Exploring Japan Vol. 24 - Funny Stuff!

For what seems like it will be the final installment of this series for now, I want to take a minute to just point out some of the funny things that we've seen while visiting.  As Americans, if you don't speak the language then there are things that just won't translate the same way visually.  We've had a great time over the years wandering grocery or drug stores and just giggling over the product packaging.  Here are some of our favorites.

When you're buying a sticky mouse trap, do you really need to see the weeping mouse stuck to the pad?  Apparently, you do!

Want to get rid of those pesky nose hairs?  This nostril waxing kit will do the trick, but this guy's expression kills me every time.  He's so excited!

This was literally on the back of a Wendy's takeout bag.  We have no idea what it's about.

You know that problem you have where giant sheets of skin peel off your feet?  You don't?  Neither did I but apparently it's a thing and this will make your feel baby smooth!

One of my favorites was on the wall of the Shinkansen.  This ad featuring Steve Wozniak was on every train we rode during our trek down to Hiroshima.  After a while, it went from being funny to just creepy.

Product ads aside, there are also great signs around that are designed to steer you in the right direction.  Some explain everything with an image.

Beware the pigeons.  They're evil and they have good aim.

Other signs are meant for English speaking visitors and sometimes the fun is in how they're phrased. Other times, it's about the imagery behind the wording.

I love the idea that if you change your clothes in this bathroom stall, you will be transported to an old graveyard and preyed upon by bats.

Other times, it's just something lost in translation.  For instance, this sign advertising "A Thousand flavors that blow."  I believe it wraps around to the other side of this store and says "your mind", however when you walk up on it, you just see the first line.

My all time favorite though comes at the expense of someone who does speak English and decided to be an asshole.  At the fish market in Tokyo, we were wandering the stalls when we saw this sign.  We're used to seeing broken English and in fact, it doesn't even phase us.  We get what the meaning is and we move on.  

However this sign was the gift that kept on giving.  Some jerk had decided to try to correct the sign in an obvious comment on the broken English.  They (of course) made a mistake and got schooled by someone else, but it didn't stop there.  I could not stop laughing.  I've blown it up so you can take it all in. If you're having trouble seeing how this works, I'll break it down below.

1. The sign originally read "Please do not eat this place."

2. Some jerk wrote "at" and put an arrow in as an obvious slam on the quality of the sentence.

3. Someone else wrote "IN" to correct the first person.  Had they left it at that, it would have been fine, but they added "Grammer issues roll eyes" and "Don't be a shitty tourist".

4. But as you can obviously see, they misspelled "Grammar" so a third person took a green pen and corrected that.  

I'm not kidding.  I literally laughed at this for hours after seeing it.

Anyway, thanks for reading these posts.  It's been great fun writing them and reliving our trips.  For those wondering if we'll be going again soon, the answer is, "some of us will".  The girls head to Tokyo for a full month later this year.  I'll be staying back as I have some deadlines approaching that include delivering my next book as well as writing on a brand new project.

With any luck, I'll go back a year from now. Don't worry though.  I'm sure that they'll come back with brand new adventures to report on and I'll see if I can't pull together some fresh installments.

See you soon!