Happy New Year from SoraNews24!

https://ift.tt/2SOJaHg SoraNews24

A new decade dawns, heralding the start of a very big year for Japan and its rat-folk.

It’s been a busy year of news here in Japan, with heartbreaking events, the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito, and unexpected marriages and happy births ranking amongst some of the top stories for the last year of the 2010s.

Now as we enter the 2020s, we have the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the new Ghibli Park opening on the horizon, promising an even bigger decade of news and events from the land of the Rising Sun.

So while we gear up for another year of daily reporting on all things Japan-related, our team will be taking a break today to spend some time with friends and family, recounting the Yoshiki x Kiss performance on Kohaku Uta Gassen and hunting down some of this year’s best fukubukuro for you to enjoy.

As we welcome in the Year of the Rat, we’d like to take a moment to thank you all for visiting our site over the past 12 months and being the best readers we could possibly wish for. We’ll be back with more stories for you tomorrow so until then enjoy the first day of the new decade and have a happy and prosperous New Year!

Top image: © SoraNews24  

Handmade Kawaii Street Style in Harajuku w/ Floral Choker, Fuzzy Toys Dress, Candy Bracelets, Dalmatian Print Tote & Platform Boots

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While out and about on the streets of Harajuku, we spotted Natti, a 19-year-old Japanese designer sporting an eye-catching kawaii ensemble.

With her hair styled up in twin braids and a handmade purple headdress, Natti stepped out in a handmade fuzzy zipper dress, which features cow print sleeves, dalmatian print trims, a pink quilted front with cute toys sewn in. The sleeves also feature grommet trims with small plushie bears hanging from blue and pink ball chains. Strawberry print socks, white furry platform boots, and handmade accessories such as a pink floral choker, and multicolored beaded bracelets stacked on both of her wrists. In addition, Natti is carrying a handmade furry dalmatian print tote bag with pink pom-pom trims, purple lace trims and a pink bow.

Codona De Moda is Natti’s favorite fashion brand, and she loves the music of Seiko Oomori. For more of her colorful streetwear looks, follow Natti on Instagram and Twitter.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Tokyo Street Style

Our writer Seiji becomes the face of baldness on Google Japan

https://ift.tt/2thL4pq Master Blaster

Seiji experiences a roller-coaster of emotions after a shocking discovery.

2019 was an eventful year for our Japanese writer Seiji Nazkazawa. He got married, toured internationally with a rock band, and successfully completed his hair transplant. 

But the old habits of a once-balding man die hard, and every once in a while Seiji gets the urge to do a little “bald-surfing.” This is where he goes online reading the stories of other balding men to learn more about the change of life and how other people deal with it.

However, this time when Seiji typed in the common Japanese word “hage” (baldie) he made a startling discovery.

▼ “It’s me!!!”

Not only did Seiji’s own face appear when googling “baldie” but his was the first one to pop up, making it THE face of baldness in Japan. 

He was initially furious at the algorithmic slight and wondered how this could have happened. Sure, he documented and published his own hair transplant experiences on the website, but among the vast baldness information available online, was his story really that popular?

It was disheartening that he went to all that trouble only to be constantly reminded of his own hair-loss history any time he searched about it. But after a little thinking, that blow to his pride began to fade away.

He noticed that he was among good company in the search results. Former SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi was there too, along with comedian and actor Tomoharu Shoji, and ISSA of Da Pump. Even the legendary actor Yoichi Nurumizu was among this exclusive club of involuntary “baldies” of which Seiji wasn’t only the chairman. He was also a member.

And in the end, while it’s not as glamorous as being the face of Taco Bell, if his own story and likeness can help others learn to adapt to their receding hairlines, then he’ll feel pretty good about being the premier balding man of Japan.

Photos © SoraNews24
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The best Japanese cosplayers from Day 2 of Winter Comiket 2019【Photos】

https://ift.tt/2MKnybp Oona McGee

Warm up with characters from some of Japan’s most popular manga, anime and video games.

Hot on the heels of our cosplay photo collection from the first day of Winter Comiket 2019, we’re back with even more fantastic cosplays, this time from day two of the event.

The second day of the biannual indie manga, anime, game, and cosplay convention was even busier than the first, with 180,000 visitors and a whopping 2,623 male and 6,024 female cosplayers in attendance.

We walked through the event space and were happy to find some well-known characters and popular series represented, including a towering Meowth and some hair-raising cosplay from Hunter × Hunter.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the best cosplayers from day two of Winter Comiket 2019!

▼ Hatsune Miku | Cosplayer: @mitsumai39

▼ Snow White from SINoAlice | Cosplayer: @cos39_39

▼ Eli Ayase from Love Live! | Cosplayer: @kisa_yura_gi

▼ Mashu Kyrielight from Fate/Grand Order | Cosplayer: @nuyu_uyun

▼ Takao from Azur Lane | Cosplayer: @sss0518ma

▼ Atago from Azur Lane | Cosplayer: @xxrhkzmxx

▼ BB from Fate/Grand Order | Cosplayer: @miyaviiiii_kt

▼ Marnie from Pokémon Sword and Shield | Cosplayer: @seeu_cosplay

▼ Nero Claudius from Fate/Grand Order | Cosplayer: @105_i10

▼ Eriri Spencer Sawamura from How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend | Cosplayer: @rinyanpassan

▼ Pokémon Sword and Shield | Cosplayer: @wassher (Meowth), @yakkun_mk2 (trainer)

▼ Gon Freecss from Hunter × Hunter | Cosplayer: @kinnikun0917

▼ His poses were so fantastic we couldn’t stop photographing him!

So there you have it, the best cosplayers from day two of Winter Comiket 2019! We’ll be back again with more cosplays from day three of the convention tomorrow so sit tight with a hot drink and these wonderful cosplayers from previous years of Comiket until then!

Photos: ©SoraNews24 
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