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Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Ikea is all about creating cozy living spaces, and ditto for Pokémon Pokopia.In Pokémon Pokopia, the goal shifts from capturing Pocket Monsters to creating a home. Taking on the role of a determined Ditto, the player builds a town and fills its structures with creature comforts through various crafting and construction mechanics.But while Ditto might be new to this whole interior design thing, Ikea has been at it for a while now, and so as a joint celebration of the release of Pokémon Pokopia an
Japan’s prime minister exchanges Dragon Ball kamehamehas with president of France[Video]
Leaders of world powers strike energy blast pose.There’s an interesting cultural question that pops up during international meetings in Japan: Should the participants shake hands at the end of their conversation? Japan isn’t ordinarily a hand-shaking society, with bowing instead being the gesture by which respect, gratitude, and similar earnest sentiments are conveyed. However, most Japanese people know that handshaking is common in much of the rest of the world, especially western countriesR
Hayao Miyazaki gifts autographed Ghibli anime cel to president of France[Photo]
There’s likely a meaning between the choice of Ghibli anime’s artwork to give the visiting politician.On any given day, a sizable portion of the inbound foreign travelers entering Japan are going to be Studio Ghibli fans. Long gone are the days when the studio’s works were known overseas only to anime enthusiasts, and Ghibli’s animated films are now not only beloved by mainstream audiences and cinephiles around the world, but in many cases serve as one of the first reflections of Japanese cultur
Tokyo turns its phone booths into free Wi-Fi hotspots, and here’s how to use them
A vital service you’ll need to know about in the event of a disaster. With pretty much everyone owning a mobile phone these days, public telephones are on a steady decline worldwide. Though the same is true in Japan, governments here see them as vital lifelines in times of disaster, so much so that their availability must be maintained under the telecommunications law, which classifies them as a “universal service”.Despite being readily available, many of these phones tend to go unused on
Fading Tokyo – Searching for signs of the Showa era as local neighborhoods evolve[Photos]
Mr. Sato starts his urban exploration of Tokyo to catch a glimpse of local neighborhoods’ pasts before they’re changed forever.There’s never a time when Tokyo isn’t changing. The city is so big and has so many people that there’s always some part of it that’s being renovated, redeveloped, or otherwise reimagined. Oftentimes those changes bring greater convenience and interesting new experiences, but at the same time, there’s also the sadness that comes with losing elements that were part of the
The Almost All Lettuce Burger from Dom Dom Burger really lives up to its name
Dom Dom turns over a new leaf.Japanese fast food chain Dom Dom Burger has long been an innovator in the art of making burgers. Whether it’s putting whole crabs between two buns or including each of the colors of the Power Rangers in the toppings, they’ve never shied away from trying something new.Now, they’re turning their attention to lettuce. Other chains, like Mos Burger, have come out with lettuce-heavy offerings, often substituting the buns for several leaves, but Dom Dom is going the other
Nintendo’s Animal Crossing crosses over into Japanese convenience store cosmetics line[Photos]
Family Mart convenience stores are looking a little more like an Animal Crossing village these days.Japan’s convenience stores aren’t just a great place to grab snacks or drinks. They’re also stocked with all sorts of sundry daily necessities. But while all of the major convenience store chains have cosmetics, Family Mart is the only one that has Animal Crossing cosmetics.The collaboration kicked off March 31, with characters from Nintendo’s cozy life sim appearing on items from Japanese cosmeti
New cafe in trendy Tokyo neighborhood is staffed by grannies and grandpas with average age of 73
Ji-chan and ba-chan are waiting for you at G-cha and Ba-cha.Shibuya is one of Tokyo’s trendiest neighborhoods, so it makes sense that a new takeout tea cafe, with an inventive menu, pop aesthetic, and fashionable staff has just opened there. However, the people serving the drinks aren’t teens taking a year to find themselves before starting college, or young adults living a beatnik lifestyle. Instead, the customer service staff here is a group of Japanese grannies and grandpas.G-cha and Ba-cha g
Which Gundam is the favorite for fans in different countries? Gundam election announces results
Top vote-getters for different languages have a gap of more than 30 years between them.The various series of the Gundam franchise are allowed to do their own thing. Sometimes that means space opera on a grand scale, and sometimes that means a zoomed-in story about a single elementary school kid’s loss of innocence from growing up during a war. Maybe things will get metaphysical with Newtypes stopping to pontificate on the meaning of human existence when they meet on the battlefield, or maybe the
Studio Ghibli adds new My Neighbour Totoro 2026 Corn Gift to its anime store for Mother’s Day
New release contains exclusive My Neighbour Totoro products that can’t be purchased anywhere else. Mother’s Day gift shopping can be a stressful experience when you’re looking to find the perfect present, but for fans of Studio Ghibli it’s an experience that’s both easy and joyful, thanks to the annual release of the My Neighbour Totoro Corn Gift.After making its debut over a decade ago at Donguri Kyowakoku, the studio’s specialty retail chain, the Mother̵
