Photographs from a small group of islands
With dogs from a Spanish speaking country in North America still by far the biggest players in the seemingly perpetual Japanese pet boom, it’s perhaps appropriate then that when it comes to convenient — and indeed comical — canine cleaning contraptions, one sent from Spain is seen as suitable.
At least for the master.
If not necessarily the mutt.
Salaries for women in Japan and the possibilities of promotion are still very different from those commanded by their male counterparts, but as the old guard gradually fades away, things might be decidedly different in the not too distant future.
Or, at the very least, gentlemanly conduct may be just about judged as justifiable.
Not surprisingly, the likes of Sony and Toyota have been badly hit by the current economic crisis, but another of Japan’s big names, Sanyo, has been floundering for a good few years now — a situation that may help explain the former retreat featured below, and why it’s arguably as ragged as the company’s reputation.
A sanctuary where the history of Sanyo may once have been solemnly studied.
But now it’s merely a building where the corridors are uncommonly quiet,
and not a single soul is bothered about their weight anymore, let alone wheedling their way in with the boss.
Likewise, the biggest open space in the building is decidedly lonely rather than lively.
And as for dining, a pot of tea is still possible, if not exactly advisable,
but anything dish-based is most definitely off the menu.
Plus, rather bizarrely, the complex also comes complete with an underground memorial of some kind.
Maybe even one in memory of bad management, considering it was only put in place in 1990.
Making the symbols, even come across in candlelight, seem somewhat silly rather than sinister.
In part 2, which you can see here I take a look at where the Sanyo staff once slept, along with a late visitor unlikely to leave.
Plus, should the urge take you, this and a whole host of other haikyo/abandoned buildings can be seen here
Kyoto’s Gion district, where the city’s famed geisha live and largely work, still boasts a stunning array of traditional buildings — or at the very least offers a remarkably realistic recreation of them.
And yet despite this, surrounded by modern people and their pursuits, these white-faced workers look weirdly, albeit wonderfully,
otherworldly.
Whether at home or abroad, the Japanese tour guide, followed Pied Piper-like by a long procession of people, is certainly not an uncommon sight — far from it in fact. Yet as well as feeding folk information and fielding a flag, the modern guide it seems also has to be pretty efficient at taking photos, while at the same time dealing with a tremendous array of technology, all the way from the latest digital devices, to the surprisingly still not defunct, disposable.
Meaning that all in all it’s a profession that, perhaps now more than ever, must present more than a few frustrations, and yet at the same time, for some at least, it can be a fair amount of fun too.
