Twentythree

We get our hands on all six items as the Sanrio twins celebrate their 50th birthday.

Last month McDonald’s Japan made the shocking announcement that they were launching a collaboration with Evangelion. But as cool as the exclusive Eva figures look, the traumatically philosophical anime series is a bit heavier subject material than we’re used to when it comes to the hamburger chain’s creative partnerships.

So it’s nice to see that McDonald’s Japan hasn’t forsaken lighthearted fun, which is what’s on the menu with its new line of Sanrio Little Twinkle Stars Kiki and Lala Happy Meal toys.

Sanrio’s celestial siblings are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their debut this year, and McDonald’s Japan is joining the festivities with six different Little Twin Stars Happy Meal (or “Happy Set,” as the meals are called in Japan) items. As is becoming the norm for the chain, the complete collection is being split up into a two-stage release, with the first batch available at McDonald’s Japan branches from January 17 to 23, with one of the initial items being the Star Stamp.

At first glance, this looks like a decorative figurine, and you can definitely use it as one if you wish. All of the Little Twin Stars Happy Meal items are functional too, though, and the bottom of this one includes a paired star stamp.

▼ The stamp itself is actually pretty small, but that makes it easy to add to notes or other compact canvases.

Also in the first batch of items is the Unicorn Comb.

If you’re wondering where the comb is, it’s hidden in the unicorn’s billowy tail, which unfolds like this.

Rounding out round one of the Happy Meals is the Star Name Clip.

This one might be a little tricky to get practical use out of. Sure, the design is easy to use, with a frame that pops open so that you can write your name on a card inside and a clip on the back to attach the case to your clothes or bag. However, it’s a little on the big/heavy side for kids to use, and it’s probably too fancy for most adults to use at their workplace (it’d be fine at SoraNews24 HQ, but we’re not exactly a normal office…).

Perhaps knowing this, the designers made the included name card double-sided, with one side being just a cute illustration of Kiki and Lala riding a unicorn, so that you can just set the case on your desk or shelf as an art display. For that matter, you could take the included card out entirely and replace it with a photograph, turning the name card case into a fashionable photo frame.

The second batch of Little Twin Stars items won’t be available until January 24, but we were lucky enough to receive an advance delivery of the rest of the lineup, starting with the Star Compact Mirror.

The designers went the extra mile here, with contoured likenesses of Kiki and Lala on the front side of the closed mirror’s casing, and a stylish ribbon motif for the hinge the mirror opens with.

Next up we have another item which would be cool enough as a purely decorative figurine.

In truth, though, the Good Friends Accessory Case (or Good Friends Komonoire) pops open to create a space in which to store small items like accessories or cosmetics.

And finally, we have the Fluffy Scrunchie, a hair accessory covered in cute illustrations on shimmery fabric that catches the light and fits perfectly with Kiki and Lala’s sparkly aesthetics.

Note that the scrunchie is technically kids-sized, so it may or may not be able to accommodate all adults with particularly voluminous hairstyles. If you can get it on, though, the fabric pattern makes for an eye-catching gradation-like effect when it’s twisted around.

Round 2 of the Little Twin Stars Happy Meals will be available from January 24 to 30, and will be followed by a Round 3, starting on January 31 and running for a limited but undisclosed time, in which all six items will be available. And if seeing Kiki and Lala has you nostalgic for other Sanrio icons who have been around for a while, don’t forget that My Melody’s 50th anniversary celebration is going on this year too with an exhibition in Tokyo, new stop-motion series on Netflix, and special pancakes soon to be in our stomachs.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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But there are still a few surprises and mysteries hiding in the evolutionary, not revolutionary, successor to Nintendo’s phenomenal hit.

In a move simultaneously hotly anticipated and done with minimal fanfare, Nintendo has finally officially announced the successor system for its Switch hardware. In typical understated fashion, Nintendo’s official Japanese Twitter account simply sent out a post saying “This is a new announcement from Nintendo. Please take a look at the images here” with a link to the system’s announcement page, which includes the reveal video for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Right from the name, Nintendo makes it clear that this is a stay-the-course evolution of the Switch in terms of form factor and user interface. At first glance, non-hardcore gamers might even look at the Switch 2 and think it’s just a regular Switch with some new Joy-Con controllers.

