Tag - offbeat

 
 

OFFBEAT

Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Apr 14, 2017
Tweeters spill their guts on #gaijinconfessionfriday
Things got real this Friday — real funny —u00a0as non-Japanese living in Japan admitted their biggest blunders, mistakes and unpopular opinions using the #gaijinconfessionfriday hashtag.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 29, 2017
Putrid, pungent, heave-inducing: U.S. contest crowns the smelliest sneakers
Seven young contestants from around the United States put their smelliest shoe forward at the 42nd National Rotten Sneaker Contest in New York City on Tuesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 4, 2017
German mini-world tourist attraction builds razor wire-topped wall around U.S.
In a dig at President Donald Trump's plan to build a full-sized wall along the border with Mexico, a German tourist attraction that features miniature models of various parts of the world has put up a wall around the United States.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 25, 2017
Trump, Kim lookalikes take Hong Kong by surprise
It is a scene unlikely ever to become reality — U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hugging and leaning in for a kiss on the bustling streets of Hong Kong.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 6, 2016
Space oddity as Dr. David Bowie treats 'starman' Buzz Aldrin in New Zealand hospital
In what can only be described as a space oddity, former astronaut Buzz Aldrin is being cared for in a New Zealand hospital by Dr. David Bowie after being evacuated from the South Pole.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 19, 2016
Pheasant-elect: Bird with Trump's quiff draws crowds in China
A pheasant has become a star attraction at a Chinese safari park after visitors said its golden head feathers resembled U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's famous blond quiff.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 27, 2016
Trump's debate sniffs take off on social media
Republican White House candidate Donald Trump stole the social media spotlight during Monday night's U.S. presidential debate on at least one count — what Twitter users branded his #Trumpsniffle.
WORLD
Sep 14, 2016
Women stage nude production of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' in Brooklyn
To be clothed, or not to be clothed? That was a no-brainer for members of an all-female cast in Brooklyn who stripped down to celebrate their freedom of expression in a nude version of Shakespeare in the park.
WORLD
Aug 23, 2016
'Land of Rape and Honey' no more as Canadian town drops slogan
The western Canadian town of Tisdale is no longer the "Land of Rape and Honey," it said Monday, as it dropped a slogan that has been a source of complaints.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 13, 2016
Cuban rolls record 90-meter cigar ahead of Castro's 90th birthday
A Cuban cigar-maker broke his own record on Friday by rolling the world's longest cigar, dedicating the 90-meter (295-foot) smoke to Fidel Castro ahead of the retired leader's 90th birthday.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 21, 2016
Texas woman and her Chewbacca mask go viral
A Texas woman found fame this week after filming a Facebook Live video of herself in an electronic Chewbacca mask that racked up over 50 million views in less than 24 hours.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 11, 2016
Dating site matches Americans fleeing Trump presidency with Canadians
A dating website is pledging to match Americans who can't live with a Donald Trump presidency to Canadians looking for love, facilitating the pledge often made by U.S. voters to move to Canada if the real estate billionaire is elected.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 8, 2016
Forbidden fruit: China bans 'erotic' banana-eating live streams
Bananas may be China's new forbidden fruit — at least online.
WORLD
Mar 25, 2016
North Carolina man arrested over rented VHS tape 14 years overdue
A wanted North Carolina man was arrested this week on charges he failed to return a VHS tape to a video store 14 years ago, police said on Thursday.
WORLD
Feb 23, 2016
Mysterious high-pitched tone keeps Oregon residents up at night
An unexplained high-pitched tone has kept residents of a Portland suburb awake at night for at least a week, confounding the best efforts of police and firefighters to pinpoint its source, officials in the community said on Monday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 20, 2016
Thousands marry in mass South Korea wedding ceremony
About 3,000 couples from 62 countries tied the knot in South Korea on Saturday, in a mass wedding ceremony conducted by the Unification Church founded by the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
WORLD
Feb 10, 2016
Do you want fries with that? Man charged with throwing alligator into fast food restaurant
A Florida fast food restaurant got a customer it was not expecting when a live alligator was tossed through a drive-thru window by a patron.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2016
U.S. groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring
Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog renowned for his ability to forecast the onset of spring, did not see his shadow after emerging from his burrow on Tuesday morning, predicting an early spring.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 19, 2015
Waiter turns over $32,000 in cash left at California restaurant
A waiter in central California turned over $32,000 in cash that a family forgot at a table, an amount that likely comes close to his annual salary, a restaurant official said on Friday.
WORLD
Dec 12, 2015
Body left for science slips out of van on Texas road
An elderly woman's body donated to a medical research lab was discovered on the side of a north Texas road after falling through the back window of a transport van, police said on Friday.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores