Category Archives: Just another day in Japan

Meaningless Wastebaskets of Japan

How do you say, “Don’t even think of stuffing your snack wrappers and pet bottle empties into your room’s trash can”? With the world’s tiniest wastebasket, of course! Seriously, this waste receptacle technically checked the “wastebasket” box at a ryōkan I recently stayed at, but was barely big enough for a single used Kleenex. •

Cosplay Barbie, expert level

“Mommy, when I grow up, can I be a Furry?” If you needed further proof that anything Ken can do, Barbie can do better, look no further than the toy aisle of Yodobashi Camera! Not only can Barbie legit attend cosplay conventions without showing her face, she’s got a choice of bunny, puppy or pandaContinueContinue reading “Cosplay Barbie, expert level”

Runway of the saints

The hundreds of Jizo figures at Zojo-ji temple always turn heads… but some just have that extra fashion flare! Whether the Jizo-san’s family gives a tongue-in-cheek nod to the traditional red cap and bib… mixes it up with new colors and handmade style… accessorizes with all the latest trends in Jizo fashion… dresses their Jizo-sanContinueContinue reading “Runway of the saints”

Be a model in Japan, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

Just think! Your face will be in every Family Mart in Japan! When your modeling agency tells you they’re sending you to Japan to be the face of a famous international brand, you probably weren’t envisioning this. But cheer up. You’re in good company. They make their own pop stars pose in headgear that’s equallyContinueContinue reading “Be a model in Japan, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.”

Pay your respects like you’re living in 2050

Q: How do you pay your respects to the ancestors without burning down the house? A: Plug in a stick of electronic incense, of course! The fear of fire still runs strong in Japan, because within living memory, everyone still lived in houses built of wood and paper. Incense burning before the ancestral name tabletsContinueContinue reading “Pay your respects like you’re living in 2050”

The train station with a foot bath!

The minute you get off the train at Kamisuwa Station in Nagano, you know there’s something a little different about it… and then you see the sign! Yes, there’s a free hot spring foot bath for weary travelers, and all you have to do is take off your shoes and wait for a seat! https://youtu.be/tVTKx2GLiPAContinueContinue reading “The train station with a foot bath!”

Frankenthirst

Obviously, the best way to boost the careers of boy band idols who are now stretching the definition of “boy” is to cast them in a stage production of…Frankenstein? Move over Rocky Horror—there’s a new monster on the block! • If you love strange Japanese stuff you’d never see anywhere else…

The most outrageous car show in Japan is back!

Tokyo Auto Salon: The latest, greatest car mods for 2025 This year’s show lacked some of my favorite kitchy offerings of years past, but if you’re a dude whose burning desire is to turn his car into a babe-magnet, Tokyo Auto Salon is the show for you. Manly, eye-popping paint job? Check. The latest inContinueContinue reading “The most outrageous car show in Japan is back!”

Roppongi Art Night: Banana peels, bondage & bubbles

Strange sights are a dime a dozen on the streets of Roppongi at night, but this is the first time I’ve encountered a giant inflatable banana skin. “Slapstick” by Shinji Mitsuzuka Welcome to the 2024 version of Roppongi Art Night, which was smaller than in years past, but featured some choice pieces that were worthContinueContinue reading “Roppongi Art Night: Banana peels, bondage & bubbles”

What all the cool skateboards are wearing this season

If your skateboard hates going around naked in public, in Japan you can buy it a nice outfit to preserve its modesty! Actually, it’s pretty common in Japan to put bespoke covers on belongings that might scratch or dirty the train on your way to having fun. I’ve also spotted basketball covers… and skins toContinueContinue reading “What all the cool skateboards are wearing this season”

Wingtips, with a mullet

Business in the front, beach party in the back! Summer in Japan is so hot and steamy that any hack that still looks office-worthy while cutting down on the unbearable sweatiness is fair game. • If you love to laugh at strange Japanese stuff you’d never see anywhere else…

The name is Bond. Jane Bond.

In this all-female, all-Japanese version of Casino Royale, everybody gets the girl. Nobody can accuse Takurazuka of pulling punches when it comes to portraying everyone’s favorite clandestine operative, and this Bond has more than Q’s gadgets up her sleeve. The eyelashes alone could slay at forty paces. • If you could use more surprising entertainmentContinueContinue reading “The name is Bond. Jane Bond.”

