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Police in Osaka file charges against resident for serial pigeon/crow feeding

After more than a decade of incidents, legal action finally taken.The authorities in Osaka’s Sumiyoshi Ward tried being lenient. Since over a decade ago, residents in the area around Abikocho and Nagai Stations on the JR Hanwa Line and Osaka Metro subway network had been complaining about a certain individual’s nocturnal activities. Repeatedly, this person would show up late at night on the streets outside the stations and…feed pigeons and crows.Pigeons and crows aren’t exactly known for t

Beard Papa goes beyond just matcha with its new premium green tea cream puffs

Grown-in-the-shade green tea gets its time to shine.As green tea and green tea sweets continue to grow in popularity around the world, so too do attempts to upsell it. Outside Japan, you may, for example, encounter cafes and confectioners billing their premium products as using “ceremonial matcha,” which isn’t an actual classification in Japanese tea culture, and is merely a marketing term meant to imply higher quality to go along with the higher price being charged.That’s not to say that there

Eating cheap sushi in a narrow building in Tokyo is an adventure for bold diners

We play culinary roulette at a cheap restaurant in Kabukicho.When you’re looking for somewhere to eat in the middle of Kabukicho, Tokyo’s notorious red-light district, the choices can be as overwhelming as the bright lights and multi-storey buildings towering over you. What can help in these situations is some advice from a local who’s eaten in the area before, and that’s where our reporter Yuichiro Wasai steps in, with a recent review of an izakaya (Japanese-style tavern

Hayao Miyazaki’s Whisper of the Heart concept art revealed in new Ghibli illustration book

Image Board Collection series turns spotlight on two classic Studio Ghibli anime.Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is famous for having a very hands-on approach to anime production, to the extent that he’ll sometimes just draw over an animator’s draft rather than verbally explain the changes he wants made. So Whisper of the Heart sticks out in his filmography, since it’s the only Ghibli film for which Miyazaki handled scriptwriting duties all by himself, but didn’t direct the movie.This do

Samurai Coffee: Try Edo period coffee once enjoyed by Japanese warriors

Cafe in Japan uses a recipe from an old document to recreate a historic brew.Japan might be commonly associated with tea, but coffee is also a big part of the culture, having first been introduced here during the Edo period (1603-1868). Back in those early days, coffee was seen as a luxury item imported from abroad and only enjoyed by a select few who used it as a medicinal elixir. Though that might be hard to imagine now, one area of Japan is keeping the spirit of Edo-period coffee alive: Hiros

The average age of Japan’s hikikomori shut-ins is getting older, survey shows

Annual survey finds cases of 90-year-old parents caring for socially reclusive children in their 60s.KHJ, or Kazoku Hikikomori Japan, is an NPO offering support and guidance to hikikomori (shut-ins) and their families. The organization, which also goes by the name National Federation of Hikikomori Families, conducts an annual survey on the social phenomenon, and on August 28 it announced the most recent results, which paint a troubling picture.Within the study, which was conducted this past Dece

Studio Ghibli releases crystal glass paperweights featuring Totoro and the Catbus

Sparkly new range will hold down your papers and lift your spirits with anime charm.Paperwork can be a significant source of stress for any student, worker or bill payer, but now there’s a way to lighten the load, thanks to a new series of paperweights from Studio Ghibli’s specialty retail chain Donguri Kyowakoku.There are three to choose from in this sparkly range, which pays homage to the studio’s 1988 film, My Neighbour Totoro.▼ The first paperweight is the “Standing T

Sega opening 65th anniversary store in downtotn Tokyo with deep-cut game merch

60-ish birthday celebration is coming to Shibuya.Sega is in a pretty good spot these days. After years of being little more than a sleeper hit outside Japan, the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise is now a bona fide worldwide hit. Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio, which Sega serves as publisher for, have been met with critical and popular praise. Even company mascot Sonic, after years of disappointing outings, has clawed back some respectability with his more recent games, and also recovered a lot o

Viral tweet suggests Japanese convenience store ripping off customers with donuts, so we investigate

Photo shows Family Mart chocolate donut looking nothing like its packaging, but was that by design?It’d be an exaggeration to say that Japan’s love affair with its convenience stores is over, but the relationship isn’t quite as rosy as it used to be. Over the last few years, the trend has been towards rising prices, shrinking sizes, and an overall lower level of satisfaction among shoppers. In some cases, major convenience store chains have come under fire for deceptive packaging or presentation

Lipton releases… Pudding Milk Tea in Japan?!?

