Tag: Random Japan

McDonald’s Japan serving “American Vintage” burgers starting this January

   Michelle Lynn Dinh

Ah, the good old days! It seems like every generation longs for that time when they were young and all was right with the world. McDonald’s Japan is taking that feeling of nostalgia and cramming it into a hamburger with their freshly announced American Vintage campaign, taking us back in time with 1950′s diner fare, 1970s soul food and 1980s pop culture cuisine.

McDonald’s Japan has released delightfully old-timey posters for their American Vintage campaign. Take a look at this advertisement for “Classic Fry with Cheese”:

Pizza Hut Japan’s latest promotion gives “golden crust pizza” new meaning

   Rachel Tackett

Though it may not be a traditional holiday dish, pizza is often the perfect entrée for the holiday season. After all, between Christmas and New Years, there’s bound to be an opportunity to throw a party for your friends, and for those who’d rather not slave away in the kitchen for a day, pizza is often the best way to provide food to a group.

Well now Pizza Hut Japan has given us a new reason to party: in its latest promotion, the company is giving away actual gold necklaces worth nearly a thousand dollars each.

That’s right, early next year Pizza Hut will be giving away eight gold necklaces with pendants shaped like pizza slices. Now, while that may not sound like much, each necklace has an estimated value of 80,000 yen (US$770)!

Robot Lego Pokemon are the coolest things we’ve ever seen!

  Michelle Lynn Dinh

Legos make everything better. And when those little plastic bricks are used to make some of our favorite Pokemon, the coolness goes well over 9,000. Let’s take a closer look at this awesome engineering, including a peek inside the boardable mecha-type lego Pokemon!

The mastermind behind these Poke-Legos goes by the handle “Stormbringer” on Flickr. He seems to be a Lego genius, creating numerous recognizable characters, including an entire scene from Attack on Titan completely made out of Legos. But it was his Venasaur, Charizard, and Blastoise that really caught our eye.

We wish you an age-appropriate Christmas and a happy Pokémon tree!

 Rona Moon

This amazing tree was recently spotted on Japanese site Pokésoku, with the question: “I thought I’d buy my nephew a Pokemon for Christmas, but can a six-year-old child handle it?”

What do you think? Is six too young for your first Pokémon? I know my nephew was mad keen on Pokémon at eight years of age, and he didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects. I think that even a six-year-old would be into catching ’em all. Although in some rare cases children may blame their gambling problem on early experiences with game cards and decide to sue, to the best of my knowledge claims like these have been unsuccessful.

Feed your inner monster with adorable Totoro cream puffs

  Jessica

Sometimes food is so beautifully prepared it seems like a shame to eat it. And yet, the beautiful preparation makes it that much more enticing. The Japanese are without a doubt the masters of this skill, ranging from the exquisite jewel-like arrangements of chic kaiseki-ryori to the saccharine adorableness of the average kid’s bento.

But we’ve discovered an almost-too-squee-inducing-to-eat treat that should appeal to adults and children alike: cream puffs shaped like Ghibli animation favorite Totoro.

The creams puffs are the creation of Shirohige Shu-Cream Kojo (Whitebeard’s Cream Puff Factory), a pastry shop with attached café off a tiny side street in the Daita neighborhood of Tokyo. Once we heard about it, we naturally had to go check it out for ourselves, so on a brisk fall afternoon ideal for hunting forest spirits, we headed to Shirohige to see if these cuties taste as good as they look.

 Doreamon get his first ever CG overhaul in upcoming movie, “Stand By Me: Doraemon”

 Philip Kendall

Those encountering the wide-mouthed blue robot that is Doraemon for the very first time could be forgiven for not realising that he’s supposed to be a cat. And even once filled in we’re sure that few people would ever imagine that this earless robo-feline should be any more popular than the thousands of other quirky anime characters that exist in popular culture today.

But for most Japanese, and perhaps a handful of Westerners who were introduced to the anime as kids, Doraemon is a seriously big deal, and fans are currently buzzing with excitement following the news that one of Japan’s most-loved characters is not only getting a brand new movie of his own, but will be appearing in gorgeous 3-D computer generated form for the first time ever.

