Retro Movie Posters

In Tennoji, an old-fashioned Osaka neighborhood.

Cosplay Hooker

A costume play hooker coming out of an Ikebukuro love hotel. I was more than a little curious about what was in the suitcase.

Kinnikuman Doll

This is Kinnikuman (lit. muscleman), a popular Japanese superhero.

Hotel Broccoli

The Hotel Broccoli in Osaka’s Tanimachi-9chome love hotel district.

There’s more information about   love hotels in my new book, Love Hotels: An Inside Look at Japan’s Sexual Playgrounds. I spent years visiting love hotels around Japan, interviewing love hotel designers, owners and staff, and wading through Japanese books on sex and love hotels to bring you this book.

It’s 182 pages of information about their history, the people who design and operate them, their place in Japanese society, crime, and much, much more. There’s also a love hotel guide with information on how to get to the best hotels in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Yokohama, Sapporo, and Fukuoka.

For more information about love hotels, please visit my newly updated love hotel page at: http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/lovehotels.html

To order or find out more about the book, please visit: http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/lovehotelbookintro.htm. There’s also a smaller guidebook, with just the hotel information for 500 yen: http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/lovehotelguide.html.

There are more love hotel-related posts
here.

Japanese Superhero at the Riverside

These guys were filming something, and they were wearing these amazing costumes and had all the poses and action scenes down perfectly, but they just had a tiny amateur video camera and the director was one of the actors. As far as I could tell, their hobby was going to the park every weekend and making superhero videos. The only other thing I can figure is that they were making a promotional video for a themepark, because there was a photographer with a pretty good camera taking stills of the action as well.

Does anyone recognize this superhero?

Waiting for the Pachinko Parlor to Open

Serious pachinko players often line up in front of a pachinko parlor before they open so they can be the first one in and find the best machines that are the most likely to pay out.

Odd Scenes From the 2009 Tokyo Marathon (Part 1)

The 2009 Tokyo Marathon took place last Sunday, March 22, 2009. I’ve never seen a marathon before, and I have to say that it was really entertaining and of course, completely different from watching the professional runners on TV.
It’s quite amazing to see hundreds of people rushing by you every minute. I heard that 27,000 people entered the marathon this year, and I figure I must have seen about 20,000 of them rushing by me. If you ever want to get a real feel for what a big number like 27,000 means, the Tokyo Marathon is a good way to really understand just how many it is, and get a feel for just how many different kinds of people there living in Tokyo.

This is a namahage.

The Meguro Emperor Love Hotel

This is the Meguro Emperor, Japan’s all-time most famous love hotel. When it opened in 1973, it was the Cadillac of love hotels. Designed by the famous architect Yasuhisa Kurosaka, it was a monument to 1970s kitsch, and its fairy tale castle exterior became something of a touists attraction. The hotel’s 30 rooms featured a gondola, playground slides, and all manner of vibrating, rotating, and gyrating beds.

The boom quickly ended, though, and it was bought out by another company, and renamed the Meguro Club Sekitei. I was surprised to see that it has changed its name back to the Meguro Emperor. Unfortunately, they haven’t brought back the gondola beds.

There’s more information about the Meguro Emperor and other love hotels in my new book, Love Hotels: An Inside Look at Japan’s Sexual Playgrounds. I spent years visiting love hotels around Japan, interviewing love hotel designers, owners and staff, and wading through Japanese books on sex and love hotels to bring you this book.

It’s 182 pages of information about their history, the people who design and operate them, their place in Japanese society, crime, and much, much more. There’s also a love hotel guide with information on how to get to the best hotels in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Yokohama, Sapporo, and Fukuoka.

For more information about love hotels, please visit my newly updated love hotel page at: http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/lovehotels.html

To order or find out more about the book, please visit: http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/lovehotelbookintro.htm. There’s also a smaller guidebook, with just the hotel information for 500 yen: http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/lovehotelguide.html.

There are more love hotel-related posts here.

Compact Amusement Park

Japan is, of course, famous for its efficient use of space, but it never ceases to amaze me how much entertainment the tiny Tokyo Dome City Attractions (formerly Korakuen)  manages to crowd into such a tiny plot of land. It’s got a roller coaster, Ferris wheel, drop tower, water ride, and much, much more. Admission is free.

They have an English website at: http://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/e/park/

Yoyogi Bubbleman

Last Sunday I came across this bubble blowing club in Yoyogi Park.

The One-Man Pro Wrestling Match

I saw this odd street performer in Kita-senju. He’s called the Hitori Puroresu (the One-Man Pro Wrestling Match)

Japanese Superhero Masks

Visit any Japanese festival, and there will probably be at least one booth selling these superhero masks.

Kawasaki Halloween Parade 2008

The Kawasaki Halloween Parade is held on the last Sunday of October every year near Kawasaki Station. There are other big Halloween celebrations in places like Harajuku, but the Kawasaki version is more for adults. They have DJs and dancing, and there aren’t so many kids. It’s definitely worth checking out.

This guy made a lot of kids cry. He was dressed up as Anpanman, a bizarre Japanese superhero, whose name means “Bread With Sweet Bean Paste Man.” He fights against Baikinman (Germ Man) and is, according to Wikipedia, the most popular fictional character in Japan for children under 12. This subversive costume maker is depicting him with bites taken out of his head, which is what upsets the kids so much.

Links:

Official website: http://lacittadella.co.jp/halloween/ (Japanese only)
Video of the event: http://celestialkitsune.wordpress.com/2008/10/25/kawasaki-halloween-festival-2008/

Shinjuku’s Heaven Artists

This is the “Shinjuku Geijutsu Tengoku” (Shinjuku Artistic Heaven), a great festival held every year in October. There were a lot of interesting acts, but for me, the one that stood out was Noemi and Eugene. They were a stilt walking samurai couple searching for the address Shinjuku Sanchome. Beyond the amazing costumes, I’ve never seen performers that seemed to be having so much fun doing their act. They did all kinds of tricks on their stilts, somersalting, hand-walking, and racing around seemingly awkwardly, but always somehow managing not to trample anyone.

Here’s a video of their performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD04wQglYYI

The festival is held on the second Sunday in October in various locations around Shinjuku. Most of the performers are on Shinjuku Dori, the street with Studio Alta on it. The event has a website (Japanese only) at: http://homepage2.nifty.com/shinjuku-pr/.

Face-shrinking Masks

These scary-looking Hannibal Lector masks are actually to make a woman’s face smaller. The idea is that you wear them in the bath or while you sleep, and sweating makes your face smaller. The one on the right is for in the bath, the one in the center is for the sauna, and the one on the left is for sleeping.

Harajuku Goth

Enjoying a smoke in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo.

Akihabara Cutie

Cosplay girl in Akihabara.

Anime bike wheel

Spotted in (where else?) Akihabara.

Sexy Saxaphonist

Sexy saxophonist playing at Design Festa 2007. The band is a local Tokyo group called RadsClot that plays “swing rock”. Their concerts look like a lot of fun. ip.tosp.co.jp/i.asp?i=radsclot

Ojarus

Ojarus are the exception to the rule that all street performers in Japan are boring three-ball jugglers and balloon animal makers doing the same tired tricks and gags you’ve seen a thousand times before. Ojarus are funny, original, and seem to truly love entertaining people. They often perform in Ueno park and have a web site in English, but if you want to actually see their performance schedule, you’ll have to check out their Japanese  blog at:
http://blog.livedoor.jp/ojarus123k/.