Sapporo Station

Sapporo Black Label Beer featuring an illustration of the newly renovated Tokyo Station. On sale at Tokyo Station, of course. 

Cylon Toilet

Whenever I use the urinals in Japan, I feel like humming the theme from "Battlestar Galactica."

Tiger mask

This man is often seen walking the streets in Shinjuku. He carries a portable stereo and blasts enka music. I have no idea who he is. He must be some sort of superhero. Or super homeless.

Sloppy snowman

Someone's been busy. A rare snowy day in Tokyo. Good thing it's a national holiday.

Mystery Drink

Behold the "Mystery" beverage. You may get a Coke, green tea, Aquarius Sportsdrink, or who knows?  The only thing you know for sure is that it'll be cold. I wasn't brave enough to buy it. I prefer to exercise my freedom of choice. Life has enough surprises for me as it is.

Buddha vs. Christ

Standing silently, a Buddhist monk begs for alms in exchange for chanting a sutra to passersby. Nearby a guy holds a sign that says "Return to God." Attached to the pole is a loud speaker, which blares about how we are all going to HELL. Not sure who arrived first. If it was the Jesus guy, I'd say "what a dick." (He's a dick anyway, regardless. . ) If it was the Zen practitioner, I bet he thought "life is suffering, so suffering a little more by enduring extremely obnoxious proselytizing at high decibels won't do any harm."

Year of the Snake

New Year's window decorations at the Wako Building in Ginza. Caduceus, the winged snake staff carried by the Greek god Hermes, is copied here from a symbol carved in stone near the entrance to the famous Tokyo landmark. (Forgot to shot a pic of the actual engraving!) While used as a symbol of medicine in the U.S., in other parts of the world it is known as a symbol of commerce. 

Bottoms up

Does this image make a woman want to buy jeans? It just makes me think of those old scratch and sniff picture books I had when I was a kid. 

Bushido bathroom

Samurai restroom signs at a park in Yotsuya. During the Edo period, there was a gate into the city and a watchtower near here. It's a bit sad to think that these comical images are the only visible reminder of the area's colorful history.

Nightmare interview

This would have been appropriate for Halloween, but I'm only one day late. I love Alice Cooper. And I love when I find any new interview that I haven't seen before, especially one in Japan. This one's from 1990, when Alice was doing his "Trashes the World" Tour. It's about 15-minutes long, but half the time Alice has to sit and look uncomfortable as the cute woman translates to the nerdy guy with bad teeth. During the odd pauses when Alice isn't talking, you can him squirming inside his squeaky leather (snakeskin? plastic?) jacket of nails.

Alice's best line to the Japanese translator: "May I say, you speak great Italian!"