Toyoni – Japan’s Naturally Heart-Shaped Lake
Surrounded by lush forest on all sides and untouched by human civilization, the heart-shaped Lake Toyoni is a hidden gem among Japan’s many tourism attractions. Up until a few years ago, Lake Toyoni was virtually unknown to most Japanese, but a popular television commercial featuring an aerial view of the heart-shaped natural wonder turned it […]
Muscle Girls – A Unique Fitness-Themed Bar Staffed by Female Weight-Training Enthusiasts
Muscle Girls is a Tokyo-based women’s gym that doubles as a fitness-themed bar staffed by a group of young, muscular women. Japan is famous for its plethora of themed bars and cafes, from black cat cafes to cafes dedicated to women’s thighs, but Muscle Girls is the country’s first and only bar dedicated to female […]
Meet Takimika, Japan’s 90-Year-Old Fitness Instructor
Most 90-year-olds can barely walk, let alone exercise, but 90-year-old Takishima Mika not only conducts daily fitness regimens religiously, but she actually works as a fitness instructor at a gym. For most of us, “age is just a number” is just a tired cliché, but people like Takishima Mika, aka “Takimika”, are proof that it […]
Unique Service Lets You Rent Fat People by the Hour
A new Japanese service is drawing attention for allowing both individuals and companies to rent out “fat people” for 2,000 yen ($18) per hour. Renting people for various purposes isn’t anything new in Japan. From renting someone to befriend your cheating partner’s lover and convince them to back off, to renting middle-aged men for company, […]
Japan’s Mesmerizing Tree Circles Are the Result of a 50-Year Experiment
A cedar forest in Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture is home to a couple of unusual crop circle-like patterns that are clearly not random in nature. Photos of the bizarre patterns, which are visible only from above, made their way on the internet about three years ago and fueled all kinds of conspiracy theories that involved everything […]
Human-Powered Grill Makes You Work for Your Food
A tech-savvy Japanese youtuber recently unveiled a special grill that requires users to actually burn some calories to power up the device and cook the meat. Japanese youtuber Bomb_tamio specializes in wacky inventions that put a smile on viewers faces, but his latest creations actually intrigued a lot of people, especially those looking for creative […]
Mojie Ringo – Using Sunlight to Turn Apples Into Edible Works of Art
‘Mojie Ringo’ is a Japanese technique of harnessing the power of the sun to create beautifully decorated apples without the use of any sort of chemicals. For centuries, apple growers in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture have been creating stunning heirloom apples by using the mojie ringo technique. The process is fairly simple, as basically implies depriving […]
Screambulance Offers Haunted House Scares on the Go
The Screambulance is a new haunted house experience in Japan designed to offer the most terrifying experience in a very tiny space, while abiding by social distancing rules. The Covid-19 pandemic has really taken a toll on the entertainment business, and haunted house experiences are no exception. So now companies are coming up with creative […]
The Satisfying Art of Hand-Sculpting Ice Cubes With a Knife
Who knew watching and listening to a bartender chop block of ice into translucent jewels with a santoku knife could be so satisfying? A Tokyo bartender recently got his five minutes of online fame after a video of him carefully turning blocks of ice into beautiful jewels went viral on Twitter, getting over one million […]
Man Eats Rotisserie Chicken, Preserves Skeleton as Museum Exhibit
A Japanese skeleton enthusiast recently got his five minutes of online fame after posting photos of an impressive chicken skeleton he managed to put together out of the bones of a rotisserie chicken he ate. Mr. Kudo, a Japanese man who dreams of transforming his home into a museum-of-sorts filled with all sorts of animal […]
Want to Take Your Pet Fish for a Walk? There’s a Bag for That!
A Japanese company is working on a quirky container-like bag for live fish, suitable both for pet owners wanting to take their favorite fish on walks, and fans of super-fresh sashimi… Known as “katsugyo bag” this portable fish tank is shaped like a long tube with a transparent middle section, a handle and a gauge, […]
Artist Turns Generic Figurines into Ultra-Realistic Sculptures of Anime Characters
A talented Japanese artist uses airbrushes and classic brushes to transform generic plastic figurines of popular anime characters into custom works of art. The mysterious artist, who goes by MA Man on social media, specializes in taking commercially available figurines of popular anime series from series like Dragon Ball or JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and giving […]
This Young Girl Is Actually a Guy in His 50s Playing With FaceApp
Almost nothing is what it seems on the internet these days, and this 53-year-old man posing as a woman in her 20s on social media is perfect proof of that. If you’re familiar with FaceApp, you probably already know about its switch gender option, which lets you see what you would look like as the […]
Japanese Ballpoint Pen Comes With a Live Parasitic Worm
The pen you’re about to see is one of those shocking products that makes people say they’ve seen it all. This Japanese souvenir actually comes with a live nematode parasite swimming inside it… Anisakis is a genus of parasitic nematodes that infect various species of fish and can cause anisakiasis – a parasitic infection of the gastrointestinal tract – in […]
Bento Artist Creates Insanely Detailed Edible Portraits
A talented bento artist from Hiroshima, Japan, has been turning a lot of heads online with their incredibly detailed edible black portraits over a white rice background. Nori bento is the most common forms of the portable Japanese snack, but one Japanese food artist has managed to turn the simplicity of the classic meal into […]