Days three and four Japan

Post typhoon Tokyo - no different!

Sumo wedgie?

Come on push him passed the rice bags fatso!

Quinn was trying to get a lollie out of his bag desperately here - as soon as the photo was taken he handed it using his hands, not done in Japan - to the Sumo who smiled and lots of people around us were laughing, the Sumo kept it in his hand and walked away with a funny grin on his face; and Quinn was super happy!

This place was completely craz,y adults just sit there served by maids in french maid outfits and play games in some seriously noisy space.


Tokyo tower.

A bit of Japlish.

Sign for fireman metal cover for something - cute!

Sumo on the train platform.

Pokemon world - frickin rip off crazy place!


All with her pants on WEIRD!

SUMO shopping

The names of the Sumo's on flags - traditional way to advertise.

Sumo getting ready to rumble.

Dad in Kangaroos footy jumper (scabby old thing he secretly packed!) in downtown Tokyo, as the lights came on!


Japanese girls are really cutsie. The common fashion (if you could call any fashion in Japan a cultural commonality) for many is high, high heels, knee high socks and short, short skirts; and this is not just the Yo-mummas (Japanese social phenomenon of very young mothers who still dress like teenage manga characters).
Something about it all reminds me of the sexualization of little girls that happens in the west. The façade of all the many sex shops contains cutsie images of little cartoon girls – my children keep thinking they’re toy shops and we have to drag Quinn passed.

Are cute little girls just the right amount submissive Japan is a culture where just 100 years ago a women, wife, mother or daughter could be outright murdered for any extroverted behaviour. I wonder how much this lives in the Japanese psyche.
There is no flash of breast or inappropriate stomach cleavage. The Japanese as always display polar diversity – overt sexuality without a hint of promiscuity. Is that why Geisha are so revered?

It seems to me that some women actively seek to subvert this with full on gothica and huge angry boots and shaved faces.
The subcultures here are unreal, but necessary because there cannot be a dominant culture in Japan without complete social disintegration that’s clear to anyone even after only a few days.

Or the last ½ an hour I have watched a group of Japanese businessmen pass gifts, haggle, smile and chatter in their quiet way while a female co-worker (I assume) stands of to one side obviously bored not welcome in the exchange I can make nothing more of it with my limited insight and access to this complex culture; I wonder if this is an often repeated scenario.

Complex is the perfect word for comments on Japanese culture; we westerners have no right because we cannot understand it and we cannot simplify it. The Japanese never simplify anything; from toilets to umbrellas to metal self installed escape ladders.

I can only observe in my ignorance and pledge to come here again and again to try to uncover the world within.

Now to uncovering Kabuki theatre – boy who knew it was the original film noir – no wonder there are odes to the French in fashion and architecture everywhere; and anyone familiar with film noir knows how BORING it is. Kabuki is minute by minute suck eggs commentary with minute subversive movements and odd head and arm waggles which are meant to inject humour into the often dark themes. It is so boring, but simple to understand; the reason of course it because it was shown to many peasant and lower class – as in non- warrior - many hundreds of years ago and the Japanese more than anything very rarely dynamically develop cultural traditions – weirdly stagnated in some places and jettisoned ahead in others – more of the complexities of culture.

We checked out the Sumo wrestling today. Awesome – quick and simple – check out attached pictures and explanations as it goes.

The kids were very pleased with sumo- for about one minute and then as usual were hungry, needed to go to the toilet and generally bored. Iggy’s need for food has been somewhat trying I must say!
We bought the boys Sumo trading cards – that was cool and lots of other little bits and pieces for the kids and our nieces and nephews. I must say we have spent way beyond our budget – it is SO expensive in Japan – everything costs a fortune, all the food and drink is unreasonably and we spend approx $50 a meal! The Europeans are loving it though with the exchange rate which means it must be even worse in Europe – Oh shit. We’ll be right though, at least we can eat.

We did the observatory thing today which was cool – but everyone smokes in doors and the centre was completely enclosed. No Mount Fuji though, it seems Fujisan is a humble spot of venerability and was as usual hiding. Apparently Fujisan is often is hard to spot and even though I swear by my incredible good luck today was not my day.
Unlucky days include an expensive mind boggling excursion to the Pokemon Centre – which we had heard was a theme park, it wasn’t it was a themed shop and mind boggling at that. The children inside were as gobbed smacked as ours, the place also had many conspicuous white daddies in business suits loaded with goodies for their western bound children; they were the pushiest – in a rush to break through the crowds and escape, back to meetings.