Oscar-winning animation director Kunio Katō and producers Toshio Suzuki and Tomohiko Ishii created this short but adorable anime-style advert for Japanese convenience store chain Lawson. It’s only 15 seconds long, but it’s packed with cute characters and scenes that depict a common day at their store.

You can see the ad below. This is not the first time Studio Ghibli dipped into the advertising world. In fact, their collaboration with Lawson started nearly 20 years ago, in 2001.

The post Studio Ghibli Creates Animated Ad for “Lawson” appeared first on PlayJunkie.

This is about to change, as the Japanese company Seed just introduced their new product: a transparent eraser. Seed has been making erasers since the 1950s, but they just got the formula for a see-through eraser right after working on it for the past five years. They call it the Clear Radar and it’s available in many stationery stores across Japan. You can see how it works in the video below.

The post This Transparent Eraser Lets You See What You’re Erasing appeared first on PlayJunkie.

The name everything revolves around in Japanese pop-culture is Takashi Murakami. A mix-media artist who works both in fine arts and commercial media, so painting and sculpting somehow blend with fashion, merchandise and animation. 

Murakami coined the term “superflat” which he uses to describe Japanese post-war culture and society, where class differences have been “flattened.” He also uses it to describe his own art-style which is repackaging elements that are “low” into a “high-art” market. He also repackages his “high-art” market work into merchandise and sells them at affordable prices. 

Murakami is the founder and president of Kaikai Kiki Co. Ltd. which he uses to manage younger artists and to help them develop their careers. 

His art is described in various terms: cute, psychedelic, satirical. His best-known motifs are smiling flowers, mushrooms, skulls, as well as Buddhist iconography. Among other cool things he does, in 2011 he was an author of a doodle for Google tagged as “The first day of summer.” 

The post Japanese Contemporary Artist Creates Art That Deletes Boundaries appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Mom of two and office worker from Tochigi Prefecture in Ashikaga City, known as etn.co_mam on Instagram, is recognized for her charm of combining humorous nao rice with popular characters such as Doraemon, Sazae, and Anpanman. She started creating these amazing dishes to entertain her two daughters and her three little sisters ages 9, 7, and 5.

She can turn food into anything (including Disney characters) and she creates cute and healthy dishes, just to make her children eat healthy – and it has paid off!

This creative mom learned the craft from a colleague at work in 2016. Soon enough, she began posting her delicious works on her Instagram profile and has gotten incredible feedback from other moms and foodies alike.  

Take a look at these amazing, creative handmade dishes from food. 

The post Japanese Artist Makes Art From Food and It’s Too Good to Be True appeared first on PlayJunkie.

We would like to present to you the 9 Hours Hotel, which is located in different cities in Japan. You can find seven 9 Hours Hotels in Tokyo, two in Osaka and one in Kyoto, Fukuoka, and Sendai. 

They are designed to offer the guests more freedom than a usual hotel. The guests can check in 24 hours a day and use the facilities for as little as 1 hour. These hotels are cheaper compared to other accommodations and are located near major airports, central parts of the town, or train stations. There are also showers available 24 hours a day in the offer, as well as hand-brewed coffee and private desks. Also, the lodging has a common room that has a microwave and a vending machine. 

We have to go back to 1970 to know the origin of this formula that was born as an economical alternative to typical accommodation offers for situations like missing the train or having to wait for hours at the airport. What’s best of all, other countries have already incorporated this into their offer as well! 

The post 9 Hours Hotel – Take a Nap and Quick Shower Before or After You Get Off Your Plane appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Haruki is a Japanese artist that has mastered this art form by transforming old food packaging into intricate models of fun characters, animals, beautiful objects and even entire sceneries. He presents his artwork on social networks like Instagram and Twitter, and people flock to appreciate his immense talent. Where the rest of us see just an ordinary candy packaging or a whiskey cardboard box, this guy sees the potential for extraordinary forms – a samurai warrior holding a sword, a girl playing the violin, a pretty church, and even trains and boats! As a master of kirigami, he uses only techniques of folding and cutting paper to create these marvelous pieces. And his creativity is never-ending. 

Check out these photos and his Instagram profile and enjoy his amazing work! 

The post Artist Turns Product Packaging Into Unbelievable Sculptures appeared first on PlayJunkie.

From leopard print patterns to watermelon slices – with their black seeds to make it look more realistic – to cute cartoon characters like Winnie the Pooh, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Sponge Bob, and Keroppi.

She uses only natural colors from spinach puree, cocoa, matcha powder, several kinds of fruits, vegetables, and seeds. Making illustrations out of bread is what gives color to her life which is a never-ending story for her. And, while she sells her pastries around Tokyo, her most loyal customer is her son.

Bready or not, here they come!

The post Slices Of Bread With Adorable Illustrations appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Meet Daikichi and Fuku-Chan – two adventurous cats who have been accompanying their owner Daisuke Nagasawa on his business travels for the last eight years, during which they visited more than 1,000 destinations. He transports the peaceful pair in an adapted stroller that he pulls along or in a customized backpack that fits them both and allows them to fully enjoy the beautiful landscapes. 

