Photographs from a small group of islands
Being a booth babe at the recently wrapped up Tokyo Game Show can’t really be all that rewarding, as, not only do the young women have to smile sycophantically at the seething sweaty masses, but they also have to cope with clamourous, camera-carrying crowds.
Along with middle-aged men who should know much better.
And, maybe worst of all, an unmerited meeting with me.
(click images for a larger, but still laughably lit, look)
In the far from conservative world of Japanese cosplay, the outlandish outfits on display can deviate from the dishy to the downright dodgy, but for real effect, it would seem to be the eyes,
on the whole,
that have it.
As a change is by all accounts as good as a rest, then Tokyo Times should be relatively refreshed after this, its most recent redesign. A modification that one hopes will, at the very least, make it a little easier to read, although as I’m as fickle as Japanese fashion, it may not last seven days, let alone a season.
Still, after cajoling this burly bloke into a comment,
he very kindly belted out a brief, but at the same time still belly bulging, “banzai!â€
When it comes to Japan’s more hands-on means of amusement, non-Japanese are not always welcome — the bath-based satisfactions of soapland being especially well known for its racial restrictions. A policy that this maid-themed massage place in particular has taken to heart, making sure that foreigners know in no uncertain terms how unwelcome they are before they’ve even dared walk through the door.
However, somewhat more surprising is the far from favourable feelings towards foreigners expressed by Japan’s tourist industry. As, despite the nation’s continually touted Yokoso! Japan (Welcome!) campaign, a recent survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs has discovered that a lot of hotels and inns are more than content to accommodate only their countrymen:
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs says over 70 percent of Japanese inns and hotels that didn’t have foreign guests last year don’t want any in the future either. The ministry says that a survey of such businesses showed they feel unable to support foreign languages and that their facilities are not suited to foreigners. The survey released Thursday shows that over 60 percent of Japan’s inns and hotels had foreign guests last year, but the majority of the rest don’t want any.
A set of figures that if nothing else must please ex-Tourism and Transport Minister Nariaki Nakayama, who was forced to resign after — among other things — claiming that Japanese people were “ethnically homogeneous” and “definitely … do not like foreigners.” Although at the same time, with such strong support from certain sections of society, he may well feel that his decision to step down was happen a bit hasty.
With his chiselled features and stony stare,
could this fella be that relative rarity, a real life rock god?
Or is he simply just a song loving stoner?
