Will pray
for bags.
(click image for bigger brand-based Buddhism)
Heavenly handbags?
Top Cat
With Japan’s declining population raising fears of a large influx of foreign workers, officials at the Wakayama Electric Railway Company have hit upon a novel way of avoiding such a problem — employ animals instead. An idea that it has put into practice at Kishi Station in Kinokawa by promoting Tama the tabby to stationmaster.
Resplendent in an official railway cap, the 7-year-old Kinokawa native will be expected to welcome passengers, and to avoid any feline-related friction, the two deputy stationmasters are also cats — the three of them being ‘housed’ at the station shop.
A solution that not only helps avoid any potentially awkward cultural misunderstandings, but makes perfect economical sense, as the three officials are ‘paid’ in cat food. Details regarding health insurance and pension payments however were not disclosed.
Foible focus
With the likes of latex love dolls, manga and latent Lolita complexes occasionally sharing common ground, one resourceful Japanese trio has cleverly combined elements of all three – creating a product/service that potentially triples its target audience.
A bona-fide stroke of genius that is possibly even worthy of several strokes — for some.
(image via the FG forums)
Star Trek track?
Despite a few language problems, the recent meeting between Tony Blair and Shinzo Abe saw the British leader blatantly attempt to persuade his Japanese counterpart to adopt a more central, even left-wing approach. Blair’s bold and easy to understand gesture of a move to the left however was immediately countered by Abe’s forceful and uncompromising thrust to the right.
An approach that won’t have surprised Japan’s neighbours, although the Japanese PM’s unexpected Star Trek-like finger formation has caused more than a little concern, with many analysts believing it represents Abe’s goal to boldly go where no leader has gone before and revise the country’s pacifist constitution.
A voyage into the unknown, and one that if not completed by Abe himself, could well be continued by the next generation…
Canned convenience
Whilst oden (a Japanese winter dish) has been around in canned form for quite some time now, and rather bizarrely earned itself a bilingual charter in the process, there does appear to be several versions of the terrific little tinned treat available.
For starters, there’s the more common, rather blandly designed variety.
But there is now also an anime inspired reworking of the soup-like snack.
Its Akihabara availability arguably making it an otaku-friendly hors d’oeuvre.
Of sorts.
(click images for oversized oden)