American Influences and Quirky Stuff
Rather than just strew those little
things you spot that give you amusement throughout the days, I decided
to centralize them on a single page. So in no particular order,
here goes:
Why does Japan Post have a golf ball on their logo?
Pachinko is a kind of gambling that uses machines kind of like pinball machines. Apparently hugely popular, I haven't seen a whole lot of these in the business districts I've mostly been in.
And right across from Las Vegas Pachinko, Tom's favorite, the Circle K. Just like in the States.
Suntory is an alcohol company but which seems to make more money off their non-alcoholic waters, juices, soft drinks and coffees. The Coffee Boss is seen on street corners all over Japan. The logo is a pipe-smoking man who does not, to us, appear to be Japanese. And their slogan is "Suntory BOSS is the boss of them all since 1992." This one was in Kyoto. I intended to buy a Lipton iced tea but instead bought a Dekavita instead, which turned out to be a tasty soda that seemed somewhat medicinal flavored but a little fruit-like. I'd get it again. Jim's comments on the BOSS coffee can be seen over at his web site.
In Kyoto I saw this pair of antennas. Anyone know if there are any big shortwave broadcasters in Kyoto?
We saw this cat logo all over the place and this truck told us what it actually is, the symbol for Yamato Transport. Apparently this logo is as well known as Coca-Cola is in the US, and the cat carrying a kittten is to express that they will take care of your stuff as if it was their own family. Nice.
As shown elsewhere, the gas stations all seem to limit their land requirements by not having pumps but rather suspending their nozzles from the ceiling. This guy was obviously wondering what these Americans thought was so interesting about an Esso station.
This logo I thought was very funny because whatever the leftmost symbol was appear to me to be "less than happy". It turns out this is a sign for the local Lotto.
In Kyoto station they have a Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans style. As well as a Mister Donut. I think the Japanese mostly eat healthy, but not right here.
There are McDonalds wherever you might need one, and the menu is similar but different than the US. This is a chicken sandwich, which I guess is being offered at home at the same time. But there is a similar-looking shrimp sandwich which has pieces of shrimp sticking out at peculiar angles from beneath the breading. On another day, a trip to Shibuya, the busiest intersection in the world, American fast food is well entrenched with multi-level stores, including the world's businest Starbucks.
All fans of campy 60's Japanese horror films proclaim the domination of Gamera, the fire-breathing jet-propelled giant tortoise.
The JENS Voice-over-IP calling card system is in Japanese and English. The first thing it says to you is to enter your ID, which in Japanese appears to be "ID Bango". That amuses us, so we created a little movie of ID Bango.
Tully's Coffee is really good and I've liked it ever since going to Seattle. It's my regular stop in the morning.
Some more interesting food - angry cookies, which turned out to taste like garlic toast, and some chocolate crackers called Pocky. Why there are Men's and Women's we're not sure, we haven't tried them yet. But folks who have been to Japan before say Pocky is amazing.
This house was spotted around Shibuya - a house decorated as "Tattoo"?! If that's not quirky I don't know what is... Maybe it's a tattoo parlor. The whole place otherwise was spraypainted.
Why does Japan Post have a golf ball on their logo?
Pachinko is a kind of gambling that uses machines kind of like pinball machines. Apparently hugely popular, I haven't seen a whole lot of these in the business districts I've mostly been in.
And right across from Las Vegas Pachinko, Tom's favorite, the Circle K. Just like in the States.
Suntory is an alcohol company but which seems to make more money off their non-alcoholic waters, juices, soft drinks and coffees. The Coffee Boss is seen on street corners all over Japan. The logo is a pipe-smoking man who does not, to us, appear to be Japanese. And their slogan is "Suntory BOSS is the boss of them all since 1992." This one was in Kyoto. I intended to buy a Lipton iced tea but instead bought a Dekavita instead, which turned out to be a tasty soda that seemed somewhat medicinal flavored but a little fruit-like. I'd get it again. Jim's comments on the BOSS coffee can be seen over at his web site.
In Kyoto I saw this pair of antennas. Anyone know if there are any big shortwave broadcasters in Kyoto?
We saw this cat logo all over the place and this truck told us what it actually is, the symbol for Yamato Transport. Apparently this logo is as well known as Coca-Cola is in the US, and the cat carrying a kittten is to express that they will take care of your stuff as if it was their own family. Nice.
As shown elsewhere, the gas stations all seem to limit their land requirements by not having pumps but rather suspending their nozzles from the ceiling. This guy was obviously wondering what these Americans thought was so interesting about an Esso station.
This logo I thought was very funny because whatever the leftmost symbol was appear to me to be "less than happy". It turns out this is a sign for the local Lotto.
In Kyoto station they have a Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans style. As well as a Mister Donut. I think the Japanese mostly eat healthy, but not right here.
There are McDonalds wherever you might need one, and the menu is similar but different than the US. This is a chicken sandwich, which I guess is being offered at home at the same time. But there is a similar-looking shrimp sandwich which has pieces of shrimp sticking out at peculiar angles from beneath the breading. On another day, a trip to Shibuya, the busiest intersection in the world, American fast food is well entrenched with multi-level stores, including the world's businest Starbucks.
All fans of campy 60's Japanese horror films proclaim the domination of Gamera, the fire-breathing jet-propelled giant tortoise.
The JENS Voice-over-IP calling card system is in Japanese and English. The first thing it says to you is to enter your ID, which in Japanese appears to be "ID Bango". That amuses us, so we created a little movie of ID Bango.
Tully's Coffee is really good and I've liked it ever since going to Seattle. It's my regular stop in the morning.
Some more interesting food - angry cookies, which turned out to taste like garlic toast, and some chocolate crackers called Pocky. Why there are Men's and Women's we're not sure, we haven't tried them yet. But folks who have been to Japan before say Pocky is amazing.
This house was spotted around Shibuya - a house decorated as "Tattoo"?! If that's not quirky I don't know what is... Maybe it's a tattoo parlor. The whole place otherwise was spraypainted.