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 
).
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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!
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.)
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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.
← Japan has been the longtime winner of the title of having the World’s Creepiest Mascots with characters like Tokyo Tower’s pink penis, “Noppon” (3Yen/2009-04-05).
However, Japan’s domination of having the creepiest mascots is being challenged by a Brazil’s cancer association, Associação de Assistência às Pessoas com Câncer with their Señor Testiculo aka “Mr. Balls“—the world’s happiest scrotum character ↓ …more...
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See more at gawker.com.
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Of course, the whole, 
mascot fixation in Japan is turning into something of a cult,
with young people worshipping Pedobear* according to the friend-of-the-3Yen, Mulboyne…
We’re not worthy. We’re not worthy.*
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HOLD THE PRESSES!
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I just found the official website of Señor Testiculo aka Mr. Balls. In addition, I also uncovered the personal blog of Tokyo Tower’s “Noppon-kun“…continues…
This GIF of manic-looking ‘Loose Characters’—Yuru-Chara invading Tokyo were sent in to us by the 3Yen correspondent, MARKed TRAIL.
tokyofashionDOTcom
With some digging around, I discovered that the very animated GIF was from the “KAWAii!! MATSURi“—literally, the Cuteness Festival—held last April 20 and 21 (The Japan Times / 2013Apr30).
Of course all of this makes complete Japanese sense since everything here needs a cute Yuru-Chara, that is a yurui-character (lit. loose character)—the mascots that populate Japan the land of HAPPY (3Yen / 2010-10-20).
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Some of the many 3Yen reports of Japan’s loose character overload include:
• Japan’s sets Guinness record for synchronized dork dancing
(3Yen / 2013-01-31)
• Panic disordered characters in the kitchen (3Yen / 2012-11-04)
• Horny Buddha boy ↓ (3Yen / 2008-09-25) .
Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, is set to play the part of real-life reporter in Japan, Jake Adelstein, in “Tokyo Vice” the Hollywood adaptation of Adelstein’s non-fiction book* about his life as covering Tokyo’s crime-beat and the Yakuza.
Daniel Radcliffe To Star In Crime Saga ‘Tokyo Vice’
deadline.com | May 1, 2013
Daniel Radcliffe is set to star in Tokyo Vice, a thriller that music video and commercials director Anthony Mandler will direct …production will start early 2014. Radcliffe will play American reporter Jake Adelstein who, while working at the Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper…more…
This film version of “Tokyo Vice” ought to be fun because in real life Adelstein was basically run out of town peeing in his pants out of fear of Yakuza gangster reprisals.
—”Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”—
The 3Yen’s correpondant-at-large, Den4, gives us a heads-up on a new prequel short by Studio Ghibli Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo, which is live-action kaiju/monster film.
Learn more details about the film at:
• io9.com/first-live-action-monster-movie…
• twitchfilm.com/2013/04/watch-studio-ghiblis-giant-god-warrior-appears-in-tokyo…
• sugarkat.tumblr.com
Japanese fembots, tentacle sex, dancing purple kaiju/monsters, Tyrannosaurus rex eating go-go girls on top of neon tanks, with Kate Hudson, as a gold-masked ninja destroying the world largest city*—Watch the Tokyo-made, official music video of MUSE, “Panic Station.”
Check out the video’s main location of the Japanese bikini robot girls, neon-clad sound trucks, cyber-fetishes, dancing bar maids, giant humanoid mecha sluts with a gangbang afterward in our previous report: Japanese otaku paradise—Fembot Bar (3Yen / 2012-07-28)
Flying Japanese RoboGirl by tokyofashion, on Flickr
I’m sure that everyone wants to pay to smell Iron Man’s retro rockets when it debuts in Japan, right?
Iron Man 3 to Get Smell-Enhanced Screenings in Japan
Wired.com | 04.17.13
…Iron Man 3 in smell-o-vision…the film will be shown in a theater in Nagoya in 4DX. This “fourth dimension” experience will offer wind, fog, tilting seats, and odor effects. It’s unclear exactly what the smells themselves will be… [but it] will cost an additional 1,300 yen (about $13) on top of the regular ticket price for 3-D films…more...
With the 3-D IMAX ticket price of 2,200 to 2,500 yen, plus the additional “4-D” fee of 1,300 yen, the total ticket cost here in Japan to see smell-o-vision Iron Man 3 will be 3,500 to 3,800 yen or about $36 to 39 USD!
Drink from the Dragon Balls!
Yes, get your Kentucky-Fried Goku and the gang now!
Buy 11 buckets of Goku grease, eat the 100 pieces contained within and enjoy a coronary with your complete collection of Dragon Ball Z now!
Learn more at: kfc.co.jp/dbz
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