Azia Phreak Mail Surver
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Once an under-the-radar sakura spot, this neighborhood near Shibuya has become dangerously congested.Around 20 years ago, Nakameguro was still one of Tokyo’s less famous, if-you-know-you-know cherry blossom viewing places. That’s no longer the case, though, as it’s become one of the city’s hottest sakura spots, particularly with a young adult crowd that flocks to the tree-lined streets that run along the sides of the Meguro River. The food and drink vendors are a little fancier than what you’ll
Starbucks Japan adds new Sencha Matcha Tea Frappuccino to its menu, but only at 28 locations
Expand your knowledge of Japanese tea culture with three new green “experiences”.With spring comes fresh harvests of green tea, and Starbucks is reminding us of that with the grand unveiling of three new beverages so special the chain is describing them as tea “experiences“. These beverages feature the chain’s ever-popular matcha, but with the addition of a new “sencha blend” (sencha refers to steamed green tea, which is the most popular type in Japan).
Final Fantasy invites you to adventure in Fukushima with Fukushima Fantasy Chocobo fun[Video]
A cool/kweh-l reason to visit fantastically beautiful Fukushima.A good trip and a good RPG share a lot of appeal points. In either case, there’s the sense of anticipation that comes with venturing into a realm you’ve never been to before, the wonder of encountering new experiences, and the rewards of coming back with treasure (whether glittering gold or local foodstuffs and handicrafts).And so it is that Final Fantasy, which has been beckoning fans into its fantasy video game worlds for decades,
Faculty Opportunity: Bring Your Next Conference to SFU with the MECS Ambassador Program
Faculty members looking to raise the profile of their research, department or professional field are invited to participate in SFU’s Meeting, Event and Conference Services (MECS) Ambassador Program.
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
The Neko House Desk understands who’s really in charge of your home, and helps you convince them to let you have some space too.A big part of the appeal of working from home is that even if you’re still working for somebody else, you get much more control over your immediate environment. Want to play music during your shift, while also spending it all in your pajamas and setting the thermostat to whatever temperature you want? Go right ahead! No one is going to stop you.However, while you may no
Fatal stabbing at Pokémon Center in Tokyo reignites concern over rising stalking cases in Japan
Assailant had previously been arrested on suspicion of violating the Stalker Regulation Law. On 26 March, a female employee was stabbed at the Pokémon Center megastore in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro Ward by a male assailant who then stabbed himself. Both were transported to the hospital unconscious but confirmed dead shortly afterwards.According to reports, the incident occurred at around 7:15 p.m., when a man was seen with a knife at the register. He approached a female store clerk at the counter
Totoro and Calcifer become little light-up lanterns for Ghibli-style excursions or at-home decor
Fire and forest spirits are ready to lend some light wherever you need it.Howl’s Moving Castle’s Calcifer should be, from a design standpoint, pretty difficult to pull off. He’s essentially an anthropomorphized cooking fire, a concept that simultaneously sits at both ends of the spectrum of Studio Ghibli’s incredibly high standards for detailed depictions of natural phenomena and emotionally expressive character movement. Of course, if there’s anything the past 40-someodd years have taught us, i
China vows to further expand opening-up
FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY China reaffirmed on Thursday its commitment to further expanding high-standard opening-up and ...
Japanese politicians working to promote plastic model culture as a cultural asset
Govpla?I tried some plastic model kits as a kid, but they can be quite hard, requiring a great deal of patience and attention to detail. A couple of cruddy-looking biplanes and tanks later, I quickly gave up on it.▼ So many wasted decals…But years later, with kids of my own, I tried some Japanese kits based on the Gundam style of interlocking snap parts, and found them really amazing. By removing the trickier aspects of glue and paint, Gunpla kits became far more accessible for beginners,
Japanese kindness restores our faith in humanity after a highway bus accident in Tokyo
Traumatic event becomes a heartwarming one, thanks to the work of both driver and passengers.Just the other day, our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma was on a highway bus in Tokyo when it became involved in an accident. Thankfully, it wasn’t a major incident, just a minor collision with a car in which no one was injured, and sitting on a backseat with his earphones in, Masanuki didn’t even realise what had happened until the bus pulled over. However, the events that unfolded as a result of
Starbucks Japan has a new Frappuccino on the menu, but does it really taste like a cream puff?
