At the Sake Experience at HYPER JAPAN, you may have dropped by the Sake Shop where lots of delicious brands of sake and liquers were available to purchase. Umeshu (梅酒) plum wine is always a favourite and it’s no surprise that sales are strong even among those who don’t always like sake. With the constant need to innovate and stand out in a crowded field of products and competitors, umeshu makers are turning to novel corners for inspiration.
Enter Chiisana Shiawase (ちいさなしあわせ) “lit: small happiness“, a collaborative effort between Asahara Shuzo (麻原酒造) and former AKB48 idol Sumire Sato!
The product blends a Cabernet Sauvignon with umeshu liquer made from Ogose plums. Chiisana Shiawase goes on sale today so check it out here!
The Olympics are the dream of every athlete and medalists often become celebrities in their own right. At the 2012 London Olympics, female judoka Kaori Matsumoto won the hearts and minds of Japan when she won the gold medal in the women’s lightweight class. After a successful gold medal at the 2015 World Judo Championships and a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, she announced that she would be retiring on 7 February 2019.
She proceeded to delight her fans when at her retirement press conference when she responded to the question about her plans for the future with a simple “I will be making ice cream”. When pressed for more details, she announced that a new ice cream shop called “Darcy’s” would be opening up on the ground floor of Tokyo Fuji University.
If you’re a Nintendo fan, then chances are that you’ve played (or at least watched Youtube videos) Dr. Mario. Recently, Nintendo announced that it would be bringing back the beloved game in a port to iOS and Android platforms! Titled “Dr. Mario World“, the game will be released in over 60 countries this summer, following the freemium model where the base game is free to download with purchasable in-game items. Developed in collaboration with LINE Inc. and NHN the game is sure to revive interest ahead of its 30th anniversary next year.
Studio Ghibli’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (魔女の宅急便) is up on high in the pantheon of Ghibli movies and anybody who’s even a bit interested in Japan will have watched it. Since it was released in 1989, it’s warmed the hearts of children (and adults) all over the world. With the 30th anniversary upcoming, GBL (GBL is short for Ghibli!) has announced a limited-edition wristwatch to mark 30 years of “Kiki’s Delivery Service” in a special collaboration with Baby-G.
If you look closely, you’ll see at the top of the watch face, a very familiar face and red hair ribbon next to a small black cat. Indeed this is Kiki and Jiji as they were when they were minding the bakery while Osono was out running errands. Speaking of which, the design under the watch face should also be familiar, as it stands for Rock Paper Scissors, or “Guu Choki Pa” in Japanese. If you remember the movie, the name of the bakery was, you guessed it, the “Gutiokipanya”! For those of you unfamiliar with romaji, that’s “Guu Choki Pa(nya)” Oh, and “Panya” means bakery”?
Knowing how popular the NINJAGO line has been in the LEGO universe, it was only a matter of time before it popped up in LEGOLAND. Well, that day is not too far away with LEGOLAND Japan announcing LEGO NINJAGO World would be coming to LEGOLAND Japan this July! That’s only 5 months away!
The big news behind all this is that the Japanese NINJAGO World will feature the Flying Ninjago ride! Imagine flying through the air at speeds up to 50km on a ride that has wing controls that leyt you spin through the air how you want to! Not to mention you’re 22m up in the air… You’ll be forgiven if your inner child is secretly plotting to work this into your next trip to Japan.
LEGOLAND Japan is located on the waterfront area of Nagoya city which places it conveniently along the way when you travel between Kyoto and Tokyo…. Food for thought…
If you’re a dog person, don’t worry; this isn’t an anti-dog article! Rather, it’s a celebration of cats in all their wacky and oddball glory. “Zannen Sugiru Neko”（残念すぎる猫）a photography exhibition is scheduled to pop up over in Kobe, Japan this weekend from popular “cat photographer” Masayuki Ono in a true celebration of the awkward and silly side of these lovable furry felines.
That said, this is no ordinary exhibition. Rather, this exhibition is all about how cats are so much more than just cute. They can be silly, awkward, and even embarrassing – while being cute at the same time.
At HYPER JAPAN Festival 2018 two anime films were shown in the HYPER Theatre: “The Boy and the Beast” and “SUMMER WARS“. Both films are from Studio CHIZU, the brainchild of visionary director Mamoru Hosoda, and some pretty fantastic anime. Studio CHIZU made news again this past weekend when Mamoru Hosoda’a latest film “MIRAI” was nominated for and won the Annie Award for Best Animated Independent Feature! The film was also nominated in the Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production category.
（C)2018 スタジオ地図
For those of you unfamiliar with the Annie Awards, it helps to think of them as THE award to get if you’re in animation. The Oscars of Anime, if you will. It’s a big deal for the world of anime and it’s a big deal for Mamoru Hosoda, especially as he’s seen by many as the next big name after Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki. It sure doesn’t hurt to have one of these on your wall.
