Tokyo Times

Jul 13 2005 7 Comments

Peek-a-boo

When it comes to inventive underwear, Japanese manufacturers are certainly no slouches. This previously posted, ahem, racy little number being a prime example.

Panty purveyors Ado Group however have dispensed with such novelty, and opted straight for the no-nonsense approach. And even considering how hot it gets in the summer here, I’m guessing this design wasn’t produced as a means of ventilation.

Plus for those who prefer a slightly alternative route, the company has been equally accommodating.

Jul 12 2005 7 Comments

Breast bust

Considering the job they do, one would presume that elementary school teachers are blessed with at least a modicum of intelligence. However an unnamed 41-year-old instructor from Okayama Prefecture has been suspended for sending text messages to two Junior high school girls he used to teach.

Whilst such behaviour is admittedly not a crime in itself, it probably is when the messages contain obscene words and focus on the size of the girls’ breasts. Especially when actual mammary measurements are requested.

It goes without saying that the girls were more than a little shocked by these inappropriate inquiries, prompting them to ask the texting teacher to stop. A move that unfortunately had no effect whatsoever, and the messages continued — although what further tactless topics were broached hasn’t been disclosed. The refusal (and its subsequent disclosure) leading to the teacher’s eventual suspension as previously mentioned. The punishment being for the duration of six-months, although whether with or without pay is unknown.

Needless to say the culprit was full of remorse for his actions, saying, “I knew it was an act unworthy of a schoolteacher, but I did it anyhow. I deeply regret what I did.”

*A Tokyo Times unofficial (and totally uncorroborated) text message translation.

Jul 11 2005 4 Comments

Barcode barbers

Like everywhere else in the world, there are countless companies in Japan peddling lotions to reduce balding, or sprays to ‘thicken’ thinning manes; and despite making very little difference, they sell by the bucket load. The unscrupulous manufacturers preying mercilessly on the comb-over community. A group whose growing numbers have even led to an alleged inclusion on Google Earth

Up until recently barbers have failed to tap into this vast market, but perhaps predictably things have begun to change, with cash registers now ringing merrily with comb-over cash. A prime example of this shift in focus is Hair Aesthetic Salon Yuu in Yokohama. From the outside it looks like any other barbershop, but its speciality is the reticent and receding; and due to the sensitive nature of its business, the shop only takes one customer at a time.

This privacy it seems is very appealing, with a 28-year-old Salon Yuu regular saying, â€œI like going there as I can consult with the barber without other people seeing me.â€ Such confidentiality attracting around three or four customers a day, with owner Isao Watanabe claiming to be both barber and counselor. “Listening to what they say is important, I have to maintain a good relationship with them.”

Whilst such speciality shops are currently about as abundant as their customers’ curls, an increasing number of salons are now beginning to offer private ‘balding’ booths, where the folically challenged can have their hair cut without any embarrassment or shame. Plus at the same time receive advice on protecting and maintaining what little they have left.

This trend also appears to be no fly-away fad, as Zenriren, the national federation of barbershop owners, has established a system to train ‘hair counselors’. The 20-hour course teaching hair care and (perhaps most importantly) the mechanism of hair loss. With a total of 735 licensed hair carers already, balding-only barbers could well become commonplace. A Zenriren spokesman saying (with apparently no pun intended), “It is a time when barbershops need added value. The hair restoration market has large potential for growth.”

Jul 08 2005 2 Comments

Literary Livedoor

During a recent financial battle between brash new internet start-up Livedoor, and frumpy old Fuji Television, the IT company’s public relations official Ayako Otobe became something of a celebrity. Resulting in the perky professional being labeled ‘beautiful face’.

Not wanting to be known as just a pretty face though, Otobe-san has just released a book of essays on her job and business policies. A body of work that contains 40 hints on positive work techniques, including insider knowledge on such pressing concerns as fashion and make-up.

However in an effort not to put-off potential readers with such a highbrow offering, Otobe has kindly written the book using simple language. Urging book buyers, “If you believe in yourself as you proceed, your dreams will certainly be fulfilled. I want lots of people to read this and feel happy,”

To spread interest in the product even further — but in no way a cheap ploy to significantly boost sales by cashing in on the ‘beauty factor’ — the book also includes some photographs. So many in fact that they take up the first 16 pages of the book. And in keeping with the business theme and the idea of getting on in life, one photo is of Otobe-san in her, erm, bathrobe.

Sales, needless to say, are expected to be brisk. Yet bathrobe aside, is she really so ‘beautiful face’?

Jul 07 2005 Leave a Comment

Barefaced boozer

Taxis in Japan are certainly not the cheapest, and with a minimum cost of 660 yen (just over 3 pound) they aren’t for the faint hearted. Nor it seems the unemployed. As this week, out of work 55-year-old Satoshi Nakagawa was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for calling an ambulance to take him home after drinking too much.

Taxi!

Nakagawa finally pushed the emergency services too far on June 8 last year after sitting down drunk in the middle of the road and asking a passerby to call an ambulance; but instead of taking him home as he demanded, the ambulance driver took the barefaced boozer back to the fire station where the vehicle had been dispatched from. An act that so enraged Nakagawa that the resultant fracas resulted in his arrest.

During sentencing Judge Hidenaga Manabe said, â€œHe committed a selfish crime by obstructing the highly urgent duties of ambulances.” Which is something of an understatement, as it turns out that Nakagawa had tried his too-drunk-to-walk-home-but-not-enough-money-for-a-taxi-as-I’ve-spent-it-all-on-beer stunt on numerous occasions. A staggering 50 times since August 2003 to be exact. However perhaps even more surprising is that on a couple of occasions he was actually taken home.

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