Hey, don’t we already have one of these? The god of rice’s building at the Ise Shrine sits next to a vacant lot. Or, actually, a construction site. Because every twenty years, a replica of the rice god’s shrine is lovingly built right next door. In the twentieth year, the god of rice is movedContinueContinue reading “At The Ise Shrine, Everything New Is Old”
Category Archives: Why, Japan, Why?
My Beautiful Handwashed Trash
Check this out. I totally have the cleanest trash in all the land. If I lived in America, (this would be some weird parallel universe America that has the same insane garbage rules as Japan, which require that recyclables be CLEAN before they are put out for collection on the appointed day), I’d have putContinueContinue reading “My Beautiful Handwashed Trash”
What’s With The Tiny Door?
Wow, people were totally troll-size back in the days before homogenized vitamin D milk! Check out the tiny gate in this old wall! No, wait. Then why is there an eensy-weensy gate next to the car entrance at this temple in Daimon? It was built after the war, when hamburgers and milk had already invadedContinueContinue reading “What’s With The Tiny Door?”
Can Foreigners Get Into A Host Club?
In pictures taken at host clubs, customers’ faces are always fuzzed out to protect their privacy. Not everybody wants their grandma or their boss to know just what kind of fun they’re having in their spare time! It’s possible, but it it’s not quite as simple as walking up to the doorman and asking toContinueContinue reading “Can Foreigners Get Into A Host Club?”
Why Do Only Men Get Chocolate On Valentine’s Day?
This picture actually has nothing to do with the strange interpretation of Valentine’s Day in Japan, but doesn’t it look like there’s a big blue heart in the sky over the shrine next to my apartment? So, you know how in Japan, women don’t get any chocolate or roses or 600 carat diamond necklaces onContinueContinue reading “Why Do Only Men Get Chocolate On Valentine’s Day?”
Garbage Police Of The Gods
Don’t even think of tossing your Daruma figures, dolls or stuffed animals in the Divine Trash Bin! The very existence of this sign on the collection point outside the Meiji Shrine suggests there’s a major issue with people chronically flinging the Wrong Sort Of Stuff into the sacred New Year’s bonfires: grubby Pikachus, dolls that haveContinueContinue reading “Garbage Police Of The Gods”
King Of Tattoo Returns!
I knew studying kanji would come in handy someday! The big character on this gentleman’s neck is the one for “nine” and the ones running down the front are Chinese, not Japanese, but the characters are the ones for “fleeting dreams.” I’m quite sure it’s an idiom rather than something that can be easily translated,ContinueContinue reading “King Of Tattoo Returns!”
Is It Headless Character Trash Day Yet?
I spotted the Headless Horseman’s Younger Sister out at the curb last Friday on Recyclable Trash Day among the ho-hum bags of beer cans, plastic water bottles and onesie-twosie hard liquor empties. The Garbage Powers That Be evidently decided that this cranium-challenged miss was made of suspiciously unrecyclable plastic, because she was still standing there whenContinueContinue reading “Is It Headless Character Trash Day Yet?”
The Scene Of The Crime
I get to Shibuya Station a little early to meet a friend, and suddenly I’m so hungry I think I’m going to die. Whipping inside the handy Tokyu store, I buy a miniature bag of chocolate cookies to wolf down before my friend arrives. Nom, nom, whew, ravenous feeling assuaged. Oh no, unanticipated pitfall! NowContinueContinue reading “The Scene Of The Crime”
Tattoo Disguise
From this display at a trendy shop near Nakano Broadway, you’d think there was an epidemic of tennis elbow going around the yanqi-ish young men prone to wearing leopard fur accessories and clothing emblazoned with Our Lady of Rude Kustoms. In fact, this particular demographic tends to have something to hide, especially in summertime. Tattoos. DuringContinueContinue reading “Tattoo Disguise”
So How Come Azaleas Are Chopped Liver?
Cherry blossoms are definitely the favorite child. Back in March, as The Season approached, the newspapers all breathlessly reported the movement of the pink tide from south to north, weather forecasts were read as anxiously as tea leaves in order to plan trips to cherry infested locations at the exact moment of full bloom, andContinueContinue reading “So How Come Azaleas Are Chopped Liver?”
First, Poke A Hole With A Toothpick…
For some mysterious reason, milk cartons and styrofoam food trays are the equivalent of a wandering barge heaped with radioactive byproducts when it comes to curbside collection, and must be carted back to the supermarket for recycling. But don’t think you can just toss them in the bin! Oh no. Milk cartons must be tornContinueContinue reading “First, Poke A Hole With A Toothpick…”
The Garbage Police Strike Again!
Remember how I was stressing about not putting out the five different arcane types of garbage correctly? Well, this is what happens if you screw up! Your trash is shamefully left behind with big colorful notes on it to tell you what you did wrong! The yellow note says that the kind of trash inContinueContinue reading “The Garbage Police Strike Again!”
King Of Tattoo
Taiwanese artist Horian working on a full-body piece. People from all over the world flew in to be worked on by the international artists at the King of Tattoo three-day inkfest in Daikanyama yesterday. I don’t have any tattoos myself, but I’ve always been interested in art that has to adapt to its environment (like,ContinueContinue reading “King Of Tattoo”
Failing at Putting Out The Trash
Tomorrow’s trash challenge, as outlined on my handy garbage guidelines poster. Foreigners are legendary at garbage fail in Japan, but anxiety about Doing Trash Right runs deep here, even among native-born Nihon-jin. In a Japanese soap opera I watched recently, one housewife mercilessly bullies her neighbor by sneaking The Wrong Kind Of Trash into herContinueContinue reading “Failing at Putting Out The Trash”
Only In Japan 