Photographs from a small group of islands
A good all-rounder with plenty of space for passengers, but especially efficient in heavy rain.
Apparently.
However it’s only available as a 2-wheel drive. 4 x 4 is simply not an option.
(click image for larger laughably poor language pun)
The sentiments behind this suburban Tokyo record shop are laudable to say the least.
Yet as if to prove that such cordiality has no place in today’s callous and cutthroat commercial world,
the store has long since closed down.
“Conducting a survey to find out what drives people to kill themselves is the first thing that needs to be done, but we also should not wait to implement actual preventive measures.”
The likes of work-related stress, financial concerns and the seemingly never-ending wait for the PlayStation 3 may all rank highly in any such survey, but thanks to the pioneering research of An Englishman In Osaka, another — thankfully more manageable — cause has been unearthed; rather bizarrely in the form of canned coffee.
After years spent teaching the world to sing, parent company Coca Cola now appears intent on inducing a heavy sigh rather than a song, although to be fair, its advertising campaign doesn’t attempt to suggest anything different. The promotional picture below presumably leaving canned coffee connoisseurs in little doubt who has been indulging in the Deeppresso.
Stepping out in public without a bag of some kind or another — and ideally one bearing the name of a major European brand — would appear to be a sin of sorts for the majority of Tokyo residents; however for any scatterbrained shoppers forlornly finding themselves without a suitable carrying device, help is, for want of a better description, finally at hand.
For a small fee, this dedicated department store offers the patterned and very passable paper bags pictured above. Yet whilst helping fend off an unforgivable fashion faux pas, it’s not immediately obvious how new the bags actually are.
Due to its famed fanciness, people flock from far and wide to visit this opulent outlet, the young family pictured on their way in having apparently travelled over two hundred kilometres — all for a quick fancy foodstuff foray before the long journey home.
But after being cajoled by the chance of buying badly labelled biscuits,
who can blame them?
(click images for showier shop and, erm, colossal cokkies)
After a fruitless and frustrating search for a pair of suitable slacks, this final outlet appeared to offer at least some hope of success.
But alas, to no avail…