Required gear for Japanese snowboard school

Yes, you get a butt pillow. And because it’s Japan, it’s a cute one! (As you can see, one future shredder has already put it to good use…) • If you could use a little more amusement in your life… •

Japan’s funniest Mundane Halloween costumes 2021!

https://twitter.com/knskk817/status/1454197638010601473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1454197638010601473%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsoranews24.com%2F2021%2F10%2F31%2Fcostumes-from-everyday-life-on-parade-once-more-in-jimi-halloween-2021%2F In Japan, “Jimi Halloween” costumes celebrate everything that nobody wants to be for Halloween because they are just too mundane and boring, like this guy from @dailyportalz Twitter feed, who’s dressed up as “a guy tagged on social media” This year, pandemic-emergency bar, restaurant and movie theater lock-downs and working from home all cameContinueContinue reading “Japan’s funniest Mundane Halloween costumes 2021!”

Tokyo’s best-dressed nude statue: It’s that Santa time of year

Tokyo’s best-dressed nude statue changes into the jolly old elf for the month of December, but sometimes his costumers get a bit…creative. When they started in the year 2000, the first few years were pretty tame… Then someone gave him a pet reindeer Which ushered in a period of hog-wild experimentation… that provoked some sortContinueContinue reading “Tokyo’s best-dressed nude statue: It’s that Santa time of year”

Subway manners meet covid—with a side of prejudice—in these new posters

Subway manners posters have admonished commuters not to whack fellow commuters onto the tracks with their rockabilly hair, avoid grabbing the station employees by their neckties, and stop dying from overwork, but this is the first time they’ve taken on rudeness in time of pandemic. Dashing onto a car just as the doors close andContinueContinue reading “Subway manners meet covid—with a side of prejudice—in these new posters”

Entertainingly altered missionary signs elevate cats to their rightful place

Twitter user Derek Wessman is a genius to have spotted (and appropriately translated) these brilliantly vandalized Japanese missionary signs that change the word “god” into the word “cat” by removing a few small strokes. “The kingdom of Cat is close at hand” The character for “god”（神）appeared on the original signs, but the world’s most meticulousContinueContinue reading “Entertainingly altered missionary signs elevate cats to their rightful place”

Hilarious haiku ask those burning questions about modern life

The talented artist known as y_haiku on Twitter and Instagram does it again! Why is it that… Movie hackersalways commit their crimesin dark rooms? • Why is it that… I don’t need that discarded manualuntil it’s timeto find the right charger? • Why is it that… I can never make it looklike I remembered toContinueContinue reading “Hilarious haiku ask those burning questions about modern life”

How To Measure Social Distance, J-Style

Those of us who’ve been under quarantine for a month have stood in enough lines by now that we’ve probably got a pretty good eye for the “six foot” (two meter) guideline, but in crowded Japan, not so much. So they’ve plastered the subways with posters giving hilariously helpful hints for judging how close notContinueContinue reading “How To Measure Social Distance, J-Style”

More Haiku Musings On The Ironies Of Modern Life

Elderly uncle buying sake. Do I really have to Check his ID? • This odd store. I’ve never seen a customer here, Yet, it survives. • The forecast changes To match the weather. Sneaky. • Why was my prayer So much shorter? I’m embarrassed. • That gangster Would be more frightening Without the child seats.ContinueContinue reading “More Haiku Musings On The Ironies Of Modern Life”

The One Word Saint

As the old year draws to a close (and we say good riddance to all that was disappointing and discouraging), and a new year is about to begin (along with the ever-springing hope that it will be better than the last), I find myself thinking about this odd little booth that sits in a quietContinueContinue reading “The One Word Saint”

The Shrine Maiden Vending Machine

Are ya feelin’ lucky? Because this vending machine dispenses fortunes, just like the ones you can buy at Japanese shrines! But that’s not all – it’s delivered by a little animatronic shrine maiden, who fetches if from the inner precincts and deposits it in the offering box for your future-divining pleasure. Color-changing lights flash andContinueContinue reading “The Shrine Maiden Vending Machine”

This Year’s Burning October Question: What’s The Peeing Statue Wearing For Halloween?

