Japan Hammer: Weird Japan Part 2

So here's part 2 of Weird Japan. I review the weirdness of certain images or ideas from the internet regarding Japan. All credit for linked images goes to their respective sites.


5. Yamanba or Mountain Hags
Nice makeup...

Weirdness: 2/10


This isn't so weird. Maybe this extreme is a bit weird, but the Ganguro style was relatively popular in Japan in the 1990s and early 2000. You don't really see it much outside of Tokyo, so it is weird to see somewhere like Yamanashi or something. This immediately turns heads of foreigners though and is widely regarded as one http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifof the weirder styles. It still exists in smaller and less extreme pockets, but Japanese people don't seem to be very bothered by it.

4. Random People on Food
Tastes like...something.


Weirdness: 4/10

This is Putin Pudding. It's higher on the weird scale as it's not an American or Japanese celebrity on the food. And the last thing I think of when I see pudding is Vladimir Putin. The idea of putting public figures on food probably won't end here. It's definitely eye-catching. And a bit weird.

3. Ridiculous Parodies of American Culture
I am cholesterol incarnate!

Weirdness: 5/10

Almost any time my students think of American food the first thing they say is hamburger. So suffice to say, Japanese have tried to emulate the outrageous, gluttonous extremes of American food by making these monstrosities of beef. I've seen these tower burgers all over the place. I'm assuming they're made for more than one person? Anyway, it's moderately weird when first seeing it but then it starts to become the norm at some burger joints. There's always the "WTF Burger" at any given place.

2. Ridiculous Blends of American and Japanese Culture
Limit Break: McOmnislash!

Weirdness: 8/10
This is only so weird because it's also very creative. Taking Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders and blending them with Final Fantasy 7 characters Sephiroth and Cloud is pretty unique. The most common examples of this sort of splicing of culture are the McDonald's Big America series. Hamburgers with eggs and salsa and whatever other thing they can come up with. Just bizarre mixtures.

The popularity of Colonel Sanders specifically is rather interesting. There's a famous story about a group that threw a Colonel Sanders statue in a river near Osaka that was dredged up like 20 years later. Mysterious!

1. More Stuff for Lonely People
Forever alone...

Weirdness: 9/10

This is just weird to me. It's not really a sex thing. But more of a comfort thing. Which is weird they have pillows shaped like a woman's lap. It makes me sad that people buy these things. I'm hoping they aren't that popular.

I'm assuming this is weird in any culture though.

Well, that's it for part 2. Next blog I'll explore cute Japan! What really is cute and what is just "meh."

So what did you think of the Weird Japan blogs? More? Or any other suggestions?

Japan Hammer: Weird Japan Part 1

Above is the Pokemon train. Which I'll discuss more about later. And no, this isn't that weird.

Since the title of my blog is "A Weird Guy Living in Japan" not necessarily "A Guy Living in Weird Japan" people may get confused as the content of my blog. I post just about anything really, but most of my blogging about Japan has been relatively tame. That is until today.

There is a website called www.japanisweird.com (warning: some images may be graphic or Not Safe for Work) which has random photos depicting some of the weirdness that you may encounter upon coming to Japan.

I'd like to preface with this: these photos are in no way representative of how Japan really is (for the most part). I'd say about 99 percent of Japan is like anywhere else. Normal people doing normal things. There are not many being dressed in cos-play walking about and it's not like one big, happy anime. Get that concept out of your head. If you like that kind of stuff, go to Harajuku or Akihabara. That's where I see the greatest concentration of all that.

So, today I just want to post links to various pics (not sure if I should post them on my blog since they're not mine) and I'll discuss what I think about the pic and whether it's really so weird compared to other things I've seen here.

