io9: Japan

This Optimus Prime snowman is the size of an apartment building

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:30:01 PST

Since early January, a crew at Hokkaido, Japan's Asahikawa Winter Festival has been carving out this 53-foot-tall bust of Optimus Prime peering over a wall. Given all that effort, it will be somewhat depressing to witness him inevitably transform into a grey puddle. More »

Japanese android condemned to be forever alone for Valentine's Day

Cyriaque Lamar — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:00:00 PST

Should you visit Tokyo's Takashimaya department store by Valentine's Day, you can greet Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro's Geminoid-F android, who's engaged in a curiously forlorn bit of street theater. More »

Wild 1969 Japanese magazine art imagines the hellhole at Earth's core

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:25:00 PST

Here's something that should appeal to fans of Gōjin Ishihara's profoundly weird children's art. In 1969. a Japanese magazine published these exceedingly intense depictions of life at the center of our planet. Taking cues from Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Lost World, these drawings and diagrams are the strange remnants of some plesiosaur-filled fever dream. I love the heck out of them all.

Mutant rice could help Japanese farmers bounce back from tsunami damage

Alasdair Wilkins — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:00:00 PST

Japan is still struggling to recover from the devastation caused by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that hit the country last March. One of the long-term problems is reclaiming farmland ravaged by the tsunami. And mutant rice might be the solution. More »

This is the greatest photo of Godzilla ever taken

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:00:00 PST

It's unclear who snapped this, but we can affirm without apprehension that this set shot is the most dignified photo of a kaiju in the history of photography. Now I want to see Hedorah in a debonair tuxedo, quaffing a gin gimlet. More »

For $275, you too can be the child star of a bootleg Chinese Gundam film

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:00:00 PST

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Did you ever wish to star in your very own Gundam cartoon? For under $300, you can become the hero in a copyright-naysaying mecha epic! More »

The Most Phallic Places On The Planet

Cyriaque Lamar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:05:00 PST

All across the globe, there are monuments and tourist attractions that transform our otherwise boring reality into a gleefully tumescent fantasia. Here are the world's most otherworldly phallic vacation destinations. More »

On one Japanese island, everyone always carries a gas mask

Lauren Davis — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:00:00 PST

Scenes from Miyakejima can look downright post-apocalyptic. Each resident on the tiny Japanese island is required to carry a gas mask, just in case they need to quickly pull it on. But why? More »

The man who can transform any vegetable into a musical instrument

Cyriaque Lamar — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:35:00 PST

We've previously looked at musical fungus and Austrian gardening aficionados who turned their crops into euphony. More »

This is possibly the trashiest werewolf movie ever filmed (NSFW)

Cyriaque Lamar — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:05:00 PST

Oh dear, we may have found a Japanese horror movie that outcrasses Big Tit Zombie. This here is Red Sword, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with werewolves, dime-store special effects, and blatantly hornball marketing that would give the late, great Doris Wishman a run for her money. Here's the plot synopsis, if such contrivances are important to you: More »

Yes, Moses flew to Japan on a spaceship and died there

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:45:00 PST

You may remember that Jesus Christ walked through Siberia to die in Japan, but did you know that Moses skipped the cross-continental jaunt and took a spacecraft instead? Also, were you aware that his tomb is now a tourist trap? More »

Behold, the Justice League of Japan that never was

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:35:00 PST

Sure, we've seen a Japanese version of Spider-Man, but Wonder Woman artist Cliff Chiang has now created a Justice League straight out of 1970s anime and kaiju. More »

Robots can now walk on beaches, because why the hell not?

Alasdair Wilkins — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:50:20 PST

In a robot uprising, humanity still should have one slim hope: if we flee to the beaches, our robot overlords might fall over on the soft, shifting sand dunes. Now roboticists have solved that one robotic flaw. Gee, thanks, guys. More »

Did you know that Jesus Christ's tomb is in Japan?

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:20:00 PST

In the 2,800-person village of Shingō in Japan's Aomori prefecture, you can visit a tourist attraction that earns almost doodlysquat fanfare despite its world-shattering theological ramifications. I am, of course, talking about the grave of Jesus Christ. What, you didn't know that Jesus escaped crucifixion and emigrated to northern Japan to become a rice farmer?

