Well, I have to admit that I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the news. In fact, when I read the title I thought I don’t see  right. But it is true. “Toylet”, a macho urinal game launched several years ago is now the latest trend – or could we say attraction – in Japan.

You are a boy. You go pee. You point towards a zone. “Users target their urine at a sensor inside the toilet which measures volume and speed, with software then matching that to progress in a selection of five video games in a console mounted at the top of the urinal.

“At first, we thought it would really be only young people who would like this kind of game. But … we’re seeing this phenomenon where people are enjoying playing with it, regardless of age,” said Hirotaka Machida, the console’s lead producer.” (as mentioned on Reuters).

A funny part is that “An infra-red device cuts off play if gamers stray too far from the urinal, reducing the amount of mess, according to Sega, making it a hit with pub managers as well.”.

Sega seems to have planned an extension of this game for this year.
So going to the bathroom in Japan seems to be fun.

If you were in Japan, would you like to try this game? Or, if already in Japan, did you tried it?

Remember that recently I told you about the new “world’s steepest rollercoaster” that will be in Japan?

Well, the great moment is here: Takabisha rollercoaster is now open!

112 second ride. 43 meters drop. 100 km/h speed.

And here’s a video with a test.

Rollercoasters are an interesting experience. Some like them so much that they travel all over the world in search for the thrill and adrenaline in most dangerous montagne-rousses. Others stop after the first experience in a rollercoaster from different reasons.

Developers all over the world try however to offer new and exciting – and of course attractive – rollercoasters. From a recent news we find out that Japan a new rollercoaster set to take the title of ‘world’s steepest rollercoaster’ from UK’s Flamingoland.

In exactly a month from now, on July 16th, the Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park will launch the Takabisha ride, “an attraction that includes seven major twists over 1000 metres of track, and a nerve-jangling drop of 43 metres“.

The Takabisha – “dominant” in English – “relies on a combination of gravity and a set of linear motors on the cars. These accelerate the coaster to speeds of 100kmph”.

The ride in this rollercoaster lasts just 112 seconds.

What do you say about that? Do you have what it takes to take a ride with the Takabisha?

photo source

By Mirona

When planning their trip to Japan, most people include Tokyo and Kyoto on their itinerary under the assumption that they will be covering the ever-fascinating contrast between new and old in Japan.  While Tokyo is, indeed, a skyscraper jungle punctuated by odd little shops springing out from here and there, a heaven for techies who aspire to nothing more than getting lost in the streets of Akihabara, where all sorts of hi-tech toys, manga and anime characters compete for attention, Kyoto is often seen as a remnant of the “old ways” with its magnificent and abundant temples, cozy restaurants and kimono shops. Truth be told, both cities rely on a prevailing side to attract their visitors while discretely protecting their other faces. They both have a split-personality, like Japan itself: Tokyo is home to many beautiful places of the old times like the Asakusa district and the Imperial Palace and Kyoto’s main streets are bustling with fast cars and modern shopping malls.

One hour away from Kyoto lays the city of Nara, the first permanent capital of Japan, established in 710. Initially called Heijo, Nara became known as the center of Buddhist activities with its numerous monasteries and Chinese-influenced buildings, lending its name to an entire historical period of Japan. If a visitor truly wishes to witness the greatness of old Japan, Nara is one of the best places to go to.

Coming out of the main train station, there’s a variety of tight little streets waiting to tempt the visitor with old-style sweets shops, where sweets are made out of rice flour, filled with sweet red bean paste and mimicking peaches or tea leaves.  Traditional sweets are still much appreciated although Western-style cakes and pastries have won over the young crowds. Nara’s narrow streets are, otherwise, filled with shops selling hand-crafted objects, kimonos, traditional Momiji dolls, beautiful hair pins and other decorative items, colorful umbrellas made out of special paper, everything a traditional art-loving customer would look for. They make a great authentic souvenir for the people back home or a well-received gift for a Japanese friend.

After slowly walking in history’s footsteps, the visitor finally arrives in a glade full of green and…deer. Nara Park is famous for its roaming deer, always hungry for a deer-biscuit, shika senbei, happily sold by vendors all over the park. According to the legend, the god called Takemikazuchi arrived in Nara on a white deer which prompted the deer to be regarded as a “heavenly” animal and, thus, protected and cared for.

Feeding the “messengers of God” along the way makes for a fun stroll towards the largest wooden building in the world, the Todai-ji Temple, listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its huge dimensions may be accounted to hosting the largest Buddha statue in the world, Daibutsu for the Japanese. In front of the towering statue, visitors can burn osenko, incense believed to have healing powers. Inside the Great Buddha Hall, light can barely shine upon the statue. Filtered through the small windows, it lends a drop of gentleness even to the fearsome statues of the guardians watching over the temple and its surroundings. Enlightenment seems attainable, especially since there is a legend that passing through a hole in a supporting pillar, apparently the same size as one of Buddha’s nostrils, blesses the person in their next life.

Coming out of Todai-ji, a forest of thousands of stone lanterns marks the path towards Kasuga Shrine, a place to pray to the Shinto gods for good fortune in life. Walking on that path is like connecting two religions, effortlessly cohabiting in the Japanese soul. It is often said that Japanese people are born in Shinto, marry in Shinto but die in Buddhism. Kasuga Shrine’s interior metal lanterns mirror the stone ones from outside, in a continuity of prayer and hope also expressed by the omikuji, sacred readings of fortune written on a folded paper, tied to pine trees or metal wires in the shrine so that bad luck would wait.

At dinner time the streets lit up with signs indicating that Nara’s classic-style restaurants, with menus full of healthy traditional Japanese dishes, are open for business.  After their meal, Japanese and tourists likewise enjoy a walk through old-style beautiful wooden houses, straight out of history, straight out of the Nara period.

You can read Mirona‘s posts on her Romanian Blog – and you cand follow her on Twitter as well. Photo credits (and copyright) Mirona