I had to go check to make sure that the best-dressed nude statue in Tokyo made it through the typhoon safely. And he did! Not only that, he already knows what he’s going to be for Halloween. But…huh? Retro-70s disco witch? As you can see, “witch” costumes in Japan are subject to the same considerable creativeContinueContinue reading “This Year’s Burning October Question: What’s The Peeing Statue Wearing For Halloween?”

Typhoon Aftermath

That’s how high the Tama River was yesterday, near Futako-Tamagawa Station Today when I woke up, it was hot and sunny. It didn’t seem possible that twelve hours ago, the biggest typhoon in sixty years was raging through Tokyo. So I went out to take a look at one of the places that had beenContinueContinue reading “Typhoon Aftermath”

In Which We Report On Being Hammered By Typhoon Hagibis In Tokyo

This is from the most awesome weather watch site on the net, windy.com. That’s Typhoon Hagibis (am I the only one who keeps wanting to call it Typhoon Haggis?) approaching Tokyo with a vengeance FRIDAY Pre-typhoon festivities: At Meidi-ya (the swanky “Japanese” supermarket): Lines fifteen deep with bulging baskets as every Japanese person in myContinueContinue reading “In Which We Report On Being Hammered By Typhoon Hagibis In Tokyo”

Rice Field Art

In what has to be the weirdest creative medium next to the Seed Art Pavilion at the Minnesosta State Fair, Japanese farmers have taken to making large-scale art by planting some of their fields in different strains of rice. The only problem is, in order to even see what the picture is of, you haveContinueContinue reading “Rice Field Art”

Viva la Revolućion…Diva Style

I’ve got to hand it to the fearless players of Takurazuka – they might be the only women in the world who regularly get up on stage and play the parts of men with iconic beards and legendary moustaches. Their current musical production features everyone’s favorite Cuban revolotionary, who rocks the glam eye makeup aContinueContinue reading “Viva la Revolućion…Diva Style”

How Superheros Find Their Perfect Match

I had to laugh when I saw these ads on the subway for the Partner Agent dating service. It features famous manga characters who ordinarily would never meet because they occupy totally different Japanese comic book series. She’s a villain named Doronjo, known for being smart, take-charge, and vain. He’s an renegade medical mercenary, whoContinueContinue reading “How Superheros Find Their Perfect Match”

Subway Manners…For Ghosts

In case you aren’t familiar with the traditional Japanese bugaboos in the above illustration, the umbrella monster is known to spread terror (or at least disgust) by sneaking up on people and licking them with its oily tongue, and the long-necked woman’s head is able to roam about freely on its own, biting small animalsContinueContinue reading “Subway Manners…For Ghosts”

The Scourge Of The Orange Jacket

Okay, I know you think I’m a whiner because I went off on this guy wearing an orange jacket, sitting right in the middle of a shot I wanted to take during cherry blossom season at Shinjuku Gyōen. I mean, one guy, minding his own business—so what if his head’s inside his phone instead ofContinueContinue reading “The Scourge Of The Orange Jacket”

Dogs In Kimonos: Shiba Edition!

The only thing in all of Japan that might be cuter than huskies in kimonos is a parade of shiba inus in kimono. Shibas are well-known for making like the Petrified Forest and refusing to budge until even the tiniest hint of humiliating costumery is removed, but the noble beasts I caught making their first shrineContinueContinue reading “Dogs In Kimonos: Shiba Edition!”

How To Survive New Year’s In Japan

Seriously. The fear is real. New Year’s is one of those times in Japan when it’s a real liability to be thousands of miles away from people who might loan you embarrassing essentials or feed you in a pinch, because everything – and I do mean everything – shuts down from December 31 to JanuaryContinueContinue reading “How To Survive New Year’s In Japan”

Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?

Okay, what do you think THIS floral designer got in trouble for drawing in the margins of his schoolbooks…? If I’d come in through this portal, I might never have made it to the annual Shinjuku National Garden chrysanthemum displays, because I’d have died laughing, so it’s a good thing I entered from the otherContinueContinue reading “Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?”

