AltJapan

"He's a mean bastard from Okinawa..."

OKINAWA, May 8 -- A professional gaijin raconteur and sea-explorer was awarded the Sacred Order of the Rising Sun this week for preventing the certain destruction of the Tokyo Tower by Mothra. Spotting a recently hatched juvenile specimen in the waters off of Iriomote Island in the Okinawan archipelago, he acted quickly and decisively to halt its rampage towards the Motherland. "It was the least I could do after all this country has done for me over the years," he said in a speech at the acceptance ceremony. "It also went quite well with soy sauce and a little wasabi."

Akihabara Shakedown

Yesterday's TV news programs overflowed with breathless reports of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police swarming Tokyo's famed "Electric Town," Akihabara, to shut down otaku street performances. Although obviously staged as a publicity stunt -- suspiciously well-informed camera crews outnumbered the officers in many shots -- you can catch the broadcast highlights here and here. "An Army of Cosplayers has Taken Over City Streets!" warns one headline. "Cosplayers Versus the Authorities!" screams another.

Based on a True Story

They're here. They're weird. Get used to it. They're the YOKAI! That's right: Hiroko and I have had a little secret brewing for the last year or so:

Meet our newest book: Yokai Attack: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide! Published by the fine folks at Kodansha International, it's what we believe is the world's first English-language guidebook to surviving potential encounters with monsters of Japanese myth and legend. For generations they were believed to have stalked Japan's mountains, forests, fields, coastlines, and towns. And who's to say they still aren't around? Written and created by Hiroko and I, illustrated by the talented manga-ka Tatsuya Morino, it's the last guide to Japan you'll ever need.

The book is organized "datafile" style, letting you take in important characteristics like pronunciation, size, locomotion, prevalence, danger level, and habitat at a glance. Each entry also contains abundant info about each creature's historical/cultural background and modus operandi -- handy for surviving any close encounters. It isn't "fiction," isn't anime or manga -- it's a collection of anecdotes and conventional wisdom about the creatures, giving you a leg up on the many references to yokai that appear in Japanese literature, film, anime, slang, and even cuisine (another serving of Kappa Maki, my friends?)

It's 196 pages covering more than forty hand-picked favorites. It's coming out in America and Europe this fall, but it's going on sale this JUNE in Japanese bookstores!

A Maid Man

A photo taken on the set of the latest episode of Tokyo Eye, which covers... The Japan Maid Association's official Akiba Maid Certification Test! These freshly-minted Level Threes joined us in the studio to tell us all about it. It's set to air at the end of next month -- I'll post details when they're available.

That's right: there's now an official Japan Maid Association (motto: "From Fad to Mainstream Culture.") Intriguingly, it doesn't test applicants as to anime or manga knowledge, as you might expect, but rather drills the history of Victorian maids into them so they can (wait for it) get jobs as "real" maids cleaning peoples' homes. Talk about coming full circle. It's like a maid outreach program.

In the meantime (and how's this for a segue?) fans of raw sewage will be excited to hear that another segment will air first: I plunge into the depths of Tokyo's sewer system for an up-close and personal look at, uh, Tokyo's bowels. That particularly fragrant episode airs on May 7th on NHK World abroad (check your cable provider for details) and at 10:15pm on May 14th on terrestrial digital channel 3, subchannel 2 in Japan.

Son of Tsuchinoko

Another year, another failure to find the legendary Tsuchinoko -- and another chance to collect a cool cash prize for bringing back proof of this ever-elusive creature's existence.

That's right: Niigata prefecture's Itoigawa City is at it again, and this time they've upped the reward to a whopping hundred million yen for anyone who can actually bag a specimen of the mythical beast during the third annual Tsuchinoko Tankentai (Tsuchinoko Search Team) event. The entry fee's a cool 4,000 yen, but what's a couple of grand compared to the millions you'll be swimming in once you find one? Don't let the fact nobody's ever managed before stop you: you'll be a veritable cryptozoological superstar if you succeed. The search kicks off on June 8th and lasts through the weekend. Exact times, locations, and other details are listed on the official poster. Happy hunting.

(Hm? What's a Tsuchinoko? Uh... a fat snake. Sort of. Read the scoop from last year for more details.)

Grafitti, Japan Style

Spotted in Harajuku: Gundam graffiti!

RX-78 and Snoop Dogg (?), 2-gether 4-ever:

Just in time for the new movie:

Now we need a Fukuda with a yen sign:

Minnows

Portrait of Hiroko.

It's crowded in there.

These were taken in (perhaps "under" is more accurate?) Key Largo, Florida, last year. It is a testament to my laziness that I never put an album up. We encountered this super-dense school of glass minnows, otherwise known as anchovies, in a swim-through about twenty feet beneath the surface.

High Points in US-Japan Relations

Why do American textbooks inevitably fail to mention the time the Japanese Air Force saved Washington DC from the flying saucers?

Raiding the Ark

Ark's series of six "Arklon" diecast monster toys represent everything that's right about Japanese toy-design.

Originally sold in 1978, these odd-looking playthings are the brainchild of Japanese toy industry legend Saburo Ishizuki. Although ostensibly created as licensed merchandise for live-action fare such as Ultraman and the DeLaurentis King Kong remake, Ishizuki deviously packed the toys full of bizarre gimmicks and modular bodies that let them be disassembled and re-combined like a crazy monster-themed Erector set. Clockwise from top left, you've got Baltan Seijin, Gomola, Red King, Black King, King Kong, and King Joe. That's a whole lot of kings.

Gimme (Photo) Shelter

Hiroko's finally kicked off an official website to showcase her photography! It's broken down into three sections: "Traditional Japan," which includes imagery such as the ningyo kuyo (last rites for dolls) ceremony above; "Natural Japan," which focuses on close encounters with animals both everyday and exotic; and "Worldwide," which features shots from our various exploits abroad.

But don't take my word for it -- her pictures are worth far more than a paltry handful of blog-prose. Click here for the direct link... and check back frequently for updates.