How to pick koreans from other asians just by looking at them

Hilarious blog post about “how to pick koreans from other asians just by looking at them.” One of the indicators, of course, is the shaggy men’s hair-do. Although I must stay that looks like many young Japanese men’s fashion. And probably Taiwanese too (^_-)

The blog is called Ask a Korean. Discovered via Twitter’s alexanderchee.

Smappa: Mega host club with Lohas twist

Kabukicho is now full of ads for this new (?) host club called Smappa!, which seems a blatant rip-off of SMAP, the boy band now entering middle-age. The Smappa ad for Shun-kun above hilariously promises 夜のロハス, night-time lohas.

Lohas means Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, and applies to a 30 something female demographic. What has made hairspray and men’s make-up sustainable? I think actually, like the club name, it is a blatant attempt to connect with larger pop culture themes (like a bad porn title that mimics a Hollywood blockbuster).

From their incredibly complete Smappa! website, I have borrowed these staff images. Scroll to the bottom to see their onsen/ryoukan holiday. These boys are well-documented. Check their Smappa website for more!

Boy bands at suburban festival

At a large suburban festival, we saw *three* booths involving boy bands. My favorite was the one above which involved a rifle shooting game, with the boy band images as either prizes or encouragements. This older guy looks ready to teach the kids how to shoot to kill. The guy running the game was kind of an ikemen, with his fried hair piled into a glitter sequin watch cap.

Below two booths sold boy band imagery. Interestingly, in Japan, there is no equivalent girl band objects. I guess Japanese (male loving) women are just lucky in that respect. I also suspect that the imagery objectifying women is perhaps too dirty to be shown in public at a festival.

And still more. Plus there was a Korean store full of Korean bands and idols.

Male hair in Shibuya

Men torturing their hair is one of the sights that always brightens my day in Tokyo. This hair was particularly huge in Shibuya. I caught images of the side and back.

Some people have told me that Japanese men who do this to their hair think they look like “lions.” Have you heard other funny explanations for this explosion of male vanity? What do they say these styles look like? And what do you think they look like?

Subway mirrors

It is amazing that every Tokyo Metro and JR station has these free-standing mirrors. It is not uncommon to see men spend five minutes or more publicly adjusting their hair. Primping, fluffing, biggen’ing, slicking, and moving strands from one side to the other. I love how natural, unselfconscious and public all this male vanity is.

As my blog theme attests, there is a fine and delicious line between male vanity and delinquency. Male vanity is one of Tokyo’s most remarkable and unremarked features! In the photo above, it seems the four mirrors are there to accommodate rush hour grooming!

Domino Dancing, Pet Shop Boys’ Super-Gay 80s video

This digitally remastered 80s music video from the Pet Shop Boys depicts the gayest version of heterosexuality seen in the 20th century. I love the no-shirts-on-boys theme, the gratuitous construction helmets quickly tossed aside to reveal 80s hairdos, the vaguely Barcelona backdrop, the horses, and the ocean wrestling. Ahh, a more innocent time, indeed.

Their new album Yes continues the same sound and high Brit gaydom: “Did You See Me Coming” and “Love Etc.“

My favorite new blog in Japan

OMG. I discovered perhaps the most delicious, exhibitionist blog in Japan, Satellite of Love by a part-Japanese Swedish model. She is frank about her abundant sex life and her opinions about Japanese men, marriage, and girlish fun. Did I mention that she illustrates her stories with images of Japanese male idols? Plus, she posts almost daily! I am in heaven.

Yesterday’s post had some priceless advice for foreign ladies in Japan:

“Here’s a note for any girl interested in dating in Japan: Date a hairdresser. hairdressers in Japan are usually straight, usually not shy, usually really fun, and you can get your hair done for free if you guys start dating. That, and they’re interested in different kinds of hair, so if you’re not Japanese, your hair is sort of a bonus for them. Funny, but true. I’ve dated 3 Japanese hairdressers and they’ve all been great.”

I am hooked!

An infinity of teased male hair

This subway poster caught my attention. I don’t now what is more impressive: the immaculately teased hair, the strange expressions, the apparent lasciviousness, or the vision of one never-ending series of detached heads. The ad is for Lotte’s Acuo, perhaps a breath mint. Maybe my dear readers can identify the model?

Super Junior: fashion and dance princes

OMG. More. My high school friend, now in Taiwan, just introduced me to Super Junior, the world’s largest boy band. Created in Korea, with one lucky Chinese member, they are 13 pre-fabricated boys with complex hair and choreography, and some awesome fashion choices.

The sheer quantity of boys makes focusing on any particular one impossible. More than a simple “something for everyone,” which a 5 person boy band can amply accomplish, this 13 boy team is both a producer/management company dream and a visual overload. I can only imagine the enormity of the wardrobe and hair department.

News Flash: Japan’s First Lady

Breaking with tradition, Hatoyama Miyuki, wife of Japan’s new PM, plans to take a visible role as Japan’s First Lady. Frankly, I had never seen a photo of Mrs Aso, Mrs Fukuda, Mrs Abe or Mrs Koizumi. So it’s revolutionary news that Japan may be on the cusp of welcoming its first First Lady.

What do we know about Miyuki-sama? She was born in China during the war, a former actress, cookbook author, television personality, and a “life composer.” She believes she shares “a sensibility” with Michelle Obama, and hopes to meet her. Mostly, she is a tireless promoter of her husband, with Wikipedia reporting that she chooses her husband’s outfits and (personally?) styles his hair.

My favorite story so far is how she explains her husband’s “alien” nickname. According to the loyal wife, he was given the name by political adversaries since he is so different from old-style politics. Unh, really?! I thought it was because he’s extraordinarily ugly, with a weird-shaped head on a smallish body. And it’s certainly better than being referred to as “the guy with the dead fish face.”

But, Miyuki-sama, please do not let me discourage your spin, conjugal devotion, or quest for the limelight. Finally, with the (first?) emergence of a First Lady of Japan, this is Japanese “change” that I fully support. Bring on the outfits, social causes, cultural activities, and style.

Update: A second Japan Times article adds even more outrageous details. Miyuki-sama is a former singer and dancer in the very popular Takarazuka Revue all-female theater troupe. And she has a spiritual side that puts Shirley MacLain to shame. She has written in a book that, while sleeping, her soul flew in a triangle shaped UFO to Venus. On a television program, she also claimed that she eats the sun, and that it gives her “enormous energy.” Even better, she added, “My husband has recently started doing that, too.” Oh, and she met Tom Cruise in a previous life, claims he was previously Japanese, and dreams of making a Hollywood movie with him.

It must be wonderful to be so fabulously wealthy, and to live in a country where such outlandish views are neither questioned nor ridiculed. Dearest husband, please make me Japan’s next First Lady!

Second Update: There’s also a New York Times article with the exact same content, plus some angry online reader replies and many replies by the reporter. Plus this amazing photo of the Hatoyamas as a young couple What happened to his looks? Can I buy her wig? And why has no one commented on this EXCITING news?!