One of the last Japanese Swordsmiths talks about his Dying Craft

Tsunami Survival Pod

The tsunami that hit Japan in March killed 20,000 people, so that nation is now thinking seriously about how to prepare for this type of disaster. A company called Cosmo Power has responded by developing a floating fiberglass pod that people can jump into in a hurry:

Company president Shoji Tanaka says the $3,900 (300,000 yen) capsule can hold four adults, and that it has survived many crash tests. It has a small lookout window and breathing holes on top.

It’s called the Noah, in reference to Noah’s ark. So far, the company has received 500 orders.

Look at how the tsunami overflow turned huge boats into bathtub toys...


And here, a group of people run up the stairway of a building with moments to spare...


It's not clear when, how or by whom this little safety-boat ball could realistically be used, given how fast it all happens in real life. But it's a nice thought.

Japanese Synchronized Gymnastics

Dinner is served!

A restaurant has created a dish, named Odori don - literally meaning dancing squid rice bowl - by adding soy sauce to a fresh squid.

The high salt content in the sauce reacts with ions in cells of the squids' tentacles creating voltage differences, and making the squid move.

To prepare the dish, chefs at Ikkatei Tabiji, in Hakodate, Japan, first remove the head of the squid before serving the body, with tentacles intact, over a bowl of sushi rice.

Seasoned soy sauce is then poured over it.

As the squid is served so fresh, when the sauce is added signals across nerve cell membranes are re-activated temporarily, making it 'come back to life'

UPDATE: This video is even more intense, and shows how the squid is dismembered alive on the chopping board before going onto the plate and literally jumping off of it when the soya sauce is applied. MMMMMMmmmmm dawggy.