It’s that time of the year again.
Despite April Fools’ not being from Japan, Japanese companies have fully embraced it. Every April 1 brings with it a whole new batch of silly jokes. Some are hilarious, some are genuinely interesting, and some are a little lackluster. This year was no different and so here’s a quick roundup (in no particular order) of some of the fake products and news that Japanese companies (and in one case a local government) tried to trick people with. Hopefully, you’ll find at least one that’ll make you laugh.
Fruit Bras
This one is brought to you by the Japanese lingerie maker Peach John and it’s exactly what it sounds like: bras made out real fruit. These fake edible bras come in numerous cup sizes (B-F) and are made using a total of 12 different fruits, including peaches, oranges, and strawberries. Aside from providing physical support in the way that other bras do, these also provide nutritional support by acting as a snack when you get a little hungry and decide you need to eat some healthy fruit. If you eat too much of them, you’ll end up bra-less though.
Okonomiyaki Flavor Kit Kats
本日4/1、人気の #焼きキットカット シリーズに、”キットカット お好み焼き”が新登場！！！#もはや真実はひとつもない #エイプリルフール pic.twitter.com/pyyBXE0WfT
— KIT KAT Japan (@KITKATJapan) April 1, 2018
Thanks to the amazing number of flavors that Japanese Kit Kats are available in, this one is by far the most believable. In fact, you can’t help but think that this is more of an attempt to test consumer interest in an okonomiyaki (“Japanese pancake”) flavored Kit Kat than an actual joke. Just in case, you may want to keep an eye out for these at your local Japanese supermarket.
Evie Becomes a Professional Wrestler
According to an article on the website of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), it was announced on April 1 at a press event that the adorable Pokemon Evie has become a professional wrestler.
Evie even had its debut match against a wrestler with a somewhat similar name: Evil.
The match was reportedly a fierce one and ended in a draw. Can’t wait for the rematch.
Edible Jeans
These fake edible pants are the creation of Japanese jeans seller Right-on. They come in three interestingly named flavors: Blue Hawaii Syrup, Soda Blue Carbonated, and Blue Sweets Chocolate.
Right-on says that these edible jeans are a great way for people to customize their jeans. Want to go for that distressed and worn out look? Then just nibble a few holes in your jeans. Delicious.
Cat Paw Beer
On April 1 the Sankt Gallen Brewery in Japan began selling the world’s first cat paw flavored beer in the world for 24 hours (or so they claim). Called Nikukyu, which means paw in Japanese, this fake beer is not actually “made” with cat paws. According to the product’s press release, among cat lovers it’s well known that cat paws have a sweet fragrance not unlike that of popcorn, so they used popcorn to flavor the beer.
Employees at Sankt Gallen went to great lengths to research the smell of a cat’s paw.
The press release claims that the Sankt Gallen team made the popcorn themselves in the brewery using pocorn machines. Employees who own cats supposedly remarked that it smelled “just like home” as they were making the popcorn.
The beer used is a caramel malt. Its amber color is supposed to be reminiscent of the pink color of a cat’s paw.
Much like the Okonomiyaki Kit Kats, this one doesn’t seem completely out of the question. In fact, given all the different flavored beers that can be easily found nowadays, it actually seems pretty likely that popcorn flavored beer already exists.
Drinkable Photoshop
This one is brought to you by none other than the software developer Adobe. This fake product is a protein powder called Nomu Fotoshoppu, or “Photoshop You Drink.” Make a shake with this powder and within moments the nanomachines in the drink will “retouch” you on a cellular level, leaving you looking so good your photos will no longer need digital touch ups.
The promotional video that Adobe made for this silly product claims that by using this drinkable Photoshop you won’t have to go to the gym ever again. They also say that it’s great for people that want to look younger. If couples in the midst of a lover’s quarrel drink it, it’ll fix everything. If a businessman drinks it, his business dealings will go great. And if you pour it on a dead tree, it’ll grow and bloom beautifully.
Check out the video below to see this drinkable Photoshop in action. Make sure to keep an eye on the guy in the video’s pecs.
Slowpoke Becomes the Governor of Kagawa Prefecture
本日、2018年4月1日…
「うどん県」は「ヤドン県」に改名いたします！https://t.co/zsOwBpnX6Y#yadonken pic.twitter.com/Xk8MqHs1Cp
— うどん県 (@UdonkenKanko) March 31, 2018
Kagawa Prefecture is known for its delicious udon. And it is for this reason that Kagawa uses “The Udon Prefecture” (Udon-ken) as its nickname. However, as an April Fools’ Day stunt Kagawa released a video in which they announced that they had changed their name from Udon-ken to Yadon-ken (The Yadon Prefecture). What’s Yadon you say? Yadon is the Japanese name of the Pokemon Slowpoke. And yes, they did this because both udon and Yadon end in “don.”
In the video of the fake press event that Kagawa released, the prefecture’ tourism head can be seen making the name change announcement. Following this, Slowpoke, who is introduced as Governor Yadon, makes its way agonizingly slowly to the podium. After what seems like an eternity Slowpoke arrives and the female MC of the event, asks Slowpoke for a comment but Slowpoke doesn’t say a word, leaving the MC at a loss for words.
After all the awkwardness, the MC debuts an amusing commercial for Yadon no Udon, which is Slowpoke-themed udon. Check out the commercial below.
And just in case, here’s the full fake Yadon-ken press event.
And that brings us to the end of our list. But if you want even more April Fools’ Day articles, then check out the ones below.
Sumo Wrestlers Must Compete Nude Declares Japan Sumo Association
Seiko Creates High End Watches For Ninja And Kunoichi (Video)
Source: Netlab
Featured image: Adobe
Fruit bra images: PR Times
Evie become pro-wrestler images: New Japan Pro-Wrestling Website
Edible Jeans: PR Times
Cat paw beer images: PR Times
Drinable Photoshop image: Adobe
