JAPAN TRENDS
 
Asics Japan will open a new sports facility in spring 2017 in Sumida, east Tokyo.
Suggestions for the future facility’s name are currently being accepted by the general public until mid-January. It is being touted as a “sustainable community space” that will feature a riverside caf...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
The actor, film director, TV host and comedian Takeshi Kitano (aka Beat Takeshi) has met with Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike. There would be nothing news-worthy about that in itself, except for the fact that Kitano arrived dressed up as President-elect Donald Trump.
Kitano met with Ko...

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ROCKET NEWS
 
Now there are two Michelin-starred ramen restaurants in the capital, and we lined up to try the signature dish from the latest award-winning eatery.
Last December, Tsuta made international headlines after it became the world’s first-ever ramen restaurant to be awarded a prestigious ...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
Here is a first look at the concept art for Super Nintendo World, set to open in Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, in 2020.
Universal Studios and Nintendo have partnered to create new attractions at parks in California and Florida, though the Japan park is not being left behind. USJ ...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
OSAKA — The Asia and Pacific Trade Center (ATC), which attracts foreigners visiting Japan from China and other countries, started a “Robot Street” event on Saturday at a commercial complex in Osaka.
“Bilingual” humanoid robots wait on customers at the event and answer questions i...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
KYOTO — These days, I have been getting more and more chances to experience the internet of things (IoT), which means internet-connected devices and objects that can be controlled remotely.
Recently I visited an experimental “smarthouse” at Kyoto Sangyo University in Kyoto that, ...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
Is it a musical instrument? Is it a coffee maker? Or just a wacky Rube Goldberg machine?
Well, it’s kind of all three.
 
At the Nescafe Harajuku cafe from December 2nd until December 25th, visitors can experience a unique contraption created by music artist Shuta Hasunuma.
Coffee M...

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ROCKET NEWS
 
The global coffee house chain is squeezing one more star ingredient into their beverage lineup before the end of the year.
Starbucks Japan has had a flurry of delicious new releases in the past couple of months, with baked apple dessert drinks, Christmas Frappuccinos and a surprise ...

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ROCKET NEWS
 
Also, the unexpected appearance of “Santa Pikachu.”
The gameplay of the mainline Pokémon video games is neatly divided into two elements. First you search for/catch Pocket Monsters, then you use them in battles to improve their combat capabilities.
It’s not so surprising that develo...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
Japan Airlines said it has started offering passengers replicas of the happi jackets worn by the members of The Beatles when they disembarked from a JAL plane on a landmark visit to Japan in 1966.
The replicas commemorate the 50th anniversary of the legendary British rock band’s ...

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