Tag Archives: fun link friday

Fun Link Friday: Japan’s Plushies Tormented in the Wash

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Paula

Sorry for the lack of Fun Link Fridays lately, research/travel insanity has taken over! In the spirit of my tormented state of academic mind, this week we bring you a quickie fun link from Rocket News 24, which wrote earlier this … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: Photographs of Japan from 1908

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Paula

I love early photographs of Japan, as one can probably tell from many of our previous Fun Link Fridays. Here’s some shots from 1908, from the Library of Congress’ collection by Arnold Genthe (1869-1942). As My Modern Met describes: These rare … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: Fortune kitties

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Paula

Fortune cookies? Forget it! Fortune kitties are where it’s at now. Better known as “Hide-and-Seek Kitty Candies,” Dose recently let us know about these little treasures produced by the Felissimo Chou Club, which change their hidden kitties regularly so you can … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: Japan’s Invisible Trains

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Paula

As always, Japan leads the way in its railway technology and inventive designs. It was recently announced that the Seibu Railway company intends to build a train with an ultra-reflective design that will be (almost) invisible to onlookers. Science Alert … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: Osaka River kaitenzushi

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Paula

A group called The Osaka Cavas put on a delicious-looking art show recently in Osaka that featured giant plates of sushi floating on down Osaka’s Dōtonbori Canal like it was any old conveyor-belt sushi restaurant. Is your stomach rumbling yet? … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: Vintage Japanese Magazine Covers

Posted on April 8, 2016 by LM

If you enjoy Taisho and early Showa era design as much as I do, there’s a treasure trove of images on 50 Watts, a book design blog. The images are curated from Bookcover Design in Japan 1910s-40s (ISBN 4-89444-426-7), edited by … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: The Chemistry of Cherry Blossoms

Posted on April 1, 2016 by LM

If you’ve ever wondered how the weather affects the timing and length of the cherry blossom season, check out Live Science’s post on the science behind sakura.   How long the cherry flowers bloom depends on how long they have been … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: A See-Through Home

Posted on March 25, 2016 by LM

If you’ve studied Japanese architecture or watched Japanese period dramas (jidai geki 時代劇), you’ve probably noticed how sliding doors in manors could be opened to reveal an atrium to allow the occupants to be close to nature. The “Hiroshima Hut” modernizes that concept … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: Anatomical illustrations of Japanese Folk Monsters

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Paula

Japan loves its ghost stories, and it especially loves the huge variety of supernatural creatures that feature in them. From handscrolls to ukiyo-e prints, artists have been bringing the spooky to life for centuries. This week’s Fun Link Friday is … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: New plant species discovered on Yakushima

Posted on February 26, 2016 by LM

For our science and nature lovers, a new species of parasitic plant was discovered in the lowland forests of Yakushima (Kagoshima pref.). Professor Suetsugu Kenji of Kobe University discovered the plant in October 2015. From the Kobe University Graduate School of Science: … Continue reading →

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