Giant Gundam statue once again stands vigilant in Japan

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:05:00 PST

Japan's 1:1 scale Gundam statue was built, disassembled, and subsequently reconstructed. Now, Gundam statue aficionado DarwinFish105 has recorded the statue's return to its former home in Odaiba. Here it is looking appropriately epic, surrounded by cloud cover. More »

Watching two Japanese swimming crabs have sex is insanely dramatic

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 07:30:00 PST

One would not think that the sight of two swimming crabs (Portunus pelagicus) making whoopie would be an earth-shattering occasion. After all, this is a species that spends a hearty portion of its existence buried in mud. But when you slap some overly dramatic music over their amour, their reproductive habits become pure sensual crustacean phantasmagoria. This scene was captured in Japan's Lake Hamana. More »

Hayao Miyazaki fans break Twitter record by casting magical spell in unison

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:20:00 PST

Back in August, the earth-shatteringly important topic that is Beyoncé's baby bump broke the world record for the most tweets per second (TPS). The singer's pregnancy reveal accrued a stunning 8,868 TPS. More »

Perhaps the most unnecessarily complex mecha transformation in anime history

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:00:27 PST

In this scene from the movie Starbirds — which was a mish-mash of episodes of the 1980s Japanese cartoon Tōshō Daimos — the formation of a giant robot requires a zip line, aggressive sloganeering, an entire hidden bridge, near-death experiences, and some interpretative dance for good measure. In the future, a bizarre strain of amnesia has seemingly drained humans of the cognitive capacity to make keys. More »

If the Candyland Illuminati existed, they would've directed this J-Pop music video

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:55:00 PST

This is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, a Harajuku model/singer whose music video for the song "PONPONPON" won fans across the globe for its thrilling reenactment of what would happen if you subsisted solely on ayahuasca and gumdrops for a few weeks. More »

Kaiju Santa Claus Christmas cards are the most insane thing you'll see all day

Cyriaque Lamar — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:30:00 PST

We love those crazy old kaiju anatomy diagrams (see here and here), and so does comic artist Brad McGinty. In fact, the Minnesota-based illustrator recently "discovered" a box of old Christmas cards his drunk dead grandfather tried to sell decades ago. According to his family lore, Grandpa McGinty collaborated with a Japanese soldier he ~~met~~ shot during World War II for an ill-conceived X-Mas card venture:

Yoda is selling Cup Noodles in Japan

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:30:00 PST

After all the younglings kicked the bucket, Yoda attempted to recruit new Jedis with an ad campaign narrowcasted to the footloose twentysomething demographic. Or he simply followed the footsteps of our favorite DVD commenter. Also, how did he keep that giant teapot in his burrow?

Graffiti robot vandalizes wall for no apparent reason

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:40:00 PST

This is So Kanno and Takahiro Yamaguchi's "Senseless Drawing Robot," a vandalism machine that uses programming and its own momentum of spray the heck out of clean walls. More »

High-tech robotic head owes a debt to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:00:00 PST

Projection people aren't an entirely new phenomenon, but this Mask-bot — a new yammering robo-visage from German and Japanese researchers — was built to give robots emotive faces and to replace conference calls with talking heads. More »

Waterproof slug robot is like a mechanical amoeba running amok

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:25:00 PST

When we think of futuristic robots, impeccably shiny metal chassis, gleeful tinny voices, and other anthropomorphic accoutrements come to mind. More »

Judging from this Japanese robot, the guide dogs of the future will resemble AT-AT walkers

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:05:00 PDT

You're looking at the most recent prototype of Japanese robotics manufacturer NSK's mechanical seeing-eye dog. This model uses Microsoft Kinect to navigate obstacles, and its creators are adding such features as voice recognition to prevent the robot from leading its master astray. Will future generations be dealing with these helper droids or the same trusty pup cloned ad infinitum? More »

Japanese legislators consider building a back-up Tokyo (in case the original's destroyed)

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:25:00 PDT

During World War I, Paris built a fake Paris to confuse German bombardiers. More recently, China has seen a spate of towns reproducing a little slice of Germany and Austria. Now, Japan is considering constructing a second Tokyo in case an earthquake destroys the one we have today. More »

Disembodied Japanese robot arms applaud your growing fear

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:05:39 PDT

These Ondz clapping robots were built by Masato Takahashi of Keio University, who modeled them on his own arms and designed them to sound like authentic human applause. These aluminum and urethane "multipurpose hand-clapping machines" were showcased at the 2011 Tokyo Digital Content Expo. More »

