Anime characters from five famous movies want cuddles from their new owners.  There’s a beautiful word in Japanese to describe dappled sunlight and it’s called “komorebi“. Composed of the kanji for “tree” (“木” [“mo”]), “leak” (“漏れ” [“more”])  and “sun” (“日” [“bi”]), it’s a word that conjures up a beautiful amount of visual imagery, with notions of light and shade moving together in a natural environment, and now it’s the inspiration for a new range of plush toys from Studio Ghibli. Called the “Komorebi Series“, these soft toys shine a light on some of the characters that often appear out of the shadows, with seven in the lineup from five of the studio’s films. The first character jumping out of the shadows to greet us is the Catbus from My Neighbour Totoro. ▼ Measuring 11 x 15 x 29 centimetres (4.33 × 5.91 × 11.42 inches), this plushie retails for 5,280 yen (US$34.94). Not only does the character bound into the light from the shadows, it also brings light with it, thanks to its brightly lit windows. Its giant eyes and gleaming grin will bring joy to even the darkest of days, as you won’t be able to stop yourself from grinning right back at the Catbus in its cute plush toy form. The next character stepping out from the shadows is Moon from Whisper of the Heart (7.5 × 12 × 18.5 centimetres; 3,960 yen). Moon’s charmingly nonplussed face is beautifully replicated, making it seem like he might escape from the confines of your domicile to wander the streets come nightfall. ▼ The sideye is a total mood. Next up, we have two felines from Kiki’s Delivery Service, starting with Jiji (21 × 9 × 16 centimetres; 3,740 yen). Star character Jiji needs no introduction, with his purple ears and jet-black fur begging to be touched and petted. The character’s giant eyes will mesmerise you, while also evoking memories of the scene where the character sits upright in a birdcage while pretending to be a stuffed toy. ▼ It’s like Jiji as a stuffed toy has come to life! Fans of Jiji will be pleased to know that his wife Lily is also stepping out as a plushed toy, so they can live happily ever after in the real world. Lily measures 21 × 9 × 16 centimetres and is slightly more expensive than Jiji, at 3,960 yen. Lily’s soft, fluffy fur will make you want to reach out and hug it, and it will instantly soothe you in return. Next in the lineup is the Fox Squirrel from Laputa: Castle in the Sky (24 × 11 × 23 centimetres; 4,070 yen). ▼ The character’s bright green eyes capture the magic of the movie world from where it came. Its plump, squirrel-like body comes with an irresistibly thick tail that’s just waiting to be lovingly squished by its owner. Finally, we have two beloved characters from Howl’s Moving Castle, starting with Calcifer, the hot-headed fire spirit. Priced at 3,080 yen and measuring 15 × 13.5 × 10 centimtres, Calcifer’s fiery body is beautifully replicated with fur that you’ll want to run your fingers through. ▼ The character’s wide-eyed, anxious face is perfectly primed for soothing cuddles. ▼ Finally, we have the more relaxed Hin, or “Heen” as he’s sometimes known. Measuring 10 × 16 × 25.5 centimetres, and priced at 4,070 yen, this plush toy is adorable from all angles. Unfortunately, the two plushies from Howl’s Moving Castle are unavailable at the moment as they’re yet to be released, but the five other characters are ready to be purchased now at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online through the links below. The komorebi plush toys will bring light to even the darkest corners of your room, and you can always stuff them into a Ghibli character pouch for special outdoor adventures. Source: Donguri Kyowakoku Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Team of 10 all-star artists, including Pokémon and Fate illustrators, shares their takes on the Hollywood classic for 40th anniversary celebration and upcoming merch collection. Though its original release precedes Japanese animation’s global popularity boom by quite a bit, Back to the Future has a plot that would work very easily for an anime. A teenager with a good heart and a strong sense of justice goes on a science-fiction adventure, saves the day with the help of an eccentric friend, and in the happy ending even the villain is reformed? The 1985 Hollywood blockbuster’s premise would fit in perfectly among the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump or the time slots of a late-night TV anime block, and that’s even easier to envision thanks to a new series of Back to the Future illustrations from a group of anime/manga artist all-stars. As part of the celebration for Back to the Future’s 40th anniversary, 10 artists have put their spins on the movie’s cast. Let’s take a look at them one by one, and see if you can guess who’s behind each of them, starting with this surprisingly cheery one from… …Kazushi Hagiwara, best known for his edgy dark fantasy manga Bastard. Also giving a soft-touch look to Marty and Jennifer… …is Pokémon card illustrator Naoki Saito. OK, let’s do an easy one next. No one in manga artist history gives his characters more distinct, manly jawlines and eyebrows than… …Otokojuku