9.30.2012

Spread 'Em

























This is a manners poster. A what!? Yes, I understand your reaction. It is probably much like those punctuation marks. !?

You may have heard that Japanese people are so well-mannered. So polite. Etc. Well if that was true, there would be no need for these kinds of manner posters all over the subway.

This particular poster annoys me more than most. The question it asks in Japanese is "Why are your legs spread?" You may not be as quick as me to notice, but that's a man sitting there. A MAN.

Question answered.

9.26.2012

Submarine alley



Help me solve this mystery. This sign is one of a couple placed near my house where there are many narrow streets. The sign says there are alleyways ahead, so watch out for bicycles and children suddenly darting out.

If you look closer, there is a silhouette of what appears to be a submarine.Both signs have it.

What's the meaning of the submarine?

9.14.2012

Brown Line Express




















Don't you hate it when you're riding to work on the subway and you suddenly have a diarrhea attack? Here's an ad for anti-crap-your-pants medicine called "Stopper."

I like how the bottom of the ad directs people to download a toilet locater app for their smartphone. From my experience, it seems more people here vomit on train cars and platforms than blow a gasket, so they really should be marketing barf bags instead.

9.12.2012

Body by Bespin

























Here is a woman encased in carbonite hanging on a wall outside a drinking establishment in Hiroshima. Ever since the intergalactic gangster Jabba the Hutt hung the frozen Han Solo up in his palace, it's been a popular way for gangsters in Japan to deal with troublemakers. She most likely worked as a hostess in one of the many pubs sprinkled across this tiny nation. She probably didn't sell enough champagne or enough of herself to customers to make the boss happy. Don't feel too sorry for her. . she should be perfectly fine. If she survived the freezing process, that is.

9.05.2012

Peek-a-boo

























This is not an uncommon sight in Tokyo. Cars are often too big for garages. Or is it the other way around? There's something kind of cute about this. Like the way a kid might hide behind a curtain when playing hide-and-seek, and not realize that his feet are sticking out from underneath.