Brian Ashcraft

Eye Glasses Designed Especially for Kissing

Wear glasses? Want to make out? (Not with me, but you know, with someone.) Tokyo eyeglasses shop Blinc Vase is releasing a pair of glasses especially design for smooching. According to website Fashion Press, the “Kiss Glasses” are for those who feel like “always kissing” their lover. You can also apparently wear them by yourself,…

One of Japan’s Scariest-Looking Train Stations

The vast majority of big city train stations in Japan don’t look scary. That is, unless you are afraid of crowds. This one in Yokohama, however, looks spooky as all hell. Recently, a 2ch user posted photos of Kokudo Station online. The images as well as ones posted by Twitter users are truly creepy. [Photo:…

No, This Isn’t a Dragon Quest Car

Over the weekend, though, Twitter user Crexian thought he saw a car shaped like Dragon Quest’s Slime on the highway. Sorry! It wasn’t. But Slime from Dragon Quest sure looks like that car. [Photo: crexian] Crexian’s photo was retweeted over 28,000 times. However… here’s a side view. [Photo: crexian] That is actually “Pichon-kun,” a character…

Latest Smash Bros. Glitch Is the “Biggest” Bug Yet. Literally.

Smash Bros. released with a handful of bugs. Personally, I don’t think they’re bad. They’re features. Funny features! (Well, unless they get annoying and screw up gameplay.) The latest bug, it seems, is turning Yoshi into Giant Yoshi. Or better yet, GODZILLA YOSHI. As seen on Twitter and YouTube (via Otaku News), the bug seems…

Secrets from the Man Inside the Godzilla Suit

Haruo Nakajima helped bring one of Japan’s most iconic characters to life. In 1954, he was the first man to don a kaiju costume and star in Godzilla as the man inside the suit. Recently, the 85 year-old actor spoke with Japanese magazine Josei Seven (via The Tokyo Reporter) about his experience. Prior to filming,…

Nintendo Characters Killed with Cuteness

The colors! The patterns! The shapes! Nintendo’s latest New 3DS commercial is not only downright trippy, but also lethally cute. Appearing in the New Nintendo 3DS spot, that’s popstar Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (more on her, here, here, here, and uh, here). As adorably dayglow as this commercial is, it’s still tame when compared to Pamyu…

This Is McDonald’s Japan’s Take on the Black Burger

As Kotaku first reported earlier this month, Burger King rolled out a black cheeseburger in Japan. Now, McDonald’s Japan has a black burger of its own. Unlike the Burger King “kuro” burger, the McDonald’s “ikasumi burger” (イカスミバーガー) has yellow cheese. It kind of looks like that Darth Vader burger that France got a few years…

Iconic Final Fantasy Characters Made All Big-Headed and Cute

Square Enix just released character art and images of how iconic Final Fantasy characters will appear in upcoming 3DS title Final Fantasy Explorers The Explorers version of characters like Lightning, Cloud, Squall, and Tina (AKA Terra) look big-headed, slightly squat, and apparently cute. Here are images via 4Gamer: In Explorers, you can temporarily “transform” into…

In Conbini Dream, you are living the dream. The convenience store dream. This download title from Arc System Works and just hit the 3DS in Japan. Looks like a fun little management sim for Japanese convenience store fans. No word about a Western release.

Cats Make Serious Japanese News Better

Granted, the cat doesn’t read the news and make comments on current events. It just kinda sprawls out on the desk, like cats do, as important guests discuss world politics. What else do you want the feline to do? Japan loves cats, and it also loves idols—both of which Kotaku has covered before. So, weekly…

A Life-Sized Pikachu Plush Toy Is Going On Sale

You could say that’s pretty big. You can say it’s even as big as Pikachu really is, because, well, it is. Japanese clothing chain Beams is offering a life-sized 6-kilogram (13.22-pound) stuffed Pikachu. I had no idea Pikachu was so damn heavy! However does Ash lug that creature around all the time? According to Beams,…

College Students Float on Bags of Potato Chips

Don’t you hate how bags of potato chips are really bags of air? Some college students decided to do something about that. And best of all, they’re going to sail a potato chip raft across a river. You know when you are buying chips, you aren’t just getting chips, you are also getting a bag…

Bayonetta 2‘s Sales Are Depressing

Oh dear. Bayonetta 2 is out in Japan, and it looks like a terrific game. The early buzz on it is super positive. Shame that not many people are buying it. Blame the Wii U for that? As My Game News Flash points out, when the first Bayonetta game was released on the Xbox 360…

In Japan, Order a Hamburger with Strawberry Sauce

Because, really, why the hell not? I’d do it in a heartbeat. Bring it on. Lotteria is once again releasing a truly unusual burger. This time, it’s high-grade Japanese beef with a strawberry cream sauce slathered on. Um, yum! The type of the strawberry is called “tochiotome” (とちおとめ), and it’s variety of strawberry grown in…

The Xbox One Is Doing Truly Awful in Japan

If you thought the Xbox One had a terrible Japanese launch, then, well, you’re right. But as bad as those launch numbers are, they’re freaking amazing when compared to how the Xbox One is doing now In its first four days on sale, Microsoft sold 25,674 Xbox Ones in Japan. In comparison, Microsoft sold over…

“Dog Noodles” Are Now Available in Japan

What’s wrong with dog food? Can’t we just feed our four-legged friends dog food? No, it seems, we cannot. Enter “Dog Noodles.” These are noodles for dogs. These are udon noodles made for dogs. On the packaging it actually says that! “Inu senyou” (犬専用) or “especially for dogs.” According to My Navi, this is actually…

Marvel at How Yokai Watch Has Totally Overtaken Japan

Y ou might have never heard of Yokai Watch. Maybe you have. It’s a 3DS game and anime withhard-to-gettoys. In Japan, it’s extremely popular at the moment. But sales numbers aside, what is a good way to tell? Merchandise, that’s how. Endless merchandise. For years now, Pokémon has appeared all over kiddy merch in Japan.…

Old Mario Is Bittersweet and Somewhat Depressing

This short film, titled “Old Super Mario,” was done by YouTube user Daiki Sugimoto. It’s well done, but kind of a downer. Old Super Mario[Daiki Sugimoto@YouTube] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest…

Final Fantasy Character Sure Looks Strange Undressed

Not everyone looks good undressed, that’s for sure. Take this Final Fantasy Explorers character, for example. Get him a shirt and some pants! And then, Photoshops. As pointed out on My Game News Flash and 2ch, this avatar from Final Fantasy Explorers‘ character creator has been amusing some people online in Japan. That, of course,…

Ghost Hands Show Off the New Nintendo 3DS

Look at those hands! Those fingers! You can see right through them. How spooky. Here is the debut commercial for the New Nintendo 3DS, which gives a quick rundown of what features people can expect when it’s released in Japan next month. Ghost fingers not included. Newニンテンドー3DS TVCM[Nintendo@YouTube] To contact the author of this post,…