This isn’t a bad thing, though. In the years since the original Switch’s release, consumers have shown a strong preference for handheld gaming experiences, with handheld gaming PC Steam Deck, its various imitators, and even Sony’s PlayStation Portable peripheral for PlayStation 5 all following the Switch’s design lead. It’s clear that gamers are happy with this setup of controls flanking a central horizontal screen, so why should Nintendo do anything to make them sad on that front?

Size-wise, the Switch 2 is larger than its predecessor, as can be seen in the top image of a Switch 2 screen surrounded by Switch 1 Joy-Cons. The Switch 2’s controllers are correspondingly bigger too, and now snap on directly from the sides, instead of sliding in from the top, with a central female port that slots onto a prong extending from the side of the screen unit.

There’s still no D-pad for the left controller, with the overall button layout almost exactly the same as the original Switch. There is a new button on the right controller, though, an unlabeled square that site below the home screen button. Given that it’s not in a good position for use in the heat of action, this new button is most likely going to be used for system-related function instead of gameplay ones, but Nintendo has yet to make any comment on what exactly it’s for.

The analog sticks also have more substantial shafts, which is hopefully an attempt by Nintendo to address the stick drift woes that many gamers have experienced with the Switch. The inward-facing edges of the controllers also now feature a lens, which could be a camera that allows them to be used as an optical mouse, as suggested by a part in the revel video where they’re being run over a flat surface.

Finally, around back there’s a redesigned kickstand with a wrap-around U-shape, which should inspire more confidence than the short, flimsy-feeling rectangular version from the original Switch.

Nintendo had previously promised backwards compatibility with original Switch games for its new hardware, but it wasn’t sure if this would be limited to digital download versions. Good news for physical media fans: the Switch 2 can play original Switch cartridges too, with its cartridge slot located in the same spot, at the top right of the unit.

Also identically to the original Switch, the Switch 2 has a dock it plops into vertically for higher performance and playing on a TV/monitor, and also a central connector so that you can use the left and right controllers like a conventional controller when doing so.

As for games, the video only shows one: a new Mario Kart. While Nintendo hasn’t officially announced that this is Mario Kart 9, taking the step to the next fully numbered installment in the combat-racing franchise seems appropriate, considering that Mario Kart 8, despite a host of content upgrades, is now more than a decade old. It also feels like a foregone conclusion that the new Mario Kart game will be available at launch for the Switch 2, seeing as how Nintendo is showing it off for the first time as it does the new hardware.

So when is launch day for the Switch 2? That’s something Nintendo is remaining cagey about, simply flashing a giant “2025” on screen near the video’s end. However, there are a few signs that point to its launch still being a few months away at the least. For starters, Nintendo has already said that it’ll be steaming a Nintendo Direct video presentation on April 2 with more details about the Switch 2, so the system obviously isn’t coming out before that. Then there’s the series of announced Nintendo Switch 2 Experience hands-on fan events, where gamers can it out for themselves. The first of these will be held in New York and Paris, between April 4 and 6, followed by Los Angeles and London on April 11-13. Japan doesn’t get its first Nintendo Switch 2 Experience until April 25-27 in Tokyo (Chiba Prefecture’s Makuhari Mess convention center, actually), and while Japanese video game companies have sometimes in the past released systems overseas earlier than in their home market, it seems unlikely that Nintendo would schedule its first Switch 2 Experience in Japan for a date after the system has already gone on sale in other countries. Other Switch 2 Experiences are already scheduled for late April and May in parts of Europe and Australia, and the very latest currently planned is for Seoul from May 31 to June 1, so odds are the Switch 2 debut won’t be coming until early summer at the soonest.

Nintendo has also kept entirely mum regarding the Switch 2’s technical performance and price point. However, considering that this looks to be one of the most evolutionary generational hardware upgrades in Nintendo’s history (they’re not calling it the “Super Nintendo Switch” or “Switch Advance,” they just straight-up named it Switch 2), it’s probably a safe bet that we’ll be getting another helping of good but not blazing performance and a budget-friendly price, seeing as how that recipe brought Nintendo so much success with the original Switch.