If you haven’t seen MIRAI yet, it’ll be showing at the Regent Street Cinema at 11:30 on 9 February. That’s this Saturday so we’ll see you there!
With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, it’s no surprise teens all over Japan are becoming nervous. Who’ll get chocolates, who to give chocolates to, sigh… to be young. Apparently Japanese telecom giant Softbank is all for supporting romance and love as it’s partnered with AbemaTV to produce a song about love! The kicker is that the lyrics of the song are from actual confessions by high school students. 59 of them!
The song is titled “UtaKoku” (ウタコク) and is performed by Kana Adachi (足立佳奈). You can check out her profile here. Softbank is also running commercials featuring the music video which you can check out below.
The HYPER Live! stage has seen its fair share of “anison” artists over the years, and if you’re familiar with them we won’t blame you if you have an image of a pop idol or a rock band. That said, anime music isn’t just pop tracks and rock riffs. Code Geass is one such image-busting anime where the soundtrack consists mainly of orchestral pieces backed by a chorus. So imagine that live, in concert, with footage from the anime! Yes, that’s right.
The concert is happening on 22 March at the Tokyo Operacity Concert Hall and is expected to feature 40 tracks from the anime soundtrack! Previous Notice, Elegant Force, Stories, Nightmare, Beautiful Emperor, COLORS, and much more!
If the timing feels oddly suspicious, you’ve got it in one. The newest feature-length anime “CODE GEASS Lelouch of the Re;surrection” will hit the silver screen on 9 February and so interest in all things Lelouch will be high! Tickets start at 7,500JPY (VAT inclusive) and go up the ranks to 15,000JPY!! Premium seats come with goodie bags with limited edition items inside so expect those to fly!
HYPER JAPAN is a big fan of idol groups, and so when the AKB Request Hour rolls around, it’s kind of a given that we’d watch it. Scheduled for Friday, 18 Jan and Saturday, 19 Jan (JST), the livestream will be handled by SHOWROOM. The live stream timings are as follows:
18 Jan from 19:00 (Fri 10:00 GMT)
19 Jan from 11:00/15:00/19:00 (Sat 02:00/06:00/10:00 GMT)
The AKB Request Hour Setlist Best 100 is a fan-centric event where the top 100 AKB group songs are voted by the fans and performed over two days by the girls of AKB group themselves! The final ranking will be a secret until the very end so be sure to access the livestream and watch!
By now, you’ve probably all seen the infamous video where the Banksy artwork “Girl with Balloon” shred itself after going under the hammer. Needless to say, Banksy artwork is highly sought-after and instant news (not to mention fame) when a new one appears.
So it’s no surprise that Twitter had a field day earlier when the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, posted a photo of herself next to a stenciled rat holding an umbrella. The artwork in question appeared on a flood barrier near Hinode station on the Yurikamome line.
Though the tweet was posted on 17 Jan, an expert familiar with Banksy reportedly contacted the Tokyo government at the end of 2018 in the belief that the artwork was a genuine Banksy. The artwork has since been moved to a secure warehouse where it is being tested for authenticity.
Japanese cuisine is famous for its aesthetics as it is for the taste. That said, the real fun starts when you discover “B-kyu gourmet” (B級グルメ) during your travels off the beaten path. The decidedly quirky underbelly of Japanese food, “B-kyu gourmet” encompasses a variety of sins and delights enough to satisfy the foodie in you.
Popular food chain “Densetsu no Sutadon-ya” (伝説のすた丼屋) announced today that it would be introducing a special menu item on 17 January. The item in question, a massive donburi bowl, is aptly named the “Dangerous Bakunou Stamina Donburi” and clocks in at a whopping 2000 calories!! The bowl is not for the faint of heart and is available at select locations at the surprisingly reasonable price of 880 JPY.
The donburi in question involves three bowls of rice, topped with 100g of cabbage, on top of which there is a generous (x1.5!) helping of pork belly with garlic mayonnaise to boot! Did we mention it’s 2000 calories, the total amount for the average man in a day?!
HYPER JAPAN is always a place where you can cosplay all you want, as long as its family friendly. Lots of people do come in cosplay, from homemade outfits to professional setups. We even have a few cosplayer guests to come and judge the COSTest stage event! But what exactly does it mean to be a professional cosplayer?
We’ve been following a few cosplayers over in Japan and one of them, Enako (えなこ), popped up at the dwango x Honda booth at the TOKYO AUTO SALON where she greeted fans and visitors in Hatsune Miku (初音ミク) regalia. In addition to appearing at the booth, Enako also appeared on stage to promote the dwango x Honda booth.
