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How to ride Japan’s awesome Pokémon Sandshrew Train【Photos】

Finding this adorable train can feel like an RPG sidequest, but when the reward is this cute, we’re game.Tottori Prefecture’s biggest claim to fame is its beautiful seaside sand dune, and knowing that, you might not be surprised to hear that Tottori also has a “Sand Train.” You also might not be all that impressed, though, because generally most people prefer for their public transportation to have as little sand, dust, dirt, and other forms of grit as possible.But where things start to get comp

Craft your own edible Mt. Fuji with Yamanashi’s Blue Udon

Udon is going through its blue period.Yamanashi Prefecture is known for culinary delights like water mochi, beautiful cherry blossoms, and the grandeur of Japan’s iconic Mt. Fuji. Needless to say, there’s no shortage of reasons to visit, but this year another has been added.On 23 August, Blue Mt. Fuji Udon went on sale at souvenir shops around the prefecture. This is the latest in a long line of blue Yamanashi products sold in the theme of Mt. Fuji, alongside classics like blue curry

Japanese inn with analog photo studio is a classic way to preserve your timeless travel memories

Great-grandson of former owner reopens hotel in Shimane.Tucked away on the north shore near the western tip of Japan’s main island of Honshu, Shimane Prefecture is a place that attracts travelers craving an escape from the hustle and bustle of the country’s big cities. If you’re planning a trip to Shimane, odds are you’re looking for something more timeless than trendy, hoping to make memories that have a certain classic quality to them.If so, the hotel Yasuya, in the town of Yasugi, should be r

Japanese police to use AI to search social media posts for potential terrorists

Officer AI is expected to patrol feeds next year.It goes without saying that politics tends to bring out passionate views in some people, and among them are those who would take things to violently extreme lengths. Even though Japan might seem relatively tame in its political rhetoric, it has certainly seen violence with the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and attempted assassination of then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.Faced with these very real risks, the National Police Agen

11 reasons to visit Narita Airport in Japan

This international airport is a travel destination in its own right.Airports in Japan aren’t just gateways to travel — with fantastic restaurants, stores and relaxing wellness areas, they’re more like travel destinations. While most travellers to Japan will discover these joys at Haneda Airport, the closest arrival point to Tokyo, there’s also a lot of fun to be had over at the sightly further-away Narita Airport, where you’ll find a number of places worth visiting.

Not just a Big Totoro, but a Super Extra-large Big Totoro plushie could be in your home right now

An adorable reminder that not all Totoros are equally sized.What with the singular-form use of the term in the title My Neighbor Totoro, it’s easy to fall into the habit of thinking that there’s only one Totoro. However, as trained anime zoologists will inform you, there are actually no fewer than three types of Totoros, and the one with gray fur, who has the most prominent appearances in the Studio Ghibli film, is technically the Big Totoro, and a separate entity from the blue Medium Totoro and

Back to the Future burgers coming to J.S. Burgers Cafe for film’s 40th anniversary

The Power of Beef.It’s hard to believe the original Back to the Future film is celebrating its 40th anniversary. This means that we would have to travel back in time even further than Marty had, just to get to the year the movie started in. If that makes you feel old, then I have just the thing: big hamburgers!In honor of the sci-fi classic’s anniversary, American-style burger chain J.S. Burgers Cafe will be selling special items based on Back to the Future. I admit I was skeptical a

Japanese teenagers have impossible, inspiring picks for who they want next prime minister to be

One top pick has no chance, and another has nothing but potential.Earlier this month, on September 7, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced that he will be resigning from his position. Really, though, the writing had been on the wall for Ishiba for some time, which explains why research organization Wakamono Research had already been asking Japanese high schoolers who they would want to be Japan’s next prime minister.A total of 353 responses were collected from high school students fr

Bonsai-tree-flavored gin on sale now

I think that I shall never see a drink as lovely as a bonsai tree.There’s a lot of talk about Japan’s cultural exports of anime and manga, but perhaps one of the most prevalent and enduring of them has been bonsai trees. The method of shaping vegetative life itself in such a way as not to force art into existence but to allow art to be is one that will always transcend borders and decades.Although not always seen as an equally noble pursuit, the creation of alcohol is also as intrica

Horribly translated movie titles strike again on the Japanese release of Anything for Jackson

Anything for a buck.Translation is a thankless job in that you’re probably never going to please everybody. Even the work of translating a movie title, which might seem simple at first, is fraught with all kinds of potential pitfalls. The director wants to keep the artistic integrity intact, the studio wants to ensure it’s understandable and attractive enough to get people to watch it, and the audience wants an authentic experience without feeling pandered to.Money tends to make the

