Two Boys Declared 'Team Weenie' at a Hot Spring. The Grannies Behind Them Had an Answer.
While a dad scolded his sons for a potty word at the bath entrance, three elderly women quietly one-upped them.
Someone Wondered Why Anyone Needs Twelve 'Husband' Stickers. They Were Yen Signs, Upside Down
Flip the yen sign and it looks like the kanji for husband, and people had a lot to say about what that means for marriage.
Police in Japan Are Handing Drivers Daikon Radishes. The Reason Is a Pun.
A traffic safety campaign in rural Miyagi hangs on one shared kanji, a free vegetable, and a request to talk about road safety over dinner.
The Hotel Welcome Fruit That Japanese Guests Never Touch
A whole apple waiting in a hotel room abroad raises one question for many Japanese travelers: how exactly are you supposed to eat this?
An Excavator Fits Its Shipping Container Perfectly. So How Does the Driver Get Out?
A Japanese machinery maker shows an excavator sliding into a container with inches to spare, and the internet decides the operator must be shipping too.
He Thinks He Has the Worst Breath in Japan, So He Entered 'Breath Sumo' to Prove It
A man already known on TV for his smelly ears suspects his breath is even worse, and challenges fellow contenders to face-to-face combat to settle it.
Sailor Moon Punishes 'in the Moon's Place' — But Does the Moon Have Jurisdiction?
One pedantic question about a famous catchphrase turns into a debate over lunar sovereignty, local recruitment, and interference in Earth's internal affairs.
Nobody Minded the Texas Cows During the Civil War. They Multiplied Anyway.
A bit of American history — cattle breeding on their own while the ranchers were away at war — leaves Japanese readers trying to picture a place that big.
A Kid From Overseas Called a Yukata 'Just Fabric' — Until It Turned Into Clothes
A little girl refused to believe a folded yukata was clothing, then announced its transformation to the entire planet.
She Went to Tour Her Dream High School and Came Back Having Won Back Her Brother's Casino Losses
A middle schooler's school visit turned into a lesson in risk management, and parents across Japan chimed in with casino stories of their own.
Lady Gaga Now Works at FamilyMart, Name Tag and All
Lady Gaga fronts a Japanese convenience-store help-wanted ad, and viewers can't stop looking at her katakana name tag.
A Japanese Developer Broke Ground at the British Library With a Shinto Ceremony, Led by a Dutch Priest
Mitsui Fudosan brought a Japanese groundbreaking rite to London, and the priest who performed it came from a shrine in the Netherlands.
Before Her Surgery, a Trans Woman Comes Out to Her Mom — From Inside a Rabbit Head
A 28-year-old trans woman wanted to thank the single mom who raised her as a boy before her gender-affirming surgery, and viewers couldn't get over how gently her mom listened.
The Boat Home From Comiket Was, Everyone Agrees, a Refugee Ship
Attendees who once escaped Japan's biggest doujin convention by water bus remember a deck packed wall to wall, and decide it looked exactly like the last act of a war film.
Why Opening With 'Sorry, My English Is Bad' Backfires in America
A former grad student recalls being chewed out by a US advisor for apologizing for their English, and Japan debates where humility ends and self-deprecation begins.
Someone in Japan Spotted a Little Autumn. It Got Away.
A nod to a classic children's song turns into a group hunt for autumn, a season now so rare that people say it needs protecting.
'They'll Rerun It Anyway,' Said Dad. It Took 35 Years.
A '90s anime finale missed for a family dinner is finally getting a second chance on YouTube, and plenty of grown-up kids chime in with the finales they never got to see.
Everyone Assumed It Was a Watercolor Filter. The Anime Ending Was Painted by Hand, Frame by Frame
A making-of video for the ending of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia reveals that every frame was painted in real watercolor.
A Boss Texts: There Are Puffy Stickers of Teeth
A nostalgic sticker format gets pointed at full dental anatomy, right down to the articulating paper.
A Solid Gold Ring Fell Into a Pit Toilet, So the Show Sent a Comedian In After It
A man drops his pure gold ring down a non-flush toilet, and Japan's most durable variety show treats it as a case worth solving.