The next day, she was at the “Boat Race Tamagawa” where she appeared on stage dressed as “Shizunami Matsuri” the official mascot character of Boat Race Tamagawa. Together with a photo session, she also promoted the venue to attendees at a talk session.
So for those interested in cosplaying on a professional level, the possibilities and opportunities are out there! If you want to follow Enako, you can find her on instagram or on Twitter.
You probably know the film “Spirited Away” from Studio Ghibli. What you might know about this film is that the bathhouse was modeled on a real location! Yes, that’s right – Yubaba’s bathhouse was inspired by Dogo Onsen in Ehime Prefecture. While the current bathhouse building dates back to 1894, bath facilities have been at Dogo since the 6th century! So how to celebrate 125 year of such a historical building?
We introduce to you the “Dogo REBORN” project! This will involve a careful restoration of the historic building while keeping the bathhouse open. What’s more, from 1 February the north facade of the bath house has been lit up with projection mapping from 18:00 to 21:30! Featuring a phoenix, this dazzling display of light and sound will centre around the concept of rebirth and the phoenix rising.
If that wasn’t enough, Dogo Onsen have teamed up with Tezuka Productions, the studio behind “Astro Boy” (鉄腕アトム), and are creating an special version of the “Phoenix” (火の鳥) manga titled “Hi No Tori ‘Dogo Onsen Hen'”(火の鳥“道後温泉編”)!
Unless you didn’t have a TV in the 200s, or actively go out of your way to not see anything with Kiefer Sutherland in it, you probably know of the TV series “24”. Well, Japanese people collectively went nuts last week when news dropped that TV Asahi was planning a “24 JAPAN”. Since then, the question on everyone’s minds was “Who’ll be the Jack Bauer of the Japanese series?!”
Who indeed?
According to a recent online survey of users on the J-Cast website, the clear front-runner and overall favourite was former SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (草彅剛), no doubt boosted by loyal fans. Interest in other SMAP members was also high, with Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, and Shingo Katori coming in at second, fourth and sixth, respectively. While there is no official word yet, interest remains high as to which actor will be tapped to take the lead role. With the TV series announced for 2020, the official announcement is expected to happen soon.
Ah, remakes. They can be hailed as fantastic modern-day adaptations or panned as horrific butcherings of classic masterpieces. Still, we all have a childhood anime we’d like to see remade in 2019. CMSite Inc. over in Japan recently decided to find out just which anime people wanted to see remade, conducting an online survey in October of 2018. 13,327 people of both genders between the ages of 10 and 60 responded to “which Showa (era) anime would you like to be remade?” and the results for the “Robot/Mecha” category are as follows:
Needless to say, it’s every anime/manga fan’s dream to see their favourite classic anime reborn in full digital glory, but we’re pretty sure there’ll always be a special place in our hearts for the originals.
Everybody in Japan knows Sazae-san. This popular cartoon started off as a “yonkoma” manga back in 1946 and was adapted into the current beloved anime in the late 1960s. Since then, Sazae-san has charmed the hearts of generation Japanese children. So popular is this social phenomenon that there are entire societies devoted to the study of Sazae-san! One such society, the “Sazae-san Rock Paper Scissors Research Society” recently made an announcement regarding the Rock Paper Scissors section of the anime. As viewers of the show will know, Sazae-san plays Rock Paper Scissors at the end of each episode. Now according to the Research Society, since 1991, Sazae-san has always chosen Scissors on the New Year 1 Jan episode. While this bit of news may not be earth-shaking to the casual observer, it remains a warm and fuzzy bit of news for those who know and love the show. So next year, remember to go with Rock when you go up against Sazae-san!
Source: FujiTV
And now, to bring a smile to your face: There’s a Sazaesan street in Fukuoka!
Remember back in 2016 when Audi Japan collaborated with SquareEnix to make the “The Audi R8 Star of Lucis” for the CG movie “Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV”? Remember when they took it a step further and actually made the car?! Well, lucky fans and attendees of the TOKYO AUTO SALON 2019 got to see that car when it went on display for the 11 – 13 January auto show at the Makuhari Messe. Imagine seeing the car made for Crown Prince Noctis in all its glory with the rose motif and custom detailing throughout! What makes this car so incredible (even more than the fact that it exists!) is that there is only ONE in the entire world!
Interested in owning this piece of Final Fantasy lore brought to life? The car is actually being auctioned off this very moment!! Head on over to the auction website and register; this car can be yours for the reasonable (ahem) current bid of 55,100,000 JPY! You can see the auction site via the banner below but hurry if you’re interested because the auction ends in 6 days!