Float all of your troubles away with a boat ride down the Shimanto River in Kochi Prefecture
Escape the urban sprawl by taking a tour on “Japan’s last clear stream” that will leave you clearly in tune with nature.Kochi Prefecture makes up a large chunk of the southwestern part of the island of Shikoku. Full of intriguing highlights such as statues dedicated to local samurai of legend Sakamoto Ryoma or the Kaiyodo Kappa Museum, the largely rural prefecture also has no shortage of unspoiled natural scenery for when you need a rural reset.Our Japanese-language reporter Ma
Three ways going to see cherry blossoms alone is better than seeing them with other people
Solo-seen sakura are sometimes the best sakura.With sakura season in full swing, a lot of Japanese morning news shows are going out to local cherry blossom spots to interview people enjoying the views. For the most part, they’re lighthearted little segments, but one that our Japanese-language reporter Mariko Ohanabatake saw rubbed her the wrong way.In that segment, the news crew was talking to a man in his 30s who they’d spotted sitting on a bench by himself in the park and sipping a coffee or s
Totoro Fund line of beautiful artwork and apparel lets you help the real-world Totoro Forest
Woodlands that inspired the creation of My Neighbor Totoro sit at the edge of the biggest city in Japan, but this fund helps keep them green.Though My Neighbor Totoro touches on a lot of Japanese cultural values and traditions regarding the sanctity of nature, Totoro himself is entirely a product of the fertile imagination of director Hayao Miyazaki. But while there are no actual folktales about Totoros inhabiting the forests of Japan, there is a real-world woodland area with a deep connection t
Japan now has stricter requirements for foreigners applying for citizenship
Change comes with less than half a week’s notice, new requirements will take five more years to meet.Though the new calendar year starts in January, for many organizations in Japan the administrative year doesn’t start until a few months later. Spring is when most companies start their business year, when most schools start classes, and when most new laws go into effect, and this year’s new laws mean that foreigners now have to meet significantly higher requirements to acquire Japanese citizensh
Pokémon lacquerware series expands for Year of the Horse with new handcrafted design[Video]
Century-old lacquerware company, supplier to the royal family, turns its makie skills to a beloved Fire-type.As a series with a long history, huge cast of characters, and no aversion to merchandising, you can find all sorts of Pokémon-themed plastic cups and bento boxes. They may not be fancy, but they’re fun all the same, and fans can always find room for one or two in their cupboard.Today, though, we’re looking at some Pokémon tableware that most definitely is fancy, as it’s made by a Japanese
Uni Donuts are pretty in pink for a limited-time spring sakuramochi flavor
The Yokohama-based donut specialty chain incorporates a unique ingredient into its dough that results in a divine texture and taste.Sushi lovers may be tempted to read the “uni” in Uni Donuts as the word for “sea urchin” in Japanese, but it’s actually pronounced as in the English “university.” The freshly baked donut specialty brand is an offshoot of Uni Coffee Roastery that first opened shop in December 2023 in the Bandobashi area of Yokohama and now ha
Tokyo’s best museum for foreign travelers finally reopens after being closed for four years
After a longer-than-expected renovation, this Ryogoku museum is finally ready to tell the human stories of Edo and Tokyo once again.Many travel guides will say that the Tokyo National Museum, in Ueno Park, is Tokyo’s best museum, and with hundreds of officially recognized Important Cultural Properties, it definitely has a claim to that distinction. However, the Tokyo National Museum is first and foremost an art museum, and while its collection spans thousands of years of priceless pieces, they’r
Tokyo subway and almost all Tokyo train lines now accepting credit card tap payments
New system allows you to travel with just a credit card on more than 50 lines in and around the capital, but with one major holdout.It was a big deal when train lines in Japan added the option to pay for your fare using an IC card. Rather than having to buy a paper ticket from a machine to feed through the gate every time you wanted to go somewhere, all you had to do was tap your prepaid card and the fare would be automatically deducted.Nowadays, though, that sort of pay-with-a-tap functionality
McDonald’s Japan releases “intense” McPork burger, prompts Michelin chef to create jam hack
Can Japanese jam really get this burger out of a jam?After a five-year hiatus, the McPork made its grand return to the menu at McDonald’s Japan in February, and since then it’s been generating a fair amount of buzz for its affordable 230-yen (US$1.44) price point… and its intense flavour.In fact, the flavour is so strong that Shusaku Toba, a Japanese chef who held a Michelin star for his restaurant Sio in Tokyo’s Yoyogi-Uehara for two consecutive years, came out with a ha
Japanese masturbatory aid and insect repellent companies collab on a new product
A stroke of genius?Spring appears to be springing in Japan, and that means two things. First is the return of insects, some pretty and some horribly annoying. Second is that many a young person’s thoughts turn to romance, but with so many bugs outside and high-quality programming on streaming services, who’s got time for that?Perhaps that is why the Japanese masturbation aid manufacturer Tenga and the Japanese chemical company specializing in insect repellent Earth have teamed up on a new spring