Photographs from a small group of islands
It could well be because of a lifetime of having to squat when squeezing one out, although thankfully that’s mostly avoidable now due to the welcome abundance of western bogs. Or there again, maybe squatting is as compulsory as kanji in education.
But either way, the ability to ‘sit’ in that position for a prolonged period of time without protesting in pain or unceremoniously seizing up is simply amazing.
Continuing what has become a really rather enjoyable routine, I shall once again be leaving Japan for the summer, returning home for five weeks to a land where the national football team is now worse than the nation’s infamous teeth.
However, that’s not to say that whilst I’m away Tokyo Times will stagnate like my country’s national sport, as the site will continue to be updated — just at a slightly slower pace that’s all; the current five posts a week being reduced to a much more manageable three.
And to be sure there is new content to see, subscribing to the Tokyo Times RSS feed could well be the way to go, although if such a system doesn’t suit you, the updates will more than likely be on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
So, with that said, and my suitcase all packed, it’s just a case of hoping that little Abbey will get me to the airport before my aeroplane leaves.
Or even comes back again.
A mere mannequin it may be, but there’s something amazingly melancholy.
Downright depressing even.
About this strangely unsettling scarecrow silently going about his business in solitude.
On a long weekend when it’s absolutely boiling, a bask on the baking concrete and even the baring of bottoms is unquestionably befitting.
The decidedly Jolly looking face below belongs, I believe, to the perhaps rather aptly named Daikoku — a deity said to bring wealth, food as well as good fortune.
And when it comes to the latter, he is obviously not opposed to also partaking, happily endowing himself, in this case at least, with a member of suitably monumental massiveness. A penis that can be peeked at by clicking on the picture below, although it should be said that it’s perhaps not safe for work, unless, of course, giant genitalia is legitimate.