You saw them at HYPER JAPAN Winter 2018 in the HYPER Theatre when they and their fellow virtual Youtubers appeared on the Saturday 1 session! Now, all you fans of the TOKYO MX short anime series Prince Frog & Wormom can enjoy them as cute and cuddly soft toys! For a limited time, a few lucky customers will be able to purchase a Prince Frog soft toy for 2,980 JPY in one of four colours, choosing from either blue, yellow, red, or orange! Head to the Pop-up shop at “Cave” in the Kichioji district of Tokyo from 12 Jan to 14 Jan between 11AM and 8PM to get yours! If you’ve got cash to spare, remember to pick up some of the other official merchandise!
If you’re travelling over in Japan and suddenly find a craving for a familiar brand, worry no longer as Hotel Chocolat is now available in Japan via their online store! After opening its very first Japanese branch at the Aeon Lake Town mori shopping centre in November 2018, Hotel Chocolat has expanded their virtual footprint to meet the upcoming Valentine season. Customers will be able to choose their favourites from a range of over 200 products at https://hotelchocolat.co.jp/.
Going to Japan is all about getting to experience those special experiences that most only dream about. On Sunday, 19 January, a very special train tour will take place in Tokyo where a very select few customers will be able to board the luxury cruise train “Hana” (華) for a 350km scenic train tour around Tokyo! Organised by Hankyu Travel, this tour will take place over the course of 8 hours and will run on tracks normally off-limits to passenger trains. Getting to see Tokyo from unusual places is sure to please the tourist in you!
Passengers will enjoy a complimentary luxury bento lunch, drinks and a souvenir programme. Tickets will cost 22,000 JPY and the tour will depart from Shinjuku station at 9:03AM and arrive in Shinagawa station at 5:49PM.
We all have our favourite anime and Dragonball Z consistently ranks high on that list, no surprise there. In fact, it’s so popular that it’s rare that you won’t see a Dragonball cosplayer at a HYPER JAPAN event. A recent internet survey conducted over in Japan by Rankingoo (ランキングー) surveyed a total of 3,670 women in their 30s and 40s about who they thought was the strongest “bad guy” in the Dragonball Z universe. The Top 5 of the results were:
Frieza (フリーザ)
Vegeta (ベジータ)
Majin Bu (魔人ブウ)
Beerus, God of Destruction of Universe 7 (破壊神ビルス)
Demon King Piccolo (ピッコロ大魔王)
While there may be some disagreement as to which character should be in the top spot, the names are familiar ones in the Bad Guy Universe and perennial favourites as well. With HYPER JAPAN Festival 2019 slated for this summer, we’ll be looking forward to seeing how many of the above list appear as cosplay outfits!
If you’ve ever visited the J-Culture Activities area at HYPER JAPAN, you’ve probably seen a few attendees focused intently on a board game involving lots of black and white pieces. They’re playing the ancient game of “go” and though its not originally from Japan, it enjoys widespread popularity across all demographics. Recently, The Nihon Ki-in, the professional society for Go in Japan, announced on 5 January that Sumire Nakamura (仲邑菫) would be making her professional debut at the record-breaking age of nine!
Sumire is the first individual under the “Eisai Tokubetsu Suisen Kishi” (英才特別推薦棋士) programme aimed at fostering a new generation of Japanese world-class go talent. At the press conference announcing her upcoming debut, Sumire thanked members of the media with a simple greeting of “Kore kara yoroshiku onegai shimasu” (これからよろしくお願いします).
The next time you’re near the J-Culture Activities area, drop on by and try your hand at “go”!
Cosplay is one of the pillars of HYPER JAPAN and its no secret that we love any kind of (family-friendly) cosplay! We here at HYPER JAPAN dream of heading back to Japan for the year-end Comic Market but have you seen those airfares?! The best we can do is to enviously trawl through social media from the warmth and comfort of the office. Last Monday saw Comic Market 95, the largest “doujinshi” market of its kind, came to a successful close. Although the event is focused on independent magazine publishing, cosplay inevitably takes the limelight and Comike 95 was no exception. In particular, the entrance cosplay area was where unusual and offbeat cosplay were in full force, taking on a wider scope and scale beyond anime and manga and into wider social themes and memes.
Think of cosplayers dressed up as mobile company DoCoMo signal testers, or in full “Tokyo Disneyland maintenance staff” mode. Imagine others crossing cosplay with the “falling stars” meme. To the casual observer clued into Japanese zeitgeist, many of the displays will elicit wry grins and golf claps. Those reactions are the reason for these offbeat cosplay outfits. For you cosplayers out there, that’s food for thought for HYPER JAPAN Festival 2019. Anybody up for cosplaying as soy sauce bottles…oh.
Held at the Tokyo Big Site from December 29 to 31, the three-day event is affectionately known as “comike” and is internationally known as the place to be for fans of cosplay, anime, manga, and of course, self-published “doujinshi” magazines. Check out their website here!
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Find out more here. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Check out 
