Japanese online retailer Felissimo’s “Cat Club” (Neko-bu) division has quite the resume of feline-themed goods, including lip gloss that recreates the feeling of kissing a wet cat nose and scratch-and-sniff stickers that smell like cat tummies. One of their most recent hits, however, is the “Nyanko Fruits Tart” (Kitty Fruits Tart)–a pet bed that turns your cat into a giant sleeping fruit tart. Now their latest product is a doubling down on the sweetness with the Nyanko Rollcake Tunnel (Kitty Rollcake Tunnel). It can be a rather frustrating endeavor to try and convince a cat to use a toy you’ve purchased for it, but perhaps the narrow space and comfy…

We’ve all heard the trope. Someone smells an unknown perfume or aftershave on the clothes of a partner, and discovers that they were cheating on them the whole time. Who knew cats also have a similar method of exposing their owner’s unfaithfulness? Japanese Twitter user @tadanocapo thought her beloved cat would be none the wiser after she wiled away an hour playing with a stray cat outside. She arrived home and tried to greet her cat as usual, but the cats happy mews quickly turned to anger when she smelled the hand. 小一時間ノラ猫撫で回した手を差し伸べた時のネッコ pic.twitter.com/DSFbDD2Qj8 — 編 (@tadanocapo) 13 September 2018 The scorned feline even started attacking the hand that betrayed…

When you think of police dogs, a breed such as German Shepherd comes to mind right? These highly trained dogs are usually looking professional and focused on the job. But Japanese Twitter user @AKILA1113 spotted this somewhat distracted looking dog accompanying a police officer on his beat. He uploaded these photos and wrote the caption, ‘the police force are bringing in freaking cute police dogs…’ 警視庁がくっそ可愛い警察犬を導入してる…。 pic.twitter.com/D3tdGhFjUo — AKILA@TGSはルークとモンターニュ (@AKILA1113) 4 September 2018 Many commenters agreed that they’d never seen such a cute police dog before. But is it true? Are Japanese police starting to use the canine symbols of Japan and professional meme artists, Shiba inu dogs, as new…

Quail eggs may sound like an eccentric luxury dish to those who haven’t come across them before, but they are a common sight in Japanese supermarkets, usually found next to the chicken eggs. Their miniature size make them a perfect bite size snack when boiled. If you’re questioning the wisdom of eating such a small egg, they have a higher ratio of protein and minerals relative to their size compared to chicken eggs, and are also low in calories. Now that you might be coming around to the idea of the tiny delicacy, get ready to be turned off it again. An Osaka resident got a surprise when he woke…

Over the past few years, several Japanese cardboard artists have impressed by crafting awesome Gundam Mobile Suits and tanks, and even giant mechas for their cats. Japanese Twitter user and cardboard artist @odonger2 might be outshining others with his outstanding level of detail, however. ダンボールで工作をしています動物やポケモンを作るのが好きです！シンプルな構成で綺麗な曲面やディティールを作ること、正確さより魂を込めることを心掛けていますご興味有る方は、以下モーメントを覗いてみてください！！https://t.co/cJQB8ZlpZFInstagramhttps://t.co/SZwbygBaUH… pic.twitter.com/ZyoN6Tatv4 — オドンガー大佐 〈シンクリ10/13〜10/21〉 (@odonger2) 2018年5月9日 @odonger2 says that the theme of his projects are creating an element of density, as well as works that appear to have no unused or empty space no matter what angle they are viewed from. As you can tell from the intricate folds and detailed flourishes, he’s done well to accomplish that. The long-tailed rooster took nearly two months…

If you search long and hard enough in Japan, you may just be able to find anything in a gachapon, or capsule toy machine. While many offer figures and trinkets based off of popular anime and video game franchises, there’s also a niche genre of realistic takes on unusual animals, and even quirky scenes such as Godzilla holding an apologetic press conference for the destruction he’s caused. After extensive research regarding their anatomy and appeal to young children, Bandai has upped the ante with its latest gachapon release: a giant pill bug capsule toy! As you can see, the toy is big enough to take over the palm of your…

JAPAN Forward, Kaichi Iwamoto Tama’s Enduring Popularity The popularity of the endearing “station master” Tama, a female calico cat on the Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line, endures. © JAPAN Forward While serving as a station master, Tama gained fame for her adorable outlook and attracted plenty of tourists from home and abroad. She frequently appeared in foreign media, causing her to gain an international reputation. Her popularity hasn’t faded, despite her death at the age of 16 in 2015. A pretty 30-minute train ride from the JR Wakayama Station brings you to the unmanned Kishi Station in the town of Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture. There you will find a Shinto shrine,…

