Perfect for coffee lovers who love to slurp. If you’ve ever been in Japan during the summer, then there’s a good chance you’ve come across “coffee jelly” (kōhī zerī). This chilled sweet coffee-flavored gelatin dessert is a staple of summer in Japan and no doubt a favorite treat of many coffee lovers. However, for the folks at Tanuki Coffee–a coffee …

Because your cat deserves the finest furniture money can buy. When it comes to furniture there are few places in Japan that can compete with the city of Okawa in Fukuoka Prefecture. Not only does Okawa have close to 500 years of history making furniture, it is also home to Okawa Kagu, a consortium of over a dozen artisans committed …

Is there anything more appetizing than a sheet of blue fish cake? The folks at the Toyama prefecture based company Ikuji Kamaboko have been hard at work producing kamaboko since 1927. Often referred to as “fish cakes” in English, kamaboko is a staple of Japanese cuisine and instantly recognizable with its semi-cylindrical shape. However, Ikuji Kamaboko has completely changed up …

The perfect solution for salarymen who hate crowded trains and have an extra $10k lying around. Until a few months ago forty-year-old Masahiro Ogawa had a secure job helping develop autonomous vehicles for the Japanese automobile giant Toyota. However, in March after 13 years at Toyota he kissed that job goodbye and set out on a quest to show people …

Please do not shoot at any sideways walking employees. Along with Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and a handful of others, Space Invaders is easily one of the most well known and beloved games of the early days of arcades. This year marked the 40th year since those little crab-like aliens began trying to take over earth and in order to celebrate …

Tasty or awful? Only one way to find out. Japan’s instant ramen industry is known for coming up with some pretty interesting twists on this classic late night snack. And now, the Osaka-based instant noodle maker Acecoik has concocted what may just be one of the “sweetest” takes on instant ramen yet. Created in honor of the 30th anniversary of …

How smelly are you? Over the past several years the word sumehara has risen to prominence in Japan. Derived from the combination of the English words “smell” and “harassment,” sumehara is the olfactory cousin of sexual harassment. In other words, it refers to the act of causing discomfort to others – particularly in the workplace – via unpleasant body odors. In …

Ever wonder what it looks like when you scare a raccoon? You’re about to find out. Despite their cute appearance, raccoons can be a real nuisance. Trapping them isn’t easy either. For one, they are fairly clever creatures, so not just any trap is enough to outsmart them. And then there’s the fact that anything big enough to capture a …

Japan just can’t get enough of those cat ears. The Japanese retailer Village Vanguard is known for their vast assortment of attention-getting products and the latest of these appears to be a new line of cat-themed lingerie that comes complete with, you guessed it, cat ears. This line of two cat girl lingerie sets comes in a black and a …

Perfect for messy eaters. It doesn’t matter how careful you are, eventually it happens. If you wear white pants, sooner or later you spill a bit of coffee or soy sauce on them, forever ruining your pristine trousers. However, the Japanese apparel maker Factelier has developed a new line of white pants that promise to fix this pesky little problem. …

Ninja of the world, rejoice. Your day has come. For as long as ninja have existed, they have wanted one thing: to find a high quality wristwatch that can keep up with the rigorous demands of their profession. And now, it looks like ninja around the world will no longer have to worry about this because the Japanese watch manufacturer …

Here’s some advice. Don’t do this to your cat, or it will hate you for life. A company in Japan has created what may be one of the most redundant ways to make your cat cuter: cat ear hoods for cats. Created by Necos, a company specializing in costume apparel for cats, this line of feline headwear is guaranteed to …