Awesome Japan

Red Bull Music talks to some of the best Japanese composers, game designers and the musicians they influenced in the amazing miniseries Diggin’ in the Carts. A must watch for video game and music fans. English captions available.

A demonstration of how ultra-realistic food samples are made for display in Japanese restaurants. These fake pieces are handmade using plastic and wax, and look good enough to eat. But don’t. That cabbage sample is insane.

Japanese prank shows can be exceptionally sadistic. In this clip, we get to see how they’ve amped up the old pie-in-the-face prank using a high-powered hydraulic cream cannon concealed beneath a tabletop.

MAD is a Danish not-for-profit organization for restaurateurs. For its 2014 symposium MAD chose the theme, “What is Cooking?” This was the opening talk from Sobatei Rakuichi owners Tatsuru Rai and his wife Midori .

To celebrate Colonel Sanders’ 124th birthday, KFC Japan is giving away a keyboard that has fried chicken keys and the worst Esc button we’ve ever seen. It will also give away a fried chicken mouse, flash drive and earrings.

BMW Motorrad asked four of Japan’s best motorcycle builders to customize the R NineT. Bike EXIF got exclusive images of and information about the wonderful and varied results. Find out more about the project here and here.

Japanese comedy show Downtown asked former pro baseball player Takeshi Yamasaki if he can take the best that a pitching machine has to offer: a 190mph fastball. Look at the thumbnail and guess. Skip to 3:15.

Chef Naomichi Yasuda, owner of Sushi Bar Yasuda, teaches the basics of eating the world famous Japanese food. You can skip to 6:02 for the summary, but then you’d miss the chance to see a master at work.

Clerks meets cats in Pizza Hut Japan’s latest ad campaign. A series of bite-sized commercials show what a Pizza Hut store would be like if it was run by cats. Actually “run” is too optimistic a term for what plays out.

While the details and secondary colors are painted with additional brushstrokes, we’re still amazed by how artists, such as those at Japan’s Kousyuuya can create such impressive dragon bodies with a single stroke of a brush. More here.

Kutani Choemon is a 130-year-old Japanese pottery shop that uses a 17th century style. But it can still keep up with us young ‘uns, as shown by its teacups that feature modern pastimes. The shop also has surfer chopstick stands.

Munchies’ new series Fuel looks at the food that athletes eat. For its first episode, they enlisted the help of former Sumo World champion Byamba Ulambayar to talk about Chankonabe, a high protein Japanese stew.

Two schoolgirls chase each other around the city in the longest and most badass softdrink commercial you’ll ever see, featuring death-defying stunts, a jazz drummer, ninja props and Japan-level parkour. English captions available.

In this episode from Gucci Japan’s video series entitled “Hand“, Japanese woodworker Noboru Honma shows off the technique of parquetry, in which blocks of wood are assembled into intricate patterns, then shaved into razor-thin slices.

Oh, Japan. How we love your fascination with surreal, yet hilarious advertising. Take, for instance, this spot for a piece of workout gear called Wonder Core, which also happens to save you from accidentally falling on your ass.

YouTuber Steve’s POV shares the most eye-catching Lamborghini Gallardo we’ve ever seen. Owned by a Japanese car enthusiast, the supercar’s hologram vinyl wrap makes it dazzle under even low light.

Matthew Ballard’s profile of Iijima Hiroki, a 22-year old kendama enthusiast. The kendama is a toy that requires excellent hand-eye coordination and reflexes. Iijima loves to spice things up by freestyle dancing while playing.

Hailing from Egypt, 22-year old Ōsunaarashi (“The Great Sandstorm”) is the first professional sumo wrestler to come from Africa. This clip is an excerpt from Salazar’s 30-min documentary. The entire film is on Red Bull TV.

A small village in Shikoku, Japan has more dolls than people. Ayano Tsukimi makes the life-size dolls to preserve the memories of fellow villagers who have died or moved away. At once heart-melting and spine-chilling.

Babymetal combines thrash metal with cutesy pop. Their mission is for you to confront the most personal of questions: “Am I okay with this?” The answer can only be found through thorough research. Oh Japan. Thanks Joe!

Not about to be outdone by their American counterparts, Google Japan joins in on April Fools’ Day with this technical joke: a mechanical hand that makes it easier to use touchscreen devices. Captions available.

Genki Sudo and the rest of World Order’s kempt robots take us on a tour of Akibahara, a district in Tokyo known for its electronics and geeky establishments. Guest starring members of AKB48, who Wreck-it-Ralph fans might know.

Made by Haibara, these handcrafted washi envelopes and sheets are outlined with red or blue woodblock print. A wonderful gift for people who love writing by hand. Each pack comes with six sheets and three envelopes.