Photographs from a small group of islands
In a desperate bid to lure extra visitors during the upcoming Golden Week holidays, the Pacific Yokohama exhibition hall has given its roof a spot of racy renovation, the addition of bikini-clad models aimed at garnering some cheap publicity.
An approach that — as mentioned here before — is shallow at best, requiring no skill or talent whatsoever;
and even less imagination.
A route that thankfully Tokyo Times has never gone down, and something the site will hopefully continue to hold firm on.
Canine clothing is one thing, even dog dye could be deemed acceptable — at a push.
Yet the current pet boom in Japan has resulted in ever more lavish treatment for the nation’s pampered pooches, a prime example being Copin Dog Mediness in Nagoya, a fitness centre that amongst other things has a pool for dogs undergoing rehabilitation — or more extravagantly, an aid to those merely looking to shed a few extra pounds.
And if that wasn’t enough, once fit and svelte, it’s often straight on to the Wanwan Zoo in Okazaki, where for 4,000 yen (20 pound) and upwards, man’s best friend can enjoy the benefits of a beauty clinic; aroma oils and allergenic shampoos making the visit a very pleasant one indeed.
However rumours that an establishment in Tokyo is set to top all of this with a rather more ‘personal’ service would appear to be true.
Saturday saw the opening of Kaiyo Academy in Aichi Prefecture, a boys-only boarding school modeled on Britain’s exclusive Eton College. The elaborate ceremony welcoming around 120 students from all over the country, many of whom will be molded into future leaders of Japan. Or at least that’s the aim.
School principle Takeo Izuyama told the gathered throng, “What is important for one to become a leader is to establish his or her individual identity.” Student representative Taiki Aoyama — a regular fun-loving 12-year-old by all accounts — responding in kind by saying, “We will study Japanese history and culture and will make efforts so that we can play an important role in the global community with confidence and pride.”
Yet whilst the overall curriculum at Kaiyo Academy may differ slightly from that of Eton, several house masters assured parents that rugby is compulsory, as will be the time-honoured public school traditions of group masturbation and buggery.
Customers treating their local convenience store as a library of sorts is far from uncommon, with many spending considerably more than a few minutes leafing through magazines and manga. That said, Ibaraki resident Yasumasa Matsuzaki managed to take such brazen browsing into previously uncharted territory — visiting the same Seven-Eleven store everyday and reading to his heart’s content.
However after an eye-straining 3-hour stint at the magazine rack last Wednesday, the manager of the store finally lost patience with the 70-year-old, telling him to either buy or bugger off. Perhaps predictably Matsuzaki opted for the latter, but his chainsaw-wielding return was somewhat less expected, the rabid reader revving the motor and shouting to the manager, “I’ll cut you to pieces!â€
Thankfully Matsuzaki-san didn’t carry out his threat, instead opting to leave the (still running) chainsaw at the store’s front entrance and go back to his reading; the mystified manager explaining, “He was still reading magazines even after I called police.”
After the culprit was taken away, Seven-Eleven spokesperson Nobuyuki Miyaji explained that customers reading for long periods of time wasn’t unusual, but Matsuzaki was an extreme case. Also adding, “I’ve heard that he wouldn’t leave the store, coming every day and lying on the floor eating food.”
Sustenance purchased in the shop or brought from home in the form of a packed lunch wasn’t disclosed.
“I hate Mickey Mouse. He has nothing like the unique sensibility that Japan has.†Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara speaking at the capital’s recent anime fair .
Briefly turning his bile away from Japan’s Asian neighbours last week, powerful politician and infamous xenophobe Shintaro Ishihara inexplicably opted for a below the belt jab at the United States; his denunciation of a cartoon mouse surely set to destabilise the two country’s close economic and political ties.
However the 73-year-old may not be done with his cartoon character shenanigans, as rumours abound that the grumbling governor is set to further anger French speakers by dismissing Gallic-gadabout Tintin as nothing more than a tufty-haired troublemaker — a character who pales into insignificance when compared to Japan’s own elaborately coiffured superstar, Atom Boy.
Or alternatively he will revert back to form and continue on his quest to insult as many non-Japanese Asians as is humanly possible.