A daikon radish with a distinctly human shape is the talk of the town in Sasamicho, Wakayama prefecture.
Keiko Tanaka, 74, harvested the rather large daikon radish from her family farm. The daikon’s resemblance to a cross-legged woman surprised her as she unearthed it, prompting her to name it “Monroe-chan.” She has since been showing it […]

A recycled hairstyling mannequin head has been called upon to keep crows away from a garbage collection point in Ube, Japan.
At the end of last year when disposing of the head (now lovingly dubbed “Wig-kun” by the area residents), a local hairdresser had the bright idea to recycle the head for use as a scarecrow.
“The […]

A giant rescue robot with “feet” like a bulldozer and arms 5 meters in length is undergoing practical testing at Nagaoka University of Technology (Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture). Designed for avalanche disaster relief and snow removal operations, the robot — known as T-52 Enryu (lit. “rescue dragon”) — is being developed by tmsuk, a Kitakyushu-based […]

Combi’s maglev “Roanju Auto Swing” baby rocker will hit stores on February 3, the company announced today. The rocker, which uses electromagnets to gently swing its passenger, will be available in two models — the standard model RU-650 (68,250 yen) and the luxury model RU-700 (73,500 yen). The company is aiming for sales of 40,000 […]