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Studio Ghibli releases new anime character fans to keep fans looking and feeling cool this summer

Totoro and Jiji are ready to join you on all your summer adventures.Studio Ghibli is famous for keeping old-school traditions alive, both in its animated movies and its official merchandise range. That’s why this summer, at the studio’s specialty retail chain, Donguri Kyowakoku, you’ll be able to pick up a couple of new folding fans, or “sensu” as they’re known in Japanese. Not only are they designed to help you feel cool on hot summer days, they’ll also

Suspected Japanese ice cream cartel under investigation for price-fixing

Six of Japan’s biggest ice cream makers face accusations of collaborating to keep fairly priced ice cream out of consumers’ hands/stomachs.Authorities in Japan have launched an investigation into a suspected cartel. The suspected members are not members of the shadowy criminal underground, but six very well-known companies. While the group isn’t accused of selling drugs, smuggling weapons, or any other such dealings in contraband, if they were indeed doing what investigators think there were, th

7-Eleven Japan to start selling Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches this summer

Rising star in Japan’s foodie scene is making its 7-Eleven debut.Walk into a 7-Eleven in Japan and, as you’d expect, you’ll quickly find all sorts of very Japanese foods and drinks, such as green tea rice balls, matcha lattes, and takoyaki. However, 7-Eleven Japan is really all about offering a broad range of deliciousness. They’re more than happy to look beyond the country’s borders for inspiration, so soon they’ll be offering banh mi, Vietnamese-style sandwiches.One of the world’s truly great

All-you-can-eat cheese restaurant in Tokyo is a hidden gem not many people know about

Freshly made cheese buffet is a secret known only to those in the know.Japan has a whole smorgasbord of all-you-can-eat restaurants, but some of the best buffet deals can be found in low-key, unexpected places. One of those places is “Good Spoon”, which is technically a trendy pizza chain, but at some of its locations you’ll be able to enjoy all-you-can-eat fresh cheese.In the Kanto area in and around Tokyo, the deal can be found at the chain’s Shinjuku, Tachikawa, and Yokohama locations. We vis

Starbucks Japan releases new Frappuccino, tea and soda drinks for summer

Serving up peaches three ways – melty, fizzy and chunky.Starbucks has just announced that it will be releasing not one, not two but three new types of peach beverages, with each one featuring a different texture and taste so you can enjoy everything the summery fruit has to offer.First up is the Peach & Peach Milk Frappuccino (Tall size only, 707 yen for takeout, 720 yen for dine-in) which highlights the smooth and luxurious side of peaches.Since their debut in 2015, peach-flavoured Frappucc

Tokyo has a cafe that prohibits talking inside, and here’s why it’s awesome

If you need a break from the noise in your life, this Koenji cafe is waiting for you.In Tokyo you’re never very far away from a convenience store or vending machine, so going to a cafe to have a drink is about more than just quenching your thirst. It’s about enjoying the atmosphere of a cozy or stylish space, and while some people might see that as conducive to lively conversation, others prefer a place that offers peaceful relaxation conducive to contemplation, and for those in the latter group

That time when we fowled out while fighting our feathered friends

Our writer’s scheme to keep the birds off his balcony backfires in a spectacularly birdbrained way.As one might expect from someone with the kanji for “bird” (鳥) in his name, our Japanese-language reporter Go Hatori (GO羽鳥) likes birds and enjoys watching all of their funny antics. However, just like how family members can quarrel, recently he’s been hearing a couple of lovey-dovey pigeons cooing on his balcony that leave behind a few too many droppings after one of their

Gama Land, the weird Japanese amusement park celebrating toads, is now like a ghost town

Unique attraction is a hidden retro gem in a suspended state, and it might soon disappear forever. Japan is world-famous for top-class amusement parks, with USJ and Tokyo Disney Resorts being just two popular destinations that attract visitors. However, tucked away in quiet corners of the country, you’ll find lesser-known parks, slightly rusty and weatherworn, that are known as “B-grade attractions”.So-named for their rundown appearance, these theme parks hold a lot of charm, standing like relic

7-Eleven Japan debuts new black-and-white rice ball packaging…but is it because of a naphtha shortage?

Convenience store range strips everything back to basics, including the rice balls.Just last month, Calbee, Japan’s leading snack manufacturer, announced it would be switching to black-and-white printing on its potato chip packages due to a shortage of naphtha, an oil-derived component used in the production of solvents and resins to make printing inks. Ever since then, consumers have been keeping their eyes peeled to see if the naphtha shortage, caused by tensions in the Middle East, would be d

Studio Ghibli adds new My Neighbour Totoro music box to its anime merchandise store in Japan

Like everything Ghibli touches, the beauty is in the details. Summers in Japan can be harsh, due to high levels of energy-draining humidity, but they also have a unique charm to them as well. Especially in countryside areas, where the sound of cicadas pierces the air as children wade through shallow streams in search of insects during their month-long school vacations, these midyear months conjure up a sense of wistful nostalgia for people in Japan. It’s a relaxed, rural summertime idyll t

