Kumamon Is Everywhere!

In Japan, there is a fascination with mascots. Anything and everything has a mascot, be it Osaka's Floating Garden:

Kumamoto Castle:

or Tokyo Tower:

Even the different prefectures in Japan have mascots, such as this one from neighboring Nagasaki:

Recently, there was a nation wide vote on which prefecture had the best mascot. Kumamoto's Kumamon took first place and has since exploded in popularity, appearing on all manner of merchandise. Personally, I don't like Kumamon that much. He's kind of creepy. Always looking at you with that wide eyed, soul sucking stare.

The first Kumamon things we found were fairly typical. There were some potted plants along the shopping arcade:

Okay, this one is cute.

Kumamon adorned the information sign at the trolly stop:

And the Kumamon lights were still up to decorate the arcade at night:

There was even a new bar with Kumamon as its mascot:

All fairly normal things, I suppose. After all, we were still in the capital city and it was only natural that they'd play up Kumamon's popularity. But as we travelled deeper into the inaka, it became clear that Kumamon had infested every corner of the prefecture. Kumamon was on our food:

Take that Kumamon, you creepy thing.

And our water:

He welcomed us to the stores we frequented:

Oh, hai!

And our hotel:

He was even in the schools:

And put in an appearance at graduation:

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!

Want to know more about Kumamon? Well good news, here's his bio which I found outside another store in Amakusa:

When asked about Kumamon, one of Amanda's teachers remarked that he felt Kumamon was like a virus. I couldn't agree more. Still think Kumamon isn't completely ubiquitous? I'll leave you with this Kumamon crane machine...from Osaka:

You terrify me Kumamon.

Photo Friday: Love Hotel

For those who don't know, love hotels are relatively cheap hotels explicitly made for couples. Since overnight rates generally fall well below those of the average hotel and since they frequently have vacancies, they were pretty popular choices for traveling JETs in my area. My fiancee and I stayed several nights in a local love hotel just before returning to America. So if you've ever wondered what a Japanese love hotel looks like, here are some pictures:

I've found that the rooms in love hotels tend to be very spacious for such a low cost. This room had two couches, a table, a stocked refrigerator, a microwave, and, naturally, a spacious bed.

It also had a rather lavish shower room with an adjustable shower head and an oversized bath with water jets.

Here is our room's slot machine. These are apparently a draw for some customers, as each room had a different machine and they were listed in the room descriptions.

One facet of love hotels that never changes is the fact that you don't directly interact with the staff. Room rates are posted in the entryway as well as in the room itself. You're charged either by the hour or overnight. In this particular hotel, you entered and selected your room by pressing a button off a menu. The botton would cause a light to flash above the room to indicate where it was located. Whenever you were done with the room, you called the front desk, informed them of any food or drinks you'd consumed from the fridge (honor system!), and you were sent a message tube to place your money in. The charge was displayed over the tube so there wouldn't be any confusion. Any change would be sent back the same way and you'd leave.

I had hesitations about love hotels when I first arrived in Japan, but they really aren't that bad. If you're ever in a pinch to find an inexpensive hotel at the last minute, I'd definitely recommend looking into it.

Double Prizes: Hangry and Angry

I'll come right out and admit that I had no idea what Hangry and Angry were until last week, when I started looking up the origins for a number of my crane game winnings. Just like Nyanpire, these things  were quirky plushes that I found interesting and tried to win whenever I saw them. Still, they had a certain feel to them like they were connected to something else.

Turns out Hangry and Angry are the cat plush mascots for the female rock duo of the same name comprised of two former Morning Musume members. The band's sound is okay. Of the songs I've heard from them, I think Top Secret is my favorite.

You may have noticed that several plushies show up in the video and that the girls themselves play crane games to win them. The Wikipedia article mentions that Hangry and Angry exist in part to promote their toy line. Well, mission accomplished. They did so well at pushing stuffed animals that I never realized they were a band, despite most of their singles debuting while I lived in Japan. Anyway, let's look at some more toys.

This one is Hangry. She always sports a red mohawk and frequently wears an eyepatch. Her style is more punk whereas Angry is more gothic lolita. Consequently, I like Angry's look a bit better. I'm slightly disappointed I never won an Angry doll in this size.

Here are a few coin purses featuring the characters. Angry looks very excited to have found a skull. These purses aren't really large or durable enough for practical use.

These coffin shaped holders are a bit more solid. These were pretty easy to get, hence the two styles of each. Probably have some extras lying around somewhere as well.

This is my favorite of the four. You wouldn't be able to fit much inside.

Hangry and Angry are a weird case of related merchandise outstripping source material. Even though I didn't initially seek out the Nyanpire manga and anime, I was aware they existed shortly after I found the plushies. Had I not started these blog entries, I would never have learned about Hangry and Angry's music. I don't know what this says, especially considering merchandise sales are one of the goals of the band, but it is an interesting case to consider.

