The kendama is a traditional Japanese toy. It’s simple in it’s pure evil nature. The entire toy consists of a wooden ball attached by string to a grip. The goal is to get the ball to land on the top of the grip, the bottom of the grip, or the two sides. Oh the insanity. More »

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Oh, Japan. While you do love to through around your peace loving nature, recent trends have shown a darker streak. Polls of the Japanese public have shown that up to 85% of Japanese people are in favor of the death penalty. More »

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Yes, Valentines Day was awhile ago. I’m late. Sort of. That’s because I live in Japan which means my obligations as a man on Valentines Day is no different than my obligations on any other day. It’s good to be a man in Japan on Valentines day. More »

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From Ningin: According to the source, “Christopher Handley, the Iowa man on trial for possessing manga ‘drawings of children being sexually abused,’ was sentenced on Thursday to six months in prison. Following this sentence, Handley must serve three years of supervised release and five years of probation. Both of these terms will start upon his release from prison and will run concurrently. Handley also agreed to forfeit all seized materials, including his computer. During Handley’s supervised release and probation, Handley must also “participate in a treatment program, to include psychological testing and a polygraph examination, as directed by the U. S. Probation Officer.” According to earlier court documents, this last provision is “intended to provide [Handley] with diagnosis and treatment for sexually and/or gender identity or other mental health issues.”

I think it’s disgusting to be even writing/publishing/reading these kinds of manga. I think it should be illegal personally. To have those kinds of things available, just lets pedophiles run wild.

What do you guys think? More »

There is a reason why Japanese people as a whole are obsessed with Mt. Fuji. It is a more or less perfectly shaped mountain, rising up with it’s white top for all to see. Even after living under Mt. Fuji for 6 months my eyes are still drawn to it frequently. Recently I came across some vintage Mt. Fuji photographs… More »

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The annual Winter Snow Festival in Sapporo, Japan is in full swing once again. The streets are lined with frozen tourist looking at even more frozen ice and snow sculptures. Plus there is always the fun of going to a bar where all the glasses are made of ice… More »

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Well sort of. If by Michael Jackson you mean ‘a life sized doll of early 90’s Jackson’ then yes. This is exactly what’s been rolled out in Japan to promote the DVD release of This Is It. More »

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From Girlybubble: Without ever knowing what Nyan Nyan Nyanko is, most people would assume that Japanese people eat cats because it is always seen stuffed into a hamburger or fries. Fortunately, the whole point of stuffing a cat into food is to be cute (or kawaii) and not to eat. So please, do not confuse this super cute commercial for a restaurant advertising cat burgers or fries. Just think of it as the best 46 seconds of your life, ever. More »

From Ningin: Western people like white teeth (except the British). Though the Japanese have lagged behind in dental care teeth whiting procedures are the most popular cosmetic procedure in Japan. Funny how things used to be quite different… More »

From Ningin: Who is Rilakkuma? What does he want? (I’ll give you a hint, it’s not your porridge.) Where does he come from? And why is everyone making such a big fuss about his US Debut? More »