creator Akira Miyashita. Hmm…that sudden influx of unaltered testosterone might be causing facial hair to start growing on your device’s screen. Let’s dial it back a bit with something from another manga veteran with a more balanced style… …Mazakazu Katsura, of Video Girl Ai, Shadow Lady, and I’’s fame. Easily the most dramatic interpretation of the bunch comes from someone who knows a thing or two about grand-scale adventure… …Raita Kazama, character designer for Nintendo’s Xenoblade and XenobladeX RPGs. The character proportions get just a little super-deformed… …with the contribution from Koji Inada, manga artist for Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai. Showing how diverse anime/manga artist’s skillsets can be, this illustration, that actually looks like it could have been an North American movie poster during Back to the Future’s initial theatrical run… …was drawn by Masanori Morita, creator of high school delinquent fighting manga Rokudenashi Blues. Likewise, this piece, with an American newspaper Sunday comics vibe to it… …is the work of Ryosuke Takeuchi, whose resume includes the official promotional illustration for the Fly Me to the Saitama/Tonde Saitama live-action movie. And as we wrap things up, we get back to more conventional anime aesthetics as Marty faces off with a rather fine-featured Biff… …as imagined by A3 (Ace Three) artist Ryo Fujiwara, and last, radiating classic shonen adventure series energy… …the art of Fate/Grand Order character designer Lack. The illustrations were revealed on October 21, matching the calendar date that Marty travels to the future in Back to the Future Part II, but they’ll also be part of a special 40th anniversary booth at this year’s Tokyo Comic Con, which is taking place from December 5 to 7. Doc Brown actor Christopher Lloyd and a number of other cast members will be in attendance and signing autographs, and a special merch collection, featuring the manga-style artwork, will be on offer too. Related: Tokyo Comic Con Source: PR Times, Tokyo Comic Con Featured image: Tokyo Comic Con Top image: PR Times Insert images: PR Times, Tokyo Comic Con ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Coca-Cola Japan shows the sad transformation recycling boxes can go through if people are too selfish to use them properly. Japan, famously, has very few public trash cans. On the other hand, when out and about you’ll come across quite a few recycling boxes, both next to drink vending machines and in spaces like parks and train stations. However, it’s important to remember that these recycling boxes are specifically for plastic PET or glass bottles and aluminum cans so that they can be gathered for recycling. They’re not for people to toss other various types of trash in, and even if you’ve got recyclables, if the box happens to be full, you’re supposed to find somewhere else to dispose of them. To remind us all of these points, Coca-Cola Japan has created a video titled The Tale of the Collapse of Recycling Boxes. Backed by soulfully plaintiff music, the video’s narration begins with: “In the town, there were sorrowful recycling boxes which had changed into something so very different from their true form.” The video then shows us ways in which recycling boxes can figuratively collapse as misuse prevents them from contributing to a clean cityscape. The first example is what the narrator calls the “antenna type,” in which someone has jammed a fast food cup and a fancy domed dessert drink cup, straws still inserted, into the recycling box, blocking anyone else from inserting proper recyclables. ▼ “What sensations does it feel with these straws?” Next we come to the “offering type,” in which due to either the box being full or people being too lazy properly insert the recyclables, an array of empty bottles has formed in front of the box, resembling offerings placed on a memorial altar for the deceased. ▼ “Is this intricate arrangement meant to provide some kind of solace?” The “open-mouth type” occurs when someone tries to ditch trash in the recycle box that’s too large to fit through the holes and instead lifts off the entire lid. ▼ “It’s as though it’s crying out in anguish, or perhaps laughing in rueful exhaustion.” And last, we come to the “hidden collapse style,” where people have attempted to hide their litter by leaving it behind the recycling box, but just because it can’t be seen doesn’t mean it’s OK. ▼ “The darkness of the town is hidden behind the recycling box.” “Through casual littering, recycling boxes change into these forms,” the narrator laments, while adding “Please help stop these sad transformations and provide peace and tranquility for the recycling boxes.” Some might say that the fact that problems like the ones shown in the video occur is proof that Japan should swiftly increase its number of public trash cans. However, while there are Japanese people who use the recycling boxes improperly, they’re the exception, not the norm. For most Japanese people, the kinds of behavior discussed in the video are all clear breeches of etiquette, the sort of thing that makes someone look immature at best, and a selfish jerk if they’re old enough that they should know better. Adult manners dictate that if you’re going to be generating any sort of trash in public, you should be prepared to hang onto it until you find a proper place to dispose of it, which might mean carrying it back to your home or hotel, and that includes hanging on to even empty recyclables if the recycling box you come across is full. Source, images: YouTube/コカ・コーラ ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

