In the true spirit of the season, here are a couple of jolly Christmas hats that say, “Ho, ho, ho, fork over your wallet, buddy!” and “I’m having such a bad hair day that even a pile of chartreuse fake fur with fuzzy pompoms looked better!” • “I don’t know when I’ve been more caught upContinueContinue reading “Christmas Hats from Hell”
Category Archives: WTF Japan?
Congratulations! Your Test Has Been Preponed!
This kanji reads “ganbaru,” which is usually translated as “good luck” but which actually means “try hard.” This explains Japan better than any other example I can think of. We all groaned when the Japanese kanji teacher handed us this week’s schedule: on Friday, in addition to her weekly test on the 25 characters we were supposed toContinueContinue reading “Congratulations! Your Test Has Been Preponed!”
Steaming Hot Orange Soda
For your wintertime beverage enjoyment, behold the Hot Orange. At first I figured the distributor was just getting rid of last summer’s overstock, but the packaging definitely says this vending machine offering is not only meant to be drunk steaming hot, it’ll deliver a dose of vitamin C to fend off those pesky winter colds.ContinueContinue reading “Steaming Hot Orange Soda”
Your One-Stop Shop for Cold Drinks and Heart Defibrillation
I’ve seen AED stations all over Japan (and of course applaud the effort to get emergency equipment into the hands of bystanders so they can help someone having a heart attack) but hmm, this one made me think twice about buying that extra-caffeinated coffee drink… •
Elf/Dwarf Confusion
While we ‘re on the subject of Christmas in November, every year these sinister nodding dwarves appear outside the Meidi-ya supermarket in Hiroo. They’re definitely of the Snow-White-and-the-Seven variety rather than the elvenfolk who slave away helping Santa come across with the Christmas goodies. I learned today in my Japanese class that there’s a wordContinueContinue reading “Elf/Dwarf Confusion”
Colonel Santa
The day after Halloween, I knew it was a bad sign when I heard music in my local supermarket that sounded suspiciously like “The First Noel,” but when I spotted The Colonel duded up in his Santa suit today, Season Creep was confirmed. Without Thanksgiving as a sort of cultural moat between Halloween and Christmas, JapaneseContinueContinue reading “Colonel Santa”
Coffee, Tea, or a Shot of Hot Red Beans?
It’s the season when warm drinks reappear in vending machines all over Japan, offering morning jolts of coffee, black tea, cocoa, green tea and…red bean soup? Yes, it’s time for shiruko, that wintertime favorite made from crushed sweet red beans, thinned so it can be slurped from a can in an alleyway on the wayContinueContinue reading “Coffee, Tea, or a Shot of Hot Red Beans?”
No Rescuing Allowed
Tokyo Metro subway poster at Ichigaya station, Yūrakachō line. This is the first time I’ve seen a Japanese subway poster advising people NOT to follow their noblest instincts. Usually the general public is being admonished to silence their cell phones, put their makeup on at home, crank their earphones down, not pass out on theContinueContinue reading “No Rescuing Allowed”
Mozart-san
Yep, it’s the profusely be-wigged, all-Japanese production of Amadeus. •
Dessert Pizza from Hell
Yes, those ARE marshmallows joining the pumpkin and red bean paste topping, drizzled with black sesame sauce. I’m sure you’re craving an extra large. •
Whale Bacon
The friend I went to the Tsukiji Outer Market with this week told me that when she was growing up in Kyushu, the only kind of bacon they ever had at home was whale bacon. Apparently, it’s always eaten raw, so when she was reading an American book years later and the dialogue was aboutContinueContinue reading “Whale Bacon”
Little Red Riding Colonel
In Akihabara, apparently even Colonel Sanders is into cosplay. This is a somewhat homemade-crafty-looking attempt to draw attention to KFC’s current apple pie promotion. Must check my other favorite life-sized Colonel in Hiroo to see how widespread this little costume is! He always dons a Santa suit in December at the Hiroo branch, but I’veContinueContinue reading “Little Red Riding Colonel”
Only In Japan 