Lipton caters to the Japanese market with an exclusive new dessert beverage.Lipton has come a long way since it was founded by Sir Thomas Lipton in Scotland in 1871, expanding to become known as a leading tea brand in countries around the world, including Japan.Like many big global brands, Lipton specifically caters to the Japanese market with exclusive offerings you won’t find anywhere else, and right now there’s a new release that will have tea connoisseurs clutching their china te

Shinto shrine will bless your bike helmet and give you a sacred bike helmet stamp

Pray to get ahead or to keep your head.Bicycle helmets have really taken off recently. In the months leading up to Japan’s stricter cycling violation penalties, I noticed many more people around me wearing them, and after the laws went into effect, they even started selling out in a lot of stores. That’s great to see as it’s a simple way to potentially save lives.But is it enough to have a carefully designed and rigorously tested artificial shell forming a protective barrier around your cranium?

Bandai cancels gacha/blind-buy system for anime cosmetics, will let fans choose what they buy

Reversal of policy for new Chara Cosme releases follows survey showing immense dislike for randomized merch purchases.Bandai is one of Japan’s biggest anime and video game publishers, which dovetails nicely with their role as the country’s largest toymaker. However, Bandai doesn’t just leverage the appeal of its anime and game casts into making plushies and figures, as they also have a cosmetics division, called CreerBeaute, that offers character-themed makeup products.For example, CreerBeaute i

Retro-style Evangelion T-shirts coming to Uniqlo sister brand GU[Photos]

Vintage-look shirts celebrate the original vintage of the landmark anime series.As one of the most popular anime series of all time, Evangelion has had plenty of remasters and visual upgrades over the years. But way back in the beginning, viewers were watching the original series on CRT TVs, either as part of its original TV broadcast in Japan or on VHS tapes (of either the fansubbed or professionally released variety).So for many long-time Eva fans, their memories of the series have a measure o

Only five branches of Japan’s beef bowl giant Matsuya serve milk shakes, but how do they taste?

Matsuya makes the step from beefy bowls to milky drinks, but only at select locations for now.Hamburgers and milk shakes have been happily coexisting on fast food restaurant menus for generations…so why not add them to the offerings at other beef-centric eateries? This week Matsuya, one of Japan’s big-three gyudon/beef bowl chains and rival to Yoshinoya and Sukiya, started serving up a brand-new line of milk shakes.▼ Matsu シェイク = Matsu ShakeWell, it sort of started serving them up. Matsuya

Japan’s Mister Donut Japan tries its hand at Taiwanese-style street food donuts

Do they live up to the hype of their Taiwanese inspiration?Taiwan has a bustling street food scene, and some of the more popular items that’ve risen to prominence are the milk donuts covered generously in a milk sugar coating.Our Japanese-language reporter Yui Imai, who often finds herself shuttling back and forth between the two countries, Yui Imai, has eaten them frequently due to how irresistibly delicious they are, so when she learned of Mister Donut selling a new type of airy donut taking i

Police in Japan summoned to deal with bank intruder…who is also a deer[Video]

Local residents thought a robbery was in progress when they saw police cars outside the bank, but something even more unexpected was going on.For the most part, Japan is a very safe country. However, there is still a universal police emergency phone number, 110, and at approximately 12:15 in the afternoon on April 27, a call came in reporting an intruder at a bank in the town of Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture.The intruder had entered the Kashiwazaki Higashi branch of regional bank Daishi Hokuet

Live-action Ghibli Princess Mononoke stage play tickets are now on sale

Advance tickets for the latest Studio Ghibli screen-to-stage anime adaptation show up earlier than expected.For a group of artists so strongly associated with a single medium, anime films, Studio Ghibli’s works have proven to be surprisingly suited to live-theater adaptations. So far My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind have all made the transition from the screen to the stage with thunderous applause from critics and audiences, and soon it’s going to be Prin

Japan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at home

Japan’s all-for-fun spring holiday season is a little tarnished these days.Japan has three major vacation periods, but two of them come with social obligations. For both Oshogatsu (the New Year’s holiday period) and Obon (which takes place in early August), tradition holds that you’re supposed to go back to your hometown and spend a week or so reconnecting with parents, grandparents, and other extended family members.That leaves Golden Week, the string of spring holidays that straddles the end o

Studio Ghibli releases new anime keychains that are like miniature figurines

Special collection includes the Spirited Away train that lights up at the push of a button.In Japan, keychains are hardly ever dull and boring, and right now Studio Ghibli is showing us just how good they can be, with a brand new release through Donguri Kyowakoku, the studio’s specialty retail chain.There are three new keychains to choose from, covering three of the studio’s most popular films. Making them even more special is the fact that each one has a cute interactive element, so

Japan’s new Pokémon jackets give you the look and powers of the Kanto starter trio

Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle jackets won’t be available in stores, though.Over the years, there’s been quite a lot of Pokémon fashion for fans to wear. But while most Poké-pparel is only concerned with the aesthetics of popular Pocket Monster species, a new line of jackets looks to give you a taste of their powers too.These creative designs are part of a collaboration between Pokémon and beverage maker Suntory’s Boss canned coffee. Boss has been giving away branded jackets as part of its