A truly Tomamu travel experience. There are two key elements to the experiences Japan’s Hoshino Resorts group offers. As a premier hotel chain, they provide guests with elegantly luxurious amenities, but each location also seeks to harmoniously highlight the beauty of the local landscapes. In the case of Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, that means snow and ice, and lots of them, thanks to the hotel’s proximity to Mt. Tomamu in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost, and chilliest, prefecture. Hosino Resorts Tomamu has so much ice that it builds an Ice Village on its grounds every winter, and this year’s version is getting set to start welcoming visitors soon. This year’s Ice Village opens on December 10 and will consist of 11 structures spread out over a 3.2-hectare area. Returning this year is the Ice Chapel, which has hosted more than 660 wedding ceremonies since its first iteration in 2005 and this year will feature a new design in which friends and family will be seated in a circle around the bride and groom. The chapel will also be open between ceremonies in the evening between January 20 and February 14 for visitors to come in and see even if they’re not getting hitched. ▼ Even the pews are sculpted out of ice. In terms of joyous occasions, many would say that finding good food ranks right up there with finding the love of your life, and so the Ice Village will also have an Ice Restaurant serving a mix of hot and chilled foods. In the first category are cheese fondue made with milk from local dairies and minestrone soup, and if you’re looking to double down on the chilliness, you can opt for a bowl of ice ramen, with chilled noodles and frozen toppings. ▼ The Ice Ramen appears to come in a bowl that’s made of ice, or at least covered in frost. And while you’re enjoying your ice meal, don’t forget to save room for ice dessert. Inside the Ice Sweets Shop, which is making its Ice Village debut this year, you can craft your own sweets by pouring melted chocolate and candied bits into molds and watching them freeze-fuse together, or make white chocolate ice bars. ▼ As an added bonus, you won’t have to rush when eating them, since there’s very little risk of them melting. And for those looking for even more icy adventures, there’s the Ice Hotel, a special room made entirely out of ice where one party per day can spend the night between January 20 and February 20. A look at the preview map also shows that the village will also have a bar, open-air bath, post office, and giant slide made out of ice, as well as an ice-skating rink, which is just about the only thing that you would normally expect to be made of ice. ▼ The Ice Post Office will have a mailbox made of ice and offer post cards whose visual design changes depending on the temperature. This year’s Ice Village will be open nightly, from 5 to 10 p.m., from December 10 to March 14. Though it’s part of Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, you don’t have to be staying at the hotel to check it out, as non-guests too can purchase admission tickets for 600 yen (US$4), with children under 7 admitted for free with a paying parent. Related: Hoshino Resorts Tomamu Source, images: PR Times ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Snuggle up to favourites from Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service and My Neighbour Totoro. With autumn weather finally here, people around the country are swapping out their summer gear for warmer clothing, and Studio Ghibli has three stoles that’ll ward off the chill in a magical way. The first stole lets you cosplay as Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle, as it’s modelled on the cape worn by the star character. The distinctive argyle pattern is beautifully replicated, and hiding out within the design is Turnip Head, Sophie’s hat, and… ▼ …Calcifer! The smart button-up design lets you use the stole in a number of ways. ▼ You can use it as a lap blanket… ▼ …a button-up stole… ▼ …or simply sling it over your shoulders like Howl. Even when you’re not using it, the stole will brighten your room with a dash of Ghibli flair. The next two stoles are darker in colour but no less charming, with the Kiki’s Delivery Service design filled with familiar motifs from the film. ▼ Look close and you’ll find plaited breads from the bakery… ▼ …feline paw prints and the birdcage, in honour of feline star Jiji… ▼ …and nods to Kiki’s family home, alongside an appearance from Jiji himself. The woven jacquard shawl will keep you warm wherever you place it, whether it be on your lap or your upper body. The final shawl in the lineup is dedicated to My