Earlier this month, Himawari Dairy began selling space yogurt, which is made using two types of lactic acid bacteria that spent 10 days in space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket last spring. The yogurt, called Uchu O Tabi Shita Yogurt (literally: “yogurt that travelled in space”), is now available in Shikoku’s four prefectures. The space […]

M-INT Kobe, a commercial complex scheduled to open in Kobe on October 4, has been outfitted with an exterior lighting system that translates cosmic energy waves into pulsating blue light. The system is the first of its kind to be installed on a building in Japan.
Called “Super Nova,” the lighting system consists of 2,880 blue […]

NTT is developing a device that provides advance warning of earthquakes seconds before they strike by relying on data from a nationwide system of seismometers put in place by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The sensors detect an earthquake’s primary waves (”P-waves”), which travel more quickly and are much weaker than the lower-velocity secondary waves (”S-waves”) […]

Stacks of boxed feline robots manufactured by Sega Toys, called Yume-Neko Smile (”Dream Cat Smile”), await their fate on the shelves of Tokyo toy shops. While the cats bide their time staring listlessly through the clear plastic windows of their temporary dwellings, Sega Toys steps up its efforts to find homes for them with a […]

This October, Japan’s National Science Museum (Ueno, Tokyo) will host an exhibit of monster-related cultural artifacts, including the mummies of a mermaid and tengu (long-nosed goblin), as well as a selection of items documenting other traditional Japanese monsters like the kappa.
Scheduled to run from October 17 to November 12, the exhibit will feature about 100 […]

On September 20, Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) unveiled an intelligent wheelchair that relies on an omnidirectional camera for a view of its surroundings, avoids collisions with people and obstacles, and knows when something is wrong with the chair’s occupant. Developed with the cooperation of the National Rehabilitation Center for […]

As industrialized nations evolve into efficient paperless societies, their citizens spend ever-decreasing amounts of time with pen in hand. An unfortunate side effect of this trend is the gradual disappearance of the refined art of pen-twirling. The future of this art form is now lies precariously in the hands of our youth, whose daily school […]

In a move that could provide a crucial boost to our robotic friends struggling up the near side of the Uncanny Valley, major cosmetics manufacturer Kao Corporation and a Keio University research team led by robotics professor Takashi Maeno have developed an artificial skin that feels just like human skin.
Skin, the largest organ of the […]

Here’s a downright hilarious (either that, or I’ve been in Japan too long!) video slideshow of crazy photos, mostly from Japan. The soundtrack is Kotoba Ni Dekinai (meaning “speechless”) by Off Course (Kazumasa Oda, the vocalist, is a famous Japanese singer-songwriter who’s been around since the late 60s).

For a few of these photos, the humor […]

Schadaraparr, who were instrumental in popularizing hip hop in Japan in the early 90s, appear as the components of a Rube Goldberg machine in the music video for their new single “Disco System.”

UPDATE: This post at “GilCrows Image Research Lab” points out the Schadaraparr video’s striking resemblance to an advertisement for 118 118, the […]