I love how Pipo-kun, the police’s giant orange mascot with big ears and a blue hat, simply waits for the light to change amidst the weekend shoppers in Shinjuku san chome. In the photo, it looks like no one’s paying him much attention. In fact, I saw many Japanese and foreigners excitedly posing with Pipo-kun. Below you can see his “handler,” who guided him along this public appearance.
I recently learned this odd Japanese phrase: kanban musume (看板娘), which literally means daughter and store sign. I think the modern term is “door bait.” Apparently it’s an Edo or earlier tradition for commercial establishments to place their attractive daughters outside the shop to lure customers.
This male host club uses three over-sized dogs, each with their own portable heater and blanket, to bring in the (mostly) female clients. The husband remarked that he hopes the white dog with a pink bow is male.
A nearby club is surprisingly visible from the sidewalk. Peering inside makes me feel like I am on acid.
The title quote is from Eric the Fez, who sends in a Bloomberg news story that the most recent Arizona shooting of a congressman, child, judge, and others has increased sales of semi-automatic Glock pistols. In another report, I read that the congresswoman, shot in the head this past weekend, had boasted of having this exact gun in a political message last year.
Apparently, the lesson is buy more guns. Please do not blame me for pretending to be from Canada!
I love the many inexplicable sights in Tokyo. My neighborhood liquor store set up this strange lunch scene in front of their shop: teddy bear, a plate of spaghetti with fork suspended in the air, a potted flower, and an empty seat as if he’s expecting company. It’s lovely that this “mise-en-scene” has nothing to do with what’s being sold at the store. A pure folly!
Tokyo Moe 