Neighbour Totoro. The sweet snowflake design will transport you to Totoro’s magical forest in winter. Hiding out amongst the wintry motifs is a lone “Snowman Totoro” that’ll put a smile on your face every time you lay eyes on it. Like the other stoles in the range, you can wear this one on your lap or over your shoulders. You can even bundle it up and wear it around your neck like an oversized scarf. The stoles are priced at 5,280 yen (US$35.01) each and are available at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online. They’ll make a beautiful addition to your cold-weather wardrobe, and will be perfect when enjoyed with a cup of Studio Ghibli tea. Source: Donguri Kyowakoku Featured image: Donguri Kyowakoku Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3) ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Who cares about which came first when Tamahide clearly knows that the chicken and the egg are a combo best served at the same time?  A legendary restaurant in Tokyo’s Nihombashi Ningyocho district is opening its doors again for the first time since closing in 2022 for extensive renovations. Welcome back to business, Tamahide–we missed you! When Tamahide first opened way back in 1760, it specialized in shamonabe, a kind of chicken hotpot dish which remains on the menu to this day. Now, however, Tamahide is most famous for oyakodon, a chicken and egg (“oyako” literally means “parent and child”) rice bowl dish that it is also said to have been invented sometime in the Meiji period (1868-1912) when staff began adding egg to leftover shamonabe and serving it on top of rice. Even today when Japanese people hear the word “oyakodon,” many of them strongly associate it with Tamahide–a sign of its immense culinary impact. The restaurant is a five-second walk from one exit of Tokyo Metro’s Ningyocho Station. Previously it was located in a detached house, but after extensive renovations, the 12-story Tamahide Building now stands tall. Its second floor is set to house a bar specializing in nihonshu (Japanese sake) while its 12th floor is slated to become a high-end shamonabe restaurant, though the opening date has not yet been announced. While Tamahide will open for full-time business beginning on November 1, we were able to attend a sneak peek of its new form at a special event on October 19 and 20 in conjunction with an annual neighborhood fair. We splurged on the “Original Oyakodon,” which at 2,800 yen (US$18.58) is significantly more expensive than a typical oyakodon that you’d buy elsewhere for lunch, but we figured it was worth it to sample the dish’s actual origin story. The chicken used in the dish is of the Tokyo shamo variety, which is an older and well-known breed. A single bite told us all we needed to know about its firm texture and deep umami flavor. Of course, the quality of the egg and rice was also top-notch, and everything balanced together perfectly to result in the ultimate oyakodon dining experience. We could taste the care and attention that went into its making, right down to the soy sauce and mirin used in the seasoning. We’d highly recommend trying Tamahide’s oyakodon when it resumes full business operations next month, even with its hefty price tag. Of course, if you’re not in the mood for chicken and egg, we can also recommend the well-established katsudon pork cutlet restaurant almost directly across the street from it instead. Restaurant information Tamahide / 玉ひで Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Nihombashi Ningyo-cho 1-17-10 東京都中央区日本橋人形町 1-17-10 Open: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Website All images © SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

A regional treat opens our eyes and mouths to a new dimension of baked goods. Over the last few years, foodies from around the world have fallen in love with Japan’s fruit sandwiches, enchanted by the idea of swapping out savory fillings for sweet ones. However, putting pieces of fruit and cream between slices of bread causes one to eventually start asking questions on a conceptual level, to wonder at what point a sandwich ceases to become a sandwich and becomes a cake instead. That’s something contemporary philosophers have yet to settle on a consensus regarding, but even as that debate continues, we’ve now discovered something that blurs the cake/sandwich line even further: Japan’s cake sandwiches. ▼ The castella sandwich (カステラサンド) If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard about these before, they’re not a Japanese bakery staple like melon bread or curry bread. Instead, they’re primarily a Niigata Prefecture thing, and even there they’re not always easy to find. As a matter of fact, our Japanese-language reporter Udonko, who’s a Niigata native, had never heard of the Castella Sandwich, as the cake sandwich is more properly called, until just a few days ago when she popped into The Niigata, a store in Tokyo’s Ginza neighborhood that stocks a rolling inventory of Niigata regional products. Startled that she hadn’t been aware of the existence of cake sandwiches in Niigata until now, Udonko checked the package and saw that the Castella