 Escape the cold this winter in a faceless fleece bodysuit!

Scott R Dixon

Every year as the temperatures drop, Japan finds another creative way to make the cold winter months more bearable. This year, a Japanese outdoor product company has the newest way to keep warm-a full-body fleece suit that turns you into an anonymous humanoid!

The makers of the 4,980 yen (US$50) “Humanoid Fleece” had your best interests in mind when designing garment. When wearing the suit, you will not have to worry about taking it off ever because there are enough zippers, openings and pockets to maneuver around your daily life in full Humanoid Fleece form.

 Bring your child’s imagination to life: 3-D printed figures of children’s drawings are awesome!

Preston Phro

3-D printing is bringing us a whole new world of possibilities, from fetus replicas to Link’s adventuring weapons, and while the technology is still in development, it often seems like there’s nothing a MakerBot can’t make out of thin air.

But here’s something you probably had no idea a 3-D printer could do: Bring children’s imaginations to life.

And we don’t mean that in the Disney way either. The Osaka company 3D Remind has started offering a unique service called Rakukuri, which will delight both children and their proud parents by taking children’s scribbles and turning them into actual figures using 3-D printing! Just think how happy your children will be when they see their drawings given form in colorful plaster!

The giant straw sculptures of Japan

Many of you have probably heard about the massive snow sculptures of the Sapporo Snow Festival, adding a fun event to look forward to in the dead of the harsh winters of Japan’s northernmost prefecture. But what about the straw sculptures of the Wara Art Festival in Niigata Prefecture? To celebrate the end of the rice harvest and the abundance of straw that is produced as a result, the folks in Niigata put all that extra dried stuff to creative use, making huge straw sculptures that tower over the thousands of people who come to visit them.

The sculptures are actually made much like a thatched roof, but the straw is instead attached to frames to create enormous figures.

11 unique experiences for tourists to Japan

Oona McGee

If you’ve been scouring the net looking for ways to experience the most unique things Japan has to offer, then dock your wireless device and hang up those bunny ears because we’ve found the list for you. These 11 experiences are so unique you’ll be amazed they even exist. From crazy, subculture adventures to mystical, secret classes, now you can fill up on a unique blend of pop and tradition thanks to the activities on offer from new travel website Voyagin. We’ve picked the best courses for you to enjoy.

1. Have tea with a Lolita (2,500 yen [US$25], 2 hours)

In Japan, Lolitas are quaint girls who like to dress in Victorian-era clothing. And what better way to get acquanited than over a cup of tea? Complete with teaspoons and china cups, you’ll feel like you’re down the rabbit-hole at a mad-hatter’s tea party.

13 awesome things you can make with Oreos

Master Blaster

It’s been just over a century since Oreos first hit the market and now the black and white cookie has become firmly entrenched in most corners of the world. Along with such fame come the innovation and creativity of Oreo’s legions of fans.

The following is a baker’s dozen of dishes created from the iconic cookie. Don’t worry though, even if you have no kitchen skills whatsoever you can probably pull off half of these surprisingly simple ideas. We’ll present them in order of difficulty starting with the easiest.

Akihabara-based magazine blasts past Kickstarter goal, aims to bring otaku culture to the world

Michelle Lynn Dinh

The word “otaku” in the Japanese language is a general term for anyone who is passionate about a hobby. But in English, “otaku” has become a term that refers to people who are obsessed with Japanese culture, particularly anime and manga. But the world of the otaku is sometimes misunderstood. That’s where JH Lab, a group of “otaku of the highest caliber” comes in, hoping to demystify the world of anime and manga fans and bring the culture of Akihabara to people everywhere.

To do this, JH Lab has created Akiba Anime Art (AAA), “a brand new pop-culture magazine from Akihabara, featuring cool OTAKUs, advanced technologies, kawaii-cosplays, Dojins and much more!” They’ve started a Kickstarter campaign to make their dream a reality and have quickly surpassed their initial goal, raising over US$42,000. Supporters of the project will receive special edition illustrations from featured Japanese artist, John Hathway, and have a chance to be drawn into his amazing Akihabara picture jockey cityscape. Let’s take a closer look at this rapidly growing magazine’s “ultra otaku power.”