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Alcohol attendant

Whilst certainly no slouches as far as alcohol consumption goes, the Japanese are a little more cautious than their beer guzzling British counterparts, sensibly dining whilst drinking instead of getting utterly inebriated and then cramming down a kebab or a curry. An approach that has created a whole range of booze-related bites, although due to their rather specific nature they are far too sophisticated to be fobbed off as mere snacks.

Japanese beer snacks

Popular alcohol attendants (or attedants even) being cheese and fish apparently, without any peanuts or a packet of pork scratchings in sight.

Japanese beer snacks

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Tokyo tenacity

The Japanese are legendary when it comes to long hours at the office, plus the practice of subordinates not wanting to leave work before their boss, and the boss himself not wanting to appear a slacker, only adds to the problem. Such stalemates often resulting in no one going home for fear of losing face, with the longest such case rumoured to be 3 months, 2 days and 12 hours — the deadlock only broken when one staff member had to attend a dental appointment.

The fact that there is actually a word for death from overwork (karoshi) perfectly proves the dedication shown to all things work related in Japan, meaning that those who perhaps aren’t so busy or are prone to a holiday now and again are regarded with suspicion. A situation that possibly prompted this shop owner to disguise his weakness for a day off as something altogether different. Namely, having worked so hard for 6 days of the week, he simply has to take a rest on Wednesday. Not that he wants to of course.

Japanese shop

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Japan Unwrapped #4: Naming nonsense

Dear Tokyo Times

I’ve heard that a lot of apartments in Tokyo have English rather than Japanese ‘names’, and that many of them are a little odd. Is it true?

Thanks!

Bob B, Seattle

It is true Bob, although it’s not just restricted to English, as there is a generous sprinkling of French and Spanish names out there too. That said, English monikers are very much in the majority.

Unfortunately — at least as far as truly nonsensical names are concerned — there’s no dearth of ‘dragons’.

Japanese apartment

And certainly no lack of ‘lions’ either.

Japanese apartment

Thankfully though some landlords do have a little more imagination. A love of colour — or indeed fruit — clearly influencing the naming of this brightly coloured abode.

Japanese apartment

Others however are clearly not so sure about what they want, and invariably just end up choosing something at random, regardless of how inappropriate it is.

Japanese apartment

Yet gauging the mindset of the building’s prospective rent payers appears to play a part in the process for many property owners, with this particular dwelling hoping to attract especially laid-back leaseholders.

Japanese apartment

Whilst others actively seek out those with a rather more transparent temperament.

Japanese apartment

An interesting approach that appears to have been taken to a whole new level in the country’s second city. The picture below, taken by the always amusing An Englishman in Osaka, proving that rather than matching the moniker with the inhabitants’ mindset, it can be used to actively try and mess with it.

Japanese apartment

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Big in Japan

Some Japanese claim that they enjoy speaking English as they can be more direct, enabling them to cut through the occasionally cryptic content of a Japanese conversation. An approach that is also adopted by some manufacturers — and especially makers of condoms it seems — in order to create products that clearly state their content and consumer base; the possible addition of an image further reducing the risk of confusion.

Japanese condoms

Presumably the inability to find an animal more suitable than a horse leading the other maker of colossal condoms to simply stick with just English. The size of the text alone a tell-tale sign for the product’s target audience.

Japanese condoms

(click images for even bigger big boys)

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Hurried hoarding?

With millions of people travelling on Tokyo’s trains everyday, the price for real-estate and rental properties inevitably increases the nearer to a station one gets — regardless of how big or busy it is. A system that is presumably the same as far as advertising space is concerned, meaning that the costs at stake make producing a perfect promotional poster a prerequisite.

Tokyo advertising

Which, as well as concerns about the looks and the layout, should probably include at least a little look at the language being used.

Tokyo advertising

Especially if it’s a restaurant — or even a cafeteria — that primarily provides ramen rather than a place popular with police officers.