Remote Control Hell At The Traditional Inn

On Tuesday I arrived at a fabulous onsen in Tateshima, expecting to simmer in their hot spring, gaze at splendid autumn leaves in luxurious quietude, and stuff myself with regional specialties, but when I got to my room I found…this. I mean, what the heckin’ heck? Five remotes to control a tatami-floored room at aContinueContinue reading “Remote Control Hell At The Traditional Inn”

Things I Never Envisioned Myself Owning

#japangoals #shutup Yes, it’s exactly what it looks like. A fuzzy green polka-dot toilet seat cover. Because Japan delivers a whole new level of hurt to the concept of freezing your butt off: the fact that I actually went out and bought this is a testament to the truth that no toilet seat is asContinueContinue reading “Things I Never Envisioned Myself Owning”

More Hilarious Haiku About The Small Mysteries Of Modern Life

I know you’ve just been WAITING for more amusing observations and subtly ironic drawings about modern life from Yamada Zenjido (the artist who goes by y_haiku), so for those of you who (like me) are not exactly goddess-like at reading handwritten Japanese, here are a few choice ones in translation! May it perk up yourContinueContinue reading “More Hilarious Haiku About The Small Mysteries Of Modern Life”

Are Ya Feelin’ Lucky?

Ah, New Year’s, when everyone in Japan visits their local kami-sama for the first time and gets a glimpse of their fortune for the coming year! But if you’re geographically challenged, and visiting your closest shrine would involve a butt-numbing plane flight, here are some dai-kichi (best luck ever) fortunes you can toss into aContinueContinue reading “Are Ya Feelin’ Lucky?”

Instabae

That’s what you call this in Japan. It’s an experience that looks way better shared on social media than in real life. But I gotta say, Japan is genius at it. Even this unfiltered photo looks more like the “Candles & Amber” promised by the publicity than the real life lights. The Roppongi Hills illuminationsContinueContinue reading “Instabae”

Poppins-san

In the land where nannies are nearly as scarce as chimney sweeps, this all-Japanese celebration of bygone British privilege is about to hit the stage. It’s too bad they don’t adapt these things for the local audience the same way they “improve” pizza, because I would pay good money to hear someone sing such hitsContinueContinue reading “Poppins-san”

Modern Day Tweets From The Pillow Book

If Sei Shonagōn were alive and well and living in Tokyo… • @seishonagon A latecomer pushes in front of you at a festival and holds up his huge iPad to take pictures #hatefulthings @seishonagon Someone wearing a bright orange jacket is standing around texting on his phone, smack in the middle of a famous cherryContinueContinue reading “Modern Day Tweets From The Pillow Book”

Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!

Who can say they never clutched the fence at their local zoo’s lemur exhibit and didn’t long to sneak over the top just for a few minutes (or, okay, in my case, A FEW HOURS) to cavort with those frisky, big-eyed, long-tailed cuties? Admit it – you’ve always secretly wanted to, haven’t you? Well, nowContinueContinue reading “Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!”

Giant Gundam Is BACK!

The Giant Gundam is back! And I’m happy to report that Gundam 2.0 is bigger, badder and even more entertaining than Gundam 1.0. At 65 feet of evil-fighting robo-goodness, not only does it light up like a boss, this one moves! From the back you can see its badass glowing jetpack And because this oneContinueContinue reading “Giant Gundam Is BACK!”

The Secret Innards Of The Catbus And Other Shocking Revelations

It’s not often that I walk through an art show where each piece is more surprising and delightful than the last, but Jason Freeny’s “Plastic Surgeon” exhibit at the Megumi Ogita Gallery really pushed my amusement meter into the red zone! You’ll think twice before biting off the head of your next chocolate easter bunny,ContinueContinue reading “The Secret Innards Of The Catbus And Other Shocking Revelations”

Hilarious Haiku About The Small Embarrassments Of Modern Life

Last week I discovered Yamada Zenjido, an artist who pens haiku-like truisms paired with pitch-perfect drawings, and they are SO FUNNY…if you can read handwritten Japanese, that is. Fortunately, I have a friend who helped me with the more opaque characters (and because no good deed goes unpunished, will be pestered to do so maybeContinueContinue reading “Hilarious Haiku About The Small Embarrassments Of Modern Life”

Why Are Tattoos Still Taboo In Japan? (Spoiler: It’s not because they think you’re a gangster)

Taiwanese artist Horian working on a full-body piece at the (now sadly defunct) King of Tattoo event in Tokyo. The guy in the chair is getting his final sleeve done, in a style which resembles traditional yakuza ink. It’s not news that you can get kicked out of hot springs, public swimming pools, and waterContinueContinue reading “Why Are Tattoos Still Taboo In Japan? (Spoiler: It’s not because they think you’re a gangster)”