Clik here to view.
Shibuya Cast complex opens April 28th
The transformation of Shibuya continues with the opening of Shibuya Cast on April 28th. Following the opening of Shibuya Hikarie in 2012 and the upcoming openings of multiple other complexes around the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Japanese sake girls to serve nihonshu at Koshien baseball stadium
The “beer girls” (uriko) at baseball games are a somewhat iconic image of sporting events in Japan. They can be found walking around the stands with beer backpacks, always ready to pour you out a cold...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Family restaurant chain Coco’s offers tabletop robots to entertain customers
Family restaurant chain Coco’s has teamed up with android and robotics creator Hiroshi Ishiguro to offer tabletop robots that can entertain diners while they wait for their orders. The small robots...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sado Island taps mining past for heavy metal promo video
Sado Island, the rustic s-shaped landmass off of Japan’s western coast, is known for a lot of things. Heavy metal music is not traditionally one of them. As part of a campaign to attract visitors, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sailor Moon marks 25 years with first ever classical music concert
Something special happens when anime music meets classical music. As was true with the classical music concert renditions of the Ghibli, Final Fantasy, and Super Mario soundtracks, the music becomes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Zealand All Blacks rugby team tackle dangerous problems in Tokyo
Japanese advertising tends to consist of merely hiring some ubiquitous celebrity and having them hold the product in question. This lazy and mind-numbing approach has become the default for almost all...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Homestar Your Name Kimi no Na wa Home Planetarium recreates iconic scene from...
Whether you’re an anime fan or not, it cannot have escaped your notice if you live in Japan that last year there was a film released called Your Name. (Kimi no Na wa.). In fact, it’s still on release...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pioneering film director Toshio Matsumoto dies
The pioneering film director and video artist Toshio Matsumoto has died, aged 85. He passed away on April 12th in Tokyo from intestinal obstruction, local media has reported. Matsumoto was well known...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Safer and stylish, EarsOpen Bone Conduction Earphones let you listen without...
While the days when we used to look forward to consumer electronics from Sony, Panasonic and the like with great excitement have faded away, there is still a lot of interesting tech coming out of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bridgestone announces airless tires for bicycles
Bridgestone has announced the latest in its line of “airless tires” that do not require inflation, this time adapting the technology for bicycles. The second generation of the Air Free Concept was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Star Wars Inflatable First Order Stormtrooper is your personal bodyguard
Celebrate the recent release of Rogue One on DVD and get ready for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi at the end of the year with this awesome Star Wars Inflatable First Order Stormtrooper. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Okayama Prefecture car dealership covers world in bubble wrap to highlight...
Asian drivers. Yes, we all know the stereotypes. But the sad truth is that road traffic safety is a problem in Japan because of the combination of narrow streets, especially in Tokyo and other major...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tokyo reveals three candidates for new branding logo
When governor Yuriko Koike came to power she quickly set about making sweeping changes from her predecessor’s administration. She put the controversial move of Tsukiji Market to Toyosu on ice. She also...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Japanese beer advertising to phase out close-ups of drinking and gulping...
Japanese beer commercials are somewhat notorious for their ubiquitous use of celebrities. The standard approach is to feature a well-known face holding up a glass of cookie-cutter lager and gulping the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ginza Six opens with Ringo Sheena theme song and 90,000 visitors
Tokyo’s latest retail complex is Ginza Six, which opened in the eponymous district of central Tokyo on the location of the old Matsuzakaya Ginza department store. The shopping complex, which officially...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Triumph International unveils Premium Friday-inspired concept bra
Twice a year the lingerie maker Triumph International announces a “concept bra” inspired by trends in the Japanese zeitgeist. By turns amusing and innovative, past bras include one based on Abenomics,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New JR East luxury sleeper, Train Suite Shiki-shima, debuts
East Japan Railway Co. has debuted a new luxury sleeper train to offer travelers a journey in style across northern Japan. Train Suite Shiki-shima is painted in champagne gold and departed Ueno Station...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Uniqlo releases winning entries for t-shirt design contest with Nintendo...
Nintendo has been riding high of late, thanks to the popularity of Pokemon Go and the release of the Nintendo Switch. Now there’s another way to show your love of Japan’s most famous name in video...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Famously lonely elephant Hanako honored with statue at Kichijoji Station
Tokyo has a new landmark, but it’s not in the center of the city and it’s certainly not a sight you might immediately associate with Japan’s capital. A popular elephant called Hanako now has a statue...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sacred island of Okinoshima recommended for UNESCO World Heritage site status
The island of Okinoshima in the Sea of Japan has been recommended for registration on the list of World Heritage sites by a preliminary UNESCO review panel. If the recommendation is finalized at a...
View Article