The Paris Syndrome – A Bizarre Psychological Condition Affecting Japanese Tourists?
Among a host of first world problems is the mysterious Paris Syndrome – that horrible feeling you get when you realize the beautiful City of Lights isn’t all that you imagined it to be. And strangely, the worst to be affected by this bizarre condistion are the otherwise calm and collected Japanese. As ridiculous as […]
Eitaro – Japan’s Only Guy-sha
Three years ago, Eitaro lost his mother, a dedicated geisha, to cancer. Ever since then, he and his sister have been carrying on her legacy, running a geisha house and overseeing a group of six other geishas. 26-year-old Eitaro first performed as a female dancer at age 10, at one of his mother’s geisha parties. […]
Coffee Won’t Keep You Awake at Tokyo’s Hypnosis Cafe Colors
Apart from a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, the menu at the Tokyo Hypnosis Cafe Colors, in Shinjuku Golden Gai, also features some offbeat items, such as Trauma Erasure or Past Life Regression. Tokyo is known for its unique cafes, many of which have been featured on Oddity Central (Cuddle Cafe, Vampire Cafe, Hammock Cafe, etc.), […]
Japanese Rent-a-Boyfriend Service Caters to Lonely Women in Need of Cuddling
Yes, Japanese women get lonely too, but luckily for them, there’s Soine-ya Prime, a dispatch service where women can hire a handsome young man to lay with her in bed for a night. Believe it or not there’s nothing sexual about it. Two months ago, we posted about Tokyo’s popular Cuddle Cafe, where everyone could lay down […]
Aogashima Island – Living inside a Volcano
Can you imagine yourself living in a giant volcanic crater? Well, for starters, you can forget about Starbucks. But it sure would be the ultimate destination to get away from it all. It’s not all that surprising then, that about 200 people actually inhabit the Japanese volcanic island of Aogashima, with only one school and […]
Man Brings Virtual Girlfriend to His Real-Life Wedding, Bride Retaliates
Talk about pushing your luck, right? As if having his future wife put up with a virtual girlfriend wasn’t enough, a Japanese geek actually had the nerve to invite his video-game lady and two of her friends to their wedding and even reserved seats for them. But the bride had some plans of her own… […]
Japanese Self-Confessed Geeks Attend Masked Matchmaking Event
Japanese geeks, commonly known as “otaku”, too shy to go out and meet a potential date face to face attended a special matchmaking event where everyone wore anime character masks to conceal their identities. The event called “Ota-konkatsu” took place in Kuki City, north of Tokyo, a “holy place” among anime fans. The city is home […]
Japanese School for Mascots Teaches Tricks of the Trade
You know those over-sized furry creatures that entertain kids at theme parks and special events? They’re called character mascots and being a good one is apparently about more than putting on a costume and acting silly. For professional training, there’s the Choko Group mascot school in Tokyo, Japan. Probably the only school for mascots in the […]
Japan Develops Shock-Absorbing Electric Car Covered in Airbags
Hiroshima University-affiliated startup business Humanix has recently revealed a three-wheel electric vehicle, called iSAVE YOU, which is covered in covered with an airbag-like cushion material that springs back to its original form after absorbing impacts. You hear that, auto-makers around the world? You’re doing it wrong, airbags go on the OUTSIDE of the not the inside! At least […]
FINALLY! Japanese Company Develops Gas-Deodorizing Underwear
Thanks to Japanese company Inodore, the days when passing gas in public was seen as a social taboo may soon be behind us. If you can keep the noise level down, their odor-deodorizing fabric does the rest, absorbing up to 99% of gas smell. I know what you’re thinking, fart-proof underwear have been around for a […]
Meet Asako Kanda, the World’s Biggest Hello Kitty Fan
Hello Kitty has millions of fans around the world, but none are more in love with Sanrio’s iconic character than Asako Kanda. The 39-year-old receptionist from Japan has amassed a fantastic collection of over 4,500 Hello Kitty items. Like many other girls of her generation, Asako’s fascination with Hello Kitty began during her elementary school days. […]
Prepare to Be Owned as Japanese Man Auctions Off Planet Earth
We see crazy and bizarre items auctioned off on sites like eBay or Yahoo Auctions, every day, but this is the first time someone actually thought about selling our planet. The starting price was a measly ¥69 ($0.86), but since the auction went viral, the price has surged to ¥9,889,899,888 ($123,000,000). I still think it’s a bargain. I know, […]
The Fake-Head Waitresses of Japan’s Anime Cafe
Maid cafes are a dime a dozen in Tokyo’s geeky Akihabara district, but Kigurumi Cafe t.t.t. one-ups them all by introducing waitresses wearing full-body suits and creepy plush heads to reallybring anime characters to life. Wikipedia defines cosplay as a performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. You’ve probably […]
Japanese DVD Lets You Go on a Dinner Date without an Actual Date
Getting a girl to go out to dinner with you isn’t as easy as some people think. Luckily, now there’s a DVD that allows single men to experience a dinner date, without having to convince a woman to go out with them. It’s called “Amateur Dinner Time – Let’s Eat Together! -, and it’s hilarious. […]
Get Your Very Own 13-Foot Functional Robot for Just $1.35 Million
Just when you though it was safe to go out of the house, Japanese company Suidobashi Heavy Industry has officially announced their awesome boardable mecha, the KURATS, is now available for purchase. And it costs only $1.35 million. I know it sounds like a lot of money, but we’re talking about the world’s first consumer mecha, which […]