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A Japanese toast sandwich remix: The toasted rice rice ball[SoraKitchen]

Mr. Sato steps into the SoraKitchen with a bold idea.Food, as a broad topic, is pretty much always on our mind here at SoraNews24, but recently our ace reporter Mr. Sato found himself thinking about toast sandwiches in particular. Like many people who grew up outside the U.K., Mr. Sato initially found the concept of a sandwich where the inside and outside are made of the same thing to be kind of bizarre. And yet, the toast sandwich has been part of British cuisine for more than 150 years, so it

Japan Post’s mail carriers are getting some cool upgrades, but packages might be a little late

Intense summer heat means new safety rules and ice-cold drinks.Summer in Japan is popular for many things, from festivals and fireworks to delicious and refreshing treats, but there is also another undeniable aspect to the season: it gets pretty hot. In fact, in recent times with consistently high temperatures, the Japan Meteorological Agency officially introduced a new term to refer to days that reach over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), meaning that working outside this summer is

Japanese high school closes its cafeteria, replaces it with a 7-Eleven convenience store

The first time a 7-Eleven has opened inside a high school in Japan.7-Eleven opened a new branch in Japan on 1 June, at a site so unusual it made nationwide news. This new store can be found inside Kochi Chuo High School in Kochi Prefecture, taking over the site of the school’s former cafeteria.▼ Kochi Chuo High SchoolThis is the first time a 7-Eleven store has been opened inside a high school in Japan, and it carries around 1,200 products inside its 100 square-metre (1,080 square foot) sho

Cup Noodle hamster wheel is the new adorable pet toy animal lovers in Japan want[Video]

Instant ramen maker shows that even hamsters will fall in love with Cup Noodle, if given the chance.Pretty much everyone loves Cup Noodle, from hungry kids to busy college students to adults who don’t want to go through the hassle of cooking after a long day at the office. As a matter of fact, it turns out that the instant ramen brand’s appeal transcends humanity, as a new video shows the massive untapped potential of a new Cup Noodle fanbase: hamsters!Now, we should be clear that the Cup Noodle

American college student missing in Kyoto, last seen by family one week ago

20-year-old outdoors enthusiast last seen approaching hiking trail east of downtown after sunset.The Japanese police and volunteers are searching for an American college student who went missing in Kyoto and hasn’t been seen in a week.20-year-old James “Weston” Higginbotham and his family arrived in Japan from the U.S. on May 25, spending time in Tokyo and elsewhere before reaching Kyoto. Having argued with his mother during their trip, Weston declined to go with his parents and 18-year-old youn

Japanese convenience store challenge is only for those with extreme tastes

Super Happy! Challenge gives us two unforgettable products that deserve a place in convenience store history.If you’re hungry and in the mood to try convenience store food, Lawson is the place to go right now as the chain is currently upsizing some of its most popular products for free.▼ Popular items in the “Super Happy! Challenge” lineup include oversized versions of onigiri, sandwiches, and the Premium Roll Cake.In amongst the offerings are two surprises we weren’t exp

Dragon Quest Slimes appear on Baskin-Robbins ice cream cakes in Japan, Critical Hit flavor debuts

Critical Hit-flavor ice cream and Mimic containers among the sweet adventures waiting at Baskin-Robbins.Generally speaking, customers wouldn’t be happy to see slimes at the restaurants and sweets shops they visit. But just like your kindergarten teacher told you, capitalization is important, and so the appearance of Slimes at Baskin-Robbins Japan is a cause for joy across the nation.Yes, the mascot monsters of the Dragon Quest video game franchise have drawn near to Thirty-One, as Baskin-Robbins

Trump heads to Asia and high-stakes meeting with Xi

WASHINGTON, United States — US President Donald Trump embarks on a major trip to Asia this week with all eyes on a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that has huge implications for the global ...

Lawson opens a new mini supermarket, and the lucky bags can essentially stock your kitchen

You can haul back thousands of yen worth of ramen, rice, and snacks for a fraction of the price.Expanding its reach with additional sub-brands, one of Japan’s big-three convenience stores, Lawson, opened the doors to L Minimart, its first “mini supermarket”, on May 28 in Kodaira, Tokyo. Excited to learn more about what this new brand will entail, our Japanese-language reporter Mr. Sato joined the crowd of the roughly 200 people who wanted to be among the first to step through the store’s doors o

Studio Ghibli adds new range of neckties to its anime merchandise store in Japan

Bring Totoro and the gang to work with cleverly concealed character details. One of the things we love about Studio Ghibli is the way its movies appeal to people of all ages. Even My Neighbour Totoro, which might seem like a children’s movie, with its child protagonist and fantastical characters, has wider themes of familial love and rural ideals that strike a chord across generations, garnering fans that range from toddlers through to businessmen.In fact, toddlers who first watched the fi

