Photographs from a small group of islands
Here’s a picture of Mount Fuji taken from the International Space Station. And for anybody interested, apparently it was taken with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with a 400-mm lens.
Now is it just me, or does it look disturbingly like a nipple that for reasons unknown has been dabbed with a bit of white paint?
I’ve seen lots of driving centres (or whatever they are called) dotted around Tokyo, but this is the first one I’ve come across designed specifically for buses.
I don’t know how long it is before the prospective bus drivers’ venture out onto the real roads, but when they do they’ll be in for a rude awakening after the relative tranquility of the training ground. As you can see by the photograph, there’s a distinct lack of traffic. And perhaps more importantly, it’s totally devoid of middle-aged ladies cycling in random directions, their baskets filled with daily shopping.
I’m afraid to say though that whilst watching the new drivers cautiously make their way around the course, I had an overriding urge to shout, “Get a move on, you could fit a bus through there!†A joke (if indeed you could call it that) they have probably heard far too many times to remember. But the temptation was oh so strong.
Perhaps if I’d said it in English it would have been a bit more original? No, I thought not. Sorry.
The picture below is Kazuhide Uekusa. Renowned economist, regular television commentator, and professor at the prestigious Waseda University.
But on Monday, Mr. Uekusa was arrested for peeping at Tokyo’s Shinagawa station. He wasn’t however just trying to have a crafty peek up a woman’s skirt, or a quick leer at her cleavage. No, the perverted professor was caught on an escalator, trying to look up the skirt of a 15 year old schoolgirl with a small mirror.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. How terribly embarrassing!
There might not be a great deal of space in Tokyo, but nobody could ever accuse the Japanese of not utilizing what little they do have.
I think this little scene I came across today proves it quite nicely.
Quite surprisingly it turns out that dog fighting is still legal in Japan, and although it’s not especially popular, there are still regular fights in some areas, with a national championship every year in Kochi, southwest Japan.
The animals have rankings the same as sumo wrestlers, with the (if you’ll excuse the expression) top dogs gaining the rank of Yokozuna. And judging by the picture below, they have the same kind of ceremonial dress too.
Now whilst fighting between two dogs will never be a civilised affair, they aren’t battles to the death. Four judges watch each bout, and the winner is determined through a mixture of fighting temperament, stamina and injuries inflicted. But it’s probably fair to assume that these injuries have the potential to be pretty severe, as the fighting dogs are a breed called tosa, incorporating the bloodlines of great danes, bull terriers, bulldogs, german pointers, and mastiffs. A heady mix for sure, and one can only imagine the damage they must be capable of.
Not surprisingly, dog fighting doesn’t attract the same kinds of crowds as it used to, and the number of tosa dogs has dropped dramatically — although considering that they cost over 100,000 yen (450 pound) a month in food alone, it’s understandable. Yet ironically it’s not just economic constraints or modern sensibilities that threaten the survival of the breed, and ultimately dog fighting itself.
Small dogs you see are now very much in vogue, and figures from the Japan Kennel Club prove this. In 2003, only 5 Tosa were registered as pedigrees, compared with 73,684 Chihuahuas, and a whopping 171,144 Dachshunds. Meaning that as preposterous a mismatch as it sounds, the mighty tosa looks like being humbled by the dainty dachshund.
