Posted in Fun, Kyoto on Jan 22nd, 2008 No Comments »
In the fight for yen from tourists - not to speak of the many highschool excursions that make Kyoto unsafe - competition can drive the minds of some business owners over the top.
[Restaurant off Shijo-dori (near Gion) in Kyoto]
Will a funny display in front of your restaurant help and bring in the tourists? Or [...]
Posted in Fun, Kobe, Society on Jan 15th, 2008 No Comments »
Is this The Thinker, anno 2008? Reborn in female form in Kobe’s Sannomiya?
Or is it not philosophy that keeps her mind occupied… could she be dreaming about this nearby sign advertising something special to Japanese culture: a “Host Club?”
Posted in Culture, Fun, Kyoto, Society on Nov 25th, 2007 No Comments »
It comes as no surprise that the heart of the average, innocent first-time visitor to Kyoto starts beating faster when spotting these beautiful ladies in kimono… Geisha! Many a proud tourist must have shown pictures like the above one to his friends and family at home. It is good that there is still some tradition [...]
Posted in Fun, Kyoto, Society on Nov 25th, 2007 No Comments »
Kyoto is full of religious establishments and Buddhist images follow you wherever you go. They do not sit still either, but have been pressed into useful service in these days of rampant foreign crime where every true Japanese has to be on the outlook for anything suspicious. As this picture shows, the Ryozen Kannon [...]
Posted in Fun on Nov 18th, 2007 No Comments »
[Photo © Ad Blankestijn ]
If you already think Christmas as it is celebrated in Japan is “baloney,” you will be strengthened in your opinion by seeing these inflated protrusions on a building in Nakayamatedori, Kobe.
Posted in Fun, Kyoto on Dec 30th, 2006 No Comments »
[Kyoto hairdresser - Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
This hairdresser in the Gion area of Kyoto has dressed out her modern hairsalon with a traditional inuyarai, a screen of bamboo strips to protect the lower part of buildings from fouling by animals or people. Somehow, it does not fit… on the other hand, this is something you [...]
Posted in Architecture, Fun, Tokyo on Oct 25th, 2006 No Comments »
What is the largest building in Tokyo? You never would guess: the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway! This concrete monster on heavy pillars is now about 280 kilometers long and crawls like a mighty dinosaur through the metropolis. It runs along the third or fourth story of buildings, stamps on high legs through Tokyo’s pityful canals, splits [...]
