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For more than 30 years, this Japanese zoo has been keeping its capybaras cozy, and visitors oohing and aahing at their adorable hot spring-style setup.

Halloween has now come and gone, and while the festivities in Japan this year were bigger than ever, it’s time to turn our attention towards other upcoming events before the year’s end. And sure, we’re definitely looking forward to Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but we’ve also got November 19 marked on our calendars.

That’s because it’ll be the first day this fall for the adorable capybaras of Izu Shaboten Zoo to enjoy soaking in their outdoor Japanese-style bath.

While a number of animal parks around Japan offer similar amenities to their capybara residents during autumn and winter, Izu Shaboten Zoo, located in Shizuoka Prefecture, claims to be the first. The practice goes all the way back to 1982, when a zookeeper was cleaning the animals’ habitat with warm water. A puddle formed, and after observing the capybaras come over to soak their feet and backsides in it, the zoo decided to set up warm bathing facilities for them to use regularly during the colder half of the year.

▼ A more recent look at Izu Shaboten Zoo’s bathing capybaras

In keeping with Japanese tradition, a number of special baths are planned, during which yuzu citrus fruits, apples, or fragrant herbs will be added to the bathwater.

Starting November 19, the capybaras will be taking an hour-long dip every weekday at 1:30 p.m., and on weekends and holidays they’ll have two soak sessions, one at 10:30 a.m., and the other at 1:30 in the afternoon. Their last day for hot baths will be April 9, after which it’s back to cold water until the next fall.

Zoo information
Izo Shaboten Zoo / 伊豆シャボテン動物園
Shizuoka-ken, Ito-shi, Futo 1317-13
静岡県伊東市富戸1317-13
Open 9 a.m-4 p.m. (November-February), 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (March-October)
Admission: Adults 2,300 yen (US$22.30), elementary school students 1,100 yen, children 4 and younger 400 yen
Website

Source: IT Media
Top image: @Press
Insert images: @Press, Izu Shaboten Zoo

Halloween is all about imagination.

Assuming you’re not one of those people who drops $60 on a pre-bagged costume that’s basically made of plastic and glitter, the success of your look depends on your own brain power.

A student from Queens, New York is getting attention for just that: making the most creative costume using her hijab. In this case, she went as Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie’s deranged character from “Suicide Squad.”

Twitter

Takiya, a high school senior, twisted her white hijab into long pigtails. She even dip-dyed one pink and the other blue.

After her friend Rayan posted a photo of the costume to Twitter, it quickly picked up traction. Rayan, whose Twitter bio proclaims #MuslimLivesMatter, captioned the image, “Who said Hijabi’s can’t be Harley Quinn???”

Twitter

Rayan told Elite Daily she decided to post the costume in the hopes “it would go viral so people can notice and understand that a [woman] wearing a hijab is not limited from having fun and [being] creative.”

The teen — who posted a few photos of her own burn-themed costume — explained she’d been inspired by her friend’s costume and the way she’d used her hijab to express herself like any other teen.

Twitter

Rayan continued,

From also being a hijabi myself, I understand the hardships we go through to partake in certain activities…

My friend was able to use her creativity to enjoy her Halloween as a teenager having fun.

Indeed, Rayan’s photos make it seem like everyone had the best day of their school year.

Twitter

Takiya isn’t the only Muslim to make a Harley Quinn costume werk, either.

Earlier in October, a beauty lover named Nora posted a look she called “Halal-ey Quinn.” Using a navy and burgundy hijab, she owned the supervillain’s look.

I wear a hijab and this is my Halloween make-up for this year calling it ”Halal-ey Quinn”

Both Rayan and Nora received backlash for their posts, including a plethora of angry tweets and comments packed with Islamophobia. But, they didn’t allow it to slow them down.

Maybe there’s hope for the world. After all, the most viral Halloween costume this year was a pair of Jewish-Muslim child superheroes who claimed their superpower was “to watch each other’s backs.”

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This Girl Used Her Hijab To Make The Most Creative Harley Quinn Costume

This stylish young man is making news internationally for working on his rice farm every day in a suit.

In Japan, there’s an outfit for everything: mountain hikers wear fleece skirts or shorts with leggings; stay-at-home mothers and grandmothers let people know they’re doing the housework by wearing aprons; and male farmers can be identified by their durable light grey jackets and trousers. In a clearly delineated world of designated dress for workplaces and activities, anyone deviating away from the norm is sure to stand out, and when you’re a man who wears a business suit to work in the rice fields, you can expect to receive local and international media attention.

Kiyoto Saito, who hails from a family that boasts 400 years of farming tradition, is the star of a new clip on YouTube from Zoomin.TV Amazing, who dubs him the “world’s best dressed farmer” due to his unusual choice of workwear.

The 16th generation rice farmer left his rural hometown in Yamagata Prefecture to live and work in the city when he was younger, only to return later in order to start a family. After Saito’s brother joked that the city slicker would probably wear a suit all day in the rice fields, Saito took the idea seriously, and has been dressing up in suits and ties ever since.

▼ Saito’s Twitter account shows the farmer dressed up in a number of stylish outfits while working on the farm.

