Andy in Tokyo News, views, life and current affairs from Japan

You have to be as calm as a Hindu cow to survive some train journeys in Tokyo. Do you think you could put up with this kind of treatment on a daily basis without going mental?

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This is the view from our spare bedroom. We’ve lived in this apartment for about three years now, and despite its age (it was built in the late 1960s, which by Japanese standards makes it practically medieval) it’s a great place. Noisy neighbours are not a problem for us as the walls are solid concrete - almost [...]

While the image above may typify the tourist image of Japanese homes, the reality for most Japanese is very different. Writer, editor and photographer Tsuzuki Kyoichi’s two-volume title Universe for Rent (賃貸宇宙 in Japanese) provides a voyeuristic peek into the living spaces of ordinary folk living in and around Tokyo:

Unfortunately this title isn’t readily available [...]

Japanese stand-up show Enta no Kamisama has produced its fair share of superstar comedians. One of the most popular at present is Kameko Nobuo, who bounces around stage in a ridiculously tight spandex shirt waving gold pom-poms in the air before telling the audience some decidedly kimoi (disgusting or gross) things.
I haven’t been able to [...]

Chances are you’ve never heard of him, in fact from the age of 27 nobody heard anything from John Francis for the next 17 years. A remarkable man with a truly remarkable story:

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