Their journey began in 2011, when the 49-year-old CEO of a tech company started traveling more due to his work and his increasing absence from the home didn’t sit really well with the adopted Fuku Chan and Daikichi.

The cats missed their owner so much that they started expressing their frustration through aggressive, attention-seeking pranks, so Nagasawa’s genius solution was to try taking them on his trips. Surprisingly, the cats liked it, and soon enough they became his regular companions across Japan. 

Their awesome adventures have been shared with their thousands of followers on Instagram. Check out their cute pictures below to see the world through feline eyes!

The post These Two Travel-Loving Cats Go Everywhere With Their Owner appeared first on PlayJunkie.

But even though the art of bonsai has been most associated with Japan, it actually originated first around 600 AD in China and then spread eastward, coming to Japan only in the 12^th century. During the Kamakura period in Japan, the nation adopted many Chinese cultural trademarks, among which was this delicate hobby, mainly spread by Japanese Buddhist monks who brought the tiny trees from pilgrimages to China.

The Japanese created a new distinct style by growing single trees instead of creating landscapes, which was the traditional Chinese way. The developed a more refined, naturalistic look which required more grooming, and thought of the trees as a visual representation of their beliefs about the harmony between man and the natural world. By the 14^th century the practice of creating bonsai became less associated with religion and flourished as an independent art form, and today it is a favorite pastime for many passionate bonsai enthusiasts.

Enjoy this gallery of enchanting bonsai art!

The post The Unspoken Beauty Of Bonsai Trees appeared first on PlayJunkie.

While a lot of anime touches upon difficult and complex social, psychological, and philosophical subjects, anime drawings and the art itself has also been gaining a widespread following. Many artists begin by drawing their favorite anime characters, then go onto reinventing them and eventually make up their own characters that they create and mold with pen and paper.

Creativity in anime is only now gaining momentum – artists are using everything from pencil to watercolor to chalk to drawing pads. One inspiring anime artist is taking the craft to a whole new level, with detailed, shaded, carefully drawn anime paintings that add life to well-known and new characters.

That artist is Ilya Kushinov, a Russian native based in Tokyo. On his Instagram, you can see drawings of famous film characters, such as “Kill Bill” assassin Gogo, as well as his own character creations. Ilya also shares videos of his drawing process, which is encouraging for aspiring artists. His art has earned him the place as one of the creators of a film that is coming out soon.

Check it out!

The post This Russian Anime Artist is Taking Over Tokyo appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Oscar-winning animation director Kunio Katō and producers Toshio Suzuki and Tomohiko Ishii created this short but adorable anime-style advert for Japanese convenience store chain Lawson. It’s only 15 seconds long, but it’s packed with cute characters and scenes that depict a common day at their store.

You can see the ad below. This is not the first time Studio Ghibli dipped into the advertising world. In fact, their collaboration with Lawson started nearly 20 years ago, in 2001.

The post Studio Ghibli Creates Animated Ad for “Lawson” appeared first on PlayJunkie.

This is about to change, as the Japanese company Seed just introduced their new product: a transparent eraser. Seed has been making erasers since the 1950s, but they just got the formula for a see-through eraser right after working on it for the past five years. They call it the Clear Radar and it’s available in many stationery stores across Japan. You can see how it works in the video below.

The post This Transparent Eraser Lets You See What You’re Erasing appeared first on PlayJunkie.

The name everything revolves around in Japanese pop-culture is Takashi Murakami. A mix-media artist who works both in fine arts and commercial media, so painting and sculpting somehow blend with fashion, merchandise and animation. 

Murakami coined the term “superflat” which he uses to describe Japanese post-war culture and society, where class differences have been “flattened.” He also uses it to describe his own art-style which is repackaging elements that are “low” into a “high-art” market. He also repackages his “high-art” market work into merchandise and sells them at affordable prices. 

Murakami is the founder and president of Kaikai Kiki Co. Ltd. which he uses to manage younger artists and to help them develop their careers. 

His art is described in various terms: cute, psychedelic, satirical. His best-known motifs are smiling flowers, mushrooms, skulls, as well as Buddhist iconography. Among other cool things he does, in 2011 he was an author of a doodle for Google tagged as “The first day of summer.” 

The post Japanese Contemporary Artist Creates Art That Deletes Boundaries appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Mom of two and office worker from Tochigi Prefecture in Ashikaga City, known as etn.co_mam on Instagram, is recognized for her charm of combining humorous nao rice with popular characters such as Doraemon, Sazae, and Anpanman. She started creating these amazing dishes to entertain her two daughters and her three little sisters ages 9, 7, and 5.

She can turn food into anything (including Disney characters) and she creates cute and healthy dishes, just to make her children eat healthy – and it has paid off!

This creative mom learned the craft from a colleague at work in 2016. Soon enough, she began posting her delicious works on her Instagram profile and has gotten incredible feedback from other moms and foodies alike.  

Take a look at these amazing, creative handmade dishes from food. 

