General

When it comes to facial hair, most Japanese men aren’t hugely hirsute, with more than a few having to make do with the likes of manufactured moustaches. Yet baldness on the other hand doesn’t appear to be that big of a problem, which, while great for the majority, makes it even more catastrophic for those considering a combover.

Thankfully though, help is at hand, with wig makers well versed in such worries.

The only problem being that, on a caricature, the pronounced parting looks passable, but on a real person, it’s positively preposterous.

With Japan boasting such tantalising titles as best Jeanist and Nailist, it’s perhaps not surprising then to see that online entertainment site ZAKZAK has created the Japanese Gravure Idol Award. A prize that finally gives the nation’s hard-working bikini models the recognition they so richly deserve, with the judges taking into consideration the likes of photo album sales and media exposure, along with an ample number of other assets.

And, after some no doubt lengthy deliberations, the judges finally presented the first ever title to 24-year-old Yuko Ogura.

Although obviously overcome with emotion, Ogura-san managed to just about pull herself together enough to proclaim that, “I really appreciate my fans who support me all the time. When I started bikini modelling eight years ago, everybody thought models should have big breasts. But it’s different now. Diversified girls with different characters and shapes can succeed in modelling.”

A well intentioned statement that on closer inspection, however, may,

or indeed may not,

have much merit.

Tokyo is often touted as being Blade Runner-esque due to its blaring, neon-lit nightscape, and, in its more maudlin moments, the metropolis also has an almost Gotham City mien.

Plus, it now appears that Star Wars can be added to the movie medley, with Tokyo’s celebrity super trooper and Sith cavorting round the capital, although the selected soundtrack sounds strangely familiar, rather than one from a galaxy far, far away.

With Tokyo’s sudden change over the weekend from unbearably humid, to unbearably hot and humid resulting in countless people suffering heat stroke, a sure-fire way of staying cool is crucial; however, while drinking lots of water, fanning oneself furiously or simply staying still certainly have their benefits, air-conditioning is inevitably the number one choice.
 
And as such, people will go to whatever lengths are necessary to have it installed, regardless, it would seem, of how complicated such a course of action could be.

Train fans the world over are an easy target, and Japan’s teeming mass of locomotive lovers are certainly no different, although taunts aside, such residents of Tokyo in particular are lucky enough to live in what almost amounts to a train utopia. And, regardless of whether it’s an early rise for some serious sightseeing,

or a spot of shopping,

these carriage connoisseurs can also be predictably punctual with a train-themed timepiece.

Which, if being based on different train lines wasn’t brilliant enough, also boasts numerous station ‘jingles’, meaning one can still be at the station while still in bed — sort of.

This YouTube clip amply demonstrating what fabulous ditties the rest of us are disdainfully missing out on.