Random Japan

Feed your inner monster with adorable Totoro cream puffs


Jessica

Sometimes food is so beautifully prepared it seems like a shame to eat it. And yet, the beautiful preparation makes it that much more enticing. The Japanese are without a doubt the masters of this skill, ranging from the exquisite jewel-like arrangements of chic kaiseki-ryori to the saccharine adorableness of the average kid’s bento.

But we’ve discovered an almost-too-squee-inducing-to-eat treat that should appeal to adults and children alike: cream puffs shaped like Ghibli animation favorite Totoro.


The creams puffs are the creation of Shirohige Shu-Cream Kojo (Whitebeard’s Cream Puff Factory), a pastry shop with attached café off a tiny side street in the Daita neighborhood of Tokyo. Once we heard about it, we naturally had to go check it out for ourselves, so on a brisk fall afternoon ideal for hunting forest spirits, we headed to Shirohige to see if these cuties taste as good as they look.

STATS

328,000
Number of Japanese people who visited New York City in 2012—a record high—according to marketing firm NYC & Co

¥1.01 quadrillion
Japanese government debt as of October 1, according to the finance ministry

¥50 million
Estimated earnings of career burglar Takashi Kido, who was arrested last month for breaking into a home in Kawasaki, according to police

YEAH, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT

Six housewives around the country were arrested for posting obscene videos of themselves on a pay-per-view website. One of the gals said she did it to make money “to help cover the costs of living and raising kids.”

The education ministry has asked elementary schools to start offering English lessons in the third grade—two years earlier than usual—so that “students [can] enjoy communicating in the language.”

A research team led by a professor at the National Institute of Informatics is trying to develop a robot that can pass the entrance exam at Tokyo University.

The TMG’s goal of “bringing delicious, mineral water-style water to every household”—their words, not ours—came closer to reality with the opening of a purification plant in Misato, Saitama.

That Money Wasn't For My "Campaign"

I Needed It For My Campaign

Moron Of The Highest Order

Proceeds To Jail

Please Welcome

The Newest Member Of The Family

Anti-Korea protesters attack Kyoto court's 'discrimination' ruling


November 22, 2013


By HAJIMU TAKEDA/ Staff Writer

A court ruling that said an anti-Korea protest constituted racial discrimination has done little to prevent demonstrators from continuing to hurl insults and “hate speech” in this ancient capital.

In fact, the protesters have a new target for their criticism: the Kyoto District Court.

On the Nov. 4 national holiday, a citizens group held a protest rally titled “Don’t forgive the biased ruling! Demonstration for double revenge” in Kyoto’s Shijo-kawaramachi district, which was crowded with tourists.

The group criticized the Kyoto District Court’s ruling on Oct. 7 that ordered an anti-foreigner organization and some of its members to pay 12.26 million yen (about $122,600) in compensation to a Korean school operator.