We’ve written about Maru before in our roundup of Japanese cat videos and in our list of awesome Japanese YouTubers, but we thought that we’d write about Maru again for one reason: Maru’s 6^th birthday just recently passed (May 24^th).

In celebration of Maru’s 6^th birthday, his anonymous owner created a video montage of some of his best moments from 2012:

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With 259 videos with over 200 million views, you could probably call in sick to work and spend at least a week watching nothin’ but Maru videos; and I gotta say, I wouldn’t blame you.

Maru’s biggest claim to fame is his love of cardboard boxes—jumping into them, sliding into them, and just generally trying to stuff his chubby little frame into any kind of container that he possibly can.

But there are plenty of other great Maru videos that will make you neglect your own cat to watch a Japanese cat on the internet (because that’s where we are as the human race now).

For more of Maru, check out his YouTube channel or official blog.

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One type of candy in particular that seems to always grab people’s attention is the do-it-yourself candy kits. With little more than the included ingredients, water, and a little patience, these candy kits transform from packets of powder and bags of putty into miniaturized versions of gourmet dishes.

The YouTube channel RRcherrypie has created an incredible number of videos showing viewers how to assemble these strange and interesting candy kits.

The appeal of RRcherrypie is not only does the channel introduce me to these novelty, do-it-yourself candy kits that aren’t really known in the West, but it’s also clear that the people behind RRcherrypie take a lot of care in what they do.

The attention given and the precision that these people take to assemble these candy kits is astounding. While most people would write off these candy kits as playthings for children, RRcherrypie treats these kits as if they were a craft. Many people find the deliberation found in RRcherrypie videos soothing and relaxing.

The identity of the people behind RRcherrypie is surprisingly mysterious. RRcherrypie’s official website states, in somewhat broken English, that RRcherrypie is a group of 3 or more people. We don’t tell you each individual person’s profile, because the imposter tries to pretend to be us. And the members would change often because we have a job.

The idea that a group of people got together to form an anonymous, candy-making collective is a little silly, but it’s endearing to me.

For more, check out RRcherrypie’s YouTube channel and official website.

They’ve been featured in photo exhibitions and on TV shows in Japan and abroad. You’ve probably seen bento art before, but Miyazawa is maybe the most prolific and skilled of the many bento artists out there.

Bento art is called キャラ弁 in Japanese, a combination of the word for “character” and “bento,” and Miyazawa is a master at creating different characters using lunchtime materials.

Bento Theater

Not content with just her amazing bento box art, Miyazawa has dipped her toes into animation as well. Her YouTube channel is full of what she calls “Bento Theater.”

You can find a whole playlist here.

Do It Yourself

Maybe the best part about Miyazawa’s YouTube channel is the instructional videos; she’s kind enough to show us all how she whips up her amazing culinary works of art.

Putting together these dishes might not be especially easy or practical for you to do. Still, Miyazawa’s artistry is inspirational and might be enough to encourage me to

• Official site
• YouTube channel
• Facebook page

via Metafilter

That’s why I love documentaries about Japan so much. They give you a look into some of the most interesting things happening in Japan without having to buy a plane ticket there.

Cruising around YouTube, you can find a lot of documentaries about Japan that you can watch for free that cover lots of different subjects and angles. Here are some of the most interesting ones I’ve found:

Children Full of Life (2003)

Japanese school children consistently score incredibly high in virtually every subject compared to children in the rest of the world. Some of that it’s because the Japanese method of teaching is very different from, say, the American way of teaching.

Sometimes though, children thrive not because of the teaching methods, but because of their enthusiastic and dedicated teacher. Such is the case with Children Full of Life, which follows Japanese school teacher Toshiro Kanamori and his students.

Kanamori’s methods are unorthodox, even in Japan, but his results are evident. The children clearly love Kanamori, and learn empathy, openness, and other life lessons that usually aren’t found in school curricula.

Children Full of Life is an emotional, touching documentary and an incredible look into the world of a Japanese child.