The post Japanese Artist Makes Art From Food and It’s Too Good to Be True appeared first on PlayJunkie.

We would like to present to you the 9 Hours Hotel, which is located in different cities in Japan. You can find seven 9 Hours Hotels in Tokyo, two in Osaka and one in Kyoto, Fukuoka, and Sendai. 

They are designed to offer the guests more freedom than a usual hotel. The guests can check in 24 hours a day and use the facilities for as little as 1 hour. These hotels are cheaper compared to other accommodations and are located near major airports, central parts of the town, or train stations. There are also showers available 24 hours a day in the offer, as well as hand-brewed coffee and private desks. Also, the lodging has a common room that has a microwave and a vending machine. 

We have to go back to 1970 to know the origin of this formula that was born as an economical alternative to typical accommodation offers for situations like missing the train or having to wait for hours at the airport. What’s best of all, other countries have already incorporated this into their offer as well! 

The post 9 Hours Hotel – Take a Nap and Quick Shower Before or After You Get Off Your Plane appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Haruki is a Japanese artist that has mastered this art form by transforming old food packaging into intricate models of fun characters, animals, beautiful objects and even entire sceneries. He presents his artwork on social networks like Instagram and Twitter, and people flock to appreciate his immense talent. Where the rest of us see just an ordinary candy packaging or a whiskey cardboard box, this guy sees the potential for extraordinary forms – a samurai warrior holding a sword, a girl playing the violin, a pretty church, and even trains and boats! As a master of kirigami, he uses only techniques of folding and cutting paper to create these marvelous pieces. And his creativity is never-ending. 

Check out these photos and his Instagram profile and enjoy his amazing work! 

The post Artist Turns Product Packaging Into Unbelievable Sculptures appeared first on PlayJunkie.

From leopard print patterns to watermelon slices – with their black seeds to make it look more realistic – to cute cartoon characters like Winnie the Pooh, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Sponge Bob, and Keroppi.

She uses only natural colors from spinach puree, cocoa, matcha powder, several kinds of fruits, vegetables, and seeds. Making illustrations out of bread is what gives color to her life which is a never-ending story for her. And, while she sells her pastries around Tokyo, her most loyal customer is her son.

Bready or not, here they come!

The post Slices Of Bread With Adorable Illustrations appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Meet Daikichi and Fuku-Chan – two adventurous cats who have been accompanying their owner Daisuke Nagasawa on his business travels for the last eight years, during which they visited more than 1,000 destinations. He transports the peaceful pair in an adapted stroller that he pulls along or in a customized backpack that fits them both and allows them to fully enjoy the beautiful landscapes. 

Their journey began in 2011, when the 49-year-old CEO of a tech company started traveling more due to his work and his increasing absence from the home didn’t sit really well with the adopted Fuku Chan and Daikichi.

The cats missed their owner so much that they started expressing their frustration through aggressive, attention-seeking pranks, so Nagasawa’s genius solution was to try taking them on his trips. Surprisingly, the cats liked it, and soon enough they became his regular companions across Japan. 

Their awesome adventures have been shared with their thousands of followers on Instagram. Check out their cute pictures below to see the world through feline eyes!

The post These Two Travel-Loving Cats Go Everywhere With Their Owner appeared first on PlayJunkie.

But even though the art of bonsai has been most associated with Japan, it actually originated first around 600 AD in China and then spread eastward, coming to Japan only in the 12^th century. During the Kamakura period in Japan, the nation adopted many Chinese cultural trademarks, among which was this delicate hobby, mainly spread by Japanese Buddhist monks who brought the tiny trees from pilgrimages to China.

The Japanese created a new distinct style by growing single trees instead of creating landscapes, which was the traditional Chinese way. The developed a more refined, naturalistic look which required more grooming, and thought of the trees as a visual representation of their beliefs about the harmony between man and the natural world. By the 14^th century the practice of creating bonsai became less associated with religion and flourished as an independent art form, and today it is a favorite pastime for many passionate bonsai enthusiasts.

Enjoy this gallery of enchanting bonsai art!

The post The Unspoken Beauty Of Bonsai Trees appeared first on PlayJunkie.

While a lot of anime touches upon difficult and complex social, psychological, and philosophical subjects, anime drawings and the art itself has also been gaining a widespread following. Many artists begin by drawing their favorite anime characters, then go onto reinventing them and eventually make up their own characters that they create and mold with pen and paper.

Creativity in anime is only now gaining momentum – artists are using everything from pencil to watercolor to chalk to drawing pads. One inspiring anime artist is taking the craft to a whole new level, with detailed, shaded, carefully drawn anime paintings that add life to well-known and new characters.

That artist is Ilya Kushinov, a Russian native based in Tokyo. On his Instagram, you can see drawings of famous film characters, such as “Kill Bill” assassin Gogo, as well as his own character creations. Ilya also shares videos of his drawing process, which is encouraging for aspiring artists. His art has earned him the place as one of the creators of a film that is coming out soon.

Check it out!

The post This Russian Anime Artist is Taking Over Tokyo appeared first on PlayJunkie.