Sandwich is produced by Nakagawa Bakery. It’s unclear how long they’ve been baking cake sandwiches for, but the company itself has been around since 1952. However, the company is headquartered in the town of Sado, on Sadogashima Island, and this remote location has probably been a limiting factor for distribution for much of its history. ▼ Sado And no, there’s no clever wordplay going on with the Castella Sandwich name, as it really and truly is two slices of bread with a slice of castella sponge cake in between. Opening up the wrapper and going in for a closer look, Udonko was happy to see that this isn’t one of those paper-tiger sandwiches where the filling is much skimpier than it looks from the outside. The slice of castella goes all the way from one end of the sandwich to the other, and there are even layers of cream between it and each of the slices of bread. Udonko expected the flavor to be sweet, and upon taking her first bite she immediately found out that it’s even sweeter than she’d initially imagined. The cake is rich and moist, and the combination of its soft, fluffy texture with a custard-like flavor is an extremely enjoyable combination. Having experienced the revelation of cake sandwiches, Udonko found it even more regrettable that she’d never known that these things were available in her home prefecture. As if to drive home the point of how she could have been enjoying these treats for years, not long after stumbling across the Nakagawa Castella Sandwich Udonko was back in Niigata and doing a regular neighborhood supermarket run when she walked past the bread aisle and saw… …another brand of Castella Sandwich!?! ▼ Though the label says “castilla” in Latin letters, カステラ is how “castella” is written in Japanese. This Castella Sandwich is made by Yamazaki, one of Japan’s biggest bread makers with a highly developed nationwide distribution network. However, their Castella Sandwich appears to be a regional offering, with no mention of the product on the company’s website. Obviously, Udonko needed to buy one for comparative taste-testing purposes. In terms of appearance, it’s very similar to Nakagawa’s version and the baseline flavor is close too. If pressed for a difference between the two, though, Udonko would say that the texture of the bread Yamazaki uses is lighter and airier than Nagagawa’s, so much so that when eating the Yamazaki Castella Sandwich, the cake and bread have the exact same consistency. Oh, and Castella Sandwiches are easy on the wallet, too. The Nakagawa version cost Udonko 346 yen (US$2.30), and the Yamazaki one was even cheaper, at just 149 yen. So, is there anything not to love about these cake sandwiches, in Udonko’s opinion? Well, they’re both pretty high in calories. The Nakagawa Castella Sandwich has 667 calories, about as much as an entire restaurant-size beef bowl, and the Yamazaki one has 523, so these aren’t exactly diet-friendly snacks…but that’s probably to be expected with a concept like cake sandwiches. The other issue, of course, is their limited availability, especially if you don’t happen to be in Niigata Prefecture or a specialty shop like the one in Ginza. That’s suddenly become much less of a problem, though, as just this week Nakagawa has decided to open an online store where you can buy Castella Sandwiches! They’re currently available only in a pack of 12 for 3,980 yen here, which means you’ll have to order a dozen at a time, but that sounds like a pretty sweet obligation to us. Related: Nakagawa Bakery online shop, The Niigata Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

If you’ve got a heavy laptop, it’ll get you a hefty discount at this Tokyo Station pop-up. Pricing at bento boxed lunch shops usually works in one of two ways. At shops where you pick out the contents yourself, the price is based on how many items and which type you choose, and at others the price is fixed because the chefs have already arranged the contents ahead of time. However, there’s a bento shop opening this month in Tokyo where the bento ingredients are set, but the price isn’t, because the price depends on what kind of laptop you have. The Bento Shop Where You Buy Bento with Your Computer will be opening inside Tokyo Station on October 29. Its high-tech name comes from the surprising fact that the bento shop is operated by Japanese computer manufacturer Fujitsu. Fujitsu has just launched the newest, lightest version yet of its FMV Note laptop series, the FMV Note U (UX-K3). According to Fujitsu, the new FMV Note U is the world’s lightest laptop with a 14-inch screen, weighing just 634 grams (1.4 pounds). So to celebrate its release, Fujitsu has also created a boxed lunch with the same weight, filled with luxurious foodstuffs such as crab from Fukui Prefecture and sukiyaki with beef from Yamagata Prefecture. The ingredients are even arranged to resemble a series of edible business graphs. Fujitsu calls it the FMVentoU, a pun based on how the Japanese language doesn’t have a V sound and instead pronounces the letter like a B. The FMVentoU has a base price of 1,000 yen (US$6.70), with payment by cashless methods only. There’s an unusual way you can get a discount, though. If you show up to the shop with your current laptop, the staff will weigh it. It’s a given that your laptop will be heavier than the new FMV Note U (UX-K3), and the bigger the difference in weight, the bigger discount you’ll be given for the bento, up to a maximum of 700 yen off. ▼ The bento shop will also have a display space for the new Fujitsu laptop. Since the primary purpose is to promote the new laptop, the bento shop is a pop-up operation, and will be open from October 29 to October 31, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It’ll be located inside the JR Tokyo Station gates on basement level 1 of the Gransta Tokyo section. Source, images: PR Times ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