Source: Nintendo (1, 2), Twitter/@Nintendo
Top image: YouTube/Nintendo 公式チャンネル
Insert images: YouTube/Nintendo 公式チャンネル, Nintendo (1, 2)
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All this awaits you on a short train ride from Tokyo.

With more and more overseas travellers seeking out day trips to the Japanese countryside while visiting big cities, it’s becoming harder to find hidden hot springs that aren’t crowded with tourists. Over in Tokyo’s neighbouring Saitama Prefecture, though, there’s an onsen that’s still under the radar for most tourists, but with everything it has to offer, it won’t remain a secret for long.

Called Ofuro Cafe Hakuju no Yu, this onsen facility boasts one of the highest concentrations of hot spring water in the Kanto region. As suggested by the name, the focus is on two things — the hot spring itself and the attached cafe, where you can nourish yourself with fermented foods after nourishing your skin with the healing waters.

▼ The highlight of the cafe is the “soy sauce bar” where you can try 99 types of soy sauce.

Restaurant Tawaraya is the name of the cafe, and it’s where you can enjoy meals containing koji, a beneficial mould that’s added to steamed grains such as rice, barley, and soybeans. All diners have free access to the artisanal soy sauce bar, and the reason why 99 types are offered is because it ties in with the name of the hot spring — Hakuju no yu. In Japan, “hakuju” is the word used to mean “99 years of age“, due to the fact that if you subtract one from one hundred you get 99, and if you subtract the kanji for one (“一”) that appears at the top of the kanji for 100 (“百’), you get “白”, which is read as “haku”. “Ju” is used to mean both “congratulations” and “longevity”, and if you want to delve into the wordplay even further, the word “yu” can mean both “hot water” and “oil”, with “shoyu” being the Japanese word for soy sauce.

The hot spring on site looks a bit like soy sauce too, although the shade is due to naturally occurring minerals in the water, which gushes out from the paleozoic layer 750 metres (0.5 miles) underground.

The entire facility underwent renovations in June, with a number of new areas added, including a chill-out space where you can read to your heart’s content inside tubs resembling huge soy sauce fermentation barrels.

Plus, the store sells small 100-millilitre (3.4-ounce) bottles of all the soy sauces from the bar in the cafe so they won’t take up a lot of room in your suitcase if you want to take them home as souvenirs.

If you love soy sauce as much as you love hot springs, this is definitely a site to put on your itinerary. And you can always continue your love for the fermented sauce by slathering your hands with this new soy sauce hand cream!

Site information
Ofuro Cafe Hakuju no Yu / おふろcafé 白寿の湯
Address: Saitama-ken, Kodama-gun, Kamikawa-cho, Watase 337-1
埼玉県児玉郡神川町渡瀬337-1
Open: 10:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. (last entry 10:30 p.m.)
Website

Source, images: Press release
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And how do you even get it home in one piece?

As long-time readers of our site will know, our beloved reporter Mr. Sato has a passion for bread (especially big ones), even trying to find the largest melon bread in Japan. One day, as he was browsing the internet for supermarket deals, he stumbled across a monster of bread. Something that would leave a footlong feeling inadequate. It was a bread that was claimed to reach over 85 centimeters (about 33.5 inches) in length. However, all the photos on the website were of it sliced into pieces; there was no real way to gauge just how impressive this beast of a bread really was without seeing it whole.

▼ Can you still call it “Super Long” (“超ロング”) if you cut it up?

Was it really as long as it was claimed or was it just another case of exaggerated marketing? Mr. Sato set out to find out.

The bread can be found at the bakery Gouter Le Ble, which is located in Iriya in Tokyo and operated by the supermarket chain Cocos Nakamura. The search for the store ended very quickly, being only a minute’s walk from Iriya Station on the Hibiya subway line.

The bakery was spacious, with a variety of breads showcased across the displays. Despite Mr. Sato having arrived after the lunch rush, there were still around 50 types of bread for customers to enjoy, with an additional selection of sandwiches.

Casting his gaze across the products, which were calling out to him like little wheaten sirens, he resisted their temptations and continued further into the store. At the back, he finally discovered the prize of his quest: the Super Long. However, to his dismay, they were all cut into smaller pieces.

