Category Archives: WTF Japan?

October 15

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

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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? As you can see, “witch” costumes in Japan are subject to the same considerable creative interpretation that has […]

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December 23

Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2018

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These days, everyone wants “experiences,” not “stuff,” so how about digging into your Santa sack for presents that deliver #youllneverguesswhatwedids that could only come from (where else?)…Japan! This year, give the gift of… 1 …making your own Panda Face sushi and finding out who’s the fastest panda-grabber in the land Level up by slipping in a […]

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November 11

Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?

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  “I just couldn’t put it down…a ‘must read’.” 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 […]

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June 26

Funeral For A…What?

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So, I was walking through the stately Ikegami Hongan-ji temple grounds this spring, and I saw this sign. I guess with the shrinking population and all, the number of regular funerals is going down, so they’re branching out into…pet funerals. Yes, for about $350, you can have a real priest chant real sutras over your […]

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November 06

Most Useless Subway Poster In The History Of Useless Subway Posters

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Yesterday I was walking through Ueno Station, and I spotted this I’ve posted before about silly subway posters that warn against kicking the ticket wicket, pitching a beer in the station attendant’s face and walking while rockabilly, but this one takes the cake for sheer WHAT THE HELL? Because some faceless bureaucrat (yes, this is a […]

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October 30

Hallowrong

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This insidious Halloween snowman’s got a world-class #xmasmissioncreep game going on, but I’m going to choose not to be reminded that the Japanese Christmas glitter bomb is poised to hit us right between the eyes at 12:01 a.m. on November first. Tip o’ the thank you scream mask to my friend Shuri T, for telling me […]

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July 01

When You REALLY Hate Your Neighbors

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Making my way back to Kamakura Station after tossing a  few plates at the Dish-Breaking Shrine, I was walking through a totally normal-looking neighborhood when I chanced upon this. A hedge. But not just any old hedge – isn’t this the freakin’ unfriendliest alt picket fence you’ve ever seen? I mean, it’s all thorns, all the […]

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