Posts Tagged ‘japan’

New Craze in Japan: Japanese Schoolgirls Doing DBZ Energy Attacks

April 1st, 2013 by Tomas | No Comments | Filed in Design

There is a new photo trend called “Makankosappo” among Japanese schoolgirls these days – teenagers seem to be using dangerous techniques they’ve learned from Dragon Ball on their classmates. Judging by the photos, a single energy attack like that can send all the surrounding classmates flying.

According to ‘Know your meme’, it all started when Japanese Twitter user ‘mkpiiii9‘ posted an image of herself and her classmates staging a dramatic shot titled “Makankosappo!!!!!!” It referred to the special beam cannon of Piccolo from the popular manga series Dragon Ball.

The new photo trend soon spread among Japanese school girls who started posting copycat photos on Twitter. Later, redditor Auyx posted a collection of these pictures on Imgur spreading the ‘Hadokening’ photo fad all over the internet.

Sources: reddit, knowyourmeme

New Craze in Japan: Japanese Schoolgirls Doing DBZ Energy Attacks originally appeared on Bored Panda on April 1, 2013.

  1. interactive-shikisai-tshirts-thumb45 Interactive Shikisai T-Shirts From Japan
  2. pod0038-japanese-cookie-packaging-thumb45 Creative Japanese Pastry Packaging
  3. slide-house-japan-thumb45 Unusual Slide House in Japan
  4. mystery-underwater-crop-circle-japan-thumb45 Mysterious Underwater Circles Found near Japan

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Surreal Wisteria Flower Tunnel in Japan

March 6th, 2013 by Lina | No Comments | Filed in Design

The spectacular views of the wisteria flowers at Kawachi Fuji Gardens, in Kitakyushu, Japan is another shining example of Japanese perception of beauty and architecture. The private garden hosts around 150 wisteria flowering plants of 20 different species. The crown jewel of the garden, however, is the stunning wisteria tunnel, where visitors can walk surrounded by hanging multicolored flowers.

The gardens are located about a 4-hour drive away from Tokyo, and the best visiting time is late April to mid May. At this time of the year, the wisteria flowers are in full bloom. Moreover, an annual “Wisteria Festival”, also known as “Fuji Matsuri“, is hosted on April 27-29 to offer additional festivities in the gardens.

Once in the gardens, many visitors experience an overwhelming zen-like peace and calmness. It’s no wonder that wisteria is an important symbol for Buddhists, representing prayer and reaching out to the divine. These metaphors are mostly inspired by the spiraling shape and manner that the flower grows, sometimes reaching as high as 65.6 ft above the ground.

Website: city.kitakyushu.lg.jp

Image credits: imgur.com

Image credits: mindphoto.blog.fc2.com

Image credits: mindphoto.blog.fc2.com

Image credits: mindphoto.blog.fc2.com

Image credits: mindphoto.blog.fc2.com

Image credits: stomaster.livejournal.com

Image credits: udivitelno.com

Image credits: mailce.com

Image credits: udivitelno.com

Image credits: udivitelno.com | via: twistedsifter

Surreal Wisteria Flower Tunnel in Japan originally appeared on Bored Panda on March 6, 2013.

  1. tunnel-of-love-ukraine-thumb45 Tunnel Of Love in Ukraine
  2. winter-light-festival-nabano-no-sato-japan-thumb45 Tunnel of Lights Made of Millions of LEDs in Japan
  3. pod-0055-spilled-flowers-thumb45 Spilled Flowers
  4. flower-sculptures-bloemencorso-netherlands-thumb45 Gigantic Flower Sculpture Festival in Holland

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Probably the World’s Cutest Kitten

November 9th, 2012 by Justina | No Comments | Filed in Design

If you’re a dog person, you might get a bit skeptical about this post. Just another cute kitten hitting the internet, right? But seriously – isn’t Daisy just the loveliest, fuzziest little ball of fur EVER? These incredibly cute photos were done by Daisy’s owner Ben Torode, who’s not even a professional photographer. Australia-born, Japan-based guy works as a translator, but photographs kittens for a hobby and sells the photos on Getty Images. But let’s go back to Daisy!

Ben found Daisy with his wife at a pet store in Tokyo. They say it was the love at first sight and named the kitten after the nickname of his wife.

Now she’s six months old and these pictures were taken in her youth. She hates to be alone and has a great hunter instinct. Laser pointer, beware! In most images she strikes a killer-cute pose next an equally sized object so that the viewer can get a better grasp of how tiny she is herself.

Check out these images of Daisy as she plays the keyboard or hides in the rolled carpet and admit – you did “awwww” at least once.

Website: flickr.com

Be sure to check out more pictures at Ben’s flickr page.

Probably the World’s Cutest Kitten originally appeared on Bored Panda on November 9, 2012.

