Tokyo Times

Mar 18 2004 9 Comments

Porn, panties, and pepsi

There is no shortage of vending machines in Japan. Drinks, cigarettes, chocolate, and rice are all readily available at the press of a button. And I for one am not complaining. Just take a look at this little beauty.

But there are also machines stocking rather more risquÃ© products. And with a big thanks to Alex for the photograph, Tokyo Times can now proudly boast a picture of one of those infamous panty and porn vending machines.

There aren’t many of us who get see such a thing on a daily basis, so just for good measure here’s a close-up.

I don’t think there’s much I can add. Except perhaps to point out that the items with a red light below them are sold out. Obviously very popular!

Mar 17 2004 3 Comments

Smoking manner #2

I’ve written before on this site about the novel approach to smoking in Japan. Unlike many other countries, the focus is not on getting people to quit. Rather, its main emphasis is on observing smoking manners.

In continuing this theme, Japan Tobacco has introduced its latest smoking manner campaign.

This first one is pretty easy to grasp, and I have to concede makes a fairly decent point. Even if the format is a little odd.

The next one on the other hand doesn’t strike me as all that persuasive. Are we to assume that rats aren’t overly fond of cigarette stubs?

click to enlarge

Mar 17 2004 4 Comments

Graduation Day

Yesterday we had the graduation ceremony at the junior high school I work at.

A joyous day one would imagine, but in any formal situation the Japanese are fond of long-winded speeches. Yet any speech encountered during the year pales in comparison to those at the borefest that is graduation day.

It feels like every man and his dog are required to speak. With each and every one of them going on, and on, and…

At one point I was half expecting Fidel Castro to make an appearance, and round the proceedings off with a 6-hour finale. Sadly he wouldn’t have been out of place, although his military attire and bushy beard might have caused something of a stir.

Those poor kids.

Mar 16 2004 11 Comments

Football, but…

Saturday marked the opening weekend of the J-League, and even though I’ve been to quite a few matches in Japan, the fans behaviour is a constant source of amusement/interest.

The first noticeable thing is the large number of females and families in the crowd. Which I have to say isn’t a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s good that anybody can go to watch a game without the fear of trouble, or violence. The down side is that whilst enthusiastic, the crowd lacks a certain amount of passion. It’s just all very civil. A little too much for my liking.

A few examples.

After one set of fans sing a song, the opposing fans politely applaud their efforts. I’m not joking.

When there is some cheering or singing that’s considered inappropriate, or an incident on the pitch that isn’t to the fans liking, they boo. All good up to now. But whilst booing, everybody (and I mean everybody) adopts the thumbs-down gesture. This is all well and good when you are 5 years old, but not at a football match when the referee has made a diabolical decision against your team. There are numerous expressive hand gestures, and a quick thumbs-down isn’t the one I’d pick.

And finally, there are a distinct lack of lunatics in the crowd. Every sporting event needs a deranged fan spouting nonsense for the duration of the game, but up to now I’ve never seen one at a Japanese football game. Maybe I should get the ball rolling!

But it’s not all bad. There are some decent sized crowds, and the stadiums are excellent.

And whilst the songs and chants are somewhat regimented, everyone seems to know them. You can’t beat a few thousand people singing at a football match. For reasons unknown, FC Tokyo supporters always sing you’ll never walk alone before the game, which is particularly impressive. Scarves are held aloft too, just like at Anfield.

Although this young woman didn’t know the words, so she attempted to nonchalantly read the words from her strategically placed lyric sheet.

And last but by no means least, beer is readily available whichever way you turn. Buy it from the numerous beer stalls if you want, or if you can’t be bothered getting up, call over one of the young beer ladies. For obvious reasons, the latter option is the most popular. You don’t miss any of the game, and you get the chance to ~~ogle~~ strike up a conversation with the ~~attracti~~ football savvy vendor.