So very, very takai. Cup Noodle instant ramen has a lot of things going for it. It keeps for a long time, it’s quick and easy to make, and it’s tasty. But you can’t sing the praises of Cup Noodle without also devoting some of the lyrics to how cheap it is, right? It turns out, though, that there’s a place in Japan where Cup Noodle is startlingly expensive, though not without reason. Before we get to the main dish of this article, let’s pause for a quick linguistic appetizer. In Japan, the word takai, written as 高い, means “high.” In addition to talking about physical heights, takai can also be used to talk about high prices, and our reporter Go Hatori recently dined on what he’s pretty sure is the most takai (expensive) Cup Noodle in Japan, and he did so in what he knows for certain is the most takai (high) place in Japan. Ogiya is a mountain hut at the summit of Mt. Fuji, Japan’s tallest mountain. While hiking Fuji during this year’s climbing season, Go found his stomach growling, so he stopped by Ogiya to get something to eat. Looking over his options, he spotted the familiar Cup Noodle packaging… …but at a very unfamiliar price: 1,000 yen (US$6.70). And no, this wasn’t some special limited-edition Cup Noodle with gourmet ingredients or collectible packaging. It was the exact same standard Cup Noodle that you can find in any Japanese convenience store or supermarket for around 200 yen, and quite a bit less if it’s on sale or you’re buying in bulk. Of course, it’s a very long walk from Ogiya to the nearest competing store, so Go handed over a crisp 1,000-yen bill. That premium pricing does get you a bit of service, at least. The Ogiya staff adds the boiling water to the cup and brings it to you on a tray with chopsticks. Granted, convenience stores often provide chopsticks and offer free hot water from a dispenser too, but having the instant noodles served to you on a tray is a nice touch. Since they bring you the Cup Noodle as soon as they pour in the water, you’ve still got to wait for the noodles to cook… …but on the plus side, you’ve got an incredible view to admire while you wait. Go actually wondered if, because of the altitude of some 3,700 meters (12,139 feet) he was at, the noodles would need more time to cook. But as soon as the standard three minutes were up, he peeled back the lid, and saw that the always-reliable Cup Noodles were ready to be eaten! Picking up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks, Go blew off some of the steam… …and took a bite. So how did they taste? Heavenly. Technically speaking, they didn’t taste any different from Cup Noodles purchased at the regular price and eaten at an ordinary altitude. But between the serenity from being up above the clouds, the feeling of accomplishment from having hiked all the way up here, and the hunger he’d worked up along the way, the absolute joy Go felt from the overall eating experience of eating Japan’s most takai Cup Noodles at the summit of its most takai mountain is going to be hard to top. Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

What’s behind the Shibuya slide as a spot to grab a drink? Japanese restaurant information website Hot Pepper recently conducted its latest user survey, and among the questions it asked Tokyo-area residents is which neighborhoods they like to go out for drinks in. Downtown Tokyo’s Shinjuku was the top pick for the sixth straight year, followed by the Tokyo Station surroundings and Ginza in second and third place, which swapped positions since last year’s poll. However, there’s one internationally famous part of Tokyo that’s no longer anywhere to be found in the top 10: Shibuya. A total of 2,858 responses were collected from residents of Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama between the ages of 20 (the legal drinking age in Japan) and 59. Though it squeezed into the top 10 last year, in this year’s survey Shibuya dropped two places, down to 12th overall and behind eight other Tokyo neighborhoods. Shibuya even lost out to Omiya in Saitama, often derided as one of the least fashionable prefectures of Japan. ● Neighborhoods respondents want to go drinking in 1. Shinjuku (Tokyo) 2. Tokyo Station area (Tokyo) 3. Ginza (Tokyo) 4. Shinbashi (Tokyo) 5. Ueno (Tokyo) 6. Yokohama Station area (Kanagawa Prefecture) 7. Ikebukuro (Tokyo) 8. Ebisu (Tokyo) 9. Minato Mirai (Kanagawa Prefecture) 10. Akasaka