Transform Your Boring Lunch with the Best Bento Accessories!

Transform Your Boring Lunch with the Best Bento Accessories!

Packing a lunch every morning—whether it’s for your beloved spouse, children, or yourself—can be a total drag. Heck, even with all the time in the world, you think packing lunches is still a pain. Well, you’re not alone. Lucky for you, we’ve compiled a list of handy bento gizmos and gadgets to make your mornings easier—oh, and also, you’ll be able to make insanely cool-looking bento lunches with half the usual effort. Sounds great, right?

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6 Must-Have Japanese Kitchen Gadgets

Intro to Japanese Kitchen Gadgets

Japanese Kitchen Gadgets

The man arm pillows, heated toilet seats, sushi bag covers … we’ve all heard of these bizarre, yet actually (kind of) useful items. And we secretly want all of them. Well, if Japan can make ingenious inventions for the bedroom and bathroom, there’s no reason why it can’t for the kitchen—and it did. Here are some top must-have gadgets!

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Japanese Pokemon Card Values: The Secret Formula for Scoring Great Deals

  • Post category:Anime

Buying Japanese Pokemon Cards Online

Japanese pokemon cards

It’s been 20 years since fans first memorized the Pokemon slogan “Gotta catch ’em all!”, and amazingly, each year new cards are still being printed, players are still meeting for tournaments, and collectors are still struggling to fill their binders in an attempt to, well… “catch ’em all”.

Each card that makes its way into the Pokemon universe has its beginning at Pokemon Card Laboratories in Japan where it is later sent to different companies around the world for reprinting in foreign languages. And while many non-Japanese players and collectors are interested only in owning cards that they can read, there is a growing community of international collectors who want the Japanese originals—but how do you get your hands on them without getting ripped off? Let’s find out!

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Japanese Green Tea Cookies & 9 other Matcha Snacks to Die For!

green tea melty kiss cm

Most people from outside of Asia don’t think of green tea as a flavor they want in a snack. But those of you who have basked in the delight of creamy, sweet, slightly bitter green tea desserts have probably already been converted to the green side of the snack universe. There are many kinds of green tea snacks: from chocolate to cookies to ice cream and traditional Japanese wagashi sweets.

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Spring 2015: 10 Highly Anticipated and New Figure Releases

  • Post category:Anime

Spring 2015: 10 Highly Anticipated and New Figure Releases

With the month of April coming to a close, we say “Sayonara” to the end of spring—a season celebrating the birth of new things. For us Otaku, these new things include all new anime series, monthly chapters of our favorite manga, and highly-anticipated figurine releases.

Worried you may have missed the best of the best? Looking to grab a momentous figurine to signify your undying love for your favorite series? Then check our top ten picks for “must-have” spring 2015 figurines from Japan!

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English vs. Japanese Pokemon Cards: What Should You Collect?

  • Post category:Anime

English vs. Japanese Pokemon Cards: What Should You Collect?

Perhaps you’ve heard of the infamous “Pokemon Shock”—when Pikachu used an electric shock attack on a missile in episode 38 of the anime… and simultaneously gave 685 children epileptic seizures.

From banned episodes (James’ infamous bikini contest), to religious accusations of Satanism (the “Pokemon Rap” backwards), Pokemon is no stranger to controversy.

Among die-hard collectors, however, no aspect of Pokemon lore has been censored so much as its trading cards. Prepare your Counter Shield before reading any further, because what you find below may be as shocking as Pikachu’s trademark Thunderbolts! Here are the top eight banned Pokemon cards:

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Sailor Chibi Moon x DAL

  • Post category:Anime

The release of the next Pullip collaboration series has finally been decided : Sailor Chibi Moon x DAL! Dal is the little sister of…

The Cutest Korillakuma and Rilakkuma Merchandise Ever Made

  • Post category:Hobby

The Cutest Korillakuma and Rilakkuma Merchandise Ever Made

Denizens of Japan can’t overlook the soft toy bear, Rilakkuma, and his friend–the white bear cub, Korilakkuma. First appearing in the picture book, Rilakkuma Seikatsu, which tells the story of a toy bear who takes up residence in the apartment of an Office Lady, Rilakkuma has since become a mainstay plush toy and beloved character, appearing on cameras, stamps, and furniture; and even starring in his own videogames on the Nintendo DS.

Now, If you were actually expecting ugly Korillakuma and Rilakkuma goods, this article is going to disappoint you! Let’s face it, is it possible for this squishy and pudgy bear to NOT be cute?

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