Starbucks goes strawberry crazy this spring, but is it a good thing?Just because you combine two delicious things doesn’t guarantee you’ll get something delicious. That’s something our reporter K. Masami has long believed in, but at Starbucks, with its knack for knowing what customers want, she finds she’s hardly ever disappointed, as they have the wherewithal to bring even the most obscure ingredients together to create something truly wonderful.So on 25 March, when Star
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Characters from Weekly Shonen Jump, Weekly Young Jump, and Ribon join the UT graphic T-shirts lineup.Back at the start of the year, Uniqlo announced that they were partnering with publisher Shueisha for a series of T-shirts featuring artwork from some of the biggest hits from the manga/anime world. But with the reason for the collaboration being Shueisha’s 100th anniversary, there’s far too much history to pull from for just one round of shirts to properly celebrate, and so Uniqlo is back with a
How many doughnuts can you pack in a Mister Donut all-you-can-pack deal?
And most of all, is it worth the effort?A lot has been written about Japan’s all-you-can-eat restaurants, but the nation has plenty of “all-you-can-pack” deals too. Known as “tsumehodai” (“all-you-can-pack”), these deals are generally found at greengrocers, tea merchants and sweet retailers, and now top doughnut chain Mister Donut is offering its own deal, available at select outlets around the country.Curious to find out how many doughnuts we might be a
Deer are appearing in Osaka City, may have wandered there from Nara[Video]
No one’s sure what to do with them, since Nara’s deer lose their protected status when they leave the park.Hearing that deer were seen wandering the streets of a major city in central Japan might not immediately be so surprising. After all, the herds of wild deer that live in Nara City’s Nara Park are world-famous now, and arguably even more strongly associated with the town than its historically significant temples.However, the deer we’re talking about today weren’t seen in Nara. They were seen
Japan’s ministry of economy reminds us to “use sound judgment” before buying toilet paper
Just take a beat and really think about it calmly.Social media really is a great way for governments to disseminate information to the masses. Sometimes they have great tips, such as where you can find nice graffiti and how to turn a plastic bottle into a drink dispenser.Now, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has posted a message that we also should pay close attention to.“Regarding the distribution of toilet paper in light of the situation in Iran and other matters, toilet paper is al
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie takes a delicious turn, complete with a Question Block surprise.With less than a month to go until the 24 April release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in Japan, fans are getting excited. As it turns out, Krispy Kreme is getting excited too, with the announcement that it will be releasing a collection of special doughnuts in collaboration with the film, as well as some exclusive extras featuring key characters from the movie.The collection begins with a series of fou
“Online streamer” tops dream job poll for young Japanese kids, older kids not so interested
Desire to create personal online content rapidly drops among older age groups in survey.“What do you want to be when you grow up?” That’s one of the questions educational publisher Gakken asks Japanese kids in its annual survey about their hopes and ambitions for their futures, and when it comes to jobs they want to do as grown-ups, researchers say this year’s top answer from elementary school-age kids was “online streamer.”That result was obtained from polling 1,200 elementary school kids, 600
Ramen restaurant in top Tokyo tourist neighborhood skips price gouging, but how does it taste?
One-coin lunches still exist in Asakusa, but now to find out if it’s money well spent.In Japan, there’s a concept called the “one-coin lunch,” meaning a lunch you can buy for 500 yen (US$3.25) or less, since 500 yen is the largest yen coin. However, in recent years it’s getting harder and harder to find one-coin lunches, and depending on where in Japan you’re at and what you’re eating it can sometimes even be tough to find appealing lunch options within 1,000 yen, the smallest yen bill.Even once
Drinkable pixels: 7-Eleven Japan creates new convenience store juice with “pixels” inside
Exciting new juice with over-the-top design features can only be found in six prefectures.If your algorithm is flooded with Japan content, then you’ll want to brace yourself for a new product that’s set to overtake your feed: Kakukaku Kajitsu Pixel Peach.Created by Kyodo Milk Industry, Kayac Inc., and 7-Eleven, this new juice is impressive in more ways than one, starting with the packaging. Drawing upon the design expertise of Kayac, a company that specialises in creating game and an
Can you make butter by running with a pouch filled with cream? Let’s find out[Taste test]
Why make butter in your kitchen when you can make it on your jogging path?For home chefs, making your own butter can be a fun, and tasty, little project. And so it was that our Japanese-language reporter Natsuno Futon decided, on a recent afternoon, to whip up a batch. She wasn’t going to set foot into her kitchen to make it, though, and it’s not like she has a dedicated butter-making workshop attached to her home, either.No, Natsuno was going to try making her butter out on the streets…or