A time-lapse of Tokyo, set to the score of Blade Runner

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:05:00 PDT

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The futuristic Los Angeles of Blade Runner won't exist for another eight years, so photographer Samuel Cockedey shot present-day Tokyo oodles of times and set the resulting time-lapse footage to Vangelis. You can see many more of Cockedey's striking videos at his Vimeo page. More »

Japanese androids herald our glorious androgynous future

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 09:30:00 PDT

Remember the Actroid-F, the sympathetic robot built to console you as you pass on to the great beyond? Researchers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tokyo have created a male counterpart to the Actroid-F, whose upgrades include camera-eyes and a new hairdo. More »

The most disturbing Japanese make-out robot you'll see all day

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 06:30:00 PDT

Good morning, internet. Some of you may already have a burgeoning case of the Mondays, so here's an invention that will immediately make you appreciate your station in life. More »

An abandoned Russian theme park (with a woolly mammoth) in Japan

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:30:00 PDT

Japan has a wealth of bizarre abandoned amusement parks. For example, we've seen an entire Mount Rushmore left to rot and a graffitied giant model of Lemuel Gulliver. More »

Japanese hair-washing robot is oddly sensuous

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 08:45:00 PDT

We may not have robotic butlers, but thanks to Panasonic's upgraded hairdresser-bot, you can now have your scalp scanned and massaged by its twenty-four soulless fingers. Here's a video of it in motion last week in Tokyo. How far are we from seeing a mishap-prone scissor application tacked on? More »

McDonald's commercials, in the style of Japanese horror movies

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:55:00 PDT

I have no idea if these ads were ever part of an official McDonald's campaign, but they're giving me chills I haven't felt since I saw that Simpsons cosplay earlier this week. Ronald McDonald, truly the scariest clown since It. Honestly, I found his first appearance slightly more discomfiting. More »

Japanese pregnancy simulator vest remains hilarious, disturbing

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 07:30:00 PDT

Remember the Mommy Tummy, Kanagawa University's terrifically odd jacket that allows a fellow to become a human seahorse? Its creators have been taking the device on the road, showcasing its ability to simulate the development of a full-term baby in two minutes. My favorite part of all this is the unusually dire sign insisting that it is a "Serious Game." More »

The Most Revolting Vagina Dentata Sound Effect of All Time [NSFW]

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:35:50 PDT

When you make a movie called Horny House of Horror, you've got a certain... standard to live up to. And luckily, this Japanese import goes all-out. Basically, it's about a bordello where the women kill — and generally mutilate — their customers. And in this scene, the hapless John is undone by a vagina dentata. With the most disturbing sound effect we've heard since the Human Centipede 2 trailer. More »

Scenes from the Fukushima exclusion zone: towns frozen in time and overrun by nature

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 07:35:00 PDT

Six months after the Tōhoku earthquake triggered the Fukushima disaster, former residents, scientists, and news crews are returning to the nuclear exclusion zone to survey how areas near the plant have fared after being abandoned for months. More »

The abandoned Japanese coal mine that became the internet's favorite anti-zombie fortress

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:45:00 PDT

You're looking at the Shime coal mine in Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture. Even though the coal mine hasn't been in operation since 1964, this striking tower has been enjoying a renaissance as of late as the internet's premiere undead-proof structure. More »

The anime propaganda films of a Japanese death cult

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 10:45:00 PDT

Before their sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, the Aum Shinrikyo cult released a series of bizarre anime recruitment videos starring their bearded leader Shoko Asahara levitating, phasing, and using other ridiculous supernatural powers. More »

Japan's creepy cowboy theme park has a rotting Mount Rushmore and a John Wayne robot

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 07:30:00 PDT

Remember Gulliver's Kingdom? Here's a place just as weird. Seventy miles north of Tokyo in the town of Tochigi lies the Western Village, an abandoned amusement park that shuttered its doors in 2007. More »

A video tour through an abandoned Japanese mining village nobody cleaned up

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 08:00:00 PDT

In the late 1970s, the mining industry dried up at the isolated mountain town of Nichitsu in Japan's Saitama prefecture. Residents began to move away, leaving entire houses filled with possessions to time and the elements. Nichitsu has since become a hotspot for urban exploration. The above video is a tour of the town from late 2009, but know that people are still making the pilgrimage. More »