He looked around himself in disappointment… until a beacon of hope caught his eye. Some rather extraordinarily sized breads. Brimming with excitement, he caught a nearby staff member to ask if they could be bought whole. Much to Mr. Sato’s delight, they could.

Although, at 720 yen (US$4.60), it was a little more expensive than what had been stated on the website (520 yen), most likely due to outdated site information. There were even dedicated bags for the uncut bread: 10 yen for a handle bag and 20 yen for a paper bag.

▼ He also picked up a loaf of bread (292 yen) and a small plastic bag (3 yen) to put it in

With purchase in hand, he returned home, treating it delicately and trying his best not to mistake it for his umbrella.

Having successfully escorted it back to his house, Mr. Sato carefully unwrapped the glorious bread he set out on his journey for. Comparing it to the standard loaf of bread he also picked up, the absurd length of the Super Long became very obvious.

It sort of resembled an oversized sausage bread roll.

Seeing the entire bread, in all its splendor, let Mr. Sato appreciate just how crazily long this bread really was—it barely fit on his table!

He had already started cutting it before he realized that he had forgotten to measure it first. Panicking, he whipped out his phone and measured the bread. The result… a shocking 71 centimeters.

Being a whole 14 centimeters short of the advertised 85 put a slight damper on the excitement, but thinking about it again, 71 centimeters is still remarkably lengthy.

Taking a bite wasn’t easy; it felt like attempting to eat a giant sushi roll.

The sausage within matched the length of the bread, making for a double dose of sumptuous snacking.

Though it fell short of its claimed length, the Super Long still reigns as the longest bread Mr. Sato has ever encountered. However, his quest for the ultimate supersized bread continues. If you know of a bread that can surpass this titan, drop him a message and he’ll set out for his next challenge. Until then, if you’re craving a giant sausage bread roll, Gouter Le Ble is the place to go.

Store information
Ishigama Pan Kobo Gouter Le Ble Iriya-ten / 石窯パン工房グーテ・ルブレ 入谷店
Address: Tokyo-to, Taito-ku, Iriya 1-18-10, Tokyo Kashi Kaikan 1F
東京都台東区入谷1-18-10 東京菓子会館1F
Open 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Closed January 1 – January 3
Website

Photos ©SoraNews24
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The store calls them “accessory cases,” but they’ll hold whatever you want that fits inside.

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if Japanese is a very specific language, or a very vague one. For example, a common item you can find at housewares stores are komonoire. The closest English equivalent is “accessory case,” but the literal translation acknowledges that the containers can be used for storing much more than rings and necklaces, as komonoire more directly translates to “[thing to] put small things in.”

Just what kind of things? Well, anything you want, as long as they’re things that are small enough to fit inside. And really, today we’re looking at some komonoire which would be great to have regardless of whether or not you have anything you need to store inside, because they’re little pockets of the Studio Ghibli anime world.

Offered by Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku, these komonoire/accessory cases feature characters from two of the studios most memorable works, My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke. Starting with the warmer, cuddlier story of forest spirits, the Totoro case has a pair of Totoros, a Big/Gray and a Medium/Blue, picking wildflowers, in the company of a demure little ladybug.

Slide the lid off, and you’ll find another Totoro waiting inside, relaxing on a bed of leaves!

The organic-looking design of the case (which is actually made of polyester resin) also has a few Soot Sprites crawling on its front face, plus an especially cool design point on top, where there’s an opening, meant to look like a hole chipped through the log, that lets you peek inside.

At 11.3 centimeters (4.4 inches) in length, there’s not a ton of room, especially since the lounging little Totoro takes up some of the interior. There’s still enough space to keep a treasure or two inside, or maybe some candy if you want to use the komonoire for a snack stash.

Moving on to the accessory case for Princess Mononoke, we find the film’s most laidback characters, the Kodama.

This one is also 11.3 centimeters long, and it also has an additional adorable character waiting inside, who just might be the happiest-looking Kodama we’ve ever seen!

▼ Seriously, just look at that cheery little guy!

Also like the Totoro accessory case, this version has a conveniently placed hole in its top.

Both cases are currently available at Donguri Kyowakoku thanks to a restock and can be ordered online (Totoro komonire here, Kodama here), each priced at 4,400 yen (US$28).

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2)
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