Category: J-life
From Nihombashi to Asakusa: a calming Tokyo walk (video).
Here’s a nice calming video walk through Tokyo for you, from everyone’s favourite Nordic chap.
A visit to Tokyo’s giant Mech (video).
Japan has only gone and built a real-sized moving GUNDAM mech, currently available to view in Tokyo as a tourist attraction. Ah, if only we could travel to Japan. One day. One day. In the meantime, Kuga has visited it and shot a video. Looks impressive. The mech is at the Gundam Factory Yokohama amusement […]
Give me manga, then give me beer, then give me more damn manga (video).
What if I told you there was a place in Tokyo which was a manga lending library that served you a free beer while you are reading said Japanese comic books? Yes, it truly exists, and it is paradise on earth, well, at least paradise in Japan. Forget about those silly old Olympics, you don’t […]
Cos-play, Japanese Style (video).
If you like cos-play and you like anime, then over in Japan they have a massive con that blends the two in a supernova of superbness – Super Robo Cos Expo 2020. Watch their video and pray for air-travel back to Tokyo to be reinstated!
Tokyo’s geek heaven: Nakano Broadway (video).
Nakano Broadway in Tokyo is the mecca for anime and manga geeks – called ‘otaku’ in Japanese. This street has such megastores as ‘Geek Labyrinth’, ‘Mystery Dungeon’, ‘Mandrake’ and dozens more. This is a 30 minute tour of the area. Suck in those geek vibes, people. Ah, to be back in Japan.
Ramen face mask beats all but the fog (weird news).
Japanese animator Shibata Takahiro has created a COVID defender face mask that resembles a bowl of ramen – realistic right down to the fog of steam from the boiling noodles. Why? BECAUSE HE COULD!!! 眼鏡の人専用マスクをつくりました。 眼鏡が曇るほど、ラーメンが熱々にみえます。 使いにくさ、この上なし。 pic.twitter.com/rSV0tmlleA — しばたたかひろ | Takahiro SHIBATA (@iine_piroshiki) July 13, 2020
Japan’s secret retail treasure (J-life video).
Our man-in-Japan, Ryotaro, says never underestimate the power of Japan’s fave second-hand shop in Sendai … the fabulous Mandai. They sell everything from guitars, model weapons, to amazing collection of Anime figures and plastic models (some, only available to lottery winners, so never actually widely sold in the first place). You won’t believe the stuff […]
Japan’s creepiest abandoned places (J-life: audio).
Japan’s bubble economy left the country littered with a staggering amount of abandoned hotels, buildings, and theme parks. After a grizzly discovery at a forgotten hotel, this week, the Abroad in Japan crew discuss some of the creepiest examples, recount their harrowing encounters with Giant Hornets, and hear from a listener currently stuck in Japan.
The stacked game of Japanese arcades (J-life video).
The gaming culture in Japan is intense, so this pair of miscreants decided to check out the scene inside a Tokyo-based Japanese arcade to see how well they could do with the equivalent of $50 in Yen. Here’s a little hint: take that 50 large and flush it down the toilet for a more direct […]
Gundam: real-scale walking mecha to become major Japanese tourist attraction (news).
If you like your Japanese mecha big, as in Gundam-size, then you’re in luck! The City of Yokohama in Japan is opening a tourist attraction which is basically a full-size Gundam base with a real-scale moving Gundam the same size as a NASA rocket launch gantry. They’re planning to open the site – called Gundam […]
