Twentythree

Free-to-use system helps disaster victims connect with loved ones in times of crisis, and is worth remembering for anyone traveling or living in Japan.

This week marks 15 years since the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated coastal communities in northeastern Japan’s Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate Prefectures. Even a decade and a half later, the suddenness with which the tragedy occurred serves as a solemn reminder of the necessity of disaster preparedness, and while many people are conscious of the need to maintain a supply of things such as preserved food and water, something that often gets forgotten is the importance of knowing how to deal with communications infrastructure being disrupted or destroyed.

When everything is running smoothly, modern personal electronic devices make staying in touch with friends and family a snap. Just whip out your smartphone, open up your favorite messaging app, and add a new text message to the thread or tap on the other person’s icon to start a voice or video call. However, that system goes to pieces if power has been knocked out in a disaster-hit area and victims have no way to recharge a dead battery, or if their phone was lost or destroyed in a quake or flooding, or had to be abandoned during a hurried evacuation.

So as part of disaster preparation when traveling or living in Japan, there’s an important number to remember: 171. That’s the number you need to dial to access telecommunications provider NTT’s Disaster Message Call (“Saigai Dengon Dairu”) service. Essentially an audio message board, Disaster Message Call allows users to record and store audio messages of up to 30 seconds. When recording a message, the sender also gives the phone number of the person it’s intended for, and those calling in to the service can input their phone number to play back messages that have been left for them. The key thing is that playback doesn’t require the service to be called from the same number that the message was left for, meaning that as long as a person has access to a phone of any sort, they can receive the messages that have been left for them, even if they’ve lost their mobile phone or landline.

The 171 Disaster Message Call system is compatible with landlines, mobile, IP, and ISDN. It even works with payphones, which allow 171 calls to be placed for no charge at all. A total of 20 messages can be stored at one time, with newer messages then replacing the oldest.

Given the open access allowed to the messages, it’s probably wisest not to use Disaster Message Call to relay sensitive or private information. For those looking to confirm that loved ones are OK, though, it can provide immense peace of mind, as even when people in disaster-struck regions still have their smartphones, wireless networks can become temporarily overloaded. Audio messages recorded through the Disaster Message Call system are also linked to its web-based version, Disaster Message Board 171, which also allows for the posting of text messages designated for/accessed by entering the intended recipient’s phone number.

▼ The English page for Message Board 171 can be found here and the Japanese one here, with an English explanation of how to use the system available here.

As you’ve probably realized, 171 isn’t the only number you’ll want to know as part of your disaster preparedness: you’ll also need to know the phone number of whoever you’re trying to contact. While this isn’t an issue for those outside the disaster-stricken area who still have their phone and its stored data, victims who’ve lost access to their device will need to have the numbers stored in their head. Considering how wide the average person’s social network has grown in today’s society, memorizing the phone numbers for your entire contacts list is probably out of the question for most people, but remembering the digits for your most critical personal connections will help you find each other should another disaster strike.

Source: NTT (1, 2, 3)
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: NTT
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Studio that made Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop convinces Shinichiro Watanabe to work with them again.

In 2021, Netflix released a Western-made live-action adaptation of landmark anime series Cowboy Bebop. It did not go well. Preexisting fans found little of the charm, depth, and stylishness that had attracted them to the franchise in the first place, and new audiences were left unimpressed.

Less than a month after its release, Netflix announced that there would be no second season. That doesn’t mean that Hollywood isn’t willing to take a second try at adapting the work of Bebop creator Shinichiro Watnabe, as it’s been announced that another Watanabe anime is now being adapted to live-action.

This time it’s Samurai Champloo that’s getting the call. Watanabe’s first major directing project following the Bebop anime TV series and its follow-up theatrical feature, Samurai Champloo was a 26-episode TV series that aired in 2004 and 2005. A tale of three wandering outcasts in the late Edo period, as cracks were forming in the feudal shogunate system and new ideas from both within and abroad were starting to change Japanese society, Samurai Champloo gets the back half of its title from chanpuru, a type of Okinawan stir-fry dish that resonated with Watanabe as a symbol of mixing diverse elements together.

