Strange Japan
8 galleries
Photos from some of the stranger stories I have covered in Japan: "decochari" customized bicycles, insect sushi, disabled wrestling, and astronaut underpants.
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23 imagesJapan's first (and last?) adult industries trade show. The Tokyo Adult Expo was held at Makuhari Messe in Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, April 5 2007.
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24 imagesJapan has a long tradition of drinking vinegar. It can be enjoyed neat, with water, milk, or even beer.
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40 imagesShoichi Uchiyama is the author of "Fun Insect Cooking". His blog on the topic gets 400 hits a day. He believes insects could one day be the solution to food shortages, and that rearing bugs at home could dispel food safety worries.
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23 imagesTokyo has one of the most extensive and efficient transport networks in the world - but also one of the most crowded. Rail companies calculate crowding by percent of standard capacity (ie when all the seats and standing spaces are occupied). Some trains reach 220%+.
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33 imagesDoglegs is a Tokyo wrestling group that includes both disabled and non-disabled wrestlers. Thera are wrestlers with handicaps such as mental disabilities, sight and hearing impairments, and cerebral palsy.
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33 imagesKanamara festival of the steel phallus in Kawasaki, Japan, 1st April 2007. The shrine was originally to set up by prostitutes to pray for protection from syphillis. Now the yearly festival raises money for HIV research.
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44 images"Dekochari" are bicyles customized to look like the "deko-tora" ("decorated trucks") popular in Japan. The dekochari owners are normally schoolchildren too young to own driving licenses.