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  3. pod-0058-pig-usb-hub-thumb45 Pig Buddy: Cutest USB Hub & Flash Drives Ever
  4. translucent-ants-thumb45 Translucent Ants Eating Colored Liquids


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Tunnel of Lights Made of Millions of LEDs in Japan

November 8th, 2012 by Tomas | No Comments | Filed in Design

During the gloomy winters we all need something to color and light up our lives. The Japanese devoted a whole botanical garden for that purpose, and transformed it into a 7 million LED light winter illumination. Located on the island of Nagashima in Kuwana, the installations in the Nabana no Sato garden were opened just this week.

Visitors enter the garden through a majestic tunnel of lights and go on to enjoy the installations, set up according to the Great Nature theme of this year. The little LEDs compose such great sights as a sunrise at Mt. Fuji or the gorgeous auroras borealis, but once you look closer, you see that every light is placed into tiny botanically inspired bulbs.

The illumination is already named “the best light show in the country”, and will be welcoming visitors till the end of March. Then you can go to the Tunnel Of Love in Ukraine which will be blooming in all its glory at that time of the year.

Website: nagashima-onsen.co.jp

Tunnel of Lights Made of Millions of LEDs in Japan originally appeared on Bored Panda on November 8, 2012.

  1. tunnel-of-love-ukraine-thumb45 Tunnel Of Love in Ukraine
  2. sand-glass-stoplights-thumb45 Hour Glass LED Traffic Lights
  3. rubbish-shadow-sculptures-tim-noble-sue-webster-thumb45 Incredible Shadow Sculptures Made of Rubbish
  4. cassette-tape-thumb45 Celebrity Portraits Made Out Of Cassette Tapes


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Mysterious Underwater Circles Found near Japan

September 25th, 2012 by Tomas | No Comments | Filed in Design

You’ve probably heard a lot of stories about crop circles and aliens, but surprisingly a Japanese photographer Yoji Ookata has found something very similar 80 ft below the sea level. While diving off the coast of Japan, he discovered a mysterious ~6.5 ft wide circle precisely carved from sand. Yoji decided to come back with a TV crew to figure out this strange phenomenon.

The cameras revealed that the culprit was a few-inch long puff fish, creating the sand sculptures by swimming tirelessly and using its single fin. The team figured that this is how the female fish attract the male ones, and the center of the circle is where the pair lays the eggs. The riffles then serve as a protective buffer against ocean currents. In fact, the more riffles a fish makes, the more chances it has to find a pair.

Website: ookatayouji.amaminchu.com, cgi2.nhk.or.jp | via

Mysterious Underwater Circles Found near Japan originally appeared on Bored Panda on September 25, 2012.

  1. beach-sand-paintings-andres-amador-thumb45 Stunning Sand Drawings by Andres Amador
  2. underwater-dogs-seth-casteel-thumb45 Underwater Dogs by Seth Casteel
  3. jim-denevan-sand-drawings-thumb45 Amazing Sand Drawings on California Beaches
  4. transparent-na-house-sou-fujimoto-architects-thumb45 Transparent House in Japan


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Mysterious Underwater Circles Found near Japan

September 25th, 2012 by Tomas | No Comments | Filed in Design

You’ve probably heard a lot of stories about crop circles and aliens, but surprisingly a Japanese photographer Yoji Ookata has found something very similar 80 ft below the sea level. While diving off the coast of Japan, he discovered a mysterious ~6.5 ft wide circle precisely carved from sand. Yoji decided to come back with a TV crew to figure out this strange phenomenon.

The cameras revealed that the culprit was a few-inch long puff fish, creating the sand sculptures by swimming tirelessly and using its single fin. The team figured that this is how the female fish attract the male ones, and the center of the circle is where the pair lays the eggs. The riffles then serve as a protective buffer against ocean currents. In fact, the more riffles a fish makes, the more chances it has to find a pair.

Website: ookatayouji.amaminchu.com, cgi2.nhk.or.jp | via

Mysterious Underwater Circles Found near Japan originally appeared on Bored Panda on September 25, 2012.

  1. beach-sand-paintings-andres-amador-thumb45 Stunning Sand Drawings by Andres Amador
  2. underwater-dogs-seth-casteel-thumb45 Underwater Dogs by Seth Casteel
  3. jim-denevan-sand-drawings-thumb45 Amazing Sand Drawings on California Beaches
  4. transparent-na-house-sou-fujimoto-architects-thumb45 Transparent House in Japan


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Transparent House in Japan

May 15th, 2012 by Lina | No Comments | Filed in Design

If you say you have nothing to hide, try spending a few nights in the see-through house located in Tokyo, Japan. Built by Sou Fujimoto Architects, this 914 square-foot transparent house was inspired by our ancient predecessors who inhabited trees. While so-called “House NA” offers plenty of daylight, expect no privacy here.

“The intriguing point of a tree is that these places are not hermetically isolated but are connected to one another in its unique relativity. To hear one’s voice from across and above, hopping over to another branch, a discussion taking place across branches by members from separate branches. These are some of the moments of richness encountered through such spatially dense living,” says Sou Fujimoto.

