Wo0t!~ I have gotta 
experience the thrill
of barreling down this three meter long section of maglev train track!
Maglev center to offer new high-speed experience
The Asahi Shimbun | April 15, 2014
–Visitors to the Yamanashi Prefectural Maglev Exhibition Center will soon be able to view the world’s fastest "floating" train and experience the thrill of a simulated ride…more…
Today’s creepy Japanese mascot is Shizuka-chan (wiki) who is shilling for Toyota’s new “fuel-sipping Passo +Hanna” eco-car model (Japan Times 2014apr14) that promises to sip your brrrains!
Look closer at her,
if you dare …m0Ar!~
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Japan’s special form of costumed creepiness, the kigurumi (
), are covered in other 3Yen reports including:
• lil’ Big Bo Peep (3Yen / 2014-04-02)
• Old McDonalds had a farm… (3Yen / 2014-02-01)
• Still time to stop ‘em! (3Yen / 2009-03-21)
• New face for the new year (3Yen / 2006-12-27)
H5-type bird flu discovered at two Kumamoto farms
Japan Times | Apr. 13, 2014
The agriculture ministry announced Sunday a suspected outbreak of bird flu that killed at least 1,100 chickens at a farm in Taragi, Kumamoto Prefecture, prompting the prefectural government to order the culling of 112,000 chickens…more…
As shown in the scandalous photo below, Kumamon (3Yen / 2013-11-13) the mascot bear of Kumamoto Prefecture must have caused this outbreak of H5 Avian Flu.
No doubt that Kumamon consorting in unnatural ways with young Kumamoto chicks like “Hiyoko-chan” (R), packaged Chicken Ramen mascot.
Also refer to the previous 3Yen report about Nissin Corporation’s Chikin Ramen®:
Hot, quick, [sic] chikin ↓(3Yen / 2011-08-26)
..
Japan’s Ministry of Silly Walks* offers for your pleasure…
Yesterday was the grand Oiran/Hooker Parade of Tokyo’s Asakusa temple–cum–pleasure district.
The cosplaying ladies shown below are pretending to be Oiran (Wiki), or high-class courtesans/hookers, and they reenact the grand Oiran Dochu, the parade around the pleasure quarters of Tokyo’s Yoshiwara district (Wiki).
Ok, let’s get a close-up of the hooker’s Cruel Shoes (3Yen / 2012-06-06)…
View videos of yesterday’s hooker parade and the cinematic version of the Oiran Parade in our COMMENTS section…
See more Japanese Cruel Clogs (3Yen / 2012-05-27) , and learn about how Japanese girls are short but really…(3Yen / 2009-10-09).
New—plus York—equals New York! according to this boombox/turntable head (L) touting Japan’s new version of glacéau vitaminwater®, which supposedly is the New York inventor’s mangling remix of the French words “glace” (ice) and “eau” (water).
Slate’s "Culture" blog | April 9, 2014
Das Racist’s Heems Made a Japanese Commercial for Vitamin Water, and It’s Hilarious(?)
…since Brooklyn-based rap group Das Racist called it quits in 2012, founding member Himanshu "Heems" Suri has …managed to find the time to collaborate with Vitamin Water on what’s been dubbed the “New York remix” of a commercial airing in Japan…more…
It’s kids and workout. It’s Baby-car(sic) exercise. —Heams
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For more about Japanese-engrish baby-cars, check out our previous posts:
• Ultraman ‘baby car’ …from Japan of course (3Yen / 2011-09-01)
• Single-seat cars for Japanese babies (3Yen / 2005-02-08)
Here’s my nightmare commute on the Wangan Highway* in the Keihin District† of the Tokyo-Yokohama industrial megalopolis.
Previous/endless Japanese nightmares I have covered on the 3Yen include:
• Japan’s national tree–concrete utility pole (3Yen / 2011-01-14
• 10 Ugly Rivers of the World (3Yen / 2010-02-05)
• Japanese Junkspace (3Yen / 2008-06-29)
• Ill-Machine, Tokyo (3Yen / 2008-01-22) ↓
Precocious
and
popped!
A Japanese mutant from outer space reaches sexual maturity at only the age of five and has grown to four meters (13ft) tall—Talk about an early bloomer!
Botanists baffled by rapid growth of ’space cherry’
The Asahi Shimbun | 2014apr06
—A tree grown from a cherry pit that traveled in space five years ago with astronaut Koichi Wakata, now commander of the International Space Station, has bloomed far ahead of what is normal–to the astonishment of botanists.
Cherry trees typically take about a decade from the time they sprout from seeds to bloom…
…In four years, the young plant has grown to a height of about 4 meters…
…it takes 10 years or more for cherry trees to grow flowers, but the young trees produced from cherry pits taken into space have flowered unusually early…more…
All around the world, private museums are run by rather unique* folks, and Japan is no exception.
Japanese is arguably one of the least religious counties in the world but…*
embiggen
No priests.(†) pic.twitter.com/0C3IX9Zf1D— Lee Chapman (@tokyotimes) April 6, 2014
*Rest-of-the-story…
Although Japanese people have almost no interest in religion (reference), the sign prohibiting mendicant monks (not priests) is actually an anti-Chinese sign.
Almost all Japanese believe begging monks are fakes—Illegal Chinese immigrants(reference) without any skills including language and who are just wearing cheap robes and cleverly pretending an oath-of-silence. Since the 1970s, Japan has become so wealthy that begging is a rarity. Nowadays most Japanese would rather (and do) starve rather than ask for a handout or charity.
“Monk asking for money” by Julian’s flickr
Creative Commons
†↩Technically speaking, these beggars are almost always silent mendicant monks and not “priests” per se. That is, on occasion priests can “beg” for money but generally they actually have to verbally announce themselves in groups with much chanting as well as banging-&-clanging of drums and bells. This practice (shakedown) of we-will-shut-up-if-you-pay-us-for-a-blessing has mostly died out.
His earrings are golden.
Word up.
Goldfish bowl earrings are the new black. pic.twitter.com/ZlyPli4JDr — Sir fAntsypants (@ozAntinnippon) April 5, 2014
His name is Eijiroh Miyamae (age 80), aka Boshi Ojisan (“Hat Man”) or Harajuku Ojisan (
). Some people say he used to be a postman but he always wanted to be an actor. Others say he is a true artist, of the Outsider/Intuitive School:
• wikipedia.org/wiki/Eijiro_Miyama
• facebook.com/BoshiOjisan
• Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne*
*Biography:
Miyama, Eijiro (1934), Japan
Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
—Eijiro Miyama was born in Mie Prefecture, Japan. A loner, he never married and has always led a wandering sort of existence. He has had various jobs, notably as a day labourer in the construction industry and as a lorry driver. When he was around fifty-five, he settled in one of the boarding houses for impoverished working men in Yokohama’s Kotobuki district…
…One day, about ten years ago, Eijiro Miyama walked around with a cup of instant noodles on his head. People turned to stare as he went by. This act, provocative and liberating, gave him a huge feeling of exaltation. He gradually created eccentric headgear that he adorned with toys and sundry objects found discarded at flea markets…continues…
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—Youtube
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