Weird Japan

There’s plenty of content regarding “weird Japan” on the internet. From goth lolita schoolgirls to humorous “Engrish” to tentacle anime porn, Japan has plenty of material for rubbernecking gawkers. As a long-term resident of Japan, I only post local material that I think is truly original and weird. Typically this tends to concern the grotesque preparation of seafood, such as George Curzon and the Temple of Doom, how to prepare a squid and most recently “uni muki“.

I snapped the two pictures below near the end of 2008 and felt they were just too weird not to share with readers.

1. Obama Legos

This generic lego set is supposed to be the face of President Elect Barack Obama of the United States. The “Change” slogan of Obama’s campaign has been heard in Japan and has become a fad in a similar way to how it has taken off in the United States. This was on display at the Hobby section of the Shibuya Tokyu Hands.

2. 21st Century Japanese Vomitorium

Recently, while consuming cheap food and brew at a downscale drinking establishment in the Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo, I relieved myself in a bathroom… that had two sinks. See the photo above. The small sink to the left is assumed to be for washing hands. The “tub sink” to the right is explicitly designated with the sign above as the sink to be used for vomiting.

(At the time, the sink was as of yet unused—but the night was very young…)

SIDENOTE: Alas, the term “Vomitorium” was not actually a Latin word for a place where Romans would go to spew their guts, but there is evidence that vomiting was a standard part of the fine-dining experience in ancient times.

Weird Japan indeed.