Architect: Sou Fujimoto Architects

“The white steel-frame structure itself shares no resemblance to a tree. Yet the life lived and the moments experienced in this space is a contemporary adaptation of the richness once experienced by the ancient predecessors from the time when they inhabited trees,” says Sou Fujimoto.

Photographer: Iwan Baan

Transparent House in Japan originally appeared on Bored Panda on May 15, 2012.

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  2. Unusual Slide House in Japan
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  6. Broccoli House


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Laser Cut Seaweed for Sushi Rolls

May 11th, 2012 by Tomas | No Comments | Filed in Design

To help boost the weak sales of Japanese nori manufacturer that was affected by the 2011 tsunami, I&S BBDO, a Japanese ad agency, developed a series of intricately laser-cut seaweed. Each sheet from “design nori” series – Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), Mizutama (Water Drops), Asanoha (Hemp), Kikkou (Turtle Seashell), and Kumikkou (Tortoise Shell) – is based on Japanese history or symbology and represents happiness, good fortune, and longevity.

“Japanese people are eating less seaweed than before and I wanted to do something about the decline in demand, make some waves in a positive way. I wanted people to know how interesting and appealing seaweed is, not to mention delicious,” said the creator and Seaweed Shop owner Umino Hiroyuki (32).

For up to date information and inquiries you can check their Facebook page.

Sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Laser Cut Seaweed for Sushi Rolls originally appeared on Bored Panda on May 11, 2012.

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Unusual Slide House in Japan

November 28th, 2011 by Bored Panda | No Comments | Filed in Design

I am not a kid anymore, but when I saw the pictures of the Slide House in Japan I instantly felt like a little child!

Japanese Studio LEVEL Architects has designed an unusual three-story family house quipped with a slide that connects all three floors. This fun house is wrapped with staircases and a corridor on one side, and the slide on the other side, which together form a circular route around the central area of the house.

The 1,762 square-foot Nakameguro home is located in Meguro-ku, one of the municipalities of Tokyo, Japan. Now the only thing left to figure out is the exact address, and hope that the owners will let me take the slide.

How about you? Would you take the stairs or the slide?

Unusual Slide House in Japan originally appeared on Bored Panda on November 28, 2011.

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  3. Broccoli House


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Interactive Shikisai T-Shirts From Japan

November 18th, 2010 by Bored Panda | No Comments | Filed in Design

Our statistics show that you really liked our recent list of unusual and creative t-shirts, so we had no choice but to publish another collection of really interactive shirts  – this time from Japan.

“Incorporating the interactivity, the mundanity, and the sense of fun, Japanese designer-duo Noto-Fusai (SHIKISAI) is trying to explore the alternative possibilities of t-shirt design, through the use of black print on white surface.

Water comes out of faucet. the loose shoe lace you tie and untie. Very much an everyday situation, ought to be far from things like art / product design / fashion design. But once it is played on the stage of “white t-shirt” starring “black print”, it leaps high up to art / product design / fashion design. Scenario is not difficult at all. Very naturally the collection communicates you the designers’ intent, excitement and sense of fun.”

Website: shi-ki-sa-i.com

1. Bath Plug T-Shirt

“Black aluminum ball chain is attached to the ribbon sewn to the shirt with the double ring, which allow us to remove the chain for wash. The point where the ribbon is sewn is supported on its back with a piece of felt.”

Venetian Blind T-Shirt

“The string is not a print, but a real string, which you can pull to open the blinds, as shown on the image above. Suitable to spend the hot summer.”

Shoelace T-Shirt

“Your shoelace is undone. No, no, not on your feet, but on your chest.”

Pen And Note T-Shirt

“Real pen is hung on the screen-printed notebook. You can write down whenever you suddenly need it!”

Power Pole T-Shirt

“Although there are 3 real electric cable out of illustration, no need of being afraid of, if you try not to touch the cable directly, while wearing it.”

Reversi T-Shirt

“The game known as “reversi” or “othello” is printed on T-shirt. You can arrange where to place the 4 pin badges (2x black & 2x white). (in Japan, Reversi is a very popular family game for children first to learn the hierarchical relationship).”

Shoulder Bag T-Shirt

“The belt is real belt, which is connected to the plastic ring and not removable. The belt can stay diagonal, and can also be drooped.”

Tricycle T-Shirt

“Black satin ribbons are sewn on the top of the both handles, reminding you of the childhood memories.”

Faucet T-Shirt

“Satin ribbons are sewn to express water.”

Vacuum Cleaner T-Shirt

“The first T-shirt that doesn’t lose suction.”

Interactive Shikisai T-Shirts From Japan originally appeared on Bored Panda on November 18, 2010.

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    It was in the back corner of McDonalds with a couple of hours to wait for a train home to Norwich, that theDot first came together. Freshly inspired by a weekend at the 4designers conference in London and having traipsed around museums and exhibitions all day, three minds came together over chicken burgers and chips.

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