All the rage: animal cafes
In a vibrant city such a Tokyo, many people live in small apartments stacked up on each other creating plenty of high-rise buildings. Because these apartments are often rented, the people are prohibited to own any pets and even if it wasn’t prohibited the places would just be too small. But Japan would not be the modern country as we know it if it had not come up with a solution; animal cafes! The first animal café was a Neko café (neko means cat) and was established in 2004. Ever since, the cafes started to gain more popularity and nowadays...
read moreJapanese Apple fans queue up in 1 km line to get hold of the lastest iphone in Ginza
Apple acolytes got their hands on new iPhones Friday in the global roll-out of two new models, but failure to make headway in China and complaints about the price struck a sour note. The once-unbeatable king of the smartphones has penned a potentially lucrative new deal with Docomo, Japan’s biggest mobile carrier, but is without a new alliance in the vast Chinese market. That, and rumblings over the high cost—even of the pared-down iPhone 5C—could mute the fanfare that routinely accompanies launches, observers say. In Tokyo, diehard fans...
read moreJapanese Part-Timers ‘Terrorize’ Employers with Pranks
Stuffing out cigarettes in sushi, wearing pizza dough as a mask and cleaning feet in the dishwasher – these are just some of the stunts part-time workers are pulling to the delight of their Twitter followers and the chagrin of their employers. While the part-timer pranks may not seem particular unusual to readers outside Japan, the behavior has raised eyebrows in Japan – a nation that takes dedication to work and strict discipline very seriously.Since a man posted a picture of himself lying inside a refrigerated ice cream case at...
read moreThings to do this weekend in Tokyo September 19th-September 22nd; Dress up as a Cosplay character and visit the Tokyo Game Show
On your way to the Tokyo Game Show? Trying to decide which costume to wear? Wait! The organizers of Japan’s biggest videogame industry meet have come up with a long list of do’s and don’ts for cosplay fans attending the event. Cosplay, short for costume play, has reached an art form in Japan. Events such as Comiket attracts hundreds of thousands of manga and anime fans intent on demonstrating their affiliations by dressing up like their favorite characters. The Tokyo Game Show also draws crowds of gaming cosplayers, especially on the...
read moreThings to do: Have your dinner blessed by a Koyasan monk
Monks have taken over the menus at restaurants in the posh Shin-Marunouchi building in Tokyo to offer real soul food. Throughout the weeklong Koyasan Cafe event, diners can fill their stomachs and their spirits with Buddhist-inspired dishes. Koyasan Cafe takes its name from the spiritual center of Japanese Buddhism, Koyasan in Wakayama Prefecture. Also known as Mount Koya, it is the last resting place of the eighth-century monk Kukai, the headquarters of the Shingon sect he founded and, as of 2004, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nankai Railway...
read moreThings to do: Dress up in cosplay and have your picture taken
Cosplay (コスプレ kosupure), short for “costume play”, is an activity in which participants wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea from a work of fiction. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture centered on role play. A broader use of the termcosplay applies to any costumed role play in venues apart from the stage, regardless of the cultural context. Favorite sources include manga, anime, comic books, video games, and films. Any entity from the real or virtual world that lends itself to...
read moreAnime fans flock to temple to offer prayer tablets featuring favorite characters
Anime enthusiasts are flocking in droves to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, but not in a spiritual pilgrimage or prompted by a sudden interest in religion. Instead it’s worship of a different kind, a devotion to fictional characters from their beloved animated works. At the shrines and temples, these anime buffs are dedicating mountains of votive picture tablets, called “ita-ema,” containing drawings of their favorite characters. On one weekend in July, an incessant wave of young visitors was seen at Oarai Isosakijinja...
read moreOnly in Japan: Old fart prances around town living out his “school girl fantasy”. Check out his youtube video!
ressed in schoolgirl’s uniform, “GrowHair” has become has an Internet phenomenon in Japan over the past five years, and he’s a regular sight in Tokyo’s über-trendy Harajuku/Shibuya district. According the website dedicated to him (Google Translate): GrowHair enjoys walking the streets wearing a sailor-suit school uniform where he is widely known as ‘Sailor Uncle.’ In born 1962, his real name is Hideaki Kobayashi and he has master’s degree in Mathematics from the prestigious Waseda University [Japan’s equivalent of Stanford or MIT]. He...
read moreDoing hard time just got easier with this lovely mascot employed by a Hokkaido prison
A Japanese prison housing a range of convicted criminals has unveiled a cuddly life-size mascot that bosses hope will help change the jail’s forbidding image. Officials say Asahikawa Prison in Hokkaido is too often thought of only as a dark place with imposing gray walls and not as a place of rehabilitation. They hope “Katakkuri-chan”, a nearly two-meter humanoid with a huge square face and an enormous purple flower for hair, will make people understand the true nature of the institution. “Prisons have the image of being isolated places that...
read moreFormer train station renovated, now offers a unique dining experience
Manseibashi Station (万世橋駅 Manseibashi-eki) can refer to two closed railway stations all in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. One was a railway station on the Japanese Government Railways Chūō Main Line and the other was a subway station in the Tokyo Subway network. Both stations were closed by 1943, though trains and subway cars still pass through them. The stations took their name from the nearby bridge, Manseibashi. The railway station was located on the south bank of the Kanda River, while the subway station was located on the north bank. The area...
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