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Studio Ghibli unveils new fluffy purses from films like My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away

Anime characters you’ll want to snuggle up to. As the weather gets colder, accessories get fluffier, and the cutest ones around right now are a range of purses from Studio Ghibli specialty chain Donguri Kyowakoku.Starting with the “Fluffy Purse“, there are three to choose from, featuring characters from the 1988 classic My Neighbour Totoro.The first character in the lineup is the “Large Totoro“, as the gentle grey giant is officially known.Distinguished by its trian

Does the maxixe live up to its promise of being a whole new flavor for our Japanese reporter?

We can never resist the temptation of buying produce that’s hard to come by in Japan.Our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa recently took a trip to Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture. One of the first things she did upon arrival was to stop at a local farmer’s market since Ibaraki is a leading center of agricultural production in Japan and she thought she might score some good deals.While she was there, she spotted a vegetable that she had never seen before: maxixe (mashishi in Japan

Japan’s plus-sized idol singer group releases new video about the joys of eating【Video】

Big Angel has grown even bigger since the last time we saw them.Even by Japanese standards, idol singers tend to be on the slim and petite size. It is, after all, a music genre that’s largely built around projecting an aura of youthful energy, and a group of slender teens or twentysomethings dancing around the stage works as a quickly understandable visual shorthand for that.However, Big Angel is one idol group that unabashedly exists at the complete opposite end of the scale, in both a figurati

Japan’s famous Suica Penguin JR train pass card mascot is “graduating”/being laid off

25 years after the Suica Penguin helped revolutionize how Japan buys train ticket and shops, JR’s plans for the future don’t include the character.Back in 2001, East Japan Railway Company/JR East revolutionized train travel in Japan when they launched the Suica system. Instead of having to hunt for your destination on a map posted on the wall in order to determine the fare, feed coins into a ticket machine, and fiddle around with a paper ticket, you simply tapped your pre-paid Suica card on a te

Japanese pop idol A-chan reveals she’s always wanted to marry a fan, and she’s done it

“Congratulations, teenage me!” says Perfume member.In September, Japanese pop trio Perfume announced that they were going on hiatus. The decision seems to be an amicable one, not born out of any internal drama or disenchantment with the music industry. The members simply said that, 25 years after Perfume first formed as an idol unit, they wanted a break, and that the plan is to come back together after the hiatus as “a better, cooler Perfume.”With the pop star lifestyle as busy as it is, the thr

Asia and the IMF: Resilience through Cooperation

Asia, the engine for global growth over the past decade and an innovation powerhouse, can help contribute to a stronger international monetary system and global financial safety net. This conference ...

Kirby mochi arrives at Family Mart, but is it as sweet to eat as it is to look at?【Taste test】

Nintendo star’s latest transformation is into Tabemasu sweets.Earlier this week, we had out hearts warmed and our stomachs filled as Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart kicked off its Kirby Super Satisfied Fest, with a new line of food and drink inspired by the star-riding Nintendo star. However, there was one item missing from our Kirby feast.If there’s one lesson that Kirby has made very clear in his decades-long video game franchise, it’s that you should always eat everything you can

We almost cried on our first visit to this under-the-radar budget Italian restaurant in Japan

Was our Saizeriya-fan reporter on the verge of tears of happiness or despair as his world was been turned upside down?If someone were to ask our Japanese-language reporter Ahiruneko what the best chain restaurant in Japan is, he would quickly respond “Saizeriya.” He’s made no pretense of hiding his love for the family-style Italian chain with a broad menu, known for its super budget-dining prices.In fact, he’s so devoted to Saizeriya that he’s never even stepped foo

Mega huge Mega Charizard Pokémon kites fly in the skies of Japan【Video】

Nagasaki even was fun for all fans of the franchise, but especially those who love Charizard’s mega evolution.Last month saw the release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, in which aspiring Pokémon Masters returned to Lumiose City, a location originally introduced in 2013’s Pokémon X and Y. Aside from getting a brand-new adventure with a more in-depth look at the city and a real-time combat engine, players were excited about the possibility of being reunited with Mega Charizard X, the mega evolution of Ch

Maker of Japan’s first crane machine is looking for a working model, offering 100,000-yen reward

Taito is also giving away free games to fans with personal memories of the Crown 602.Crane games are so ubiquitous in Japan that they feel like something that’s always been a part of the country, like the arcade landscape equivalent of Mt. Fuji. But much like how there was no Mt. Fuji until what would become Japan’s tallest mountain formed through volcanic activity, so too is there a starting point for the history of Japanese-made crane games, and Taito claims to be the originator.Taito is most

