and grab you and stop you in your tracks. Its such an overwhelming and inspiring sensory
overload, that sitting here at my desk at home sort of makes me feel entirely empty. If it
wasn't for some music and all the fresh memories I am trying to record right now, all of it
would surely fade away. If you are like me, than you know exactly how adulthood and all
the responsibility and work that comes with it can quite easily and quickly sap your soul
of every drop of creativity and inspiration you ever had. Traveling, especially to such an awe
inspiring place, has the ability to breathe life back into your soul so quickly, its almost as if
you've become a kid again.
While in Japan, I had to stop and take quick snaps of some of these little things. Mostly,
these things consisted of signs, graffiti, stickers, random artwork, weird looking doors, etc.
There was just so much. Unlike our cities here, Japan seems to have such a vast variety
of everything, I don't think I would ever get bored there. After looking at some of our photos,
my Mom said, "it looks like a giant amusement park". I never thought about it that way, but
she's right. Everything is larger than life and customized and different and meant to make
you see it. I think all of these things are meant to make you stop and look, and it works.
Anyway, this is Part 1 of a multi part series of LJ posts that will deal with nothing other than
all these things I took snaps of. Enjoy.
I'll start off with this sign, for Nikon, which obviously is import.
I love this logo. It is a momma cat carrying her kitten in her mouth. This is the logo for Japan's local
delivery company, like our UPS more or less.
Japanese wrestling flyer, funny.
One of the things about Japan's signs and logos, it seems, is that they frequently use "cutesie" or friendly looking
characters that inevitably make you feel happy. It's a clever tactic, because it works.
I wish I could read Japanese. :(
Awesome.
Weird.
From what I can gather, this sign (near the gate to a cemetery) must be telling people not to
leave offerings that attract squirrels, because they leave a mess that needs to be cleaned up.
That said, I could be completely wrong, again, I wish I could read it.
And here's another cute one, that I can only imagine is the dog telling its owner to not forget to
clean up the poo it just left. "Hey, you forgot my shit!"
Astroboy!
And this one I would guess says something like, "pardon us while we renovate this area, thank
you for your patience, etc".
This crab is huge, and its legs move.
Pet shops have huge signs like this to draw you in to the cuteness. It works.
Really tiny.
God knows I love Engrish.
Hmmm, I thought guns were hard to get in Japan if at all???
Surprisingly, Neon Genesis seems to still, after all these years, be hugely popular in Japan. I expected to
see some Sailor Moon, and Nana stuff, but never did I think Neon Genesis would be that one old anime that
is still prevalent everywhere. Not that it is bad, its actually quite good, but I just don't understand why it is the
only one of the older animes that is around every corner.
One of Japan's many famous Mascots.
And I'll end Part 1 with this funny dolphin? Fish? Whatever it is? plushie that was on the counter at
the post office.
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