Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

Photography

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More sinister Japanese scarecrows

Opting for a similar approach to last year, and in no way content with merely looking sad or strangely serene, this season’s scarecrows are once again set on being sinister.

Or, at the very least, a tad intimidating.

Japanese scarecrows

The addition of raggedy flags only adding to the effect.

Japanese scarecrows

Although for some, equally ragged fashion,

Japanese scarecrows

along with weather affected features, are probably more than enough.

Japanese scarecrows

And definitely so when it comes to this truly frightening figure.

Japanese scarecrows

A face that does away with sinister and deals only in the demonic.

Japanese scarecrows

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Forlorn bus stop furniture

Many Japanese bus stops offer mostly well past their best benches for waiting passengers to while away some time on. Or, alternatively, nearby residents will dump kindly donate an assorted array of old seats.

Some of which, it has to be said, are considerably more comfortable than others.

Tokyo bus stop

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Tranquil time out #79

Some people play sports, whereas others take pictures of other people, but plenty of Japanese pensioners plainly prefer painting as a pastime.

And, as a way of kicking back and blocking out the more bothersome things in life, it would appear to be pretty much perfect.

painting in Tokyo

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A rehearsal by the river

Regardless of whether the fella below lives in a house or an apartment, it’s perfectly understandable that, no matter what the time, or whatever day it is, his neighbours don’t want to hear even the tiniest of toots from his trumpet.

By the river, on the other hand, he can happily toot away to his heart’s content. Or at least for as long as his dalmatian can deal with it.

Japanese trumpet player

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Japanese right-wing rant

Unfortunately, the Japanese gentleman below believes so strongly that foreigners should never get a vote that he has to bang on about it by the train station — noisily declaring that the granting of such a thing would send Japan into a downward spiral that it would be impossible to recover from. One, presumably, even worse than the cycle that current system has conjured up.

Japanese right-winger

However, even as one of those foreign infiltrators he’s fighting against, I don’t necessarily feel it’s unreasonable to deny non-citizens a national vote. At local level, on the other hand, where city taxes are just the same no matter what one’s nationality, it’s arguably a very different issue indeed.

But, regardless of such points, the fact that there are so few foreigners here (around 1.5 percent of the population according to these figures), and any election choice is invariably between one politician who’s had the role handed down from a relative, or his equally privileged opponent, any perceived bias or actual ability to affect results is surely baseless.

Oh, and just for good measure, he was also keen to point out that my wife, or any other foreigner’s spouse for that matter, should never, under any circumstances, change their surname after marriage. Why? Well, because… because they just shouldn’t, ok?

Still, discriminatory and disruptive diatribe aside, there was something going in his favour, as he did have one person watching him. Just not quite the kind he really cares for that’s all. Which, if not exactly gratitude, did at least garner what would appear to be an ironic grin.

Japanese right-winger