Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

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Marvelous melons

Getting to grips with a pair of big and juicy melons is a thought that consumes many people’s minds, yet few of us, it has to be said, go as far as Kaijo Suzuki for the chance to slaver and slurp on some fleshy fruit.

Smashing the previous record set last year, Suzuki-san paid a staggering 800,000 yen (3,800 pound) at an auction on Wednesday for two famously expensive Yubari melons. The 53-year-old wholesaler drooling, “I wanted to tell my customers that Hokkaido’s tasty season will begin.”

Officials at JA Yubarashi, an agricultural cooperative where the auction took place, promised to keep the media abreast with any further developments.

big melons

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Feline felony?

Clearing out an apartment after a tenant had been evicted, the unfortunate real estate employee assigned to the task stumbled upon rather more than a few bits of discarded underwear and some unwashed dishes — the bodies of 100 or so dead cats.

The woman who was forced out from the second floor apartment in March for not paying her rent is said to have kept stray cats there — presumably of the live variety — but the dead ones were found in plastic bags stored in either drawers or cardboard boxes; although whether the animals died naturally on the premises, were brought in inanimate, or were actually killed there isn’t clear.

The latter is arguably the least likely though, as the financially strapped feline fanatic had lovingly written the cats’ names on each bag.

Which was a nice touch.

I suppose.

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Bear blaster

Confetti throwing may still be popular, but for Japanese brides, the bouquet toss appears to be old hat, with many couples now opting to inexplicably throw a teddy bear instead; a trend that paint company Sunamiya is hoping to exploit, the Ehime Prefecture based firm coming up with a bear blaster of sorts.

bear shooter

The gun-shaped device ingeniously allows blushing brides to effortlessly launch terrified teddy bears high into the air, and so as not to injure unsuspecting guests, the bears are equipped with parachutes, allowing them to gently descend to the presumably awestruck throng below. Such technological advancements making the company confident of success, a spokesperson proclaiming, “We’re hoping to capture the hearts of couples.”

For less romantic newlyweds however, Sunamiya’s criminal catching paintball marker could be more appropriate, a few well aimed shots at interfering relatives or lecherous uncles potentially providing far more entertainment.

paintball

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Panty plunder

Japanese women are often reluctant to live on the ground (first) floor of an apartment building due to the supposed danger of underwear theft. In fact, so often is this alleged threat mentioned, that one can almost imagine huge packs of lingerie lovers roaming the streets in search of unattended underclothes.

Yet as absurd as that sounds, it may not be too far from the truth; however instead of gangs, the perpetrators may be lone individuals blessed with prodigious plundering capabilities — Hideki Aoki being a prime example.

The 50-year-old’s panty pinching prowess came to light on April 11, when he was busted for illegally entering a woman’s apartment in Nagoya; a heist that bagged him an incredible 67 undergarments. Yet such greed worsened his predicament, as the arresting officers decided to investigate Aoki further, and the search of a garage listed as his work place unearthed a staggering 1,700 pieces of underwear. The fruits of his labour lovingly laid out by the police and then photographed for good measure.

stolen underwear

Under questioning, Aoki-san admitted to the allegations, telling the police, “I was responsible for around 250 incidents from 1990.” Later attempting to explain his behaviour — and at the same time providing an unsurpassable punchline — by adding, “I haven’t been able to talk to girls since I was a student, so I became interested in underwear.”

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Butlers and boy love

Tired of their manga and maid loving male counterparts having all the fun, Japan’s growing number of female otaku (geeks) have decided to hit back — the opening of a ‘butler cafe’ graciously getting things going.

swallowtail butler cafe

The Swallowtail coffee house in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district is decked out like an English manor house, with customers subserviently greeted with a “Welcome home, Madam.” A concept that may seem a little odd, but it’s one that appears to have a ready-made audience, Emiko Sakamaki, the woman behind the eatery, explaining, “When I visited a ‘maid cafe’ last year, I thought there should be a cafe with a similar concept for women. And I saw people post some messages on the Internet that they wanted such a butler cafe. I thought the cafe could be accepted.” And accepted it has been, with tables being fully booked until May 12, the management asking customers to make reservations online to guarantee themselves a table.

Swallowtail’s vast majority of visitors it seems are women in their 20s and 30s, with Ayako Abe of K-Books — which runs the cafe and has several shops that sell manga depicting love between beautiful youths — explaining the market for such establishments by saying, “Our shops’ prime target customers are not women in their teens and 20s, but those in their 30s and 40s who got used to ‘boys’ love’ comics while they were young, and come to the stores with their daughters.”

Not that any such ‘boy love’ goes on whilst beverages are being served, with Swallowtail’s handpicked group of 20 ‘butlers’ having spent a month studying about various kinds of tea leaves and how to make a good cuppa. A training program however that may need a few minor adjustments, with visitor Noriko Suzuki commenting, “The butlers looked nervous serving tea and cake, but I liked the ambience of the coffee shop. I felt like I was peeking into the world of girls’ manga comics dealing with butlers.”

A focus on the cafe’s decor and atmosphere that Sakamaki-san believes differentiates the likes of Swallowtail from the decidedly less sophisticated places catering for males. “Men would not mind if maid cafes use cheap tables and pipe chairs as long as the waitresses are pretty”

A comment that may,

maids japan

or may not be true.