Category Archives: Japan

Perfume promoting the benefits of spraying water on concrete

Uchimizu for the Akiba crowd

23 Aug Filed under Events, Food, Japan. No comments.

The practice of uchimizu is, these days, not quite as aesthetically important as Wikipedia makes it out to be, but is still a surprisingly prominent part of Japanese culture. Originally done with wooden buckets and ladles  to keep down the dust on ancient Yamato streets, … Read More →

The kebab dude said rather patronizingly: They're pretty cool, eh? Look like samurai, eh?

Two sumo-san walk up to a kebab truck…

29 May Filed under Japan. No comments.

[Insert punchline here]

Women hunt for Valentine's Day gifts on February 14 at a department store in Ginza.

Searching for sweet nothings

15 Feb Filed under Food, Japan, photography. 1 Comment.

Valentine’s Day has long been an oft-reported institution in Japan. For February 14, a girl can now choose to give giri-choco (obligatory chocolates, usually inexpensive and given to male coworkers), honmei-choco (sweetheart chocolates, often homemade and given to the man she likes), tomo-choco (chocolates for … Read More →

harajuku-5

Just another Sunday in Harajuku

6 Jul Filed under Japan, Out on the town. 1 Comment.

The bridge in front of Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, once a mecca for crazy cosplayers, lolitas and decora kids, has seen more lively days now that the boom is over and most people have dyed their hair back to a normal color. But the tourists … Read More →

Umbrellas up outside of Shibuya's Mark City

Raining on my parade (or not)

17 Jun Filed under Japan, One Shot. No comments.

The Tokyo area supposedly entered rainy season on June 10, but as I’m sitting here in a sunny room listening to birds chirp, it’s clear that this plum mistress takes a real non-commital approach to our on-again-off-again relationship.