Japan’s sticker wars are reaching a breaking point, even for enthusiasts

Our resident sticker-collecting writer shares why she’s saying “enough is enough” and is extricating herself from a sticky situation.Sticker collecting and trading as a hobby has been sweeping Japan among kids and adults alike for a while now, to the point that puffy stickers were sold out last year and people were shelling out ridiculous amounts of money to get their hands on them. Our Japanese-language reporter Haruka Takagi also got all in on the fun herself, even making new

APEC ministers' meeting seeks broadest common ground on economic, trade cooperation: MOC

The 2026 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting that concluded Saturday in China's Suzhou has actively sought the broadest common ground for all parties to participate in economic and trade ...

Even at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in Japan

With the rainy season here, this umbrella companion is a Daiso-premium bargain.Having flipped the calendar to June, we’re clearly not in spring anymore, but many Japanese people would argue that we haven’t really made it to summer just yet. That’s because we’re at the start of tsuyu, or “the rainy season,” a roughly month-long stretch of wet weather that precedes the idyllic fun-in-the-sun section of summer.As a matter of fact, Tokyo is getting drenched with heavy rains at the time of this writi

Video of man spraying liquid on conveyor belt sushi leads to arrest in Japan

Says he did it for the social media views, but the police didn’t like what they saw.A lot of things in Japan rely on the country’s ability to trust that people will be considerate and respectful. Perhaps nowhere is this more clearly displayed than in the existence of conveyor belt sushi restaurants, in which automated delivery of food to customers is carried out under the assumption that no one will do anything disruptive or unsanitary along the way.In other words, one of Japan’s most popular re

Tokyo’s Pokémon Cafe reopens this month with brand-new sweets and Pikachu show

Renovations wrapping up in Tokyo, new menu items on their way to Osaka too.If you’re a Pokémon fan, heading to Japan’s Pokémon Cafe as soon as possible probably seems like a no-brainer. However, if you can hold out for a few more weeks, you’ll be rewarded for your patience, as there’s a slew of brand-new, incredibly adorable new items being added to the menu.The arrival of the new entree, dessert, and drink options coincides with this month’s grand reopening of the Pokémon Cafe Tokyo. At the tim

Japanese convenience store shows us how to dress for the rainy season

If you get caught in the rain, Convenience Wear is your hidden saviour. Have you ever glanced at the T-shirts and sweatpants hanging in the corner of a Japanese convenience store and wondered, “Who actually buys these?” Well, there are plenty of reasons why someone might need a quick change of outfits, as our reporter Mr Sato can attest to after he got soaked in the rain when Typhoon Jangmi swept through Tokyo on 3 June.Though he’d expected to get a little wet on the way to wor

Tourists brave Typhoon Jangmi to queue at two famous sites in Tokyo

The spots people queue for despite bad weather might surprise you.When you live and work in a city, you tend to move through it in different ways to a tourist who might be seeing it with fresh eyes. So when Typhoon Jangmi approached Tokyo on 3 June, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the capital, locals who could work from home did just that, while others took earlier trains on their morning commute to avoid being late for work. For many tourists, though, sightseeing was still on the agenda

7-Eleven Japan adds a new watermelon smoothie to its convenience stores…but is it worth the hype?

Summertime bust or must-buy?It’s been roughly three years since 7-Eleven added smoothie machines to its stores in Japan, allowing customers to whip up freshly made smoothies in seconds after selecting their desired varieties from the freezer section. During that time, the chain has added a number of limited-edition flavours to the range, with all of them proving to be popular with customers. Now with summer fast approaching, the chain is giving us a brand new variety that’s said to c

Kyoto public junior high school becomes first in Japan with a hoodie school uniform

School getting ready for its 80th birthday makes a modern addition to its uniform options.Tanabe Junior High School in the town of Kyotanabe, Kyoto Prefecture, is going to be marking the 80th anniversary of its founding next year. That’s definitely a good opportunity to look back on its history and celebrate its traditions, but the school has no intent of having its thinking be stuck in the past, as shown by its plans to be the first public junior high school in Japan to have a hoodie as its uni

Japanese government postpones proposals to restrict real estate purchases by foreigners

Rising security and economic tensions prompting consideration of new rules to make it harder for foreigners to buy property in Japan.In December, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party announced its intent to introduce legislation to add new restrictions to the ability of foreigners to purchase real estate in Japan. In March, a government expert panel began holding meetings to discuss possible changes legal changes in order to address the economic and security concerns being voiced by proponents of in