Japan’s permanent Pokémon theme park zone announces grand opening date, ticket sale start

Poképark Kanto is opening sooner than expected on Tokyo’s southern border.Waiting can be hard, especially when you’re waiting for something that sounds as cool as the first-ever permanent Pokémon theme park zone. But following the formal reveal of Poképark Kanto back in July, which included the announcement that the facility on the border of Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture would be opening in Spring of 2026, we didn’t really have any choice but to be patient, did we?But in a very welco

Starbucks Japan unveils the new Soupuccino

Straddling the line between food and cappuccino.Starbucks is famous for its drinks, but this month all eyes will be on its food, with the announcement that customers in Japan will be receiving a brand new menu item called the Soupuccino.Whipped up fresh by baristas, the Soupuccino is said to be a “fluffy cappuccino-style soup“. The star flavour is fragrant black truffle, with mushrooms including porcini for depth, and roasted bacon and vegetable bouillon for richness.The truffle-scen

October 26, 2025: Trump in Asia for diplomatic tour

• President Donald Trump has left Malaysia, completing the first leg of his diplomacy tour in Asia, and is now on his way to Japan, where he will meet the country’s first female prime minister, Sanae ...

Forbes Global CEO Conference 2025: Key Insights And Highlights

Forbes Global CEO Conference 2025: Real Estate Leaders Unpack Asia’s Property Trends “As AI becomes more advanced, the unique challenge for us is to remind ourselves that we are a human connection ...

One of the busiest stations in Tokyo is changing the name on its signs, but not necessarily to make it easier for people to find their way around.

Things are going to look a little different in JR Ikebukuro Station.Ikebukuro Station is one of Tokyo’s busiest rail hubs, with more than 2.5 million passengers passing through it on an average day. That makes it a major landmark in the city, so a lot of people were startled to hear that it’s (kind of) getting a new name.Starting this Friday, the signage within the JR section of Ikebukuro Station, consisting of the platforms and walkways for the Yamanote, Shonen Shinjuku, Saikyo, and Narita Expr

Stay in a Tokyo hotel with a train driver’s seat in the room

When you really want to immerse yourself in the world of Japanese trains. There are a lot of things Japan does well, and one aspect where it shines is themed hotel rooms. After giving us a way to sleep with Hello Kitty and snooze in the midst of a Godzilla battle, we’ve now discovered a new place to stay, in the Yurikamome 30th Anniversary Collaboration Room at the Tokyo Bay Ariake Washington Hotel.▼ The hotel is about a three-minute walk from Ariake Station on the Yurikamome line.▼ You ca

Nintendo’s Kirby zooms into Japanese convenience stores Family Mart’s Super Satisfied Fest

Kirby is making a combini run ahead of the launch of his new game.This November is a big month for Kirby fans. Not only will we be seeing the release of Kirby Air Riders for the Switch 2, the first all-new full-scale game in the franchise since 2022’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Japanese convenience store Family Mart is releasing a batch of new Kirby-themed foods and drinks! And while Kirby Air Riders won’t be out until November 20, the lineup for Family Mart’s Kirby Super Satisfied Fest is on

Totoro embroidered bags and pouches are as fluffy and cute as the Ghibli star himself【Photos】

Design allows you to go from no Totoros to all the Totoros with a flick of your wrist.When designing anime-themed fashion items, the easy route is just to take an existing piece of apparel or accessory and slap an illustration on it. If you want to make something really special, though, you go the extra mile and make something that not only has the look of its source material, but the feel of it too.So yes, these Totoro tote bags from Studio Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku are filled wit

Pokémon doughnuts appear at Mister Donut, with all-new Pikachu and Foongus

Find out if these new Pokémon are worth capturing.As the year draws to a close, sweet-toothedPokémonfans are celebrating with the annual release of Japan’s Mister Donut x Pokémon collaboration. Last year, the star of the show was Diglett, so fans were keen to find out which pocket monster would be making its sweet debut this time around.When the company announced it would be Foongus, a mushroom-inspired character with a head shaped like a Poké Ball, we immediately hot-footed it down to Mis

Package delivery in Japan may be delayed due to bear risks

The bears are disrupting our national infrastructure now.This year’s spate of bear attacks really has been unlike any other year before it, and frightening incidents seem to be reported on a daily basis. Still, these incidents are largely limited to the rural areas of Japan, so for the majority living in the nation’s urban areas is easy to keep thinking of it as someone else’s problem.But now the problem has grown so large that effects are starting to be felt by people all over