Tag: Random Japan

 “Hungover today, sorry!” Laidback Tsukuba cafe gives hilarious reasons for frequent closings

  Mike

Tsukuba is a small, planned city nestled in the mountains of Ibaraki, which has a reputation for being a pretty chilled out place to live. The small population size and abundance of surrounding nature give the city a slow-paced, laid back feeling compared to the bustle of major cities like Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka.

We hear there are also a lot of great places to eat in Tsukuba, provided your restaurant or cafe of choice isn’t closed for the day because they couldn’t decide on the day’s menu items or the manager has a hangover.

 Rilakkuma rims add 16 bearpower to your car

    Casey Baseel

Generally, customizing cars is a guy thing, and most guys are into power. When it comes to aftermarket wheels, the two biggest camps are those who want performance-boosting lightweight versions, or the largest, most blinged-out set available to advertise the driver’s financial status.

Now, though, there’s a third option beyond looking sporty or wealthy: cute wheels.

Going on sale next month are these Rilakkuma wheels, featuring the adorably lazy character of the same name.

Special subway cars in Kyoto are perfect for travelling anime fans

    Casey Baseel

Kyoto is best known as a bastion of Japan’s traditional past, where the visual and performing arts developed during the feudal era still command the highest respect. Japan’s former capital is also making a bid to become a center for modern popular culture as well, though. 2006 saw the opening of the Kyoto International Manga Museum, and the city also plays host to the annual Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair.

Kyoto’s love for anime is truly a two-way street, as the city serves as the setting for numerous animated series. Apparently the relationship between anime and Kyoto has progressed to a point where the two feel comfortable with an overt display of public affection, in the form of a special subway train plastered with anime graphics.

 From protozoa to tapeworms: Visiting the Meguro Parasitological Museum

    Preston Phro

We’ve told you before that Japan is practically overflowing with museums. Everything from ukiyo-e to prisons to Edo period buildings have been preserved for the benefit of public knowledge, and we’d say that almost every museum has something unique or fun to offer. But here’s a museum that is literally one-of-a-kind: The Meguro Parasitological Museum!

They claim to be the only museum in the world dedicated solely to parasites-and we’ve got to say that we believe them! We recently headed down to Meguro to check out their collection and learn a little bit about the critters that might living inside of you right now.

AFP explores Japan’s love hotels, teaches you all you need to know

   Philip Kendall

In a recent video shared via YouTube, the AFP News Agency takes a look at the weird and wonderful world of Japan’s love hotels. Around for more than 100 years now, these curious and undeniably Japanese locations are used by everyone from sex-starved couples who live with their families to cheeky travellers looking for a cheap place to crash.

Check out the video for info on everything from how to check in to what you can find inside your room.

One of the best things about love hotels, particularly for the notoriously shy Japanese, is their respect for guests’ privacy. Sure, you may be spotted leaving the hotel in the morning or after a couple of hours of mid-afternoon grown-up fun, but more often than not you’ll never see another soul during your visit. There are even hotels outside of the city that have curtains to draw across the front of your car in the parking lot in order to hide your registration plate from view.

You’ve got tail: Write any message with an alphabet of cat tails!

   Oona McGee

There’s something about cats. Whether they’re leaping through the air in cute GIF form or popping up in edible delights, the feline species have got us well and truly eating out of the palm of their spongy little paws. In Japan, one cat lover has paid homage to their cute ways with an alphabet made up entirely of cat tails! Now you can mesmerize your friends from A to Z with messages cute enough to print out and paste on your wall.

Created by Twitter user @Honki_Honki , this alphabet is so cute it’s got people using the word nyan (the Japanese word for meow) at the end of their sentences. The popular consensus is that these little letters are “too cute nyan” but “a little difficult to read nyan”. To test out your cat-tail-readability level, try reading the word below:

20 crazy facts about North Korea

  Preston Phro

There are many fascinating countries around the world-in fact, we’d wager that there aren’t any truly boring places. But one of the most bizarrely “can’t look away from the train wreck” places in the world is North Korea. Now, there’s a lot of information (and misinformation) out there about the country, and sometimes it can be hard to separate the fact from fiction. Still, we like to try, right?

