Features
The phantom juice only available from vending machines at JR East train stations
Our reporter Mariko Ohanabatake has tried a lot of juices over the years, but in her opinion, the most delicious of them all is one that you can only buy at Acure vending machines. Acure specialises in ekinaka (“in the station“) vending machines, and they can be found throughout the East Japan Railway (JR… Read
The waters of Hiroshima: Remembrance and life
It’s August 6, 2023 and the 78th anniversary of the Hiroshima A-bombing is coming to a close. As the sun starts to set, people start to make their way to Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. Over the next few hours, thousands of paper lanterns will be set afloat in memory of… Read
World's largest cruise ship to set sail as industry rebounds
With cruise bookings seeing a resurgence after the COVID pandemic caused luxury liners to mothball, a Finnish shipyard is putting the final touches on what will be the world's largest cruise ship. Royal Caribbean's luxurious new vessel Icon of the Seas is nearing completion in the Turku shipyard on Finland's… Read
Scientists look beyond climate change and El Nino for other factors that heat up Earth
Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Nino have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat. The European climate agency Copernicus reported that July was one-third of a degree Celsius (six-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) hotter than the old record. That’s a bump in heat that is so… Read
Women get far more migraines than men: A neurologist explains why, and what brings relief
A migraine is far more than just a headache – it’s a debilitating disorder of the nervous system. People who have migraines experience severe throbbing or pulsating pain, typically on one side of the head. The pain is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light or sound.… Read
Air travel is in a rut – is there any hope of recapturing the romance of flying?
Amelia Earhart broke a transcontinental speed record 90 years ago, in July 1933, by flying her signature red Lockheed Vega from Los Angeles to New Jersey in just 17 hours, seven and a half minutes. Earlier that year, Earhart had flown as an observer on a Northwest Airways winter flight… Read
'Barbie' movie night Shinjuku Wald 9 or Marunouchi Piccadilly Theater in Tokyo
We’re pleased to announce a new event for GaijinPot users and friends to get together for a fun night out. GaijinPot staff will be going out to watch the new "Barbie" movie and you’re invited to join us. We’ll be wearing GaijinPot staff T-shirts, which just happen to be a very Barbie… Read
The 'coming age of 40 degree temperatures' portends summers in hell
It's still common in Japan to refer to the decade from 1965 to 1974 as Showa yonjuu nendai (the decade of Showa Forties). But these may soon be supplanted by Kion yonjuu-do jidai (the era when the temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius). As far as Japan's Meteorological Agency is concerned,… Read
New Legend of Zelda Boss is a canned coffee, gives you a chance at awesome jacket loot
Like most action/adventure games, Nintendo’s "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" contains a number of powerful enemies which are called “bosses.” But while players have become accustomed to doing battle with video game bosses, the new Zelda Boss represents a much less adversarial relationship, by way of being a coffee. Beverage… Read
Swiss paper cutting artist takes the scissors to old ways
Marianne Dubuis stared intently through a magnifying glass, using a slim cutter to make tiny incisions in paper as she carved out delicate tableaux of life and human emotions. The 64-year-old designer is reinventing the Swiss traditional art of paper cutting, which typically shows Alpine landscapes and cows heading to… Read
