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Black Thunder chocolate-bar-shaped fishing lures coming next year
All the fun of a Black Thunder bar, but with sharp hooks!It’s never been a better time to enjoy the pastime of fishing with an ever-growing collection of themed tackle being developed by Japan’s biggest and best brands. Now, hot on the heels of a new Evangelion line of fishing gear, we have a revolutionary lure based on the popular Black Thunder mini chocolate bars.But this is hardly just a regular fishing lure with the Black Thunder logo on it. The makers at DUO in Shizuoka Prefectu
Start saving room now – Japanese grocery store’s biggest sushi roll yet is coming for Setsubun
The “super-thick” ehomaki is a luxurious way to ensure good luck for your home and family in the coming year.With just one week left to go until Christmas, many people are rushing to get their present and party preparations finished. Here at SoraNews24, though, we’re always looking one step farther ahead…right? Or was it that we’re always thinking about food?Actually, today both of those things can be true, because we just got back from attending an ehomaki unveiling event.If you’re a pass
Japanese convenience store Family Mart adding crane games to thousands of branches
Crane games are big hits with foreign tourists and Japanese kids, so Family Mart is happy to have them come in and play.7-Eleven Japan has been grabbing a lot of attention recently, what with their matcha dessert burritos and their new luggage storage service for travelers. But rival Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart isn’t going to let itself be forgotten, and it’s announced that it plans to make a big push in adding crane games and coin-op video games to its stores.The move comes as
Is this the most relaxing Starbucks in Japan?
Forest bathing adds unique Japanese charm to this special location in Osaka.You’ll find a lot of unique Starbucks stores in Japan, with some of the most famous being the traditional townhouse in Kyoto and the Shibuya branch in Tokyo that overlooks the scramble crossing.However, in the city of Osaka, there’s an underrated Starbucks location that’s yet to become a tourist spot, and it’s conveniently located on the second floor of the Links Umeda shopping mall. This Starbuck
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Japanese convenience stores really do have everything, even your luggage.The variety at Japanese convenience stores truly is amazing. Take 7-Eleven Japan, for example, which offers everything from matcha burritos to sakura lipstick blessed by a 300-year-old Kyoto temple. Want even more proof that 7-Eleven has everything? They might even have your luggage.And I mean that literally when I say “your luggage,” as 7-Eleven can literally have your suitcases at their shops during your Japan travels. Th
New Evangelion short anime, written by Hideaki Anno, to have world premiere early next year
Impactful announcement made for Evangelion 30th anniversary fan event.Late last month, we found out that there’s going to be a live-action Evangelion kabuki stage play, which will be performed at the upcoming Evangelion:30+ ; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion event. It turns out, though, that even that’s not the most surprising part of the festivities, because now comes word that a brand-new Evangelion anime short will screen at the event as well.The announcement was made on the event’s official we
Dragon Quest Slime toys appear at McDonald’s Japan in crossover with Grimace and pals【Video】
We did not expect a Slime to appear here.Dragon Quest got its start when random monster encounters were the norm in the RPG genre, and most games in the series have carried on that tradition of not knowing what sort of creatures are lurking about until the moment you’re face-to-face with them. Still, it’s usually not a shock when the fan-favorite Slime appears. Over the years, the lovable little guy has grown from being just a safe source of XP for starter-level adventurers into a mascot for the
Tokyo adding new anti-littering fines in Shibuya and Harajuku, will require more trash cans too
With fewer excuses for littering, there’s going to be less tolerance too.Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood is one of the most popular, and crowded, parts of the city. In particular the part of the district that stretches from Shibuya Station, across the world-famous Shibuya Scramble intersection, down the Center-gai shopping street, and into the shops, restaurants, and pubs along the way and the roads that branch off from it, is packed with sightseers on pretty much any day or night of the week.Shibu
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Higashiyama doll artisans deliver some festive holiday cheer alongside their more traditional Japanese lineup.If you’re the type of person who feels incomplete without at least one auspicious item themed on the Chinese zodiac, one of the largest Starbucks stores in the world, Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo, has some great news for you. Just in time for the end of the year, when we’ll say farewell to the Year of the Snake and welcome in the Year of the Horse, the Roastery is releasing a delight
More people in Japan quit sending New Year’s cards and many have started to regret it
With increasing numbers of people embracing nengajo-jimai and switching to digital equivalents, many now find they are left feeling empty.For over ten years now, I have sworn off Christmas and birthday cards: simply writing my name, plus a sentence or two, simply doesn’t justify the dollars spent purchasing and sending cards. As a recipient, I feel obliged to display them somewhere visible for a couple of weeks, before either keeping them in storage to never look at again, or trashing them
