Awesome Japan

How can a drill bit be “awesome,” you might ask? When it can drill square holes instead of round ones, that’s when. Despite what the clip says, this marvel comes from Japan, not China.

They may look like ordinary Bicycle cards at first, but each deck of fragment design’s new irregular playing cards features slightly-askew card face prints, along with a bright neon green back.

Different sides of Tokyo – from random citizens to the swarm-like urban populace, from snapshots of daily life, to a salary man sleeping standing up in a busy train station – presented by Alex Lee.

Kyoto’s Nine Hours ultra-minimal capsule hotel boils down “a place to stay” into three essential components – one hour to shower, seven hours to sleep, and one hour of rest. Video hat tip: Monocle.

There’s no way the pizza delivery guy will miss the address on these condos, designed by Matsunami Mitsutomo, and located in Osaka, Japan. Wouldn’t work so well for single-family homes, though.

We thought they lived in the shadows, but it seems like the ninjas of ancient Japan also had houses. It’s just like how you’d expect a ninja house would be, filled with traps and hidden stuff.

Remember the creepy pizza toppings?  This is much weirder. Apparently this is a popular dish in Hakodate in northern Japan. The sodium in the soy sauce is responsible for this freaky food.

Endorsed by the Japanese military, these glasses can handle some serious impact. While not quite bulletproof, they resist shatters with as much as a 0.3″ diameter object striking the lens at 106mph.

Suppose Design Office imbued the Cafe/day coffee shop in Shizuoka, Japan with a spacious feel mainly by extending road lines and symbols to the shop’s floor, which is also made of asphalt.

Make a statement while supporting relief efforts in Japan. These white lacquered stainless steel glasses have red mirrored lenses, and all proceeds (minus VAT) go to the Japanese Red Cross.

YouTuber jetdaisuke vivaciously demonstrates how to make Spam sandwiches using the Sand de Panda, which cuts off the edges of bread and seals in the filling at the same time. ITADAKEMASU!

With concerns about the fallout from Japan’s recent disaster affecting food supplies, Nils Ferber created this concept combining dinner plate with radiation meter. Whimsical, but well-intentioned.

Recently, a new line of Japan’s Shinkansen (aka bullet train) opened up in Kyushu. This is how the people welcomed the transport. My goodness. The background music is Boom! by Maia Hirasawa.

Not only do these artist-designed wooden eggs look really cool, they’re decorated by a robot. And if that’s not enough for you, a portion of proceeds go to The British Red Cross’ Japan Tsunami Appeal.

A farm in Japan found this larger-than-normal egg in their hen-house and decided to crack it open. What they found inside was certainly unexpected. One clue – it’s not an Alien facehugger.

After being rescued from a pile of debris floating off the coast of Japan since the March 11th tsunami, Ban the wonder dog is reunited with her owner – and much tail-wagging did ensue.

You’re looking at the future of vending machines. With a 47-inch touchscreen and a camera, the Acure guesses the gender and age of the customer to help make product recommendations.

innerspoken’s special limited edition shirt supports and emphasizes the positive energy being created in the recovery process; all net proceeds will be donated to a relief organization of your choice.

Hide & Seek Clothing will donate all profits from the sale of this T-shirt to organizations and projects dedicated to providing aid and assistance to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Watch this haunting footage shot from inside a moving vehicle as the recent tsunami hit Japan. Thankfully, the driver managed to escape without injury. Rainbows aren’t always a good omen.

You’ve probably heard of the explosions at the Fukushima power plant in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami. Here’s NHK – by way of CNN – with a summary of the likely cause.

The New York Times has an interactive gallery that compares satellite images from last year with ones taken after the March 11 tsunami. You can donate to the Red Cross disaster relief for Japan here.

Combining the best of still and video cameras, it shoots full 1080p60 full HD videos, 10 megapixel stills, 300fps high-speed shots and has a 10x optical zoom lens. Arrives in Japan first.