Convenience... Japanese style.

7-11 here has everything.

Great salads, booze, cigarettes, photo printing, utility payments, snacks, quick food, your usual small size toiletries and supplies.

It also has a huge rack of magazines, from manga to porn.

This, my friends, is exactly what it looks like. The 7-11 titty mag shelf. It is, as far as I can tell, in every 7-11 in this country. Behold:

Doesn't look too explicit from here, but trust me. If anyone asks, I will try for a better shot. Please note that on the other end of this shelf I once found the Japanese equivalent of a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book.

And what's this? Don't like to read? Well, what do you know... they rent or sell videos too!

Yeah, that's totally softcore porno flicks right above Wall-E. Is it funny or creepy? Should I cry or laugh? I couldn't figured it out so I went for 'total weirdo' and snapped a picture.

Oh, and people can stand at the shelf for a while and look through the magazines. Any of the magazines. At least once a week I walk past someone calmly leafing through a titty mag while buying ice cream. I'll let you know how I feel about it when I figure it out. Honestly, I'd be more willing to applaud the openness if I could actually find some equivocal literature, but it's all unidirectional. *sigh*

Why certification for translators is a good thing...

I went to the pharmacy to buy conditioner. I came across a brand of fragranced shower gel. "Rose dreams," "Calming Ocean," you know the kind of names I mean. And then, at the end of the row, was this:

"Herbalance: Healing Woody"

.... OOPS

Condoms!

I'm really quite comfortable with most sex things, but I was really quite surprised to see a condom vending machine right next to a Coke vending machine in the middle of everything. Now, this being a college campus, I was glad to see it, but still. I think what really surprised me was how... cutesy the things were.



Yes, those are little anthropomorphic condom cartoons. Welcome to Japan.















This surprised me most though.... check out the name of this vending machine.

For the record, I have not purchased anything from the machines, so I don't know how the things actually compare. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the damn things had Hello Kitty or smiley faces.

By the way, please let me know any sordid details you are dying to find out about Japan. I make no promises, but within reason I will be willing to find and take pictures of things that will not get me arrested. I am going to try to find some call-girl flyers to photograph and post, and at some point I'm planning to visit a naughty store that is NOT in the small city of Oyama. Inquiring minds want to know, after all.

No, I won't photograph the call girls themselves. That is just a bit out of my price range. Also, I think the landlord would shoot me.

Warning... naughty bits

Hi all, this is a side blog I started for any slightly questionable photos or posts about life in Japan. I wanted to make sure that the main blog stayed family-friendly as much as possible. So stay tuned for updates!