At my first glance of this goofy green toy truck*, I had to just laugh—Then I realized it is a GACHAPINmobile. Gachapin is a beloved, bucktoothed dinosaur character on Fuji TV’s children’s program, “Hirake! Ponkikki” (Wiki ).

Embiggen to 563×442px.

Gachapin () has “energy balls” that enable him to fly, dive underwater, and gives him strength and courage whenever he faces a challenges. He implores kids to be vigorous, adventurous, and to take risks (personality attributes sorely lacking in Japan) , so we can all enjoy life.

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*The GACHAPINmobile is a Kei-class light truck with a 660cc micro-engine and a load capacity of only 700kg (wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_truck). I drive one around the rice ranch all the time—It’s a rather fun toy even though it slows down considerably just from hauling my weight and a week’s worth of grocery shopping in the back.

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Learn more about Gachapin and his butt-buddy Mukku at:
   • Gachapin and Mukku-what? (3Yen / 2010-08-30)
   • Japan’s Mr. Yuck (3Yen / 2009-07-21)
   • Gachapin & Mukku good vibrations↓. Happy, happy!

Gachapin “refresh” vibrator (3Yen / 2012-07-12)
..

Winner of the strange Japanese engrish headline of the week:
Fish bukkake—milt is to be used to refine the rare earths that are critical to Japan’s high-tech electronics.

Fish milt used to glean rare earths
The Japan Times May 18, 2013
Japanese researchers…have found a better, cheaper way to smelt rare earth metals by using salmon milt, or sperm.
M0Ar!~

…

The rest-of-the-story is that until recently, China was Japan and the rest of the world’s main source of rare earth elements that are critical in the electronics industry. China instituted an export ban on shipments of rare earth oxides to Japan on September 2010. This Chinese export restriction on rare earth elements has caused Japan to go into a tizzy looking for alternative supplies (Wikipedia),

The Woman Who Wants to Give Birth to a Shark
Vice.com | 2013May17
…the human uterus is just the right size to hold one fetus. I've been speaking to a gynaecologist about ways of making it bigger. I believe humans could use their uterus as an aquarium or incubator…
…We don’t need any more humans, there are too many already as it is. Mostly, it’s a way of preserving endangered species...more...

Also check out her previous piscine projects including:

   • I Wanna Deliver a Salmon… (and eat it)
       (aihasegawa.info | 2011 March)

   • I wanna deliver a Tuna…
       (aihasegawa.info | 2011 March)
..

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I am sure if the artist Ai Hasegawa (not to be confused with the bimbo, Hasegawa Ai, the Japanese ‘idol’) is really into modifying her uterus to carry sea creatures to term, I am sure the Deep Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos (Wiki) will oblige her as the 3Yen has covered in in our reports of…
   —Cthulhu’s minions foiled (3Yen / 2012-07-09
   —Solar lantern of the Cthulhu Mythos (3Yen / 2011-07-11)
   —Call of Cthulhu in Tokyo (3Yen / 2007-01-06)

Does a bear shit in…
…school in Japan?

Bear shot dead after entering school in Ishikawa
JapanToday | May 17, 2013
A bear was shot dead after it wandered into a school in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday…the bear entered the Morimoto school building at around 7 a.m. and then ran toward the playing field…
…The bear was an adult male, one meter long and weighing 40 kilograms…more...

Whoa! This dangerous “adult” male bear was only “one meter long ” (39.37 inches) and weighed a whopping “40 kilograms” (88 lbs.). WTF?! That’s smaller than my dog.

Here’s a real Pacific Rim job—the robot reception at the REMM Hotel in the high-tech, otaku district of Tokyo’s Akihabara…

Greetings from REMM Hotel Akihabara! according to the wonders of goofy Google robo-Translate, which goes not to say that:
With these twin “Gemini” robots, the REEM Hotel is planning many robots visiting the hotel as part of an experiment lasting into the Spring.
The Hankyu-Hanshin-Daiichi Hotel Group further explains:
This new edition to the is based on the idea of better, more comfortable sleep—Come and visit us!!

Check out the hotel’s English website at: REMM Akihabara.
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Previous posts about marginally-useful Japanese robots in hotels include:

   • Hello Kitty-ROBO (3Yen / 2010 Sept.)
   •   —The EMIEW2 robot —
      Excellent Mobility and Interactive Existence as Workmate 2
      (3Yen / 2010 June)
   • Bellboy Bots at a Tokyo Disneyland Hotel (3Yen / 2006 Feb.)
   • Japan’s robot-run love hotels (3Yen / 2006 Oct. )
→←

A phony Pikachu (Chinese of course), a drinking straw, and an invitation to have a good time—Saaaa, such are the simple pleasures of living in the mysterious Orient.

Embiggen.

Yeah, yeah, I know this photo has been floating around on the Internet since at least last December, but it was “too good a time” to pass up posting here.

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Please peruse previous Pikachu pulchritude of Pokémon we’ve posted:

   • Pokémon Pikachu pucker (3Yen / 2011-Jan.)
   • Pikachu fiend (3Yen / 2009-Nov.)
   • Hulk Hogan pops Pokemon (3Yen / 2006-Aug.)
   • Bride of Pokemon (3Yen / 2005-July)
   • POKEMON causes cancer! (3Yen / 2005-Jan.)
   • Sexy Pikachu girls (3Yen / 2009-Apr.)
..

WILL YOU INVADE HER? Ple-ee-ease!

Japanese pop idol, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (3Yen / 2013-03-06) officially released her new single yesterday, Invader Invader.

Kyary says it is, “all about aliens*.”

twitter.com/pamyurin…

More videos and info in the Comments section…

This kimoi/creepy photo of “alien ham” was just sent in by the 3Yen’s correspondent-at-large, Den4.

After little digging around on the Internet, I found the original Spanish website (Google Translate) that explained that this is a, "turkey with ham maki roll type of sushi stuffed with asparagus and flavored with a mustard sauce." The lack of rice in the maki roll is a dead giveaway it’s “alien” and therefore edible, hee, hee.

Does the padded toilet seat make my butt look too big?

The fashion of Japan’s Kentaro Fujiki takes the stage at the Audi Star Creation Runway Showdown at Tent@Marina Promenade on May 13th, 2013 in Singapore.

↓ Who was that Masked Man?

The restofthestory is that on May 13, 2013, “The UnknownLone Ranger” held a promotional press conference at which the relatively-unknown-in-Japan actor, Armie Hammer (Wiki) came to Tokyo to promote the typically late, August 8th release of the film in Japan. (Japan always gets the good stuff last, meh.)
On the right of the above photo is Japanese B-list actress Airi Taira and The Masked Man on the left is a D-list comedian Hiroyuki Amano.

Or, view the boring English version of the official trailer here.