Kamen Rider Gaim, the latest entry in the long-running Kamen Rider series, is quite interesting. It's samurai-themed, but uses fruit motifs throughout the show. That no longer raises eyebrows among viewers. A recent map that appeared on the show, however, does.

In Japan, most little girls watch the magical girl anime Pretty Cure. Many adore it! One Grandfather decided the best way to delight his grandchild was to paint it. In watercolors.

When I heard that Japan's newest superhero show was based on fruit, I scoffed. How silly! And then, I saw their outfits. That changed everything.

Cosplay is the act of dressing up as your favorite character. Charity is helping others. Japanese businessman Akihiro Tomikawa does both.

Things weren't exactly easy. In fact, many stores in Japan didn't even want to carry the product. Sweets that you drink out of a plastic toilet? Eh... But now, Moko Moko Mokoletto is flushed with success.

This is Nao Nagasawa. She's here to unleash fists of fury. And do so at the office, apparently!

Whether it's the Power Rangers, Ultraman, or Kamen Rider, male Japanese superheroes have one thing in common: they are tough and masculine. These poses aren't.

In years past, you'd always see them outside convenience stores and in parking lots, coping a squat next to their Subarus and Hondas, smoking cigarettes. They were tough looking. They were thugs. And they'd sit like they're squeezing out turds.

Across Japan, it's harvest time. In September, the rice turns a golden hue. The color—my favorite—is koganeiro (黄金色). Scarecrows stand watch over the rice fields. Most scarecrows in Japan are rather pedestrian—what you'd think a scarecrow would and should look like.

Being a superhero seems so glamorous. There are the outfits, the universe saving, and the crime fighting. But in Hong Kong, the lives of superheroes seem so normal.

Next year, a new tokusatsu movie called Space Hero Fly is hitting theaters in Taiwan. You might remember this movie the first time, when it was called Kamen Rider. Which Kamen Rider? Take your pick.

While some Japanese vending machines are under fire for offering sexy good times, the vast, vast majority of vending machines offer only beverages.

Ultraman. Kamen Rider. Gundam. These three heroes are going forces in the upcoming role-playing game Lost Heroes for the 3DS. It's a dungeon crawler—with badasses.