Studio Ghibli partial marshmallow socks look totally sweet and cozy【Photos】

Totoro and pals want to make you feel warm and fuzzy not just in your heart, but on your feet too.Studio Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku seems to have the passage of time on its mind these days, what with their eye-catching calendars of both the 3-D and 2-D varieties that recently went on sale. Of course, the numerical date is just one way to recognize the changing of the seasons. Another is feeling a chill in your toes once the crisp fall weather sets in, and Donguri Kyowakoku can help

Catch Gengar croissants and Lucario sodas at Pronto’s Pokémon collab this fall

With original goods and seven fully-decorated stores, it’s the perfect event for any Pokémon fan.After a very bumpy collaboration with McDonald’s, it’s time for what promises to be a more successful Pokémon event, but this time it’s with the cafe chain Pronto. From October 1 to November 30, 2025, most Pronto and È Pronto cafes will be serving up special drinks, food, and exclusive goods in the third annual installment of their popular Pokémon collaboration.This year’s theme is “trave

Osaka city employee suspended and demoted for verbally abusing boss

Great, just give him more bosses to abuse…A lot of people have a preconception of Japan as a highly rigid society, where everyone falls into line and withholds their inner feelings for honor and the sake of the public order. While that kind of stuff does happen, there are also many exceptions to the rule, and a lot of them can be found in Osaka. This is a city where some people forego bland Uniqlo earth tones for animal prints and the government commissions giant metal fists as public art.

Take a look inside the Future Train, a unique new restaurant diner and cafe in Kyoto

A retired Thunderbird gets a pink facelift and futuristic interiors that’ll whisk you away to another world.On 20 September, a new experiential restaurant called Future Train Kyoto Diner & Cafe will open its doors to the public in Umekoji, Kyoto. What makes this restaurant unique is the fact that it’s located on an abandoned elevated railway line and, what’s more, it’s inside a retired Thunderbird Express train that once connected Kyoto and the Hokuriku region.The jou

Nearly 75% of store clerks in Japan feel stress from earphones on customers, according to survey

But earphones don’t stress people out; people do.The say soft times make soft people, and this could apply to the state of customer service in Japan. Long hailed for its high degree of accommodation and politeness, it may soon be reaching a tipping point as customers themselves have become increasingly difficult to deal with. There’s been a lot of talk about the growing problem of “customer harassment,” but perhaps even seemingly average customers can do more to meet sta

Japan’s award-winning crab gadget saves you from soggy noodles

This new kitchen helper has claws, a growling stomach, and some serious charm.When you come home tired from work with no desire to cook or eat out, what do you do? How about if you’re neck deep in studies and have no time to spare for a meal? Or what about when you just want a quick late-night snack? There are many who turn to the simple choice of instant cup noodles; all you need to do is boil water, pour it in, weigh the lid down with whatever is to hand, and wait. Such a simple process, and y

7-Eleven showcases its newest robots for cleaning, stocking, and customer service

Can going robotic ease convenience stores’ profitability blues?With Japanese convenience stores reaching critical mass in terms of expansion and available labor, all while in an environment of constantly rising prices, they’ve been looking far and wide for ways to keep their business models intact. And what better way to get cheap, inexhaustible labor than with robots?On 9 September, 7-Eleven Japan became the latest chain to unveil robotic solutions for modern convenience stores. The

Pizza Hut Japan’s one-handed matcha dessert pizza is a hot mess (we mean that as a compliment)

Pizza Hut Japan and a 165-year-old Kyoto tea company have us feeling sticky but happy.We call the phenomenon of cultures mixing together a melting pot, but today we’re seeing the melting happen in a pizza crust, as the Japanese division of an American restaurant chain specializing in Italian food teams up with a Kyoto tea merchant for a culinary creation unlike anything we’ve ever eaten before.At the start of this month, Pizza Hut Japan started serving the newest addition to its Handy Melts line

Ed Sheeran teams up with Tokyo subway line to promote his newest album

The train line has nothing special to plug at the moment though.Back in my day, when musicians had a new album coming out, they’d go on tour and play their songs in front of live audiences. It was a simpler time, before promotion in the music business involved creating a full-scale fireworks show or taking over an entire subway line.But, with Ed Sheeran’s newest album “Play” about to be released, he thought it was time to team up with the Toei Oedo Line, which runs straig

The curious case of the 7-month-old milk that tasted fine and didn’t make anyone sick

No one’s crying over expired milk this time.Organizing, preparing, and managing school lunches is serious business. With hundreds of children’s health and safety on the line, schools are under the gun to make sure everything is safe and on the level. In fact, it’s even a custom in Japanese schools for the principal to eat lunch first to make sure it’s safe for everyone else.Still, quality issues can always find a way to slip through the cracks by human error or plain bad