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Photographer and pin-up model Julie Watai, whom Kotaku has featured before, is releasing a magazine version of her Hardware Girls photos. More »
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February is always so cold in Japan. This winter has seen record snowfall across the country. Akihabara, Tokyo's geek mecca, has a way to warm up: hot underpants. More »
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For a generation, Anna Miller's was more than a coffee shop. For a generation, it inspired video games, anime, and countless cosplay. For a generation, it's quickly becoming a memory. More »
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Earlier this week, Kotaku reported that a noodle cafe was opening in Tokyo's otaku (geek) mecca. What makes this cafe different from the plethora of cafes dotted throughout Akihabara is that Noodol Cafe features idols pouring hot water into instant ramen. Yep. More »
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Noodol Cafe isn't your typical ramen joint. You could buy the noodles at any old supermarket. You could even make them at home, within minutes. More »
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Spotted at Tokyo's Akihabara Station, this fellow is apparently passed out on the railing near the escalators. Never have metal rails looked so comfy. More »
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Most maid cafes aren't exactly visually striking. The decor lacks pizzazz. Japanese maid cafe chain Maidreamin has pizzazz out the wahzoo. The cafe is Mario meets maids, while guzzling electric Kool-Aid. It's a trip. More »
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Love Gal is an upcoming Japanese adult computer game that, according to its tagline, isn't an anime or a doll. "It's a true, real-time 3D game!" So why have a doll promote it, then? More »
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During New Year's, Japanese people visit shrines and temples. There are many traditions observed during this period, such as omikuji—a type of fortune telling. In the last few years, one ancient tradition in which people write wishes on wooden plaques is now taking a decidedly otaku bent. More »
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After being revealed earlier this year, the PS Vita, Sony's PlayStation Portable successor, finally launched in Japan. More »
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Two of my favorite Tokyo people, CheapyD of CheapAssGamer fame and Scott Popular of Scott Popular fame, provide an inside look at iconic retro game shop Super Potato. More »
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Harajuku is famous for its fashion. Stylish young Japanese women flock to its boutiques, snapping up the latest trendy threads. But now, a new crowd is coming: The anime nerds. More »
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The newly-built Akiba Culture Zone is a 7-floor building. It's the geek district's newest landmark, a mere four minute walk from the station. What wonders await inside? More »
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I've said it before: Japanese adult game and anime makers are masters of the in-store promotion. It's a mastery that would do 1970s grindhouse cinema owners proud. Many in-store promotions are NSFW. What happens when those hit the streets? More »
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You might have a job. You might be between jobs or you might be out of one entirely. Same goes for many in Japan. But what they spend their unemployment checks on might differ from what their counterparts do elsewhere. More »
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Two words: fan service. Queen's Blade not only features some of the most famous females from fighting games, it features them in revealing poses. So you can imagine what Queen's Blade cosplay looks like. More »
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June 2008 was tragic. Then 25-year-old Tomohiro Kato went on a stabbing rampage in Tokyo's geek district, leaving seven dead and ten injured. He was sentenced to death earlier this year. Not exactly the feel-good backdrop for a movie. More »
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Maid cafes are a dime a dozen in Tokyo geek mecca Akihabara. They're totally normal. Cafe t.t.t. might be in Akihabara, but it's zip codes are way from normal. More »
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In the past decade, retro game bars have popped up across Japan. Part of the appeal is that these water holes have game consoles you can play while getting shitfaced. There are other places where you can game with maids or talk with game voice actors who serve you alcohol. But what about a place you can bring your own games, your own gaming machines? There's that, too. More »
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Some people have flesh and blood girlfriends. Others have pillows. And some have plastic toys. One curry restaurant in Tokyo's geek district is sensitive to this. More »
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Mmm. Bread. Delicious (well, somewhat) canned bread. In Japan, canned bread is a tasty treat for otaku. Don't believe me? More »
