My stay in Tokyo is running just shy of 2 months, and I have yet to post about funny, or at least interesting, signs I have found. This would be understandable for someone researching, say, micro-organisms or sheep, but hardly excusable for someone who is supposed to be thinking about consumer culture, nationalism, and aesthetics. Most of what I do entails snapping pictures of train station ads and rifling through advertisements from the 1930s; if I’m doing my job right, I should have a gold mine to draw from.
Here are a few I managed to dig up:
I'm not sure what the makers of this candy were aiming for when they named it.
Homer Goes to Japan (in Nagoya)
A dude in Harajuku who is part of a "circle" (i.e. club) that cheers people up by dressing up and doing randomly nice things for people. Who knew that Tokyo had a DoRaK (current UM student group)? This guy later gave me a cell phone strap decoration he had made.
A Clothes Shop in Ueno, Tokyo.
This was just cool. A fountain pen shop dating from the Showa period (1926 - 88) in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture.
A toy panda tied to a pole in front of a game center in Ueno. It was wheeling around in squeaky little circles.
Very interesting post!
Your pictures of advertising and culture are great to see!
Enjoy your remaining time there!
Thank you! 🙂