Ukrainian-Born Woman Wins Miss Japan Beauty Pageant, Sparks Controversy
A 26-year-old model who was born in Ukraine and moved to Japan at the age of five was recently crowned Miss Japan, sparking a heated debate regarding national identity. Carolina Shiino speaks and writes impeccable Japanese, she spent most of her life in Japan and identifies as Japanese. But she wasn’t born in Japan and, […]
Newspaper-Powered Rice Cooker Proves Invaluable during Earthquake
An ingenious rice cooker designed to be used with rolled newspaper instead of gas or electricity has proven surprisingly useful during the recent earthquake that hit Japan. The Tiger KMD-A100, aka ‘Tiger Kamado’ used to be ridiculed by people who simply didn’t believe in the premise that you could cook soft, fluffy rice with only […]
ChecKEY II – An Ingenious Key Accessory That Lets You Check if You Locked Your Door
Don’t you hate it when you can’t remember if you locked the front door when you last left your home? It’s a dreadful feeling that you don’t have to experience again thanks to a cool little accessory called CheckKEY. Developed by Japanese lock manufacturer company Miwa, the ChecKEY is a sleeve-like accessory that goes over […]
The Crow Buster – A Translucent Piece of Plastic That Keeps Crows at Bay
A Japanese company that has been developing crow repellants for 15 years claims that its Crow Buster, a translucent piece of yellow plastic, is more effective than any scarecrow. Crows are auspicious omens in Japanese culture, but in day-to-day life, they can be quite pesky pests. Notoriously intelligent and highly adapted to both rural and […]
Japanese Man Has Four Wives, Three Children and No Job
Japanese media recently reported the controversial story of a 35-year-old Japanese man who allegedly has four wives and three small children but hasn’t worked in over a decade. 35-year-old Ryuta Watanabe of Sapporo, on Japan’s Hokkaido Island, has become an overnight sensation in his home country due to an unconventional lifestyle. Watanabe reportedly lives with […]
Tokyo Cafe Caters Exclusively to Negative People
Mori Ouchi, a cozy cafe in Tokyo’s laidback Shimokitazawa district, is famous for only catering to pessimists and people with a generally negative mindset. Negative people tend to get a bad rep and are constantly told to be more positive, but, if you think about it, is there really anything wrong with being negative? The […]
This Japanese Restaurant Makes the World’s Smallest Sushi
Tokyo restaurant Sushiya no Nohachi reportedly serves great sushi, but it is most famous for its gimmick – making the world’s smallest sushi with a single grain of rice. Located in Asakusa, a slightly quieter part of Tokyo, Sushiya no Nohachi is the place to go if you want to enjoy the tiniest, most adorable […]
The World’s Largest Gashapon Store Is Home to More Than 3,000 Coin-Operated Machines
Tokyo’s Ikebukuro shopping district is home to the world’s largest gashapon capsule toy store – a 1,250m² area decked with over 3,000 gashapon machines filled with various figurines. Gashapon machines have been a big part of Japan’s recreational culture for over half a decade, but while these toy capsule-filled machines are ubiquitous in the Asian […]
Japanese Artist Builds Lightest Life-Size Land Cruiser SUV Ever
Toyota recently teamed up with Japanese artist Masumi Yamaguchi to celebrate the return of the iconic Land Cruiser 70 SUV to the market in a unique way. SUVs aren’t known for being the lightest of cars, but the one created by Masumi Yamaguchi is probably the lightest ever made. Even though it is a 1:1 […]
Japan’s Wacky Banana Hammers Are Taking Over Taiwan
Remember those funny banana hammers we featured a few days ago? Well, they recently went viral in Taiwan and the Japanese manufacturer is struggling to keep up with demand. Iron Factory Ikeda, a typical precision metal manufacturing plant in Hiroshima, Japan, started making banana-shaped mallets in 2019 and followed it up with steel banana hammers […]
World’s First Microwave Bag Lets You Heat Meals on the Go
The Willtex ‘Willcook’ microwave bag looks like a stylish laptop bag but is actually made out of conductive fabric that allows the user to heat the inside all the way up to 250 degrees Celsius. Say what you will, but there’s nothing more comforting than a nice hot meal on a cold winter day, especially […]
Japanese Bar Offers Controversial Face Slapping Service
A Japanese izakaya bar has come under fire for offering patrons the rather controversial service of being slapped on their faces before having their meals served. The Shachihoko-ya izakaya in Nagoya served its snacks with a hearty side of slaps delivered by its female staff. The bizarre service is said to have revitalized the establishment’s […]
Japanese Metal Manufacturing Factory Goes Viral with Banana Hammers
A Japanese precision part manufacturing factory recently went viral for its bizarre new product – a line of hammers shaped like realistic bananas. Hiroshima-based Iron Factory Ikeda is not your typical precision metal manufacturing plant. They specialize in precision metal processing for creating original products with the potential to go viral online. Over the years, […]
Japanese Man Becomes Famous for Cosplaying as Cute Girl and Fooling Everyone
Himenii (ひめにぃ様) is a Japanese male influencer who rose to fame by cosplaying as a young, cute girl and then giving himself away by speaking in a deep voice. Japan is home to many male cosplayers who choose to wear female clothes and fool everyone with their appearance, but Himenii is one of the few […]
Japanese Man Grows Banana Trees in the Middle of City Road for Two Years
A Japanese man planted three banana trees in the median strip of a major road in Kurume City and watered them daily for two years before anyone noticed their existence. A 50-something man from Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, was recently ordered to remove three banana trees he had illegally planted and cared for in the […]