Baby Chanco’s hair isn’t the only thing growing. It seems the 1-year-old baby sensation’s career prospects are as well. View this post on Instagram 髪記録 / hair diaryさん(@babychanco)がシェアした投稿 – 2018年 5月月14日午後3時38分PDT View this post on Instagram 髪記録 / hair diaryさん(@babychanco)がシェアした投稿 – 2018年 5月月16日午後4時41分PDT At just four months old, Baby Chanco was already a viral hit on Instagram thanks to her unusually thick and beautiful hair. Quickly, her “hair diary” (run by her mother) exploded to the tune of 377,000 followers and now a modeling career with Pantene as part of their “#HairWeGo My Hair Moves Me Forward” campaign. Modeling with Japanese TV announcer Sato Kondo. Admiring her work. View this…

For Muslim travelers to Japan, dining out can sometimes be stressful. Although the number of halal restaurants in major Japanese cities have increased, it can still be a challenge to find them. And even when they do, their interpretation may be limited to food and they may lack ablution facilities or a prayer room on the premises. The problem is potentially even more acute in Osaka, which is known for its many tasty dishes. With so many culinary temptations, it’s a good idea to know which restaurants are halal. Chibo Diversity, a new branch in the Chibo restaurant chain opening on January 17th in the Dotonbori area of Osaka provides…

Toraya: From Kyoto to Tokyo For half a millennium, Toraya has been making the traditional Japanese confections known as wagashi. Founded in Kyoto in the early 16th century when it was purveyor to the imperial court, Toraya moved its headquarters in 1869, following the transfer of the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo. After trying a few locations within the city, Toraya eventually settled on the wealthy neighborhood of Akasaka for its headquarters in 1964. However, after over 50 years, the building began showing signs of age, and Toraya decided to completely refashion its flagship store from the ground up, creating not only a building which testifies to the success and…

No stranger to innovation, Kit Kat Japan continue to push the boundaries when it comes to never seen before chocolate creations. Previously they have debuted a whole new type of chocolate (the world’s first ruby chocolate bar), as well as dazzled the world with countless exciting and bizarre Japan exclusive flavours. The latest offering comes as part of their luxury ‘Sublime’ range, made with high quality ingredients and overseen by a patisserie, they’re only available in Kit Kat Chocolatory stores, and are more culinary delight than average chocolate bar. Source: Nestle Japan The new ‘Volcanic Chocolate’ aims to give us a ‘taste of the earth’. This rare type of chocolate…

Yasukuni Shrine, a shinto shrine located in Tokyo, was created to honour Japan’s war dead throughout history. But controversially, the spirits of convicted war criminals are also enshrined there, including fourteen class A war criminals. In the Japanese shinto religion, the souls venerated at shrines aren’t just remembered, but in a way worshipped, making the issue even more fraught. Any visits to the shrine by Japanese politicians result in anger from the government and citizens of their Asian neighbours, most notably China and Korea, countries who were victims of Japan’s militarism in the early 20th century. Not just politicians, but any celebrities with an international following who visit the shrine…

Unless you’re a regular customer of their products, you may be familiar with Japan’s most recognizable masturbatory aid maker TENGA due to their promotional campaigns such as opening up their own curry stand, or their interesting model names such as Deep Throat, Rolling Head, Premium Vacuum, and even a tea ceremony vibrator. Or perhaps you’ve sampled their “Night Charge” energy drink. TENGA’s latest product might be interpreted as a humorous alternative to the Japanese Valentine’s Day tradition of “giri choco”, or obligatory chocolates. Giri choco are chocolates customarily given by women to men casually with no romantic intent (men typically reciprocate by gifting chocolate on White Day). While fairly innocuous,…

If you’re a Final Fantasy fan, and particularly a Final Fantasy XIV fan who is looking to tie the knot, a service in Japan supervised by the game’s development team may be offering your dream wedding. Deux Zero, a spacious Kobe-based wedding hall that specializes in lavish ceremonies, has announced that they will be collaborating with the development team behind the popular online RPG for a package that offers a Final Fantasy XIV-themed wedding–including costumes, accessories, and directing. While currently available information is limited to the announcement itself, a mock wedding will be held on February 19th, 2019, which will feature a press conference attended by FFXIV producer Naoki Yoshida,…