▼ Samurai Champloo’s ending theme, “Shiki no Uta”

Handling the adaptation will be Los Angeles-based Tomorrow Studios, which has, to put it mildly, a mixed record when it comes to this sort of thing. On the one hand, Tomorrow Studios is the same company that was behind the immediately and intensely panned live-action Cowboy Bebop, but they’re also the ones doing the currently ongoing live-action One Piece, which has been praised by many as an excellent adaptation that’s satisfying for established fans and newcomers alike.

A key difference in Tomorrow Studios’ strategies between its Cowboy Bebop and One Piece projects is the involvement of the original creator. By all accounts, One Piece manga author Eiichiro Oda has a much more active role in his series’ adaptation than Watanabe did on the live-action Bebop. In an interview following its release, Watanabe said “[I] only saw [the] opening scene. It was clearly not Cowboy Bebop, and I realized at that point that if I wasn’t involved, it would not be Cowboy Bebop.”

“We’ve learned. Having the creator there to bless the creative is really important,” says Tomorrow Studio’s Marty Adelstein, one of the producers for the live-action Samurai Champloo, in an interview, while promising that Watanabe will have more input this time around. “We had dinner with [Watanabe] in Japan and said, if we move forward on doing ‘Samurai Champloo,’ we really want you to be a part of the creative. We were thrilled that he was willing to do that.”

There’s currently no timetable for the adaptation’s release, nor a streaming home for it (though Netflix would seem to be the most likely candidate).

Despite how things turned out the last time Hollywood attempted to bring a Watanabe anime into live-action, there are a few reasons for more optimism this time around. For starters, the success of the live-action One Piece, as well as the Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog movies, have shown that, even when not adhering to strict fidelity to the source material, there’s now a greater understanding and appreciation of the core elements that helped Japanese franchises build their fanbases in the first place within the Western entertainment industry. In terms of visuals and set designs, a samurai story is also a lower bar to clear than the interplanetary adventures and culture that had to be shown on screen for Cowboy Bebop. There’s also the fact that, while respected and popular in its day, Samurai Champloo doesn’t have the same iconic status and intense fan familiarity that Bebop does, which could spare it from the moment-by-moment comparisons to a predecessor it has no chance of surpassing.

On the other hand, following its talk with Adelstein, Variety says that “The [Samurai Champloo] adaptation will retain the core elements fans love while updating the material for a contemporary television audience,” implying that Tomorrow Studios still intends to tinker with the story or other elements in an attempt to improve, or otherwise broaden the appeal of, the original work. It’s a bold decision, considering how that plan panned out with the live-action Bebop, but Watanabe is apparently willing to give Tomorrow Studios a second chance, and time will tell if he’ll be able to help steer the project down a path that audiences will actually enjoy.

Source: Variety via Anime News Network/Alex Mateo, Forbes
Top image ©SoraNews24
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Dashimaki tamago in three minutes sounds awesome, but if it tastes bad, it won’t be worth even 100 yen.

Despite being a delicious part of Japanese cuisine, dashimaki tamago is a dish that you might not have many opportunities to eat. A type of rolled omelet, dashimaki tamago isn’t something you’ll find all that often on restaurant menus, as it’s more commonly purchased at specialty shops in Japanese department stores or made in the home.

This creates a problem if you don’t have a Japanese department store nearby or aren’t particularly skilled in the kitchen. There might be a way to get around that second problem, though, as 100 yen shop Daiso has a dashimaki tamago maker that it says will let you make one of the rolled omelets in your microwave in just a few minutes.

In recent years, there’s been a bit of a price creep at Japan’s 100 yen stores, but Daiso’s Renji de Chin Dashimaki Tamago (“Microwavable Dashimaki Tamago”) kit is true to the store’s original concept, costing just 100 yen (US$0.65). The kit consists of two pieces, one made of clear plastic, and the other yellow.