Mitsuke (Tokyo) 11.Omiya (Saitama Prefecture) 12. Shibuya (Tokyo) ▼ By the way, if you’re wondering why Tokyo’s Roppongi isn’t in the top 12, the neighborhood has long been a more popular hangout for foreign tourists and expats than for Japanese locals. It wasn’t all that long ago that Shibuya was considered one of the top drinking spots in Tokyo, right up there with Shinjuku and Ginza. So what’s happened? Hot Pepper’s researchers have some theories, pointing out a couple of things the survey’s top rankers have that Shibuya doesn’t. The first thing Shibuya is missing is a well-developed underground entertainment center. This might seem surprising to anyone who’s walked through the long tunnel that stretches northwest from Shibuya Station’s subway gates for multiple blocks, but Shinjuku and Tokyo Stations’ are on a whole other level, not only providing easy access to much of the neighborhood’s above-ground pubs and restaurants, but also having plenty of their own within the subterranean centers. Shibuya Station’s tunnels, on the other hand, don’t have any restaurant rows of their own, and they mainly run along the outside edge of the neighborhood, making them less convenient for navigating to places to eat and drink in Shibuya’s interior, especially if you’ve got a moderate or larger-sized group of people meeting up. Of course, you could always go up to the Shibuya streets and walk from there, but that leads to another aspect the researchers think is hurting the neighborhood in the rankings: a lack of identity. Once again comparing with top-ranking Shinjuku, Shinjuku itself has a handful of distinct sub-neighborhoods within it. Kabukicho is the place for rowdy, or some might even say sleazy, bars. Sanchome, with its fashion-conscious department stores and more elegant eateries, attracts a clientele of young women. The west side of Shinjuku Station has plenty of down-to-earth izakaya pubs for crowds of thirsty salarymen to stop in at on their way home from the office. Shibuya, though, is more of a hodgepodge these days, in terms of how it’s laid out. The neighborhood has fast food joints and clothing shops that appeal to teens and early twenty-somethings, office skyscrapers with older adult professionals, and, in recent years, no shortage of souvenir and specialty shops clearly aimed at accommodating the massive inflow of foreign tourists who come to Shibuya to take photos in front of the statue of faithful dog Hachiko and then film selfies as they walk across the world-famous Shibuya Scramble intersection with their phones in their outstretched hands. Unlike in many other neighborhoods that ranked higher in the survey, Shibuya’s youth, mature adult, and international traveler-oriented attractions are all kind of mixed together geographically, which makes it hard for the neighborhood to have sub-pockets with their own identities, the researchers say. It’s not that Shibuya feels bland or dull, but the lack of a defining atmosphere, even at the zoomed-in level, can mean it doesn’t really feel like the perfect spot to any one demographic. But even if Shibuya isn’t someplace as many people are thinking to go out of their way to grab a drink in, what about the employees of companies with offices in the neighborhood? Shouldn’t a lot of them already be in Shibuya five times a week, making it, by default, where they’ll grab a beer or two after their shifts end? Not necessarily. As the researchers point out, many of the largest corporations with offices in Shibuya are in the IT industry, in which partial work-from-home options are more prevalent than other fields, and the work also tends to attract less traditionally gregarious individuals than, say, sales work, all of which could be contributing to Shibuya’s declining popularity as a place to drink among the survey respondents. ▼ When you work from home, there’s no need to go to a pub for a drink if you’ve already got a couple of cold ones in your fridge. And while it’s only tangentially touched upon by the researchers, the recent perception of Shibuya as a site of overtourism can’t be ignored. “If you go to Shibuya, you’ll see more foreigners than Japanese people” is a common comment in conversations among Japanese locals these days, and while that’s exaggerating the situation, it is true that Shibuya has some of the densest concentrations of foreign tourists in Japan these days, and with the weak yen continuing to provide favorable exchange rates, there’s a growing sense that Shibuya is significantly more touristy and expensive than it was just a few years ago. Shibuya’s slip in the survey rankings has similarities with Kyoto’s recent decline in attractiveness for domestic Japanese travelers. It’d be going too far to say that no Japanese people go drinking in Shibuya or take trips to Kyoto anymore, but current circumstances are undeniably causing a dip in their popularity, and they might not be rebounding to their former images for some time. Source: Business Insider (1, 2) via Yahoo! Japan News via Jin Top image: Pakutaso Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2, 3) ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!