By now, most people have seen images of people posing in front of angel wing murals. Either through Colette Miller’s Global Angel Wings Project launched in LA in 2012, Kelsey Montague’s wings which became famous when Taylor Swift posed in front of one in 2014, or the numerous other murals inspired by them which continue to pop up all over the world, wing murals have become a staple on Instagram. Although Colette Miller set up a few of her angel wing murals in Japan, they’re still relatively difficult to find. Even in the US, the problem exists for people who don’t happen to live in a major city like Los…

Studio Ghibli characters have been utilized for designs before by Japanese watch company Alba, resulting is these adorable but still very wearable Totoro and Kiki designs. But their Studio Ghibli watches just got a whole lot more magical looking, with these mysterious No-face designs. The reticent character’s famously creepy mask floats ominously at the top of the watch face. Instead of numbers, he is surrounded by Japanese characters, both these and the hands are inspired by the clock tower that Chihiro encounters in the movie. The mask motif has been printed with luminous paint, so it also glows in the dark. There are other subtle references to the movie on…

J-World To Close on February 17th, 2019 Fans of manga and anime who live in Japan or have lived or visited Tokyo in the past six years may have fond memories of the hours they spent at the J-World Theme Park in Ikebukuro. The indoor amusement park featuring popular works from Jump manga and anime has been entertaining fans ever since 2013 with exciting regular attractions featuring Naruto, Gintama, One Piece and Dragon Ball Z, as well as a lineup of regularly changing temporary attractions. Sadly, J-World is closing its doors on February 17th, 2019. Several temporary attractions are being held simultaneously during the establishment’s Grande Finale, focusing on Naruto…

While net cafes and capsule hotels are mostly viewed as an affordable bare bones way to crash when traveling in Japan or after missing a last train, recent years have seen specialty types open targeting otaku and book fans. Now “Manga Art Hotel, Tokyo”, fittingly located near Japan’s “city of manga” in Jimbocho, is opening up and offering capsule lodging with over 5,000 manga titles to keep you entertained. Manga Art Hotel, Tokyo cites a growing number of foreign travelers to Japan (particularly as a lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) as one reason to offer the special accommodation, which will focus on offering a collection of manga titles (which…

If you’ve traveled enough around Japan, you’ve likely spotted the ceramic figures of the maneki neko (beckoning cat), a Japanese good luck charm that is said to bring good fortune and prosperity to its owner. Shop owners often display one at the front of their business, as the upraised paw moving in a beckoning motion is believed to summon good fortune. What you probably haven’t seen, however, is a maneki neko summoning good luck to your crotch. The “Good Fortune Maneki Neko Pants” are being mad available from Izavell, and are said to use the powers of a very peculiarly placed maneki neko and the good luck color of red…

Whether it’s ramen-topped ice cream cups, vanilla ice-cream creamy seafood ramen, or the world’s most intense matcha ice cream, you’ll find no lack of variety when it comes to ice cream in Japan. If you’ve been searching for poop-emoji shaped soft serve for whatever reason, then you’re in luck. SweetXO Good Grief in Harajuku will scratch your itch with “Unchi-kun Soft Serve”! Each Unchi-kun will be served in a miniature Japanese-style toilet (as shown below by Harajuku YouTuber “Shinako”.), with customizable accessories as SweetXO Good Grief wants customers to decorate their poo emoji to their liking. So feel free to turn your poop emoji into a king, flower, or bunny….

In Japan, rather than signing documents and forms, people use a ‘hanko’, a stamp of their name. Also known as an inkan, it is specially engraved and designed for the individual person, then registered with the local city hall before it can be used to sign official documents. This makes it, in the eyes of the Japanese, much harder to forge than a signature. For important contracts, such as ones to rent an apartment, they will definitely ask for a hanko rather than a signature. There’s a lot of freedom regarding the design, which is why recently some awesome Pokemon themed hanko were released that actually incorporate the creatures into…

The traditional Japanese art of papercutting, or kirie, can truly be a beautiful sight to behold. 25-year veteran Masayo Fukuda, however, may have produced one of the most intricately gorgeous cutting yet. She recently took to Twitter to post what she is calling her masterpiece of 2018 in the form of a stunning kirie octopus! Source: Masayo Fukudaa Source: Masayo Fukuda The super detailed octopus is actually cut from a single sheet of paper, and it took Masayo two months to painstakingly craft and brilliantly make use of negative space. Source: Masayo Fukuda Source: Masayo Fukuda While it may appear as a finely drawn illustration, videos below prove that it’s…