So, you can imagine how excited we were when we found a series of twenty photos and facts about North Korea have been making the Internet rounds! But we wanted to know more! Click below to see the 20 facts and some of the background information we dug up.

Quiz of the Week: Round 5 (Now with extra insults)

  Philip Kendall

Welcome to another edition of Quiz of the Week: where the best news stories from the last seven days come to die. By now you should know the drill: we throw 10 multiple-choice questions at you to see whether you’re keeping your wits about you and to introduce you to some of the best stories in town, whispering unsavoury things about your mother for every question you get wrong.

So stop drooling all over yourself and let’s test those grey cells of yours!

As ever, highlight the space between the square brackets [ mmmn, bacon] after the word “Answer:” or click the “Read more” link to check your answers.

Ready? Then let’s get started!

Question 1.

What unusual act has recently become something of an online craze in South Korea?

A: Taking “reverse selfies”, where people take photos of things besides their own stupid faces

B: Sending confession emails to numerous companies’ “support” email addresses

C: Sharing pictures of themselves in new underwear as a method of “reviewing” it

D: Spamming non-Korean companies’ websites with photos of seemingly amused goats

Quiz of the Week: Round 4 (Now with 100% more otter!)

  Philip Kendall  

Don’t forget to highlight the space between the square brackets [  ]  after the word “Answer:” or click the “Read more” link to check your answers. And remember: every time you cheat, Evil Baby Sato gets a step closer to your door.

Let’s begin, shall we?

Question 1.

Which of the following everyday words originally comes from Japanese?

A: “Soap”, as in the thing you really ought to be washing your stinky armpits with.

B: “Skosh”, as in ‘”Salt and vinegar on your squirrel bits, guv’ner?” “Yeah, just a skosh!”‘

C: “Sunday”, as in the day that comes four days before Thursday.

D: “Shhhhhfrtftfpojtftffgvfvffvjvfvpcunk”, as in “the keys that I just mashed”.

Answer: [ B ] Read more

Question 2.

This advertisement caused controversy earlier this week, with many calling it “racist”. But what was the ad actually intended to promote?

No grown-ups allowed! Chef with a very sweet motive opens a kids-only sweets shop

   Krista Rogers

Children in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture currently have good reason to celebrate, as a huge new sweets shop officially opened in their town on December 7. But the news gets even sweeter: only kids in sixth grade or younger are allowed inside! Sounds like any child’s wildest fantasy come true, right? Parents must wait outside (and no doubt prepare themselves for the inevitable sugar-high antics to come) while their children explore the hidden wonders within.

Join us after the jump for a rare glimpse inside the shop and read what inspired the owner to open it in the first place.

The new shop, named the Future Sweets Factory, is located on the premises of the wildly popular Patisserie es Koyama, which carries a large line of pastries and baked goods, and is particularly famous in the region for its special roll cake.

Instant boyfriend and girlfriend curry pouches now on sale, shopkeepers “worried”

   Master Blaster

Strolling up and down the aisles of any supermarket in Japan, you are bound to come across several items in sealed vinyl retort pouches. Retort pasta sauce, retort rice porridge, and retort cat food can all be found freshly sealed and ready for quick heating if needed.

Now, all the hassle of landing a boyfriend or girlfriend has been removed, thanks to Retort Boyfriend (Retoruto Kareshi) and Retort Girlfriend (Retoruto Kanojo). Sounds great, but the new product has caused some, like the manager of the Village Vanguard shop pictured above, to become “worried about the future of Japan.”

Otoshidama: How kids in Japan get rich once a year

   Philip Kendall

With Christmas being just a regular day and the exchanging of gifts something of a rarity, we often feel that kids in Japan are missing out somewhat. Of course, not every Westerner is fortunate enough to know the joy of waking up on December 25 and finding presents-brought by a benevolent bearded man, no less-under the Christmas tree or at the foot of their bed, but those who are would most likely agree that it’s a pretty spectacular feeling for a kid to have.

But while the rest of the world is coming to realise that the toys they asked for aren’t quite as cool as they’d expected and dreading going back to school or work, kids in Japan are making out like bandits and getting not presents but cold, hard cash on New Year’s Day in the form of otoshidama.