You will also, of course, need an egg, and the first step in the process is to crack that egg into the clear plastic piece. Add a tablespoon of water and mix the contents to break up the yolk.

▼ We used chopsticks, but a small fork or whisk should work just as well.

After you’re done mixing, put the clear container in the microwave to cook for 40 seconds at 500 watts.

Now it’s time to add the seasoning. Take the container out of the microwave and add roughly 1/3 tablespoon of hondashi (bonito stock) powder.

“Hey now, what if I don’t have hondashi?” you might be asking? Not to worry. Since it’s just being used for its flavor, you can skip adding the hondashi and just follow the other steps in the process to make a Japanese-style rolled omelet with a simpler flavor. Alternatively, you could substitute a sprinkling of salt and pepper for the hondashi, or even some cheese. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, since at this point we’re still not sure if Daiso’s Microwavable Dashimaki Tamago kit is going to work well or not.

Anyway, after adding the hondashi (if you have any), the clear container goes back into the microwave for another stint of 40 seconds at 500 watts.

The egg should now be starting to solidify from the heat.

This is where the second piece in the kit, the yellow one, comes in. It’s actually a press, so slide it into the clear piece and press down gently on the egg.

Once you get close enough to the bottom, fold in the tabs on the sides to lock the press in place.

Let everything sit for one minute, and then your dashimaki tamago should be ready to eat!

…huh…

…that…doesn’t look all that appetizing, does it? We were sure that either we or Daiso had colossally failed, until we slid our omelet out to plate it…

…and were shocked to learn that the rolled omelet had actually turned out great!

A big part of the appeal of dashimaki tamago is how the outer layer resembles a firm scrambled egg, but the inside is closer to a soft-boiled one. Daiso’s Microwavable Dashimaki Tamago did a fantastic job getting both of those right, and the presentation would have been even better had we taken a moment to scrape the edge of our omelet clean or wipe the runoff off of the unoccupied part of our plate.

And as for the flavor? It was fantastic! This isn’t a last-resort, instant-food sort of quality, but a legitimate, authentic dashimaki tamago taste.

▼ Our reporter Go Hatori, who’s actually a talented cook who used to work in a restaurant, gives the results of Daiso’s dashimaki tamago maker both a literal and figurative thumbs-up.

It may not be quite at the level that an experienced dashimaki tamago chef could achieve, but if you’re new to the dish, or in a rush, this is a great way to enjoy it with a grand total of about three minutes of prep time and no need for any other cooking equipment except a microwave, making it an absolute bargain for the price Daiso charges for it.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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Blending coffee culture with art in a historic district of Tokyo. 

If you’re searching for a Tokyo neighbourhood that retains a sense of old-world Japanese charm, then Yanaka in Taito Ward near Nippori Station has exactly what you’re looking for. Having survived the 1923 earthquake and the bombings of WWII, the area boasts numerous temples and shrines, as well as an old-town shopping district called Yanaka Ginza, where you’ll find narrow backstreets and old stores that make it a top tourist destination for overseas visitors.

Now, the old shopping area is getting a shiny new addition to the landscape, with the reveal that Starbucks will be opening a new branch called Starbucks Cafe & Art Gallery Yanaka Gotenzaka.

The new Starbucks will open on 28 March on the site of a former parking lot, right next door to Nakanoya, a longstanding store that sells tsukudani (traditional soy-glazed preserved foods).

Despite its modern facade, the new branch is designed to blend into the neighbourhood, which Starbucks describes as a place where “history, culture, and art are richly woven together”. In honour of that melding pot, the new branch will blend coffee culture with art, in the form of exhibitions co-created with local students and the community.

▼ The ground floor, with an example of the possible canvas size you might encounter in-store.

This two-storey wooden building, designed by a Yanaka-based architectural company, aims to promote the rich history and culture of the area by displaying rotating works by young talent throughout the year, including collaborative “themed exhibitions” with artists and Starbucks partners, “fair exhibitions” to showcase up-and-comers, and “public exhibitions” to discover new artists.

