Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

Odd

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Fiery female

When it comes to a lack of ideas or a shortage of stories, some sorry site owners resort to posting pictures of sexy sirens in swimsuits, pathetically passing them off as relevant to a story, or even as ironic. However a blogger from Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, adopted a rather more drastic method to address her lack of interesting material; the 20-year-old setting fire to random buildings and automobiles in her local neighbourhood.

Arrested over the weekend for torching a car in a dealer’s parking lot, Erika Hirata confessed to the crime, bluntly declaring, “It’s true that I started the fire.” Her capture has also made Hirata-san chief suspect for the 20 or so unexplained fires that have occurred in Suwa since April this year, with the young woman possessing photos of 2 of the blazes under investigation.

Yet despite going to so much trouble to get something interesting to post on her blog, Hirata has hardly been imaginative with the material. The fire she was arrested for produced only 2 short sentences. “There has been a fire in Shimosuwa. It burned two cars” Similarly, another fire she quite possibly started at her old school was dealt with very briefly indeed. “I was shocked because it was the school I graduated from.”

What kind of sentence she will receive is unclear, but it has been reported that Hirata wanted to become an entertainer after leaving school. Her dream of gracing the pages of fashion magazines like Erika Sato,

erika sato

or developing a long and illustrious career like Norika Fujiwara,

norika fujiwara

appear to have been dashed.

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Cabbages and confession

With husbands doing next to nothing around the house, and making even less effort in the bedroom, things aren’t looking especially rosy in the relationship realm. But whilst this may paint a decidedly grim picture of marriage in Japan, and an even worse one of the nation’s menfolk, it’s not all doom and gloom — at least not if you visit the village of Tsumagoi in Gunma Prefecture; a spot where a 4th Century emperor is said to have unashamedly sobbed following the death of his wife who had sacrificed her life for his worthy well-being.

Whilst now more famous for its cabbages than monarchial mourning, the name of the village translates as ‘wife love’, making it the perfect spot for members of the Nihon Aisaika Kyokai — or the Japan Wife Lovers Association. As come September 9th, the gang of mostly middle-aged men will stand amongst the cabbages of Tsumagoi and shout about the love they feel for their wives.

no cabbages

Chief shouter and head of the group, Kiyotaka Yamada, explained his shameless bouts of bawling by saying, “I just wanted to tell as many people as possible about what a wonderful marriage I was enjoying. I wanted to be able to give courage to men who want to thank their wives but are too embarrassed to do so.” A laudable theme it has to be said, and one he wants to develop beyond the confines of his organisation by the introduction of ‘Love Your Wife Day’ on January 31st — a bold (and some would say overly ambitious) venture that urges salary men the length and breadth of the country to briefly cast off the shackles of their company. “We want people to go home from work early on that day at least and say ‘Thank you’ to their wives.”

Yamada-san hopes that these initially small steps will eventually lead to not only better relations, but also a better image of Japan throughout the rest of the world. “Overseas, Japan tends to be seen as a chauvinistic country. We want to improve the image of Japanese men overall by carrying out public displays of affection for our wives. For Baby Boomers such as myself, saying that you love your wife is akin to admitting that you’re totally hen-pecked. But, I’d really like to see as many guys as possible head up here on September 9th and shout their lungs out no matter how much of a fool they feel.”

Turn-out is expected to be low.

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Lacy latex

The popularity of silicone sex dolls appears to know no bounds, with rental services, mannequin staffed ‘motels’ and a magazine devoted to the subject adequately catering for the vast majority of lusty latex lovers. Yet for those wanting to combine a predilection for both plastic partners and pantyhose, support has been scant to say the least, with furtive fittings and surreptitious shopping trips the only form of release.

Not any more though, thanks to the dubious delights of ‘LoveDoll’s Pantyhose’, a website offering all manner of lacy latex loveliness, including this rather startled looking creation.

silicone doll
click for a pantyhose peek

And these two racy replicas, offering endless possibilities — apparently.

endless love
more ogling opportunities

However none of them can hold a torch to this bewitching beauty in blue.

silicone sizzler

For similarly sizzling shots, the website can be found here, although it goes without saying that it might not be entirely suitable during office hours.

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Sharp shoes

Presumably not completely happy with his off-the-shelf shoes, Seitaro Kasai decided to give them something of a personal touch; however rather than simply choosing some lavishly coloured laces, the 31-year-old inexplicably opted to add several nails to his footwear — each one sticking out a millimetre or two from the toe area.

With his wearable weapons complete, Kasai then went in search of a victim, and after choosing a 28-year-old woman in front of Tokyo’s busy Shibuya Station, he set about kicking her repeatedly in the calf muscles. Yet despite suffering injuries, the unnamed lady was strong enough to drag the deranged Kasai into a nearby police box, where he was promptly arrested.

Officers later seized two more pairs of similarly modified shoes from Kasai’s home, and under questioning the accused explained his victim was chosen due to a strong desire to “injure the legs of a woman with a good figure.”

Categorized: Odd

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Cosplay confessional

The music started, the chapel doors opened, and there was no turning back — not now. Then, seemingly as one, the guests turned towards the opened doors, and with a last deep breath I set off down the aisle, guiding my shaking legs tentatively towards the platform ahead.

wedding chapel

Rather worryingly there appeared to be a lot more people present than anticipated, but I squeezed out a nervous smile and the odd polite nod. Then, checking that the groom was close behind, it was up on to the platform and behind the podium, tightly clasping my bible and ceremony notes. Yes, I was performing my first ‘Christian’ wedding ceremony, and with somewhere in the region of 100 Japanese guests looking on expectantly, I was nervous to say the least.

But why be nervous? If nothing else I looked the part in my newly acquired robe — complete with a rather natty stole and embroidered crosses.

robe

And if that wasn’t enough, surely my 3 hours or so of ‘training’ and the resultant certificate would get me through the proceedings. I was now authorized for goodness sake.

priestly permit

In both English and Japanese.

priestly permit part 2

The trusty robe manufacturers certainly thought so anyway, as I wasn’t plain old Mr Lee Chapman anymore. No, not by a long shot. I was going up in the world, perhaps quite literally.

priestly promotion

Such a rapid rise leading me to believe that I’d be a bishop before I knew it. Or at least I would have been if I hadn’t opted for early retirement — it being a lot of Sunday work and all that.