Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

Odd

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The customer isn’t always right

Like the British, the Japanese aren’t overly fond of complaining about service or food in restaurants. And to hear somebody do so is unusual to say the least. But perhaps there’s good reason for such reticence, as last week police arrested a restaurant owner for killing a complaining customer.

How bad the service is (or was) at 26-year-old Katsuhisa Ukon’s gyudon restaurant remains undocumented, but one customer felt the need to persistently make complaints. Even resorting to calling the restaurant to voice his displeasure.

Unfortunately this irked Ukon so much that he asked a friend for an alibi, and then arming himself with a knife and donning gloves, he went round to the complaining customer’s apartment and killed him.

Complainers beware…

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Accessory assault

We all have our pet hates, but a 68-year-old resident of Osaka’s complete disdain for earrings ended in his arrest last week.

Finding himself drunk and in the vicinity of two teenage girls having the audacity to wear earrings, the man took it upon himself to teach them a lesson or two. And promptly proceeded to give them a few kicks, plus some further blows to the head for good measure.

The youngsters had little warning of the impending violence, as apart from a pre-attack question of “What do you think you are wearing in your ears?” the man gave little or no indication regarding his absolute hatred of earlobe attachments.

Fortunately a slightly older girl with the two victims (who was presumably not wearing anything in her ears) phoned the police. Resulting in the immediate arrest of the deranged drunk.

During questioning, the man admitted to the attack, and attempted to defend his behaviour by saying, “I was intending to reprimand them about their clothes and so on.”

Now what the girls were wearing, and what kind of earrings they were sporting wasn’t disclosed, but even monstrosities like these wouldn’t warrant a full-scale assault.

earrings

Would they?

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The excrement express

Waiting for a train last night at the notoriously busy Shinjuku Station, my friend and I were surprised to see our train pull in with the carriage nearest to us practically empty. Considering the rest of the train was as horribly packed as usual, we predicted foul play. The most likely offender being the contents of a drunken salary man’s stomach.

But our surprise at seeing a near deserted carriage paled into insignificance to the feelings we had when the doors finally opened. As there for everyone on the platform to gaze in wonder at, was a train car floor festoon with faeces.

Whilst I didn’t go nearer for a closer inspection, there was no doubting the substance was bodily waste. And the expressions of the few hardy commuters actually traveling in the same compartment said it all. One man was even pinching the end of his nose in a desperate attempt to block out the presumably overpowering smell.

What on earth happened remains a mystery. But whatever transpired, the train must have been packed at the time. Which it goes without saying must have been unpleasant (to say the least) for all concerned.

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Tire terror

As the amount of books on the subject testifies, there are numerous ways of dealing with and countering stress. Some people exercise, others watch films, and many simply soak themselves in alcohol.

However 54-year-old Osami Arikawa found a somewhat unconventional approach to his stress problem. For over 2 ½ years he went on a car tire slashing spree. Taking out his tension on an impressive 7,600 vehicles.

Unfortunately for Arikawa-san, his stress busting technique may cost him dearly, as prosecutors are proposing a 12-month sentence. One lawyer said that Arikawa, “gleefully and brazenly committed these crimes. If the damage he caused to each vehicle targeted is calculated at 10,000 yen (51 pound), the cost of his crimes comes to 76 million yen (393,800 Pound).”

Mr. Arikawa has pleaded guilty to the charges, and confessed he did it to “overcome the stress I was feeling because my family were pressuring me for being unemployed.” Yet it would seem that he couldn’t have done otherwise, as a raid on his home unearthed a set of notes so detailed that it gave the dates, times, number of cars attacked, and even the weather conditions.

It was this attention to detail that eventually led to Arikawa’s downfall. A supermarket shopper who found the tires on his car punctured, spotted a suspicious looking man taking notes in the car park. This description eventually leading to the stressed yet diligent Arikawa’s arrest.

tires.jpg
Better than a room full of bubble wrap?

Categorized: Odd

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Non-compulsive cleaners

A few years ago I saw a TV programme about people who were incapable of throwing things away. And I don’t just mean stuff like old clothes, magazines, electrical stuff etc. No, I mean everything. Whether it’s an old pizza box, an empty can, or the remnants of last night’s dinner, some people it seems are simply incapable of discarding rubbish.

The show in question treated those afflicted with a mixture of sympathy and sensation. And admittedly the apartments they visited were both disgusting and fascinating at the same time. It’s difficult to explain, but literally tiny passageways had been carved out amongst the huge mass of rubbish and unused items. Likewise, little clearings were created for sleeping and eating. I dread to think what those abodes smelled like, and as a place to live they looked absolutely vile. Not to mention uncomfortable.

Now whilst not exactly Mr. Tidy, I’ve been to some houses that I would class (and I’m being kind here) as something of a mess. But compared to those homes shown on the TV, their owners could almost be described as sufferers of a compulsive cleaning disorder.

So is there a point to any of this? Well yes. Sort of. Out and about the other day I came across a house that reminded me of the aforementioned TV programme. The neighbourhood it’s situated in has an area for leaving the daily/weekly garbage literally just around the corner, but the front garden looks like this.

unclean.jpg

What it’s like inside is anybody’s guess, but as appalling as it probably is, for reasons unknown I’d like to have a quick look around.

I think.