Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

Travel

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K for Kyoto

Ah, Kyoto. The cultural heart of Japan. A city full of temples, the rarified atmosphere of Gion, and the home of the geisha.

Or at least that is what we are led to believe. Not that I’m saying it isn’t true, but it’s also a bustling city, and perhaps what people expect and what they get to see are two very different things. To a certain extent that was the case for me anyway.

But there are some quiet spots, and during my visit I fortuitously found myself in the right spot at the right time. Perfectly positioned to see an immaculately turned out and stunningly beautiful Maiko walk past me and then continue along the street. Presumably heading to her first appointment of the night.

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G for groping

It would seem that whist some people list sport, reading, or music as a hobby, a certain section of Japanese society could quite legitimately list groping as theirs. Or if not as a hobby, at least as a pastime.

Reports of gropers abound, with the majority of perpetrators preferring the nation’s packed trains to practice their art form. But whilst most gropers see it as a purely solitary pastime, others have actually gone as far as creating a club in order to share their stories and learn new techniques.

Thankfully women are beginning to fight back, but certain train companies have resorted to having ‘women only carriages’ in a desperate bid to reduce the problem. But with a steady stream of groping stories appearing in the newspaper, the battle is far from over.

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Groping heaven?

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Governmental groper

Teru Takagi, a 40-year-old government worker, has joined the growing ranks of public servants arrested for sexual deviancy. Or to use the technical jargon, for violation of a prefectural ordinance that forbids people from creating a public nuisance.

Mr. Takagi was traveling to work on a busy train, when for reasons known only to himself, he began groping the thighs of a young woman stood next to him. Rather surprisingly the woman put up with this for a few minutes, but presumably as Takagi-san showed no signs of stopping, she asked him to get off the train at the next stop.

Why Takagi agreed to this is a mystery. Unless of course he mistakenly thought that the woman was enjoying having her thighs rubbed, and wanted to continue the sordid business in a rather less crowded environment. But whatever the reason, get off the train he did, and at that point found that he was the one getting grabbed, as his victim held him by his tie and alerted a station official.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ Regional Agricultural Administration Office where Mr. Takagi works wouldn’t offer a comment until all the details were confirmed. But if the whole Incident wasn’t embarrassing enough, the area covered by this department is the appropriately named Kinki region.

Oh how I’ve longed for such a story from this unfortunately titled area!

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Celebrity star trek

The U.S. based Space Adventures Ltd., which in the past has successfully sent non-professional astronauts into space, recently teamed up with Dentsu Inc. to help send a Japanese celebrity into orbit.

Space Adventures Ltd. had already concluded a deal with Russia’s space agency to send four non-professional astronauts to the International Space Station, but has now come to an agreement with Dentsu Inc. to allow one of them to be a Japanese national. The Japanese company seems delighted with the opportunity, and a spokesman was quoted as saying, “Traveling in space is everybody’s dream. We’ve decided to participate in the project to help make the dream come true.”

Who the lucky person will be has yet to be decided, but it has been confirmed that they will be a prominent public figure, as the cost of the deal will be offset by corporate sponsorship deals and advertisements. Rumours have already begun circulating as to who the person will be, with one unnamed (and frankly unreliable) source claiming it to be a two horse race. The favourite being model, actress, and K-1 fan Norika Fujiwara.

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Whilst apparently others are touting naturalized citizen and ex-sumo wrestler Konishiki as the first choice.

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My money is on the big man.

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Mildly amusing English usage #2

It’s not unusual to see products or services with English names in Japan. Some of them are quite sensible, whilst others it has to be said are positively absurd. Plus there are also one or two of them that end up in the unfortunate category. The Seibu Railway’s super express train sadly falls into the latter group.

The name itself isn’t all that bad, as it’s the New Red Arrow. It even makes sense. The train is fast, so the arrow reference is certainly valid. The carriages are modern, so the new description rings true. And colour wise it’s, ahem, black and grey. But hey, lets not get picky, two out of three isn’t bad.

So up to now all is well and good, but on the train the name is shortened to just NRA.

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Now how much truth there is in this I don’t know, as I’ve never been on the NRA. But rumour has it that the seats are equipped with gun holsters, and on the odd occasion Charlton Heston turns up as a guest driver. Although it has been said that some passengers have raised concerns about Mr.Heston’s rather elaborate train driving uniform.

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Thou shalt be on time!