While some dismiss the green movement as a passing fad, its hard to deny that it has changed the way people think about waste, and caring for the planet. One way you can go green is by not using disposable paper or plastic shopping bags. But what if you don’t want to pay for those $9.95 green colored bags with the super market’s logo? Then you need to look at the Japanese art of Furoshiki. Furoshiki is sort of like origami, but the art of folding bags. Furoshiki uses silk or thin cloth to... Read Full Story

Want to be a Mega Man? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you can’t. However, you can drink Mega Man’s official sports energy drink. Sometime this August in Japan, “Rockman E Can Drink” (Mega Man is called Rockman in Japan). The energy drink is being released to mark the launch of the Mega Man 9 game. The energy drink is going to run you about ¥137 ($1.25 USD). Dengeki Online via Kotaku. Technorati Tags: mega man, mega man 9, mega man energy drink, mega man sports drink, rockman 9... Read Full Story

With space a premium in Tokyo, one architech has taken it upon himself to let the space given to him define the type of building he creates. Yasuhiro Yamashita has took advantage of this small plot of land that’s no more than 25ft x 25ft. He has not only managed to construct a very livable space, but also enough room to park a car. You can see the full set on Flickr. Via Freshome. Technorati Tags: sasuhir yamashita, small homes, tokyo homes Read Full Story

Never before have the Decepticons, arch enemy of the Autobots, looked so good. Here’s are the Decepticon’s version of the Lucky Star opening theme. This is one of the best fan made Lucky Star movies I have seen to date. Technorati Tags: autobots, decepticons, lucky star, transformers Read Full Story

PaperKraft.net caught a great piece of paperkraft that’s very fitting for the Japanese summer. This papercraft female is wearing a kimono thats 100% made of paper. If you have never head of papercraft before, it’s sort of like origami for the 21st century. PaperKraft.net houses an amazing collection of papercraft from movie characters and props, to moe anime characters and objects. Moekami via PaperKraft Technorati Tags: kimono, papercraft, paperkraft, picture of kimono Read Full Story

JooYoun Paek has figured out a way to merge the art of Japanese origami with new age music technology. This odd looking piece of paper is capable of producing dynamic harmonies with just a fold. The sensors have a predefined musical note attached to them. When two or more sensors meet, it produces a vocal harmony. So as you fold the piece of paper, you are presented with a song as beautiful as the origami you are createing. Check out Fold Loud to see more pictures of the sheets, as well as a... Read Full Story

In a similar bit of news to my earlier post on the Chinese fish necklaces, traders in Qingdao have also begun selling live fish inside keychains. Qingdao is the site for the Olympic sailing events for the Beijing 2008 games. On the front of the keychain itself is an unofficial copy of an Olympic mascot. China nor the IOC condones this product. Unlike the teen fashion necklaces, these keychains do not offer the fish any food or oxygen. The plastic keychains are sealed so the fish only survive... Read Full Story

Bakumatsu were the final years of the Edo period in Japan. It was a turning point in Japanese history as it was the end of the period of isolation in Japan. The feudal way of governing was coming to an end, and the start of the Meiji government, which would later take Japan to the world power status. Now that I have added to your historical knowledge of Japan, here’s a neat Bakumatsu picture generator. Historical pictures from this era have a unique look, and now you can amuse yourself by... Read Full Story

I must admit, the Naruto: Broken Bond trailer does look very impressive. The days of feeling like you are actually taking part and shaping the story in an anime are not far off. By the time they make it to the Shippuden series, I can only imagine what the technology will be like. Check out the video below to see for yourself. For an HD version, click here. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll. Technorati Tags: naruto... Read Full Story

On August 7th, Asagaya Tokyo held its annual Tanabata festival. Tanabata means “Evening of the seventh” and is one of the Japanese star festivals. Pingmag was there to capture all of the great floats that filled the streets. They caught everything from original characters designed by school children to our favorite anime characters. The original Tanabata is based on the Japanese lunisolar calendar, and was held on the seventh day of the seventh month each year. However, our current calander... Read Full Story