Awesome Japan

The Star Wars franchise has paid homage to Japanese cinema and folklore throughout the years. Now Disney+ repays the debt by inviting seven of Japan’s top animation studios to create unique anime stories that take place in the Star Wars universe. The series premieres 9.22.2021.

Yonex is one of the most respected brands in tennis, and their rackets are the choice of many pro players. Tennis Warehouse takes us inside the Japanese company’s warehouse for a look at their production process, which seamlessly blends a human and robotic workforce.

This unique wristwatch from TokyoFlash Japan features a display inspired by an graphic equalizer. But instead of displaying audio frequencies and volume levels, its green dots light up to indicate the current time and date. The oversized watch uses an LED-backlit LCD panel to create the effect. Available with a black or silver case.

Made in Japan, the Goshi is a scrubby shower towel woven from a combination of lathering and exfoliating threads. It helps to wash away dirt, oil, and dead skin, keeping you cleaner than you’ve ever felt. It’s made from a long-lasting 100% recyclable nylon. Discounted multi-packs available direct from Goshi.

Nexus Studios and director Hideyuki Tanaka created this wild and wonderful promo spot for a Japanese tourism campaign back in 2004. The clip features a flock of ostriches as they take to the ski slopes, fully embracing their gangly and awkward bodies as they head down the snowy mountainside, and into the city.

We’ve previously seen how the musicians from Electronicos Fantasticos use laser barcode readers in their performance. In this clip from Maker Faire Tokyo 2020, one of their members shows how to make record scratching sounds using the same technique.

Japanese performance troupe XTRAP have incredible manual dexterity, focusing much of their routine on synchronized finger tutting. Here, they show off their digits with a glow-in-the-dark routine that kicks off with a piano made out of fingers.

Masayoshi Matsumoto is no birthday party balloon artist. Nope, his specialty is creating complex balloon animals that belong in an art gallery. His inflatable sculptures require many more bends and twists than typical balloon art, resulting in greater detail and realism. Check out his YouTube channel for tutorials.

Waxwork Records presents an incredible collection for die-hard Godzilla fans, this box set includes all 15 film soundtracks from Japan’s Showa era, remastered for vinyl. The 18-record set features amazing new artwork by Robert Sammelin, 180-gram colored vinyl, a collector’s slipcase, a storage box, a slipmat, and more.

We previously got a brief aerial view of the Super Nintendo World attraction that’s coming to Universal Studios Japan. Now Mario’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto takes us inside the park for an in-depth tour of some of its main attractions. We love all the movement in the exterior design. The park is slated to open 2.4.2021.

LEGO Certified Professional Jumpei Mitsui created a 3D interpretation of the wave depicted in Hokusai’s iconic Ukiyo-e image The Great Wave off Kanagawa. The brick-built version shows off some really neat LEGO tricks, especially with the foamy wave peaks. The 50,000-piece model is on display at the Hankyu Brick Museum.

Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan is slated to open in early 2021. From the looks of this flyover of the park, it’s going to look amazing when it’s all done, transporting Nintendo fans into the heart of their favorite games. We spy Peach’s and Bowser’s castles, a Mario Kart ride, and a Toad House among other details.

Well before Power Rangers or TNMT, Ultraman was a live-action TV series, establishing a new type of sci-fi adventure, kitschy kaiju characters, salarymen superheroes, and sparkly special effects. Rarely broadcast in America, it’s now streaming on Pluto TV with select titles on-demand on Shout! Factory TV.

Classicbot toy designer Philip Lee and his wife, artist Mary Chang have teamed up to create a beautiful series of enameled metal pins based on the artful manhole covers found throughout Japan. There are 16 designs in all, along with a Ukiyo-e inspired wall scroll for display. Each pin measures 2″ in diameter.

Japanese commercials can be so creative, weird, and funny. Start watching this ad spot and see how long it takes you to try and guess what the product is that they’re advertising. If you guess some kind of interactive torture experience, you’d be very wrong.

Based on the manga by Daisuke Igarashi, Children of the Sea tells the story of a girl who feels drawn to the waters at the aquarium where her dad works. As she meets two other children with similar experiences, they come to find that fish are mysteriously disappearing from oceans around the world. Drops 8.31.20.