General

With Japan being home to the most pre-eminent automobile makers on the planet, it’s perhaps not surprising that the nation’s motorists have a copious collection of cars to pick from, all the way from the comical, to the economical.

However, when it comes to choosing a colour, the sizeable selection is obviously too much for most, with a staggeringly large number of new owners simply settling on silver.

Or, for those looking to be a bit more fun, but at the same time still fit in, white would appear to be the way to go.

Japanese vending machines may well number in the millions, with almost one for every twenty-three people, but with competition cutthroat to say the least, there’s little room for those left behind.

So, while the latest units offer a whole gamut of goodies,

and sometimes even surreptitiously swap cigarettes for slimming snacks,

their smaller, beverage-only brethren, are sadly left to rust by the roadside.

The odd discarded can their only crumb of comfort.

It could be because the majority of residents rigourously abide by the rules, or perhaps finding a public place without any people is practically impossible, but either way, graffiti in Tokyo doesn’t seem to be as widespread as it is in other parts of the world.

Of course that’s not to say that there isn’t any to be seen, although somewhat disappointingly, in a land famed for its meticulously drawn manga, a lot of the stuff that is on display isn’t exactly inventive.

And, despite certain declarations, is decidedly deficient of drama.

Not that such details have deterred the odd serious, and somehow celebrated, street artist.

However, given a bit of time and space, a few of the less famous do make a real effort,

and their resultant masterpieces may well have some merit.

Plus, rather surprisingly, there is possibly even protest,

along with the odd positive, but ultimately impossible, plea.

(click images for gargantuan graffiti)

Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with Japan Tobacco being half owned by the government, but while smoking is plainly becoming less passable in public places, it’s still manners more than anything that matter in Japan; meaning mobile ashtrays are a must.

However, regardless of how convenient these contraptions can be, their purported portable properties,

perhaps aren’t always as practical as proclaimed.

Being a bloke, the merits of one ladies hairstylist over another remains a mystery, although that said, Beauty Toshiko’s (ビューティー トシコ) decidedly bold approach of basing its banner,

on the bouffant once boasted by croaky crooner Bonnie Tyler,

suggests — considering the singer’s somewhat surprising lack of trendiness in Tokyo — that it could well go the same way as this sorry-looking salon.

If indeed its faded and fashion faux pas of a frontage isn’t already a fair old forewarning.