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Masaya Matsukaze has an impressive resume. He's voiced Teru in Death Note, Morty in Pokémon and Blues in Mega Man NT Warrior. But that's not his most famous role. More »
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Every story's gotta start somewhere. This one starts in Hiroshima, with three girls who had the same kanji character in their names, 香. The character means "fragrance", and the group was Perfume. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5816103&view=rss&microfeed=true After a successful trial stint, Akihabara's vehicle-free pedestrian paradise opens starting July 3. It was closed after a 2008 stabbing rampage. Details about times and months pedestrian paradise is opened in the link. [Japan Today] More »
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Based in Tokyo geek mecca Akihabara, Clone Factory is just that: a factory that makes clones. More »
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In PSP game Akiba's Trip, players must expose vampires by...exposing them. Ripping their clothes off reveals if the characters are vampires. More »
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They might look like regular people, but their gaming skills are anything but. They're superplayers. They take gaming as far as it can physically go. More »
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Namco Bandai doesn't only make video games. It's Bandai arm has toy and game licenses for iconic Japanese institutions like Gundam, Kamen Rider and Ultraman, as well as new favs like One Piece and Haruhi Suzumiya. More »
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Japan is famous for its service. Waiters and waitress are attentive and prompt, and they don't even expect a tip! It's very easy to get accustomed to. But sometimes good service gets old. Sometimes otaku just want to be treated like crap. More »
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Yep. An Akihabara retailer's in-store display for Senran Kagura is pretty much what one would expect: 3D norgs. As seen on Moeyo.com. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5792958&view=rss&microfeed=true "Fly-jin" (aka, the foreigners who fled Japan after the quake) are sending ripples through Tokyo. Big-spending Chinese tourists are apparently absent in Akihabara, and maids report fewer foreign customers at maid cafes. More in the link. [via Japan Probe] More »
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Ushijima Ii Niku (Ushijima "Good Meat") is Japan's biggest amateur pin-up. And this summer, she's coming to a theater near you. That is, if you live near Akihabara. More »
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In the days following the Tohoku Earthquake, Japanese people across the country began doing what they could for the relief efforts by rolling up their sleeves and giving blood. Just days after the quake hit, the Japanese Red Cross blood donation centers were running at a surplus. More »
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Are you a nerd or a geek? If calculations are correct, I've probably pissed off oodles of others, who have also pissed off their fair share of fellow nerds. It's a vicious cycle: otaku (loosely "geek" or "nerd") pissing off other otaku. But it exists and, otaku being otaku, there's not much one can do about it. More »
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Set in Tokyo geek mecca Akihabara, Akiba's Trip is crawling with vampires who are dressed as geekdom's typical inhabitants. It's up to 18 year-old kid to figure out why his friend has gone missing and save the area from those pesky vampires. How to kill them? Strip off their clothes. More »
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On June 8, 2008, 25-year-old Tomohiro Kato drove a rented truck into a crowd in Tokyo's geek paradise, Akihabara. He got out and began stabbing random pedestrians. In his wake, seven were left dead and ten injured. More »
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Ayamo might look like your typical hipster fashion model: she's got lipstick kiss-marks tattooed on her wrist and she wears Ramones shirts and blue bandanas. A quick peek in her bedroom reveals otherwise. She might be into skateboards, but she's also a giant otaku. More »
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The lines for the Nintendo 3DS didn't start this morning. No, many of them started last night. Those who waited in line were most likely able to snag a 3DS. Those who simply waited probably weren't as lucky. More »
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Real hair or fake hair, it doesn't matter. Akihabara salon Fuwat will totally cut them both. More »
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Back in 2008, before the stabbings, Akihabara was a carefree place. Otaku ("geeks") roamed from shop to shop, maids passed out fliers and cosplayers posed up a storm. The Akihabara Massacre changed all that, but things are normalizing. Want proof? The area's most famous flasher is ready to hit the streets of Akiba once again. More »
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