Relive an iconic scene from anime Weathering with You with Japan’s rentable Hina umbrellas

https://ift.tt/3b1MYy6 Dale Roll

Take Hina with you for all kinds of weather this weekend!

The most recent film from Your Name director Makoto Shinkai, Weathering with You, was yet another smash hit. Though in our eyes it didn’t have quite as much storytelling impact as Your Name did, there’s no doubt that the film was visually stunning, earning it a nomination for Best International Film at the Oscars, and inspiring lots of colorful collaborations, like a convenience store jelly tea and an entire menu of cafe items.

So memorable is the art, in fact, that even now, a year and a half later, it’s still inspiring creativity. For example, for a limited time only right now, you can rent umbrellas that imitate the most iconic visual of the film!

These umbrellas are available to rent from umbrella sharing service i-Kasa, which is has stands in hundreds of stations across Tokyo and in other cities in Japan. Though i-Kasa typically offers plain umbrellas, for a limited time they’re renting out clear umbrellas that have a tiny image of the film’s female lead Hina, who can control the weather, printed on them, along with her famous line from the film, “You know, it’ll clear up now”, and the film’s Japanese logo, underneath.

They’re designed in such a way that when you look up at the sky through the umbrella it will look like Hina is floating up high, as she did in the movie, making these umbrellas a must-use for fans of the film. They’re also a great opportunity for photo shoots, because depending on the weather and the time of day, the view will be totally different!

But the umbrellas weren’t only crated in appreciation of the film; they’re also to commemorate Weathering with You‘s first airing on public television! The film will be on-air at 9 p.m. on January 3 on TV Asahi, so be sure to tune in if you live in Japan.

As for the umbrellas, they’re available for rent for 70 yen (US$0.67) per 24 hours now until January 3. You can find them in 14 locations around Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Yoyogi Stations, where the central plot of the film takes place, but you can return them to any i-Kasa station location in the city. For the specific locations of each stand, check the “i-Kasa” app, which is available for both Android and Apple.

Related: i-Kasa
Source, images: PR Times
Images ©2019『天気の子』製作委員会 (Weathering with You Production Committee)
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Happy New Year from SoraNews24!

https://ift.tt/3aSKP7Y SoraNews24

Congratulations, it’s 2021!

Shinnen akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!

That’s how you say “Happy New Year” in Japanese. The literal translation, though, is “Congratulations on the new year starting,” and with 2020 throwing so many curveballs (and uppercuts) at us, congratulations definitely seem in order for everybody on making it through the past 12 months.

That’s not to say it was all bad, though. Japan’s ingenious kitchen gadgets and amazing takeout options took some of the sting out of fewer restaurant dining opportunities. Free Ghibli anime backgrounds let us add some extra personality to our video chat sessions, and we saw some inspiring creativity from tech-savvy kids and Pokémon-playing fish (yes, fish) that brought us together in spirit even if we couldn’t all be in the same room.

As we start 2021, we’re taking the day off to relax, possibly use the beginning of the Year of the Ox/Cow as an excuse to treat ourselves to a nice, juicy protection-from-evil burger, and count our blessings, which absolutely include the support of readers like you.

Thank you for visiting SoraNews24 in 2020, and we hope you’ll be back many times in the year ahead!

Top image ©SoraNews24
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Tokyo Fashion Model’s All Black Street Style w/ Tattoos, Double-Breasted Coat & Buckle Sandals

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Here’s Mary Ocean, the Tokyo-based Russian fashion model we often feature in our street snaps.

This day, Mary is clad in an all black style consisting of a double-breasted coat with puffed shoulders, which she styled with a knotted leather belt. She wore a black tank top underneath, slipped into sheer black stockings with distressed details and stepped into black leather buckled sandals. In addition, she is carrying a black waist bag over her shoulder. Mary finished off her look with accessories such as a single chained earring and a black tattoo choker to complement her colorful chest tattoo.

Follow Mary on Instagram if you want to know more about her style.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Tokyo Street Style

Japan’ deadliest New Year’s food may be even more dangerous in 2021 due to the coronavirus

https://ift.tt/2Mcmm31 Casey Baseel

Eating the ironically risky symbol of long life is the latest thing that requires extra caution during the pandemic.

New Year’s is a pretty laid-back time in Japan. Most people spend most of the first three days of January at home, starting the year off with a focus on relaxation and family…and, in some cases, choking to death.

Mochi rice cakes are a traditional new year’s food, because their extremely stretchy nature is thought to be symbolic of longevity. Ironically, though, every year a number of people in Japan have their lives come to an abrupt end when a piece of mochi gets clogged in their throat and they suffocate before they can get medical attention.

▼ New year’s mochi is often eaten as part of the soup called ozoni, pictured here.

おはようございます

昨日納め
久しぶりに飼育員が帰宅
ネコちゃんも大喜び
は料理が出来ないので大晦日にお雑煮を作って貰い
食べました。

皆さん
今年もありがと
大晦日ゆっくりしてくらさい

良いお年を pic.twitter.com/WueWN7MVh2

— chuukasobaを食べるパンダ《ﾏﾙｵ》 (@kishuPANDA) December 30, 2020

Mochi is an annual culinary threat, but health experts are warning that this year it has the potential to be even deadlier than usual. The reason, as with so many unpleasant things these days, is the coronavirus, though at least we can be thankful that the virus hasn’t started infecting mochi batches. Instead, the added danger comes from hospitals crowded with coronavirus-infected patients receiving treatment.

