Universal Studios Japan closed down for a while because of COVID. And after it opened its doors again, it still kept a lot of restrictions in place. This included forbidding guests from hugging or high-fiving mascots, due to sanitary reasons. However, with more COVID restrictions …Read more »
The life-size Gundam down in Yokohama — you know, the one that can move and stuff — has just been given a major upgrade: it can now play rock-paper-scissors. Now that’s impressive. To demonstrate its finger-curling prowess, the RX-78-2 will go up against, well, whoever …Read more »
Itasha cars are a section of fandom where people deck out their cars after their favorite anime, manga or video game franchise or character. It’s been growing in popularity in Japan since it began about two decades ago, and The Japan Times covered the topic, …Read more »
Nice find from ANN’s Kim Morrissy on the Twitter this week: a trading card shop in Akihabara, Tokyo’s mecca for otaku merch, has apparently had enough of smelly customers. The official Twitta account for the shop announced a new shop policy on Twitter this week: …Read more »
Exeggutor, the Poké-ambassador for Japan’s Miyazaki prefecture, has shown its likeness on manhole covers, buses and even planes from the area. The Pokémon is returning to its airplane theme, but this time around the airplanes are even more bursting with all things Exeggutor. To be …Read more »
Many people have a New Year’s Resolution to get healthier this year, and the One Piece Fitness BragMen gym is here to help with that. Yep, the Shibuya area of Tokyo is home to a One Piece-stylized gymnasium, plus a café that serves healthy foods. …Read more »
Ghibli Museum is a tourist attraction people have flocked to for more than two decades, but there’s a special homage to the movie My Neighbor Totoro that most people have missed. So, more than 20 years after opening, the Ghibli Museum thought it might share …Read more »
Lots of people get crushes on pop stars (or idols as they’re sometimes known in Japan). But how seriously do people take these crushes? Tameny, which is a matchmaking and wedding coordination business in Japan, decided to find out. They surveyed 2,400 men and women …Read more »
The hotly anticipated SPY X FAMILY musical stage play is set to debut this spring, starting in Tokyo on March 8. In April it will move on to Hyogo Prefecture and in May it will be over in Fukuoka. That’s still some time away, and …Read more »
One of the things that makes the Bleach manga special is how each opens with a poem. In 2021, a karuta collection of these poems were offered to people who were part of “Klub Outside,” mangaka Tite Kubo’s official fanclub. But apparently there’s a larger …Read more »
Christmas is not a traditional Japanese holiday, but it’s a holiday that has taken off in Japan. And while in America foods associated with Christmas might include fruit cake, Christmas cookies and egg nog, in Japan it’s all about eating fried chicken on December 25. …Read more »
Anime and manga are getting more and more popular around the world, but Cool Japan Fund isn’t doing so well. Cool Japan Fund gave this description of itself: “Cool Japan Fund was founded in November 2013 as a public-private fund with the aim of supporting …Read more »
The long-awaited day is finally here! Hayao Miyazaki’s Ghibli Park has thrown open its door for its grand opening. So far three areas are open to the public: Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, Hill of Youth, and Dondoko Forest. Goro Miyazaki, Hayao’s son, was there for the …Read more »
The grand opening of Ghibli Park is now less than a week away! The park, which will continue to expand, will throw open its doors on November 1. Tickets went on sale in August, but with as much interest as people have in the park …Read more »
Burger King Japan is already going all-out on showing its love for SPY x FAMILY by getting three new (and limited time) peanut butter-flavored burgers in honor of Anya Forger’s peanut obsession. But it turns out that offering unusual flavors, SPY x FAMILY aprons and …Read more »
Danica Davidson
Matt Schley
