Tokyo Times

Dec 28 2004 2 Comments

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We get quite a lot of leaflets like this left in the post box.

It seems that this young lady (or one of her colleagues) is very kindly willing to come over to my place if I give her a call. The only problem is I’ll have to part with 15,000 yen (75 pounds) every 50 minutes if she does. Although she appears to be happy to accept a credit card if I don’t have that much cash lying around at home.

Still, at least she’s not plastic. And you never know, if there was any time left over, she’d perhaps do a spot of cleaning.

Dec 27 2004 6 Comments

Party parts

Whether it be to celebrate Christmas or the end of the year, there is certainly no shortage of parties around this time. And whilst it’s not really my thing, fancy dress events aren’t uncommon. Or at least it would seem that way from a shop I was in earlier today.

Costumes of seemingly every variety you could imagine were available, including this rather perturbing prepubescent schoolgirl’s gym outfit.

Less disturbing and more intriguing is the bear costume pictured below. As the packaging doesn’t make it clear, I find the genital area a little worrying. Are the necessary bits part of the costume, or is the wearer expected to display his own?

Dec 27 2004 Leave a Comment

Fictitious foreign felons

After taking a nap but oversleeping and waking up 5 hours after his scheduled arrival, a 34-year-old unnamed truck driver was understandably in something of a panic.

But the tried and trusted excuses of a bad stomach or heavy traffic were obviously too mundane for this imaginative young driver. As after waking up he called the police emergency line and said, “Four foreigners abducted me for some five hours.” And to add a little more detail to make the story (slightly) more believable, he went on to say that, “They asked where an expressway bus stop was at about 5:30 a.m. Someone covered my head with a paper bag from behind, and I was forced into a car.”

The call resulted in 30 officers being mobilized to find the felonious foreigners. But after more detailed questioning the police begin to suspect the tale didn’t quite add up. Especially as the driver had no noticeable injuries, despite claiming that he was eventually kicked out of a moving car at the end of his ordeal.

After further grilling the dishonest driver confessed that he concocted the story in a bid to cover-up oversleeping. Needless to say the police plan to send the case to prosecutors.

A truck driver not abducted by foreigners yesterday.

Dec 24 2004 10 Comments

Merry (branded) Christmas!

Well, it’s that time of year again, and not only is it Christmas Eve, but Tokyo Times’ first birthday. What on earth I was thinking starting a blog on December 24th is anybody’s guess, but start I did. And perhaps more surprising is that once I started I didn’t stop.

I have now been blogging longer than I was a boy scout, a would-be guitar legend, and gym member all combined. An achievement that (by my unexacting standards) I’m quite proud of.

But enough of me patting myself on the back. As it’s Christmas Eve I’d like to take the opportunity to wish all Tokyo Times readers who celebrate Christmas (in whatever form) a very happy day tomorrow.

And as a bit of festive cheer, here’s one of the many decorations brightening up Ginza at the moment.

*Tree kindly brought to you by Chanel. Maker of cosmetics, cologne, and, erm, Christmas trees.

Dec 23 2004 1 Comment

Rockin’ robot

At the Sony Building in Ginza at the moment, there are the usual displays of walkmans, big TVs, and computers. But as an added Christmas bonus, the company’s robot QRIO is putting on hourly 10 minute shows.

Now although the affable little robot can’t doing anything really useful like vacuuming, doing the laundry, or cooking dinner, it can ring colourful bells in a semi-tuneful manner.

And if that’s not enough, young QRIO is also capable of causing a bit of a stir on the dance floor. Whilst the robot’s movement is still not fluid enough to fully mimic that of a human, I have to confess that it’s still a better dancer than me.

Clever little bastard!

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