Time is of the essence in treating suffocation victims, but with hospital staff and infrastructure more taxed than usual, response times (from calling an ambulance to receiving in-hospital treatment) will likely be slower, experts warn. Considering that many new year’s mochi choking victims in January 2020 were already unconscious when they arrived at the hospital, additional delays could be fatal, and so even greater levels of caution when eating mochi are being called for as we head into 2021.

Mochi suffocation occurs most commonly among elderly people and young children, whose teeth and jaw/throat muscles may not be strong enough to sufficiently bite through, chew, and swallow the sticky foodstuff. Should such diners decide to eat mochi anyway, experts advise making sure their throat is moist prior to eating, cutting the mochi into small pieces, and concentrating on chewing thoroughly and swallowing carefully.

Sources: Japan Agricultural News via Otakomu, Asahi Shimbun Digital via Livedoor News via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso
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Lack of otaku blood from cancelled Comiket contributing to donation shortage in Japan

https://ift.tt/38Q7tLt Casey Baseel

In a normal year, right now anime fans wouldn’t just be emptying their wallets, they’d be filling up blood vials too.

Twice a year, massive crowds gather at Tokyo’s Big Sight convention center for Comiket, Japan’s largest gathering of dojinshi comic creators. Otaku are so eager to be first in line to drop wads of cash on their favorite artists’ newest works that their mad dash from the station gates to the doors of Big Sight has become an event in itself.

At least, that’s what happens in a normal year. The coronavirus pandemic caused the planned May 2020 Comiket to be cancelled outright, and the customary December iteration to be pushed back until May of 2021. That means there was no Comiket flow of otaku cash this year, and also no flow of Comiket otaku blood.

See, for the past several years, the Japanese Red Cross Society has held a blood drive at Comiket, and the otaku community has been remarkably generous with its hemoglobin. The Red Cross usually sweetens the deal by giving donors an exclusive anime character poster for their cooperation, and the response has been so positive that about 1,500 otaku make a standard-size 400-mililiter (13.5-ounce) donation each Comiket, with organizers dispatching some 30 mobile blood donation buses to Big Sight.

▼ A Japanese blood donation bus

But no Comiket means no Comiket blood drive, and that’s especially unfortunate since right now Japan needs blood donations. In a normal year, blood donation buses and other blood drives are actually a pretty common sight in downtown Tokyo, often with signs posted letting passersby know what blood types medical facilities are especially in need of. However, when the pandemic started picking up momentum in the spring, many people began working or attending classes online from home. At the same time, caution against large gatherings prompted the Red Cross to cancel many of its blood drives in Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures.

The combined result is that between April and November, the Red Cross fell far below its target in blood donations for the Tokyo and the Prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, collecting roughly 45,700 fewer 400-mililiter donations than it was aiming for and causing its transfusion reserves to dip to 80 percent of their ideal levels.

While they wouldn’t have made up the deficit all on their own, 1,500 Comiket blood donors would have been a significant contribution. There’s still a special opportunity for conscientious otaku to help out this New Year’s season, though.

Between December 30 and January 31, the Red Cross will be rewarding 400-miliiter donors at its permanent blood donation centers with a poster set featuring virtual YouTuber Kanata Amane and BanG Dream band Argonavis.

Related: Japanese Red Cross Society
Sources: NHK News Web, J-Cast News, Japanese Red Cross Society
Top image ©SoraNews24
Insert images: Wikipedia/BetacommandBot, Japanese Red Cross Society
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Mister Donut x Pokémon fukubukuro lucky bag is a deliciously cute adventure

https://ift.tt/3rLD4a2 Oona McGee

Chansey and friends are just the icing on the cake for this doughnut extravaganza. 

It’s that time of year again when we race about town catching as many of Japan’s fukubukuro lucky grab bags as possible, and one that we never let slip through our hands is the one from Mister Donut.

As has been the case in past years, Mister Donut has collaborated with Pokémon for their lucky bags this year, and this time Chansey, known as “Lucky” in Japanese, will be bringing us good fortune–and good doughnuts–in 2021.

The “MisDo Pokémon” lucky bags went on sale in Japan on 26 December, in 1,100-yen (US$10.64), 2,200-yen, and 3,300-yen varieties, and we went all out by purchasing the most expensive option, which gave us a whole heap of goodies in return.

▼ First up was this cute wall calendar, featuring Chansey with a parade of starter Pokémon on the cover.

Next up was a small pouch, which was the perfect size for a pencil case. Covered in sweet Pokémon hiding out amongst even sweeter doughnuts, this pouch will ensure Mister Donut is never out of your thoughts for too long over the coming year.

Another cute find was this beautifully decorated zip-lock pouch, slightly smaller than the other pouch, but just as cute with its Pokémon-in-a-jar design.

▼ There’s also a tote bag with Pikachu and Chansey printed on the side…

▼ And a 2021 diary with Pikachu on the front cover!

▼ Cute images inside include this one of Pikachu’s rear, seen through a doughnut hole.

▼ Rounding off the cute merch was this roll of masking tape adorned with Pokémon.

While the Pokémon goods were fantastic, what really elevated the lucky bag to one of the top spots for us this year was the addition of these two free doughnut coupon cards. Each card can be exchanged for a total of 15 doughnuts up to the price of 160 yen, which equates to 4,800 yen of value!

Seeing as the bag cost 3,300 yen, this was like getting all the cute Pokémon merch for free AND getting nine doughnuts for free as well! How’s that for value?!

With the coupons valid through to 31 May 2021, we’ll be visiting at least once a week to make sure we don’t miss out on all our free doughnuts. As always, these lucky bags tend to sell out fast, though, so if you love doughnuts and Pokémon as much as we do, you’ll want to grab one of these as soon as possible!

Photos © SoraNews24
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