Suicide Forest in Japan (2012)

You might have read our post about Aokigahara: the infamous suicide forest at the foot of Mt. Fuji, but have you seen it for yourself? Vice, a magazine that does a lot of bizarre documentaries (including a great series on North Korea), visited Aokigahara and talked to Azusa Hayano, a man who’s ventured into the infamous forest for decades.

It’s a disturbing documentary for sure, but also incredibly eye-opening. If you’ve ever wondered about what the depths of Japan’s infamous suicide forest looks like, then be sure to check this out.

The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987)

For better or worse, many people still think about WWII when they think about Japan. You’ve probably learned a bit about Japan’s takeover of Asia, its bombing and defeat, and its occupation and reconstruction.

But in between all of that big picture stuff, things fall between the cracks. One of those lost stories is of Kenzo Okuzaki, a former soldier in Japan’s imperial army who’s come to repent for his former life and rebel against a system with which he’s become so disillusioned.

He went to prison for crimes such as murder, slandering the emperor, and shooting a slingshot at the Imperial Palace. Okuzaki’s car is plastered with political messages (and a beginner’s sticker), and he’s incredibly aggressive in his everyday life about his message.

Okuzaki’s story is a microcosm of post-war regret, shame, and anger that most people outside of Japan aren’t really aware of. Japan did horrible things during WWII, and Okuzaki’s story is just one of the most extreme examples of the country’s post-war introspection.

A Normal Life: Chronicle Of A Sumo Wrestler (2009)

Sumo wrestling is one of the most readily identifiable Japanese things out there; ask people around the world what they think about when they think of Japan, and no doubt sumo is one of the top subjects.

A Normal Life is a French documentary that follows the beginning of a career in sumo through the eyes of Takuya Ogushi, a young man from Hokkaido. You get to see his first nine months at a Tokyo sumo stable, learning the basics, dealing with homesickness, and bulking the hell up. Gotta put on mass!

It’s nice to have a look at sumo in a modern-day context, seeing all of the ins and outs of the sport, rather than relying on old images and stereotypes. And you really start to feel for Ogushi, who quickly realizes he’s in over his head.

Interview with a Cannibal (2012)

We’ve written before about Japan’s most famous cannibal, Issei Sagawa, but the difference between reading about him and listening to him speak is massive, and disturbing.

It goes without saying that this interview is unsettling and a bit graphic, so be prepared before watching this upsetting video.

Baby Drain (2013)

It’s no secret that Japan’s population has been slowly, but steadily shrinking for decades now, but the practical effects of smaller population aren’t always talked about.

The short documentary Baby Drain takes a look at one of the most visible effects of the shrinking population. The results may seem obvious in retrospect, but it’s not until you see the effects first-hand that they really stick.

Baby Drain looks at schools with class sizes of one, hospitals that care for the elderly, and the fantasical future of robotic care.

The movie is a little alarmist (the narrator claims a few times that the Japanese could go extinct) and, coming in at a mere 17 minutes, Baby Drain isn’t a typical, feature-length documentary; but it’s still incredibly insightful.

The Japanese Version (1991)

If you’ve studied Japanese culture, The Japanese Version can come across as almost laughably naïve. The documentary opens up with astounding revelations like Japanese people “take off their shoes indoors” and “they eat strange things.”

But this early 90^s American documentary shot by two guys who basically know nothing about Japan is valuable not for the deep insights that it provides, but for the perspective it’s made from.

The fact that the filmmakers have no clue about Japan means that you get to see the country and the culture through a different set of eyes. The Japanese Version is almost less about Japanese culture and more about the filmmakers’ own biases and preconceptions.

The Japanese Version is dated, focuses a little too much on “weird Japan,” and there are some inaccuracies/simplifications (“the whole [Japanese] language comes from China”); but it’s still an interesting and educational snapshot, if you understand the context.

Cycling Japan’s Abandoned Rail (2012)

We wrote about Cycling Japan’s Abandoned Rail at length last year, so I won’t talk too much about it; but it’s definitely worth a mention here.

Cycling Japan’s Abandoned Rail is refereshing because, unlike a lot of documentaries about Japan, it doesn’t deal with the very basics of Japanese culture, nor does it go for the “weird Japan” angle.

