Kotaku East

Virtual Japanese Idol Gets Her Own Official Car

While Hatsune Miku has been used in awkwardAmerican Toyota ads, the virtual idol is getting her own Daihatsu car in Japan. Like, an official car. As seen on website Monoist, the “Snow Miku” Daihatsu Cocoa is emblazoned with a Snow Miku logo, steering wheel, roof bars and seats. “Snow Miku” is the ice sculpture version…

Gamers Wonder When Fatal Frame Got This “Erotic”

The Fatal Frame games have always been scary. They’ve been kind of sexy, too. But the latest entry is, flat out, being called an erotic game by Japanese Wii U owners. Warning: This article contains spoilers as well as content some readers might find objectionable. The latest Fatal Frame game, Fatal Frame: Oracle of the…

Game and Anime Characters Reborn as Japanese Scarecrows

It’s late September. In Japan, that means rice is being harvested. And where there are crops, there are scarecrows. Some of them are hardly typical. Thank goodness for that! In late summer and early fall, many hold scarecrow festivals. Back in 2012, Kotaku introduced a handful of unique Japanese scarecrows. Here are some of the…

Report: Xbox One Is Struggling in South Korea

While the Xbox One is actually drawing lines in China, a report out of Korea says the console is, so far, having a rough go in the region. According to popular Korean site Game Focus (via tipster Sang), the Xbox One reportedly sold less than 200 units at the console’s big launch event at Times…

Space Cats, Meet Space Sumo Wrestler

You know those Photoshopsof cats and space backgrounds? They’re neat and all, but the sumo ones are pretty neat as well. This is former sumo wrestler Takamisakari, one of Japan’s most popular sumo wrestlers in recent memory. He was one of sumo’s more expressive wrestlers and was famous for his cute, almost anime character-like smile.…

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,…

Joke World of Warcraft Cosplay Is Funny and Wonderful

The latest World of Warcraft expansion, Warlords of Draenor, hasn’t dropped yet. That hasn’t stopped Chinese gamers from getting excited over it. To help the time go by faster, Sina Weibo’s official WoW account started a cosplay contest, and some of the entries they got were just gold. Gold. On Friday the 26th, the Sina…

People in China Actually Lined Up for the Xbox One

I’ll be the first to admit it: I didn’t expect it to happen. But now, Microsoft has proven me wrong. The Xbox One is China’s first official video game console in 14 years and, as of today, it is officially on sale. Originally slated for release last Tuesday, the console was delayed for six days.…

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…

Fate/Zero Sets a High Bar for All Other Fighting Anime

Gen Urobuchi has written some of the most psychologically dark anime in recent memory. He is a master at subverting anime tropes to breathe new life into stale genres. And while I had seen many of his series, I had never seen Fate/Zero. So with a new Fate anime coming in just a few weeks,…

Co-op Is My Favorite Part of Bayonetta 2

Eleven hours in to my live-stream ofBayonetta 2, I had beaten the game and was looking to enjoy my first meal of the day. Yet, even then, I just had to try out the game’s co-op mode—and I am so glad that I did. Even as tired as I was, it quickly became my favorite…

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.

Thanks To Bootleggers, There’s an Actual Hearthstone Card Game

As reported on Games in Asia (via Venture Beat) this unofficial recreation costs about 300RMB or $49. With it you get two sets of every class’ card, four of every normal and legendary, and extras for the ones with multiple spawns (like good old Unleash The Hounds). This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK For…

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…