▼ Visitors can enjoy coffee and art up on the second floor as well.

Select works will be available for purchase, making it a very unique Starbucks location. Launching on 28 March will be the “Yanaka Gotenzaka Opening Exhibition,” where three young artists will present fresh landscapes capturing Yanaka’s atmosphere from their unique perspectives.

▼ The three-person exhibition features works by Karin Hosono, Shotaro Sanada, and Yu Sora.

The exhibition is scheduled to run until 28 June, after which time we can expect a new collection of works to appear on the walls. The Starbucks Gallery presents an exciting new venture for the chain, furthering its goal of fostering connections within local communities, and it’s already expanding, with the Kyoto BAL branch being rebranded as Japan’s second Starbucks Cafe & Art Gallery, with similar artworks soon to be displayed on the premises.

Location information
Starbucks Cafe & Art Gallery Yanaka Gotenzaka / スターバックス カフェ & アートギャラリー 谷中御殿坂
Address: Tokyo-to, Arakawa-ku, Nishi-Nippori 3-2-5
東京都荒川区西日暮里3 丁目2－5
Open 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

Source, images: Press release
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This replica is tiny but its action is mighty.

We’re always in the market for a good keychain, but add in a fun interactive element and we’re totally sold. So when Studio Ghibli unveiled a new line of “Pullback Keychains“, which puts some of its most famous characters and vehicles on tiny pullback wheels to give them automated forward motion, we immediately became fans of the series. Now, though, they’ve added a new character to the lineup which has us reaching into our wallets again.

▼ The Catbus from My Neighbour Totoro

This miniature Catbus measures 2.8 x 4.1 x 5.8 centimetres (1.10 × 1.61 × 2.28 inches), making it small enough to carry around on a pouch or bag.

▼ The rear end has a round hook so you can attach or detach the keychain like a trailer.

When detached from the chain, the Catbus is free to roam, with four wheels on its undercarriage.

Pull the character back on its wheels and it will scamper forward on its dozen legs, as if looking for tiny companions.

Like the movie, the Catbus has “めい” (“Mei”) on its destination display, recalling the scene where it carries Satsuki through the forest in search of her sister.

As it runs, the Catbus’ dozen paws move up and down and the body bobs to mimic the energetic movement of the character.

It might be small but the action is mighty, with the wheels giving this tiny Catbus a surprising amount of power.

The attention to detail is outstanding, with the cat’s wide grin and large eyes beautifully replicated, along with tiny mice companions.

When you’re not playing with the Catbus, you can store it inside the box it comes in, which is finished with a diorama-like background that makes it look like it’s at the forest bus stop with the main characters.

Priced at 2,200 yen (US$13.94), the Pullback Keychain can be purchased at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online, where you can also pick up other cute items in the series, including the Flaptor from Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

Source, images: Donguri Kyowakoku
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Yoshi meets Yoshi for a special Nintendo bobblehead.

There’s excitement in the air for Nintendo fans, as we’re now less than one month away from the opening of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. With 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie turning out to be a smash hit that exorcised the specter of Nintendo’s original 1993 live-action cinematic adaptation of its flagship video game franchise, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is looking to ambitiously expand its storytelling scope, with Mario’s beloved dinosaur steed Yoshi set to join the cast.

But while Yoshi will be arriving on the big screen when the movie opens on April 1, he’ll actually be showing up somewhere else one day earlier. On March 31, Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers will be giving away a special Yoshi Bobblehead figure of the Super Mario dino wearing a Dodgers uniform.

The Yoshi figure will be given to the first 40,000 fans in attendance at Dodgers Stadium on March 31 for the team’s game against the visiting Cleveland Guardians.