Japanese artist Keigo illustrates the sad but funny life of a Crocodile in human society Japanese illustrator Keigo has a talent for depicting absurd fictional situations in a comical and quirky style. While the artist doesn’t have a lot to say about himself, his simple but eccentric work has gained quite the following of fans looking for slice of life humor on Instagram and even been compiled into an art book. Many of his illustrations show bleak but humorous in a creative way that despite their silliness, capture an element of frustration just easy enough to relate to. keigoさん(@k5fuwa)がシェアした投稿 – 2018年 7月月12日午後3時38分PDT keigoさん(@k5fuwa)がシェアした投稿 – 2018年 7月月28日午前6時48分PDT One of Keigo’s most…

Last year, we wrote about an amazing pop-up penguin “bomb” made only of paper and rubber bands which had a surprising pop-up action. Made by papercraft artisan Haruki Nakamura, the toy is called Penguin Bomb Adelie Penguin. On our visit to the amateur model and crafts event Wonder Festival last month, we were surprised to see Mr. Nakamura manning his own booth. As it turned out, he was selling the pop up penguin, together with other new products, so we bought one and brought it in to the office. Assembly The instructions are available in other languages if you download them from the official website but we used the Japanese…

Shichi-go-san (meaning seven five three) is a rite of passage for Japanese children. Boys aged three and five and girls aged three and seven are taken to a temple or shrine on November 15th to pray for their continued health and growth. The children are dressed in their best traditional wear and receive auspicious sweets with special meanings. One shrine in Tokyo is offering the ceremony, not just for children, but another demographic altogether. Now animal lovers can also celebrate the age milestones of their pets as Ichigaya Hachiman shrine in Shinjuku are accepting reservations for pet shichi-go-san. yossy.nakanakaさん(@hayasayu.shi_ba)がシェアした投稿 – 2016年11月月25日午前7時17分PST CHIFFON D'OR ゆりさん(@yuri_chiffondor)がシェアした投稿 – 2017年12月月10日午前5時51分PST Some pet owners just…

Twice a year, mostly amateur figure modelers and sculptors display and sell their latest “garage kit” creations at Wonder Festival in the Makuhari Messe convention center. Earlier this year, we covered some of the amazing creations you can find there and we were so impressed that we decided to return for the summer edition. We’ll have our full coverage of the garage kits at Wonder Festival Summer 2018 in a separate article, but first, we wanted to show you some adorable shiba inu figures: Atsuiinu This summer has been particularly hot in Japan as well as many other parts of the world, and shibas, like humans, can only take so…

Japan: A Paper Craft Paradise When it comes to creating art with paper, Japan, with its long history of making exquisite washi paper and its internationally recognized art of origami, has produced its fair share of amazing artists. From paper toys animated with paper and rubber bands such as Haruki Nakamura’s pop-up penguin bomb, Seiji Tsukimoto’s clockwork pop-up art, or Risa’s intricately carved paper texts and animals, we have seen some remarkable artistry. Paper Craft Artist Scissorhands Combining realism with attention to detail and remarkable technical abilities, artist Masanobu Azami, who goes by the name Scissorhands, also deserves honorable mention among his Japanese paper-crafting peers. Just as comfortable making skeletons,…

The Japanese obsession with cute food goes beyond just eating it. There’s a whole industry dedicated to fake food. That way rather than the window of appreciation being restricted to pre-ingestion, they can be admired forever. A practical purpose applied to fake food is the models seen outside restaurants displaying the type of cuisine that can be ordered inside, an indispensable help to indecisive customers. But beyond this, in Japan, plastic food can be found as trinkets, jewellery and even smart phone accessories. In the past we’ve introduced Japanese sweets that look like animals and animals that look like Japanese sweets, but how about ornaments that look like Japanese sweets…

Every once in a while, you may find yourself staring at a viral image that has appeared on one of your social media timelines so bizarre, it seems to challenge the limits of reality. Talented Japanese Twitter user and modeling enthusiast @meetissai has taken up the task of removing the impossibility of those images by bringing them to life. @meetissai breaks out modeling putty, paint, and other tools to handcraft figure versions of weird and intriguing images that show up on his Twitter timeline, and the results show that sometimes the best inspiration is found in the dark depths of the internet. The figure maker once took this mashup of…

Everyone thinks that their cat is the cutest cat in the world, with a feline beauty that deserves to be documented. This usually culminates in overwhelming everyone’s social media feeds with photo after photo. But why not take your showing off one step further and get your cat’s face perfectly replicated in a 3D portrait? 羊毛フェルト🐱わくねこさん(@wakuneco)がシェアした投稿 – 2017年 8月月12日午前4時50分PDT All this artist needs is a photo of your fluffy companion and she can create what looks like a carbon copy of the cat’s head to mount in a frame, so you can proudly display his or her good looks on your shelf, wall, office desk… anywhere! 羊毛フェルト🐱わくねこさん(@wakuneco)がシェアした投稿 – 2018年 5月月18日午前5時24分PDT…