I am completely enchanted by this ramen place on the south side of Nakano. The broth is strong, and the chefs so delinquent chic and absurdly polite. It’s not only delicious porky food, it’s also a spiritual “power spot.”
Any more delicious stories about Bo Guagua, the hard-partying son of the now disgraced Communist Party boss in China? It seems his family gathered US$160 million in the past ten years of political power. And the son has been partying hard, from England’s top prep schools and universities, to Harvard. Where are Japan’s messy princelings? In the US, are the Bush kids the equivalent of Guagua?
Call me a pervert. It won’t be the first time. But there’s something deliciously innocent about watching men sleeping. In Japan, people sleep in public with neither shame nor fear.
After a few street festivals, you think you’ve experienced the full range of street festival foods: hot dogs, okonomiyake, yaki soba, chocolate bananas, cotton candy, plum sweets, takoyaki, and increasingly kabab (what we would call shwarma). The recent festival we attended had some novelties including Mexican tacos and churros, and even bagel dogs.
The churros had an unauthorized Disney tie-in. The bagel dogs were surprisingly spicy and delicious.
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!
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!
Tokyo Moe 