Tokusatsu coffee advert

The above advert for Nescafe appeared on the subway recently in Tokyo. The guy is so amazed by his can of coffee that he doesn't realise there's a fight going on between a big clawed monster and a shiny-footed giant hero. Also there seems to be some kind of alien invasion going on overhead too. I thought the whole point of coffee was to make you more alert.

Tasty poo on a stick

It's delicious, it's most definitely not nutritious: it's unchikun candy. Shaped like a lovely brightly-coloured curly one, it's a gentle reminder to children that sugared treats are really just crap. These ones were bought in Jusco.

Chopstick etiquette

Sometimes I get so blaze and think I know everything there is to know about the cultural mores of this country. The very wonderful, What Japan Thinks, has put me in my place, which I now acknowledge is akin to a very dark cave. I particularly loved the figures on bad chopstick manners. I already knew it was a total no no to stand your sticks up in the bowl but wasn't aware that 'spearing food then eating it' or 'pointing your sticks at other people' is the height of rudeness. Guess I better shape up. One of my finest moments years ago in my days of teaching kids was to get them to play a game where they had to eat as many sweets as possible using chopsticks and wearing huge woolen gloves. Needless to say that the little blighters showed no regard for the social niceties as they overdosed on e-numbers.