ROCKET NEWS
 
Kodo drummers help modern technology blend with one of Japan’s most traditional instruments.
Taiko, Japanese drums, have a centuries-long cultural legacy. Often heard at Japanese festivals and religious ceremonies, their driving, primal sound occupies an important place in the natio...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
A few years ago we noticed a lot of online chatter about Japanese fitness machines that recreated rodeo-style motions. People sniggered because they seemed wacky or even suggestive. But they work — and Japanese manufacturers continue to borrow the all-American idea of rodeo to prod...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
Visitors to SoftBank stores in Tokyo and many other areas around Japan would have likely encountered the small white robot Pepper.
The humanoid robot, co-developed by Aldebaran Robotics with the telecommunications giant, can also be spotted at various other stores and hotels in Jap...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
Between the dolls, robots and maids, there are plenty of substitutes for real-life dating partners in Japan. A notable few of them, however, will (or can) speak with you, and fewer yet will serenade you.
Filling this void is au Sendai’s BLUE LEAF CAFÉ, which is running a limited-ti...

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ROCKET NEWS
 
Dainashi shows the stamina of a warrior as he drums the extremely high tempo theme songs to every stage.
Because I’m an old fart now, I can fondly remember playing the original Street Fighter IIin the arcades. However, in that environment I could only really make out the sound effec...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
Next year, Kalita will be 60 years old, and in those six decades Kalita has become one of the world’s leading brands in pour-over coffee. From its humble beginnings as a coffee filter company, Kalita now produces a wide range of coffee-brewing essentials, including elegant steel ke...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
As previously reported, VR Zone Shinjuku opens this summer as Tokyo’s latest virtual reality entertainment facility.
Produced by Bandai Namco, the large space in Kabukicho features a range of VR games and rides based on a number of popular franchises, including Dragonball and Evang...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
Japan is the land of high tech, if you discount the national obsession with faxes. And you might also be forgiven for chuckling at that reputation as you peruse the funky but quite low-fi charms of chindogu “useless” gadgets created by the likes of Thanko or the wacky musical instr...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
Hello everyone, I’m Hajime. I’ll be writing down my daily thoughts in this monthly column, starting this month. Please lend me your support.
This is my first time writing for a newspaper on a regular basis, and I’ve been wondering what to write about. For this first installment, ...

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JAPAN TIMES
 
Hirohiko Sunami’s hands emerge from his indigo vat covered in rivulets of fermenting natural dye. The light is dim in this Kojima workshop, but a few stray sunbeams reflect off the millions of bubbles at the vat’s surface as Sunami pulls a piece of cotton from the dark liquid. “Look...

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