We all know Japan is the land of all things kawaii, so hopefully this won’t make you squee-vomit before or after lunch. Kyaraben—short for character bento—is a super artsy form of food presentation. This craft goes way beyond Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes, caterpillar sushi, and happy-face oatmeal. It’s almost like making an intricate Lego sculpture or sand castle…and then DESTROYING IT!!! Parents will go to any lengths to get kids to eat nasty vegetables, right? Even I might not notice cabbage or spinach while biting someone’s cute little head off.
PRO TIP: When choosing a box to put your lunch in, make sure to lean towards anything with Engrish on it. To get your own bento box, check out Japanistic.
photo by Sarah Fleming
There’s a lot more to fireworks than a guy standing in a field lighting fuses with a cigarette, and the most impressive of all compete for national and international titles. Here are a few examples from professional competitions, where teams of pyrotechnics go head to head for the best fireworks displays, synced to music. This first video is synchronized to Cowboy Beebop’s theme song, “Tank!”