5. Hattoyama riding space-age scooter thing

Weirdness: 4/10

http://japanisweird.com/weirdjapanese/popular/17548-even-japanese-version-of-st

Hattoyama was the prime minister around 2009 or 2010? I don't know, they change prime ministers here so much I can't keep track. The reason this picture isn't too weird is because Hattoyama himself was considered a pretty weird guy. He was out of touch with common people (sound familiar to your government?) because he was from a rich background and often was referred to by the nickname "Alien." As you can see by him riding this futuristic space car, he doesn't look that weird. But his wife, on the other hand, is weird. She claims she's from Venus or something. Another reason this isn't so weird is because in Japan anything that would normally blow my mind in being really cool or awesome is just sort of like "meh." Now the androids they've developed, those blow my mind.

4. Dinner with a screen saver

Weirdness: 6/10
Creepiness: 9/10

http://japanisweird.com/weirdjapanese/unmoderated/64707-forever-alone

I don't really get this. It's not really as weird as you'd expect, but it's definitely not normal. Some otaku (nerdy folks) have taken to having virtual girlfriends and plastering their room with images of anime and manga girls. It's not really considered healthy, but it's not so weird. Eating dinner with a computer is pretty weird. The strange thing about this "virtual girlfriend" phenomenon is that the men who do this see it as completely rational.

This ties in to the whole obsession with AKB48 and other bizarre idol worship which is widely accepted in main-stream here. Not to say that this doesn't exist in other countries, but it just has a creepier vibe here.

3. Old man wearing school girl outfit

Weirdness: 2/10
Creepiness: 6/10

http://japanisweird.com/weirdjapanese/unmoderated/70679-mr-miyagi

Cross-dressing is more widely accepted here than I think in other countries. A lot of mainstream celebrities have done it without blow-back from morality groups. I personally don't care if people do it, but when they dress up like school girls...yeah, sorry, that's creepy. Weird, not so much. I've seen this more than enough times on TV that I'm desensitized to it. "New-half" shows (drag queens) are actually quite popular in Kabukicho and Roppongi. I haven't been to one, but then again, I try to avoid those areas (see other blog post about 5 Favorite Places in Japan)

2. Pokemon Bus

Weirdness: 3/10

http://japanisweird.com/unmoderated-weirdjapanese/unmoderated/33765-hey-little-buddy-want-a-ride

This isn't so weird either (see Pokemon train at the top of the blog). Anime and manga are integrated a lot into anything involving children. Oftentimes at family restaurants they will have Doraemon, Anpanman, or some other popular kids' character on the special kids' menu. So seeing a Pikachu bus may seem strange to foreigners, but I don't think Japanese people would even flinch at this.

If I saw this I'd probably say "Oh look! A Pikachu bus." Then I'd go about my day like nothing happened.

1. Weird Drinks or Food

Weirdness: 6/10

http://japanisweird.com/unmoderated-weirdjapanese/unmoderated/47267-the-successor-of-potato-fla

Ok, so this picture is of Ice Cucumber Pepsi. I'm not sure why anyone would want to drink Cucumber flavored soda, but whatever. I rank this number 1 because this is the most common occurrence. It usually has to do with taking something foreign and then making it really, really Japanese. I'm not sure how well this sold, but they had other flavors that were just as weird.

You can see more details here: http://www.loneleeplanet.com/2011/07/weird-japanese-pepsi-flavours/

I'll list them below though with their weirdness level. Credit goes to loneleeplanet.com for the resources.

1. Ice Cucumber-6/10
2. Shiso (herb?)-4/10
3. Azuki (red beans)-5/10
4. Baobab (citrusy taste)-2/10
5. Blue Hawaii (pineapple and lemon)-1/10
6. White (yogurt)-5/10
7. Mont Blanc (chestnut)-6/10
8. Red (ginger/spicy)-4/10
9. Caribbean Gold (sapote)-3/10
10. Carnival (tropical fruit)-1/10

So the weirdest to me is definitely the Ice Cucumber. I'll post a part 2 for more weirdness!

Let me know if this is interesting to you in the comments!