Now, with Nintendo’s American headquarters being in Seattle, and the company not only sponsoring the local Mariners but even having a 10-percent ownership stake in the team, some hybrid video game/baseball fans might question why Yoshi is wearing Dodgers gear. There’s a hint in the specific jersey Yoshi is wearing, as 18 is also the number of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers’ star pitcher who was named World Series MVP last season and whose heroic performance included being on the mound as the Dodgers recorded the final out and won their second straight championship.

▼ Yoshinobu, securing his status as a Los Angeles sports legend.

Though their names are pronounced slightly differently in Japanese (Super Mario’s Yoshi is pronounced like “Yoshhii,” with a more strongly compressed H-sound and elongated ending vowel), they spell their names the same way in English, and in addition to sharing a name they share the spotlight in a cute video announcing the giveaway.

Yoshinobu, meet Yoshi.

Join us at Dodger Stadium on 3/31 for the collab we’ve all been waiting for! Get your Yoshi Bobblehead presented by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Tickets are available now at https://t.co/DZQkfNeXIj. pic.twitter.com/wlfyVxn4lY

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 6, 2026

Of course, another contributing factor is likely that the Dodgers are, by a wide margin, Japan’s favorite MLB team. Since Shohei Ohtani joined the team at the start of the 2024 season, Dodgers highlights have been a regular part of sports news in Japan, and with back-to-back World Series titles since then, the team’s popularity has soared even higher. The Dodgers have also shown plenty of enthusiasm to collaborate with Japanese pop culture franchises, though if in addition to Yoshi you’re keen to also add MLB’s Hello Kitty bobblehead to your collection, you’ll have to head to one other stadium for her.

Source: MLB, Twitter/@Dodgers
Images: Tiwtter/@Dodgers
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Under-the-radar Japanese cafe chain serves a delicious salute to Ditto in celebration of Pokémon Pokopia.

When overseas tourists want a relaxed cafe experience in Japan, they tend to flock to familiar chains like Starbucks, but for locals, there’s an iconic Japanese-born chain that some might say is even better.

The name of that chain is Komeda Coffee, and not only does it serve up great coffee in comfortable surroundings, it also has sizeable meals and impressive desserts, and now, for a limited time, a Pokémon collaboration menu.

▼ The collaboration is set to drop in two parts, with the first lot appearing on 5 March.

The new campaign is called “Pokémon to Isshodamon“, which translates as “Together with Pokémon” while incorporating a punny rhyming wordplay on the word “Metamon“, or Ditto, to use the character’s English name.

▼ As you might expect, Ditto is the star of the show here, appearing on three different menu items.

With the Katsu Bread and Shiro Noir dessert being menu mainstays, only with a Ditto makeover for this special collaboration, we were curious to try the Metamon Sweet Potato Balls, which we’d never seen before.

▼ These balls are priced at 1,080 yen (US$6.85).

Served in a cute Metamon-patterned cup, this half-dozen cluster incorporates purple sweet potato in the dough to emulate Ditto’s purple hue.

▼ Kind of like a doughnut, but lighter.

The outside is delightfully crispy and chewy, while the inside is filled with a smooth and creamy sweet potato paste. The dough itself wasn’t particularly sweet, but this allowed the natural sweetness of the paste inside to sing, creating a well-balanced sweet that was incredibly easy to eat.

▼ Despite being delicious, the balls are quite dense so you’ll want to order a drink like the Blueberry Yoghurt frappe (660 yen) to wash them down.

As an added bonus, every customer who purchases a Ditto meal will receive a Pokémon bean snack keychain, which mimics the look of Komeda Coffee’s little bean snacks, which come free with every drink order.

▼ There are four designs available, and we received the one with Bulbasaur and Ditto.

With each meal costing over 1,000 yen, we initially thought this was an expensive collaboration, but after receiving the free keychain, which we figured would be worth at least 300 yen, we walked away happy.

▼ Our plushie companions left happy too.

Another highlight of the campaign is the “Mini Daruma Glass-Style Accessory Holder” (2,000 yen), which takes the chain’s popular rotund container and gives it a Ditto makeover.

▼ This limited-edition product has become so sought after it’s already sold out at a lot of stores.