Japanese Couple Still Go Dutch About Everything After Two Years of Marriage
Japanese television recently featured the unusual story of a young couple who, despite being married for two years, still go Dutch about everything from expenses to house chores. 39-year-old Aiko and her 42-year-old husband, Kazuki, met at a video-game production company, and after going out on a few dates, they quickly realized that they had […]
Eating This Matcha-Covered Ice-Cream Is Japan’s Version of the Cinnamon Challenge
A Tokyo dessert shop has become famous for selling a soft-serve ice-cream covered with generous amounts of matcha powder that makes people choke when they eat it. Remember the cinnamon challenge from about a decade ago? You should, it was one of the most popular internet challenges ever and even has its own Wikipedia page […]
Young Female Social Media Influencer Outs Herself as 50-Year-Old MAN
An attractive female Twitter user in Japan recently shocked her tens of thousands of fans after going on a national television show to unmask herself as a 50-year-old man using a popular smartphone app to alter her appearance. I think it’s safe to say that after reading this story, you’ll never trust another internet photo […]
Controversial Website Documents Japan’s Noisy Children and Other Phonic ‘Nuisances’
A website that maps Japan’s noisiest and most annoying neighborhoods to help people avoid public nuisances when looking for a place to live has sparked controversy, with many accusing it of criticizing normal behavior, like children crying or speaking loudly. While Japan is still sometimes portrayed as this serene, and calm land, in reality it […]
Grieving Husband Continues Search for Wife 10 Years After Fukushima Tsunami
It’s been 10 years since Yasuo Takamatsu lost his wife Yuko when a devastating tsunami hit the town of Onagawa, in Miyagi prefecture, but he continues to search for her every week. On the day that Yuko disappeared, in 2011, Yasuo Takamatsu received one last text message from her. It read “Are you ok? I […]
This Young Lady Is Actually a 30-Year-Old Male Cosplayer
Minato-san, a 30-year-old male office worker and cosplay enthusiast, recently shocked Japanese social media with his transformation into an anime-inspired heroine. It’s no secret that great cosplayers can alter their physical appearance to the extreme, but in some cases the change is downright scary. Take the case of Minato, a 30-year-old Japanese man who likes […]
Hard to Swallow – Japanese Student Creates Delicious-Looking Stone Sushi
A talented art and design student recently stunned Japanese social media with his collection of delicious-looking sushi made exclusively of stone. Hama, a student of the Joshibi University of Art and Design, in Kanagawa, Japan, has been exhibiting his stunning stone sushi at various universities across his country, to great success. And it’s easy to […]
Phone Booth-Like Office Spaces in Japan Allow People to Work From Virtually Anywhere
Telecubes, mobile offices the size of phone booths, have been popping up all over Japan, as demand for public working spaces continues to soar. Japanese media originally reported on the rise of Telecubes back in 2019, when Mitsubishi Estate announced plans to start rolling out the tiny but cozy offices at airports and train stations […]
Food Artist Creates Edible Portraits of Popular Anime Characters
Kaisefu Mudazono is a self-taught food artist who uses all sorts of ingredients, from dried seaweed and pickled vegetables, to ham and rice, to create the most amazing edible artworks. When it comes to food art, it’s hard to find something more adorable, and at the same time impressive, than kyaraben (or Charaben), the Japanese […]
Quaint Japanese Village Is Home to the World’s Most Elaborate Rice Field Art
Inakadate, a nondescript village of around 7,000 people, located in Japan’s Aomori prefecture is considered the home of a rice field art form more elaborate than anywhere else in the world. The story of Inakadate village as a world-renowned tourist destination began in the early 1990s, when local authorities realized that youths were moving to […]
Art Student Creates Amazing Dress Out of Thousands of Plastic Cookie Wrappers
A talented Japanese art student has created a mantua-inspired life-size dress exclusively out of thousands of plastic senbei wrappers. The mantua fashion of the 17th and 18th century Europe was one of the most flamboyant and elaborate in human history, but that didn’t stop one very talented art student from recreating one such life-size dress […]
Talented Artist Colors Anime-Inspired Paper Cutouts With Real-World Environments
Japanese artist Kotetsu blends illustration photography and kirie (Japanese traditional paper cutting) to create beautiful works of art that bring anime heroines into the real world. Instead of using ink or colored pencils to color the outfits of his illustrations, Kotetsu cuts out the paper canvas and juxtaposes his creations against various backdrops, thus letting […]
The Unlikely Success Story of a Man Who Gets Paid to Do Nothing
A 37-year-old Japanese man has built a successful career by renting himself out to do nothing. For some reason, he is inundated with requests from people who just want him by their side. In just two years, Shoji Morimoto has gone from being just another unemployed middle-aged man in Tokyo, to a minor Japanese celebrity, […]
Alien Dumplings – A Downright Scary-Looking Dish
The world is full of unappetizing dishes, from fermented fish dishes to the dreaded Kiviaq, but few actually look scary to get near to, let alone put in your mouth. These Japanese dumplings definitely fall in the latter category. Last year, we published a story on one of the world’s most bizarre looking fish, the […]
This Ninja-Like Face Mask Promises to Give You a Non-Invasive Face Lift
People nowadays pay lots of money for youth-maintaining facial plastic surgery, but one Japanese company claims that its’ face mask can deliver the same results as a lift, so you don’t have to go under the knife. Japanese company Ya-man claims that its MedLift silicone mask can keep you looking young by sending electrical signals […]