You can read our full write up and find all five parts here.

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I’ve found that in Japan, you can find a lot more unusual and various types of hamburgers, ones that you would never, ever find here in the US.

When a Hamburger is Wild

A hamburger in Japan can be wild. Japanese fast food chain Lotteria recently offered a “wild burger” in honor of comedian Sugi-chan. Sugi-chan is one of the biggest celebrities in Japan right now (for who knows what reason), and his catchphrase ワイルドだろぉ？ (“wild, right?”) was one of the biggest buzzwords in Japan last year.

In Lotteria’s case, a “wild burger” was an oversized shrimp patty on two comically small buns. Wild, right?

More recently, Lotteria is offering a burger with nine patties. In celebration of the release of the newest Evangelion movie on DVD and Blu-Ray, Lotteria is currently offering a $13, nine-patty burger, after the name of the movie (Evangelion 3.33—3 + 3 + 3 = 9). That seems pretty wild.

When a Hamburger is Candy

A hamburger in Japan can be a candy. A popular type of Japanese candy (popular, at least, with people abroad) is a kind of DIY kit. The kit usually provides you with some powders, some molds, and instructions on how to turn it all into the final product.

Japanese YouTuber RRcherrypie is internet famous (the best kind of famous) for creating step-by-step guides on how to assemble these kits, and one of the most popular (and relevant to this post) recently has been a hamburger candy.

I can’t vouch at all for the taste, but it’s definitely a cool process to watch and, presumably, to try yourself.

When a Hamburger is a Billionaire

A hamburger in Japan can be Facebook founder and hoodie enthusiast Mark Zuckerberg. At least, that’s what some Japanese women think. The way that Zuckerberg’s name is transliterated into Japanese (ザッカーバーグ) sounds a lot like the Japanese word for a hamburger steak (ハンバーグ) which, to add to the confusion.

Fortunately, I don’t think that you’ll be set back too much by these two similar words. But if you somehow are served a live, confused Mark Zuckerberg instead of a delicious hamburger, then you’re on your own.

When a Hamburger is Black

A hamburger in Japan can be black, or contain pumpkin. Japanese fast food chains like Lotteria aren’t the only restaurants that serve bizarre hamburgers in Japan. International chains like Burger King or McDonald’s also cater to Japan’s local, sometimes eccentric tastes.

As we wrote about before, last year Burger King rolled special promotional items like an all-you-can-eat meal, a burger with black buns (dyed with bamboo charcoal and squid ink), and Halloween burgers that included a thick slice of kabocha.

It may be surprising to see these items offered by Burger King when the company’s offerings in its home country (the US) are so tame, but foreign companies have to adapt to Japan’s tastes and culture if they have a hope to survive.

Sometimes a Hamburger is Just a Hamburger

A hamburger in Japan isn’t always wild and wacky, or out there. You can always get a pretty normal, regular burger at virtually any Japanese fast food chain (like MOS Burger or Freshness Burger), foreign chains, or local restaurants.

But every time I go to a restaurant in the US that only offers a regular-ol’, everyday hamburger, I wish that it could be something more. Maybe I should start bringing my own squid ink.

So I wasn’t surprised when I discovered Purin the Super Beagle, an extremely talented dog owned by a man living in Shibuya, Tokyo. Purin is, embarrassingly enough, probably smarter and more talented than I’ll ever be.

Purin (Japanese for “custard”) first caught my eye when I found this video of her catching a ball in mid-air with her paws. It’s a cute video, not only because of Purin’s talent, but the softly excited「やった！」from the owner with each successful catch.

Beagles are notoriously smart, so it makes complete sense that Purin’s range of tricks doesn’t stop there. She can also jump rope:

Skateboard:

And maybe most impressively, she can catch a sword. The trick is based on an old samurai trope called 真剣白刃取り, where somebody stops a sword at the last minute with their bare hands.

Fortunately, Purin’s owner uses a foam sword, which is probably for the best since Purin seems to want to bite it anyway.

You can find more pictures and videos on Purin’s YouTube channel, and her Facebook page.