Japanese Cabinet to officially announce new romanization spelling recommendation next week
After 71 years, the Cabinet is ready to do something just about everyone else did several decades ago.Sometimes the wheels of Japanese government turn slowly. Very, very slowly. As an example, way back in 1954 the Cabinet of Japan said “Hey, everybody, please use the Kunrei romanization system for writing Japanese words and names in the Latin alphabet,” and it’s taken more than 70 years to fix what feels like a pretty obvious mistake.To be fair, at the time, being less than 10 years removed from
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Inbound tourism boom and Japanese New Year’s traditions are too much for the world’s most famous sushi town to handle simultaneously, request says.For those with an interest in Japanese cuisine, you can’t hear the name of Tokyo’s Tsukiji neighborhood without thinking about sushi, and it’s hard to think of sushi for very long without thinking about Tsukiji. Up until 2018, the Tsukiji fish market was the largest seafood wholesale market in the entire world, and in the late 1990s it slowly started
Tokyo zoo imposes one-minute time limit for viewing pandas, line still four hours long
Ueno Zoo is doing what it can to keep the line moving as fans come to say goodbye to Japan’s last pandas.Earlier this week, Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo announced that its twin giant pandas, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, will be leaving Japan. Fans knew this would happen someday, as the pandas, though born at Ueno Zoo, are the children of a pair of pandas on loan from China as part of a breeding research initiative, and under the agreement any babies to come out of the project would eventually have to be transferr
Japanese woman mistaken for bear
With the right clothing anyone can bear a resemblance.Although reports of bears showing up in various parts of rural Japan are still coming in as we enter winter, it does appear that the more dangerous encounters with humans have been slowing down in recent weeks. However, the months of seemingly non-stop news about bear attacks has left a lot of people on edge.At about 7:35 a.m. on 15 December, a motorist on National Route 13 in Yamagata City saw a bear sitting on the side of the road and repor
Return of Totoro sequel short anime announced for Ghibli Park
Yes, if there’s a Catbus, of course there’s a kitten bus too!If you want to visit Ghibli Park, it’s important to plan ahead, and there are three reasons why. The most obvious is that the theme park, dedicated to the anime films of Studio Ghibli, requires reservations, which need to be made more than a month in advance. Second, while Ghibli Park isn’t located too far from Nagoya, it’s still a fair bit outside the city center, so you’ll need to sort out the train or bus route you’ll be taking ther
ASIA Napoli's 2025 Achievements Unveiled
On Thursday, December 18, at 11:00 AM, in the City Council Hall (via Verdi, 35), ASIA Napoli will present the activities carried out by the company during 2025. During the press conference, data,...
Street Fighter Hadouken Churros to be launched and eaten in Tokyo, Okami pudding on offer too
Hadouken Pasta also on the menu at themed cafes celebrating Capcom art and history exhibition.Back in October, video game publisher Capcom caused a stir by teaming up with McDonald’s Japan for a line of Street Fighter hamburgers. It turns out that this was just the beginning of Capcom’s culinary ambitions, though, as it’s got a whole new menu of themed food about to be served up in Tokyo, including hadouken churros!The Great Capcom Exhibition, also called Capcom Creation, is rolling into Tokyo l
Final Fantasy and Shinkansen announce collaboration with in-train audio play, SD art and merch
There ain’t no gettin’ offa this bullet train we’re on, till we get to…Nagoya.Rail operator JR Central (a.k.a. JR Tokai a.k.a. Central Japan Railway Company) recently announced that they’ll be adding additional bullet trains to the Tokaido Shinkansen route that connects Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka. That’s definitely good news for travelers, but not necessarily a development worthy of being called “awesome.” No, for that the Shinkansen would have to have something real
7-Eleven now sells rice burgers in Japan, blurring the line between fast and convenience store food
Are these two new varieties good enough to take on the fast food game?7-Eleven is currently bracing for the Japanese cold by upping its winter offerings, and its latest release, the Rice Burger, looks set to warm our bellies while blowing our minds as well. What makes this new product so special is twofold: firstly, rice burgers like these are usually only seen on menus at fast food chains like Lotteria, Mos Burger and McDonald’s. Then there’s the fact that 7-Eleven has a better ric
Japan’s last two pandas leaving for China next month, Ueno Zoo announces final day for twins
When Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei leave Tokyo, it’ll bring an end to more than 50 years of pandas in Japan.Ueno Zoo is both the biggest zoo in Tokyo and the most conveniently located, just a quick walk from Ueno Station, making it easy to combine a visit to the zoo with a stop by one of Ueno Park’s museums or a stroll along its tree-lined paths. But beyond scale and accessibility, there’s another key reason for Ueno Park’s popularity: pandas.Let’s go back in time to the early 1970s, when Japan had a pa