「ブルーシート」をかけるのはなぜ？？ http://ift.tt/2f6ma3f http://t.co/t8yRqzXu0N

—
齋藤聖人［スーツ農家］ (@popotan0911) September 23, 2015

「稲刈り２０１５」スタート！！！ http://ift.tt/2f6nlQ5 http://t.co/qbVwqhiqla

—
齋藤聖人［スーツ農家］ (@popotan0911) September 13, 2015

While his suits have been drawing attention to himself and his family business at Kabura Farm, Saito is also taking this opportunity to make farming seem more fun and appealing to the younger generation. As the video says, his next goal is to “make fashionable farming go viral.”

With a large number of Japan’s agricultural workers advancing in age, Saito’s appeal to the younger generation is one that’s been taken up by a number of other organisations, with one farm recently making news for appealing to troubled youth and another company releasing high-end agricultural wear for the younger generation. As long as people like the amicable Saito remain on the frontlines of the agricultural charm offensive, hopefully more and more young people will be encouraged to get involved in the free-spirited and interesting world of Japanese farming.

Source: Aol.
Featured image: YouTube/Zoomin.TV Amazing
Insert images: YouTube/Zoomin.TV Amazing

Who can resist scrumptious Oreo cookies, especially when they’re inscribed with our favorite Ghibli anime characters?

One clever creator has combined their love of Oreo cookies with an array of Ghibli Studio characters. By simply using a household toothpick Taste Made Japan has managed to craft some beautiful artwork into one of the most famous cookies in the world.

You can see the video here:

First off the cookie blocks we have perhaps the most famous of all Ghibli characters, Totoro. It may look like a simple design but it works to great effect. And besides, how detailed can one get with a toothpick and cookie cream?

Can you guess what character comes next?

It’s Porco Rosso from the 1992 adventure film of the same name. Porco Rosso is Italian for “red pig” but he still looks good in black and white.

The following carving may be a little harder to spot at first but it turns out to be Jiji, the talking black cat from the 1989 movie Kiki’s Delivery Service.

The next one may be my favorite: the makkuro kurosuke, or “soot sprites,” from My Neighbour Totoro (makkuro meaning “pitch black” and “-suke,” a common ending to a boy’s name, attached on to the word “kuro”, which means “black”).

The fifth character may be a little harder to figure out. That’s probably because it isn’t really a character but the symbol of the Laputa crest from the 1986 movie Castle in the Sky.

Last but not least we have No Face from the 2001 movie Spirited Away. The effect of the white cream and black cookie matches perfectly with the original character design.

Online commenters had the following to say about the video:

“Jiji! ❤ These are awesome!”
“Toothpick and Oreo cookie. Absolutely amazing!”
“Totoro and No Face are the cutest.”
“They’re all Ghibli – you’re really good!”

Perhaps Oreo may take up Taste Made Japan’s idea in an upcoming commercial.

You can also check out other recipes and tips for making Japanese food on the Taste Made Japan Youtube Channel.

Source: YouTube/TasteMadeJapan
Images: YouTube/TasteMadeJapan, Wikipedia/Alus~enwiki, Wikipedia/Moe Epsilon

“Don’t mind if you touch,” invites the perky trio.

When communicating, it’s always important to watch out for words that can be interpreted in more than one way. For example, if you say someone or something is “cute,” is that cute like a fluffy dog, or cute like an idol singer?

However, if you’re talking about newly formed idol group Mofu Mofu Dogs, there’s no need to fine-tune your word selection, because both versions of “cute” are applicable.

Well, maybe “cute” isn’t the description most people would go with. See, ordinarily, if someone told us there was an idol unit made up of Akita-inu breed dogs, we’d expect either some adorable anime-style illustrations, or maybe some pooches wearing little dog-sized idol costumes. But nope, in the video for their debut number, “Waiting4U～We’ll Make You Mofu Mofu” (which is sung entirely in barking with English subtitles provided), we can see that the Mofu Mofu Dogs have the heads of actual Akita-inu, and the bodies of human idol singers.

For those curious, the video defines mofu mofu as “a state of fluffy softness and warmth, like the fur of an Akita dog. This state is so strong that people find themselves wanting to touch the fur.”

▼ That helps explain lines like this.

▼ This one, though, seems to be just part of the time-honored tradition of mildly suggestive idol song lyrics.

If you’re wondering who would go to the trouble of making a dog idol trio, the group is the brainchild of Akita Inu Tourism, a group hoping to promote travel to the towns of Odate, Kita Akita, Kosakamachi, and Kamikoanimura, all located in northern Akita Prefecture. That’s why you’ll also see nods to Akita’s history and cuisine throughout the video, such as kiritanpo hot pot and mochi sticks.

▼ The Akita-inu is descended from hunting dogs, and these riflemen are here to honor that legacy, not put the idol down.

▼ A behind-the-scenes look at how the music video was created

It’s unclear whether or not the Mofu Mofu Dogs will be releasing more songs in the future, but even if they end up as a one-and-done group, at least we’ll always have “Waiting4U～We’ll Make You Mofu Mofu” to remember them by.

Source: IT Media
Images: YouTube/Akita inu Tourism