rice (hachinoko-gohan).

In the cities, eating bugs is still taboo, and even in rural areas insect cuisine is now considered fringe cuisine, especially among the younger generations. But in Tokyo, there is a group of people who believe that bugs just need to be given a chance, which is why they are hosting what is now the 4th annual Tokyo Insect Eating Festival (Tokyo Mushikui Festival) on November 23.

Nov 17, 2012 by Master Blaster
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Since its construction finished in 1958, Japan’s National Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo has served its nation proud. It was the field of play for the 1964 Summer Olympics and survived the 2011 Tohoku earthquake unscathed.

However, with the 2019 Rugby World Cup scheduled, it was time for a makeover to the tune of (pinky finger to lips) a billion dollars!

Nov 9, 2012 by Karen Bremer Masuda
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In celebration of Walt Disney’s 110th Anniversary, Disney has put together a literal dreamland of illumination displays in Harajuku, Tokyo. A part of the larger “Walt Disney 110th Anniversary Omotesando Harajuku Dream Together Project 2012,” these light displays are open from November 1st to December 25 and are already drawing crowds of viewers.

Our female correspondent visited the display last week and tells us that while Harajuku’s Disney Dreamland illumination event is a must see for Disney lovers, even if you aren’t a Disney fan, you will surely be impressed by this awesome display of lights.

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.