Random Japan

With the stuffed characters of the Moomin Café, you’ll never dine alone!

Casey Baseel

Theme restaurants can be a lot of fun. Whether you’re munching on Final Fantasy desserts or knocking back a cocktail while surrounded by witches and monsters, a little break with reality can be just the secret ingredient you need for a satisfying meal.

Except, what do you do if you can’t round up a posse to go with you? Playing make-believe in a group can be fun, when everyone is egging each other on and having a good laugh, but most people feel awkward enough eating in a normal restaurant alone, let alone one that’s recreating a fictional world.

Thankfully, the Moomin Café has a solution to the solo-dining dilemma: they’ll seat stuffed versions of the beloved cartoons’ characters at your table to keep you company.

stats

• 400Distance, in feet, of the home run given up by former Rakuten Golden Eagles pitcher Masahiro Tanaka to the first batter he faced as a member of the New York Yankees
• 21,089Number of stalking and domestic violence cases recorded in Japan last year—the first time the number has topped 20,000, according to the National Police Agency
• 3,260Number of people who applied for refugee status in Japan in 2013, a record high, according to the justice ministry

WHAT’S THE JAPANESE FOR “CHUTZPAH”?

• A Kagoshima man who bought a PC that had been previously owned by a labor union insisted that the union pay him ¥8 million to “buy back personal information stored in the computer.”
• Tokyo police busted an illegal gambling ring being run out of a condo in Shibuya that also serves as the residence of the ambassador from Ghana.
• Officials at the Don Quijote retail chain have sued the promotion agency that manages J-pop megagroup AKB48.
• The lawsuit claims the management company screwed Don Quijote out of an exclusive licensing deal by letting a pachinko parlor use machines featuring likenesses of the group’s members.

16,000 The Number

Of The Police

What Color Is

Your Shinkansen?

You're A Teacher

Your Son Isn't Important

Japan virtual star Hatsune Miku to join Lady Gaga tour

APR. 19, 2014 - 06:36AM JST 

Hatsune Miku, a computer-generated Japanese pop star who performs as a hologram, is to support some of Lady Gaga’s tour of North America next month, the U.S. songstress has announced on Twitter.

The pixel-perfect pop princess, whose voice is also the product of digital code, will perform in 3D alongside a band made of real musicians at shows starting in Atlanta on May 6.

“My favorite digital pop star Hatsune Miku is opening The ARTPOP Ball from May 6-June 3!” @ladygaga said on her Twitter feed.