Despite its embrace of digital tools and technology, Japan remains a DIY and crafts-based culture in many ways, as the popularity of maker culture sites, fab labs and hackerspaces in Tokyo and ...
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After yet another typhoon in a very rainy October spoiled the weekend closest to Halloween, thousands of people in Tokyo seized the chance to celebrate All Hallows' Eve on October 31st itself despite ...
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Japanese Halloween is somewhat different to Halloween in other countries. You won't encounter much trick-or-treating going on, but there's plenty of costumes and dressing-up. However, this tends to ...
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When gravure idol (glamor model) Miyako Akane kickstarted a new body painting cosplay subculture back in June, certain sections of the web went nuts. While this is hardly a genuine trend -- a handful ...
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Everyone knows that Japan has a lot of dolls: from luxury silicone sex dolls to Licca-chan and Hinamatsuri Festival dolls. Kigurumi is a kind of cosplay or costume play where participants dress up ...
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While fans of the Capcom video game franchise Street Fighter are stereotypically male, now female aficionados can get their hands on two official sporty lingerie sets based on the characters of ...
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By now you've probably heard of maid cafes, where patrons are served by young girls in maid costumes (who also sometimes iron customers' shirts). But what about a maid gym? One exists and is ...
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Last month the world suddenly got interested in Domino's Pizza in Japan, specifically what it was doing in Hokkaido: apparently trying to train a reindeer to deliver pizzas. So far, so ...
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Halloween is almost upon us, and H&M is currently showcasing what it claims are "four Tokyo Halloween styles". In a video, the model Seria Kawachi goes through several quick costume changes to ...
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A Where's Wally? Wally Run will take place in October, bringing together thousands of Wally (aka Waldo) cosplayers. Applications are currently being accepted for the two "runs" in Osaka on October ...
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In need of some holiday cheer? Fed up with all the bad news stories clogging up on your feed? Then take a gander at something that is bound to make you smile: the Running Christmas ...
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This is definitely the gray zone between cosplay and cosme. Japan's latest awesome face pack innovation is the Osamu Tezuka Face Pack. This time the skin-care mask transforms you into two ...
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Japan attracts all kinds of foreign resident, from the dilligent student of Kanji or karate to the sleazy women-hunters of Shibuya and Roppongi, and the lost souls who seem to have stumbled into the ...
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Self-indulgent geekdom gone mad or an inventive play on an otaku motif? A little while ago there was some buzz about a "flashing skirt" created by Kamakura-based Kayac Inc's Kiyoyuki ...
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Flamboyant rock band KISS continue to conquer Japan. The makeup-loving rockers have for years been a staple of both summer music festivals and mainstream advertising campaigns. And now they have ...
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