Beth Matuska - Please Wait in Line Backwards

Please Wait in Line Backwards

Funny Signs and Sights From Around Japan

Beth Matuska

2017 Beth Matuska

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Foreword

Japan is a funny place. Everywhere you go, you will find interesting and unique things that make you go huh? From unusual English to odd statues, street art to food, Japan has a style all of its own. English has been making its way into Japanese culture, with some very interesting usages. During my eight years in Japan, I saw and photographed some of the more unique sights around. I'd like to share a few of these with you. In addition to these photos, I will be recounting some of the unusual signs that I did not capture on camera. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I did!

Unusual Food

Now, not all food in Japan is unusual. Some of it is quite normal, with the exception of the packaging. English names are popular, making the product look cool to young people.

Truffle Butter potato chips. No, get your mind out of the gutter. These chips were literally flavored with truffles and butter. Not bad as far as chips go, simply unfortunately named. Sadly, whoever named them was simply not up to date on their slang.

Bamboo Charcoal Ice Cream. In a cup or corn. Not the absolute worst ice cream flavor I have tried, but not something one thinks of when craving ice cream.

T he worst sounding ice cream, as far as I am concerned, has to be Young Sardines and Japanese Pepper Softcream. Sold in Kyoto, this soft-serve ice cream is not for the faint of heart. But for those wanting a bit of extra protein or spice in their lives, perhaps this is what you have been looking for?

I'm hoping that this wasn't intended as food, but this big guy was sitting in a tub out in front of a restaurant in Hiroshima. Whether a mascot or an entree, this guy seemed content to swim in his tub.

Guts. Just what I want to drink for breakfast! Boss Coffee is one of the most popular brands of canned coffee in Japan, with commercials starring Tommy Lee Jones. Look them up on YouTube. They are some of the best I have seen in a long time.

Water. With promises to shrink your waist. Well, that will bring in a lot of female customers, but surely any plain water would do that? This one has nano clusters, though, whatever those might be. This was found in a chain supermarket near Osaka.

It's amazing what you can get in a vending machine! This was a vending machine outside an Indian restaurant in Tokyo, offering very good curry. If you are in too much of a hurry to sit down and eat, why not drink your curry? No need to worry about the temperature- Japanese vending machines sell hot drinks and soups.

Everybody loves beer! This beer delivery truck was shaped like a beer can, drawing eyes everywhere it went. Photographed in Sanda, Hyogo.

Unusual Restaurants

Restaurants in Japan are often fairly unique, relying on interesting advertising, cool gimmicks and plastic food to lure the customers in. Sometimes, that turns out a bit...odd.

ACME does exist! And they sell food and...furniture? A shop in Tokyo combines dining and decorating, offering, as they say, bed, cake, rug. A one-stop shopping trip. It seems fairly common to combine businesses in Japan- I have eaten in coffee shops that sold insurance, as well as travel agency cafes.

Connected to the ACME Furniture and Food, this restaurant featured an American Election burger face off. Just in time for Trump vs. Clinton, they offered the O.B.M. Burger vs the plainer-sounding Mr.Burger. Which one won? Both looked far too big to bite into safely, so I passed them by.

I am fairly certain that this is a restaurant that sells shrimp. I could be wrong, and this could be an exotic pet store, but seafood seems to be the more obvious choice. Taken in a suburb of Osaka, where giant mechanical seafood is a popular way of marking restaurants.

An otherwise normal restaurant on Miyajima Island, just off the coast of Hiroshima, the smell of food has attracted the attention of one of the island's pesky deer, which roam the streets freely. Fortunately, this one wasn't able to figure out the door button. The plastic food in the window was tempting, though!

As a bonus, I give you this deer who DID find a way in! Nara, Japan.

And this deer, who just decided to chow down on a magazine. Miyajima Island.

If they have to ask, they surely don't know enough to serve it. This may have been a restaurant, but it seemed uncertain. From a storefront in Kyoto.

A dessert shop in Kobe. An unfortunate mixup of words, but at least they are all there.