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Quirky Japan

Tokyo City Keibajo Racetrack
The Tokyo City Keibajo Racetrack is an excellent, almost free place to spend an evening in Tokyo. It’s known for it’s “Twinkle Races,....
28 Sep 10:40 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The All-Japan Telephone Answering Contest
The Annual All-Japan Telephone Answering Contest is held in November every year. According to the contest’s official website, “The purp....
20 Sep 7:14 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Motorboat Racing
Motorboat racing is one of four forms of legalized gambling in Japan, and there are racecourses all over the country. A couple of weeks ago ....
13 Sep 9:05 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Fountain Fun
These kids were playing  in Heiwajima Park in Tokyo. ....
6 Sep 12:39 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Mysterious Garden Rocks
If you’ve ever been to a Japanese garden, you’ve may have seen these little rocks wrapped in ropes in various places. What are they?  D....
30 Aug 10:10 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Fukagawa Matsuri
The Fukagawa Matsuri (officially the Fukagawa Hachimangu Matsuri) is one of Tokyo’s “Big Three” festivals, but seems to be a lot less ....
23 Aug 9:10 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Happy Pineapple Day!
On August 7 this month, I found a huge bunch of about 15 bananas for only 120 yen at my local supermarket. Wondering why they were so cheap,....
17 Aug 5:51 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Two Obons
This is the annual festival at my son’s preschool and was held on July 17. I thought it was kind of strange to have an Obon festival in Ju....
11 Aug 10:11 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Average Rents in Tokyo by Area
Tokyo is one of the world’s most expensive cities, and rents can be astronomical, but if you’re a little bit careful in deciding where y....
3 Aug 10:43 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Boso no Mura Folk Village
The Boso no mura is a fantastic blend of history, nature, and beautiful architecture in Chiba, near Narita Airport. It doesn’t seem to get....
28 Jul 9:44 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Memories of the Bubble
I’ve always been fascinated with Japan’s bubble economy. I think it’s because I came to Japan in 1993, just after Japan’s famous eco....
22 Jul 9:43 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Ueno Lotuses
I don’t usually recommend Ueno as a tourist destination (the zoo is just cruel, the museums are stodgy, Ameyoko-cho is charmless, and the ....
12 Jul 4:24 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Urawaza 2
バーゲンで良品と粗悪品を見分 ける裏ワザ！ from 裏技・裏情報ブログ！ by urabox バーゲンで良品と粗悪....
9 Jul 2:34 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Urawaza – Japanese Living Tips
An urawaza is a helpful hint or secret technique for doing something. I recently found this interesting site, the Urawaza/Ura Jyouhou Blog ....
6 Jul 9:15 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Ameyoko-cho Mask Shop
This little shop in Ueno’s Ameyoko-cho market district sells rubber celebrity masks. They only cost 2,000 yen or so and would certainly ma....
28 Jun 10:45 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Odd Japanese Blogs – The Pedestrian Overpass Blog
Today’s blog is the third of five himajin blogs that I’m writing about this week. It’s called the Nagoya Hodoukyou Dagaya! (The Nagoy....
24 Jun 10:39 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Odd Japanese Blogs – The Telekinesis Blog
Today’s blog is the last of the himajin blogs that I’m writing about this week. It’s called the Nenriki Blog (Telekinesis Blog). Acco....
24 Jun 9:57 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Odd Japanese Blogs – The QR Code Blog
Today’s blog is the third of five himajin blogs that I’m writing about this week. It’s called the QR Code Blog. In case you don’t kn....
23 Jun 10:35 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Odd Japanese Blogs – The Vending Machine Report
Yesterday, I posted about the Tokyo Kaidan DB (Tokyo Stairs Database), a meticulous cataloging of stairs in Tokyo. Today’s blog is the sec....
22 Jun 5:30 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Odd Japanese Blogs – The Tokyo Stairs Database
The Japanese word “himajin” means “someone with too much time on his hands.” A few weeks ago I came across a blog called “Tokyo Ka....
21 Jun 4:19 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Otaku Photos
I found these on a Japanese blog called  V-blog, which is kind of a “best of 2channel” site. The original 2Channel thread the photos co....
14 Jun 6:37 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park
Last summer I was really excited to find the Gyotoku Yachou Kansatsusha, a great bird sanctuary just 30 minutes on the subway from downtown ....
7 Jun 6:58 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Money for Nothing
Sometimes Japan’s gift-giving culture can make life really complicated. Having to leave half your suitcase empty so that you have room to ....
1 Jun 8:28 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Ｋｙｏｉｃｈｉ
http://kansaibimi2.jugem.jp/ ....
29 May 8:59 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Rainbow Bridge Walk
The Rainbow Bridge is a Tokyo landmark connecting the island of Odaiba with the rest of the city. At the end of Golden Week, I decided to wa....
25 May 7:50 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Buddhist Pet Funerals
I hear the word “pettoro-su” (pet loss) surprisingly often these days, and it seems a lot of funeral parlors and graveyards are springin....
17 May 12:15 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Gogatsu Ningyo, the Dolls of Boys’ Day
Japan has some of the most amazing dolls in the world, and when I went to visit my wife’s family during Golden Week, I was surprised to s....
10 May 9:11 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
The Kagaku Miraikan in Tokyo’s Odaiba district really is a museum that everyone should see. I went there a month or so ago, and it put me ....
3 May 10:11 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The Kurtz Syndrome
The Kurtz Syndrome is a condition which affects many long-term residents, causing them to ego native like Kurtz in Apocalypse Now/The Hea....
26 Apr 9:56 pm  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Nara Houses
Japan is well-known for its excellent public transportation system, but something I’ve been realizing recently is that if you want to see ....
20 Apr 8:06 am  from  Quirky Japan   [Profile]  [Recent] 
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