Origami A Day 9: Guilon

Today's model is another from the kaiju origami site I visited last week. I used a piece of blue 5 7/8 inch Fold'ems paper. I may regret that decision as the model is a bit thicker than I thought it would be.

Guilon, or Guiron, is a monster from the movie Gamera Vs. Guiron. A Showa era Gamera film, I've gathered that it is a rather silly movie. However, Guilon is infamous in certain circles due in part to his incredibly violent run-in with Space Gyaos, whom he summarily dismembers with his giant blade face. Keep in mind this is a film for kids.

I've already voiced my displeasure and confusion over the photo directions on this origami site, so I won't bother rehashing them all here. I will say that it took me three tries to get past the first page of directions and my first two attempts now reside in pieces in my trashcan. However, I wanted to make this model very badly and persevered, more or less. I probably put in a good two and a half hours getting this folded.

Somewhere near the end of the instructions I completely lost what was being asked of in the directions and had to improvise a bit. I think it came out looking fairly good, though there is a problem...

My Guilon can't stand up. He just lays down very sadly. The layers inside the front half of the model push everything out and my legs aren't sturdy enough to stay in place. Had I used the thinner Suisai paper, this might not have been an issue. 

I like the pattern on the blade. Though it might not be accurate to the character, it does a good job of imitating a the tempered line of a sword.

What is remarkably accurate are the legs. Guilon moved around most of the time on his hands and knees. I appreciate the detail put into the model to reflect this.

He doesn't look too bad on a sloped surface.

Wish I could have folded one at the same scale as my Godzilla and Mecha Godzilla, but I won't be attempting this model again anytime soon.

Photo Friday: DyDo Machine and Kamen Cider

There are a lot of vending machines in Japan. Most of the ones in my area carried Coca-cola products, which was fine most of the time. However, to get the really good stuff, you need to find a DyDo machine.

DyDo machines are amazing for a number of reasons. They stock awesome drinks like Hotcake Juice and Yogurt, the machine thanks you for every purchase and there's a roulette system which, if you win, gives you a free drink.

It's also host to my favorite Japanese gimmick soda: Kamen Cider.

I say gimmick because other than the name, this soda doesn't have much going for it. It's a decent cider I guess, but the only reason to seek it out and buy it over another brand is the packaging.

I suppose a little background is in order for those unfamiliar with Japanese pop-culture. There is a long running tokusatsu (特撮, special effects) TV show in Japan called Kamen Rider. Kamen (仮面) means mask or masked, so the show is Masked Rider. Though I'm sure I'll elaborate more on this series in a future post, think of something along the lines of Power Rangers, itself an American adaptation of a tokusatsu series. The design of each can of Kamen Cider is based off a character from the show's long history, with information about the character included on the back. It lends itself well to the collector "Gotta Catch 'Em All" culture of Japan, my own disappointment with getting four Kamen Rider Black cans a clear sign that I too have been sucked into this mindset.

Kamen Rider not your thing? Dydo has you covered with Ultraman (Ultra Water) and Super Sentai (Goranger). Check out their website here.

Photo Friday: Bathroom Poster

Enjoy this informational poster describing how your poop should look and smell. Just be glad they didn't include all five senses.

I Hate Mukade

I’ve been told that everything is bigger in Texas.  Well, that is a lie!  Take for instance the various animals that inhabit my area of Japan.  Crows here are simply gigantic, I’ve seen spiders larger than my hand, Japanese hornets are notoriously dangerous and huge, and last, but certainly not least, are the mukade.  What are mukade, you ask.  Why, they’re large centipedes with a poison powerful enough to leave huge welts if your lucky and, I’ve heard, kill small animals or people who are allergic to their venom.  I was cursed with a rather unfortunate placement in Japan, for it seems that these things only exist in the lower half of Kyushu.  Enjoy some pictures.

I apologize for not having a picture where it's flush against the ruler, but it was suffering the effects of a powerful poison at the time.  Still, you can see that it's easily 11cm.  This is one of the larger ones that's gotten into my house, but is by no means the largest I've seen.  I've read they can grow up to 20cm.

A size comparison I think most of my friends would appreciate.  When I showed my kids these pictures, they asked if it was my pet.  I have no idea what they were thinking.  Mukade are only a problem during the summer months, especially during the rainy season when the poison around my house tends to wash away.  I've yet to be bitten by one of these things, but I have found several in my room and a few in my bed, which I check every night before turning in. 

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into one of the more unpleasant realities of life abroad.  In all honesty, if houses here were better insulated, had double pane windows, etc. mukade would be no less trouble than the average house pest.  As it is, they get in so frequently that they necessitate an all out war against them.  So far, I'm winning and I hope it stays that way.