Brian Ashcraft

Cosplay Taking Over the Streets of Osaka, Japan

Imagine so many cosplayers and people to see them that busy Osaka streets are shut down completely in celebration of Japanese nerddom. That’s awesome. This Sunday saw the 12th annual Nipponbashi Street Festa in Osaka, Japan. This year, like in the past, the streets are closed off for pedestrians. By that, I mean cosplayers, photographers,…

Capsule Toy Heaven. Kyoto, Japan. By Andreas Rühmkorb. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Japanese Cat Cafes Are More Fashionable Than Ever 

We’re entering the next phase of cat cafes. It’s fancy. Until recently, the vast majority of cat cafes have been rather simple, no-frills operations. That’s not to say they’ve looked, I dunno, ugly, but many of them have been run out of bland-looking spaces. The aesthetic focus has been the cats and cleanliness, not the…

Please Don’t Eat This One Piece ‘Fruit’

In One Piece, Luffy eats the terrible-tasting Gomu Gomu no Mi, which makes his body all elastic. Since this replica is made of synthetic plastic and rubber, it probably tastes terrible, too, but won’t make your body all stretchy. It’ll make you sick! Instead of eating it, you are supposed to display it (or maybe,…

Watch Dark Souls III Come To Life with Chalkboard Art

A few years ago, Kotaku first reported how Japanese students were covering their classrooms’ chalkboards with incredible art. Now one of those former students is doing that for Dark Souls III Here we see a sped up clip of young artist Rena Rena, who’s now around 20, doing chalk art to promote Dark Souls III’s…

Norwegian Dudes Freeze For Counter-Strike Stunt

Take Counter-Strike. Some Norwegian YouTubers and pro-gamers. Stick them outside in the freezing snow. And then? Watch them shiver. This is a stunt for Telenor Norge, the country’s telecom giant, to show off its 4G coverage and to remind people to never go outside in Norway during the winter. Never. Thanks, Atozy for the tip!

Open Late. Tokyo, Japan. By Emiliano Ruggiero JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

People Testing IBM’s Real-World Sword Art Online

Back in February, Kotaku reported that IBM was making a real-life Sword Art Online concept, minus the real-life killing. Here’s a look at people testing the VR experience out at an event this week in Tokyo. Sword Art Online is set in the year 2022, when thousands of players who have logged into a Virtual…

My Neighbor Totoro as a Japanese Horror Movie

Perhaps, you’ve heard the scary theory that Totoro is really the god of death. Studio Ghibli might deny that (ha!), but there’s no denying that this recut trailer sure is creepy. Twitter user Nobu added some filters, scary editing, and unsettling music to create a horror version of My Neighbor Totoro. All footage and dialogue,…

The Total Sales for Pokémon Are Staggering 

This year marks Pokémon’s 20th anniversary. Starting in 1996, when Pokémon Red and Blue launched in Japan, the world has purchased millions of Pokémon games and its spin-offs. Over 279 million, that is. Think about that number for a moment. Dual releases aside, it’s incredible. According to Famitsu, that’s the latest global sales figure for…

For the Resident Evil Fan with Everything, T-Virus Fragrance 

Finally! You too can smell like zombies. According to Inside Games, Capcom is releasing this limited edition fragrance at its Capcom Cafein Saitama, Japan starting March 26. It’s called T-Virus and designed after the infamous Umbrella Corporation strain. Inside adds that this bottled scent is priced at 4,200 yen (US$37.63), but doesn’t give details on…

Haijima Station. Tokyo, Japan. By Romell Roberts. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Splatoon Gets Inevitable Real-World Water Gun

You had an inkling this was going to happen, didn’t you? Famitsu reports that an official Splatoon Splattershot water gun is going on sale for 2,700 yen (US$24). It will be available this summer via HMV, starting July 18. Top image: HMV To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him…

Forget Apple Watch, You Want Bento Watch

A watch filled with little food is way more impressive than a watch that lets you check Facebook. Too bad the Bento Watch isn’t for sale! To show off its agriculture skills, Kyoto-based Takii Seeds created this clip (read: publicity stunt), roping in a master watch craftsman to design the timepiece, a plastic surgeon to…

Reminder: Pokémon Is Incredibly Popular in Japan 

Don’t ever forget this. In Japan, people really, really like Pokémon. So today, when the newest Pokémon Center opened in Kyoto, there were massive lines to get into the store. Yesterday, when I visited the shop to check out its limited goods, I kind of thought, hey, people will come tomorrow. Did they ever. As…

Resident Evil Is Getting a Musical

Like singing? Dancing? Resident Evil? The survival horror series is getting an official stage version this fall in Japan. The musical, which is currently titled Musical Resident Evil (heh), will star Reon Yuzuki, who has made a career of playing male characters while at the all-female Takarazuka Revue. Previously, Takarazuka Revue has done wonderful stage…

Sunset. Prague, Czech Republic. ByJan Hrinda JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Potato-Chip Flavored Cola Sounds Disgusting

This is a real product. It’s in Japan. And it sounds nasty. Last year, game maker Namco teamed up with a Japanese potato chip company to make cola-flavored potato chips. That seemed kind of icky, yet still edible. But this? According to Game Impress Watch and Famitsu, the snack-flavored beverage tastes like potato chips that’s…

There’s a new Fate game! It’s called Fate/Extella and is headed to the PS Vita and PS4 in Japan. This week’s Famitsu will have more details.

The Most Traditional Pokémon Center in Japan

This week a new Pokémon Center opens in Kyoto. At first glance it looks like any other Pokémon Center that dots Japan, but it’s not. This is the most traditionally Japanese of them all. The store’s centerpiece is a statue of Pikachu riding Ho-Oh. Hardly an accident, the statue has a deeper meaning as a…