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Hospitals admit scores of ‘hanami’ revelers: Ah, spring in Japan. It’s once again time to bask in the majesty of the cherry blossoms and get completely trashed while doing so. Some people don’t realize that a big part of cherry blossom viewing is consuming obscene amounts of booze and getting alcohol poisoning. At least, that’s what I’ve always been taught to do. [via News On Japan][/threecol_two] [threecol_one_last]Kayaker paddling from Washington to Japan: A Japanese scientist is undertaking a kayaking trip spanning four summers from Washington to Japan to prove that early humans were able to cross the land bridge to Asia. Noble ambition, but I’m skeptical if early man had access to polyethylene kayaks, rain coats, and smart phones. I didn’t pay much attention in history class though, so I could be wrong. [via News On Japan]
Fastest Hands in Japan Compete in Cup-stacking: This week saw Japan’s annual cup stacking championship, featuring several different events, and competitors as old as 83 to as young as four. I have high hopes for all the kids competing in the competition, they have a bright future of stacking things ahead of them. [via Weird Asia News][/threecol_one_last]
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[threecol_one]Twitter in Japan Buzzes as Ichiro Takes On Darvish: The dramatic showdown between two of Japan’s biggest MLB stars turned out to be not-so-dramatic, as Ichiro handed newcomer Darvish a slice of humble pie. Kids these days – no respect! [via Japan Real Time]
Policeman in schoolgirl uniform arrested for flashing: When I first saw this story, I tried to get into this guy’s head and understand why he did what he did. Cross-dressing during your off time is cool, but flashing a schoolgirl dressed as a schoolgirl? Does this policeman think that’s what schoolgirls do to each other? C’mon guy. [via Japan Today][/threecol_one] [threecol_two_last]
Calbee release iced potatochips!: I’ve always marveled that Japanese snacking technology is so advanced. I mean, iced, refrigerated potato chips? We’re years behind. Sure, the West has tried its hand at novel foods with the Doritos taco and the hot-dog stuffed pizza crust, but we might all have coronaries before we catch up to Japan. [via watashi to tokyo][/threecol_two_last]
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Every Sunday we gather the week’s weird Japanese news and present it to you in our Sunday News column. It might not be the hardest hitting news out there, but we hope that it still informs and entertains you. Enjoy!