Fukuoka schools struggling to get kids to switch from milk to tea in lunches

Debate over which drink fits lunches to a T.Small cartons of milk have long been a quintessential part of school lunches, even in Japan, where milk isn’t quite the widely drunk beverage that it is in some other countries. And it’s a good thing too, as its sweetness and creamy texture hide a great source of calcium, amino acids, vitamin B12, and more.But as mentioned, it’s not really a standard drink in Japan, so from time to time, there have been experiments with serving something more common fo

Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon

There’s one unique feature that makes this Tokyo sweet so sought after. While some Japanese sweets have attracted global attention, for the most part ohagi is yet to be discovered by overseas tourists. This traditional sweet consists of sweetpounded rice balls, made with mochigome (glutinous rice), and wrapped in anko (sweetened red bean paste), and it’s a combination that many locals find irresistible, including our very own reporter P.K. Sanjun. He’s always on the hunt to find the

Lawson Japan releases a crazy new product to remind us it’s not just famous for convenience store food

A surprising product just sneaked into Lawson’s upsize campaign.Right now, Japan’s Lawson convenience store chain is holding a special “Chou Happy Sugi Challenge” campaign, which literally translates as “Super Happy Too Much! Challenge”. Running over four weeks in June, each week sees a new lineup of products getting upsized at no extra cost to customers, and right now, in week three, there’s one particular item that has caught everyone’s attention.Most of the products in the campaign are

Japan’s Pikachu and Eevee Pokémon mailboxes to be removed at end of month

The time has come to say goodbye to Yokohama’s adorable Poké-postal infrastructure.A while back, the postal service in the city of Yokohama, half an hour south of Tokyo, made the decision to install Pokémon mailboxes. With an adorable Pikachu pair, Eevee, and Piplup all equally ready to receive any letters that needed to be mailed or pose for pictures, the Poké-postal infrastructure quickly became sightseeing destinations for fans of the franchise.But sadly, soon it’s going to be time to say goo

Shouting “Hakata Salt!”, the number four track in Japanese nationwide karaoke ranking

Don’t knock it till you shout it.Karaoke remains a popular pastime for many Japanese people young and old, and when in major cities, you’re never too far from a chain of parlors offering private rooms or a bar with a machine installed. Independent of these establishments are the karaoke system providers, one of the largest of which is Joysound.Everyday, hundreds of people take advantage of Joysound’s catalog of over 440,000 songs, including timeless classics and the latest hits. And every week,

Family Mart’s new Gyoza Dog proves Japanese convenience store food hits different

Fans say the new creation looks surprisingly similar to the famous Gyoza Dog at DisneySea.Competition is strong at the top of the convenience store food chain, where Lawson, 7-Eleven and Family Mart constantly compete for customers’ affections. That means we get to enjoy all the spoils of this competitive spirit, and right now there’s one product at Family Mart that has everyone’s attention.Called “Gyoza Dog”, this chilled food item has developed a cult following, for a rather unusual reason – i

Studio Ghibli turns anime characters into “Friendly Bags” for merchandise range in Japan

Six characters from three famous films are ready to become your bag buddies.When talking about friends and friendship in Japan, you’re likely to hear the word “nakayoshi” pop up in conversation. Made up of the words “naka” (“within”) and “yoshi” (from “good”), it’s a term that expresses the idea of getting along well with someone and being on friendly, close terms.It’s a sweet word with a lovely sentiment, and it’s something that Studio Ghibli has incorporated into its latest o

Sizzling on a hot plate?! American sushi rolls break all the rules at this Japanese restaurant

Soon-to-close sushi joint breaks the mould with crazy creations that make California rolls seem tame. Whenever we eat out at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, we always find ourselves reaching for the ones topped with lashings of mayonnaise and avocado. While those two unorthodox ingredients might send a shudder down a sushi purist’s spine, we can’t get enough of that rich, indulgent flavour. It’s a style of sushi that’s long captured the heart of one of our Japanese-language reporters, Takuya I

Kiki’s Delivery Service to be adapted to live-action series by BBC, Studio Ghibli not involved

Kiki’s next adaptation will draw from her original, pre-anime roots, but will audiences give it a chance?Earlier this year, Kiki’s Delivery Service had its first-ever IMAX screenings in North America, and this month the large-scale remaster of the Studio Ghibli anime classic will be arriving in Japanese theaters too. That’s not the only reunion in the works for fans of the young witch, though, as a live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service adaptation has been announced.This isn’t going to be a one-sho

Lawson upsizes convenience store food for a limited time with two must-try Japanese meals

“Super Happy Too Much! Challenge” campaign has all the right ingredients for happiness.The month of June is a happy one at Lawson, or to be precise, a “Chou Happy Sugi”one, as that’s the name of the so-called “challenge” campaign currently being held at the chain for four weeks, which sees some of its most popular products getting the upsize treatment, at no extra cost to customers.With a name that translates as “Super Happy Too Much! Challenge” or “Super Happy Overload! Challenge”, size is at t