Forget the Pokémon style mascots. The one the Tokyo Olympics needs and wants is a pistol-slinging, fencing foil-wielding centaur.

Going to the toilet at Ichiran Ramen, means more than high-tech washlets. It means all the toilet paper you could ever want.

When I first moved to Japan at the turn of the century, I was told that noodle lovers need not fret about making slurping sounds while eating. Among some, that attitude is changing. There is now concern over “noodle harassment.”

You like noodles, right? I sure do. Especially soba noodles. And Kyoto's Honke Owariya is famous for its soba noodles. That, and being very, very old.

For this year's World Cup, Japanese noodle company Nissin thought it would be a good idea to send Red Bull athlete Kotaro Tokuda to Brazil. To do soccer tricks. In samurai gear.

And if that wasn't enough, shoveling snow in front of the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama.