The era of the Geisha for the most part has ended, but the cultural tradition of larger than life females remains very much alive.  Outside traditional areas in cities like Kyoto, there are very few Geisha to be found in Japan these days, but in their place are virtually endless varieties of “Fantasy Girls.”  Samurai used to pay elaborately dressed Geisha to sing, dance, and generally make them feel good about themselves after a long day working for their lord.  In modern times, “shain” 社員 (company men) can choose their own “Fantasy Girl” to perform the same function.  In many cases, the purpose of their service goes beyond simple physical attractiveness to provide an avenue of escapism through individual attention, fantastic scenarios, and over-the-top service.  People come from around the world to participate in the many fantastic worlds created by Japan’s “Fantasy Girls,” and this post should serve as an introduction to what all the fuss is about by presenting a few well known groups of women (sometimes men) who set the stage for fantasy: キャバクラ (Kyabakura), ホステスクラブ／ホストクラブ (Host/Hostess Club), スナックバー (Snack Bar), and メイドカフェ (Maid Cafes).

キャバクラ – Kyabakura

キャバクラ “Kyabakura” (referred to by some as hostess or host bars), ホステスクラブ “Hostess Clubs,” and スナックバー “Snack Bars” are all very similar in that they involve beautiful women and men who are dressed almost comically elegantly and are supposed to make you feel like a big shot…as long as you have cash.

The word キャバクラ (kyabakura) is made from a combination of the words cabaret and club.  I guess it’s kind of like a Las Vegas cabaret show that comes to you!  This type of establishment also has the same kind of bad reputation as Las Vegas has: full of organized crime, substance abuse, prostitution, illegal immigrant workers, and exploitation of women (and men).  While this negative stereotype has a lot of traction, and has even attracted some action from the Japanese government, キャバクラ are so widespread throughout Japan that the moral standing of the establishment varies from location to location.

In Kyabakura, The Experience Should Be Like This:

A man or women dressed as if he or she is about to go to the Academy Awards will approach you from outside the establishment and tell you about all the beautiful women (or men) inside the kyabakura and should you decide to go inside the clock immediately starts on your service charge (warning: this is how a lot of foreigners lose all their money very quickly).  Once inside, either a girl (or boy) will be chosen for you or you can pick from a menu.  From that point, you are seated with the partner you chose who dotes on you hand and foot, flirts with you, animatedly listens to stories about your boring life, and constantly praises you.  All this is done over very expensive drinks, and typically one is encouraged to buy an entire bottle of liquor for use on multiple occasions, i.e. they really want you to come back.  Depending on the location, once the night is over you will get a little kiss and then a flurry of text messages telling you how amazing you are and to come back as soon as possible.  If you develop a relationship with a particular hostess or host, sometimes paid dates, called “douhan” 「同伴」 outside the club are permitted to encourage loyalty to the particular kyabakura.  This practice is morally gray to say the least, but in theory these dates are limited to casual flirting only.  Once you leave the kyabakura you will feel like a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders…or wallet…I forget which one comes first.

This Japanese news report is kind of like an insiders guide to the girls inside kyabakura (a relatively un-sketchy one).

ホステスクラブ – Hostess Club

Take the concept of kyabakura, multiply the price and staff physical attractiveness factor by at least 10, add incredibly wealthy people, subtract most of the illegal activities, and you have a hostess club!

There will be no one begging you to come inside this establishment.  These types of clubs are highly exclusive, often the meeting place for very high ranking members of society, and located in high class areas of big cities like the Ginza district in Tokyo.  If you want in, there is typically no fee per hour, but in the best ones you need to shell out over $100K to get access (yes, in US DOLLARS… not that US dollars are worth that much anymore, though).  The workers here are generally taken care of very well by a former hostess called Mama-san, and often have successful modeling careers during and after their time as employees.  Sometimes they get married to celebrities or high ranking officials who frequent the club.  The women are highly trained in the skills of making you feel good about yourself and are on the forefront of fashion trends.  Definitely not unlike Geisha right?!  This type of celebrity like status is what allures a lot of young women into the business, but a high quality place like this is usually not were they end up.

ホストクラブ – Host Club

One interesting difference between the “Age of the Geisha” and now is the inclusion of men as servers in Japan’s night time industry.  Host Clubs work almost exactly the same way as Hostess Clubs, but are typically not as high class and include a rainbow of gender preferences: female or male customers who like males, female or male customers who like very feminine males or cross dressing males, female or male customers who like females dressed as males, and the list goes on and on.  No matter what type of male they are, you can be assured that they are very confident, cool, fashionable, and oozing with money.

スナックバー – Snack Bar

A snack bar is like the smaller cousin to kyabakura.  These places typically are not the epicenter of modern fashion, but are more like hangouts for everyday salary men that would rather hang out with younger, probably foreign girls, than go home to their wife.  These places often have a variety of options for activities to do together like billiards, karaoke, darts, drinking, and eating.  It’s like going to a bar with a hot young girlfriend who does nothing but praise your every action and encourage you to drink as much as you want!  Definitely a fantasy world, and you’ll end up paying for it when the bill comes.  Unlike kyabakura, snack bars are a little bit more on the “honor system” in that if you really like the service you should leave a substantial tip.  Snack Bars are also not as hardcore as kyabakura about getting you to come back over and over again through financial and emotional pressure, so it’s typically a good option for foreign visitors.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This set up is pretty normal.  It’s pretty much just a bar where the female bartenders and staff are extra nice, so you tip them accordingly.

メイドカフェー – Maid Cafe

We have just left the Salary Man’s escape and have moved on to Otaku-land:  秋葉原 AKIHABARA!!  Of course it is very easy to find numerous salary men (Japanese term for someone working 9-5 at a large company) who also lead dual lives as serious Otaku (basically “nerd” in Japanese).  Akihabara is a section of Tokyo where the Otaku culture is at its peak, and chances are as soon as you step off the JR train, you’ll be greeted by a very cute Japanese girl dressed up like a French maid who will pose in pictures with you and invite you to her cafe.

“WELCOME TO AKIHABARA MASTER!!”

“秋葉原にお帰りなさいませご主人様！”

The predominant maid cafe style is where the maids treat you as though you are royalty and they are lowly, but very cute servants and dote on you hand and foot (see a pattern here at all?).  They will compliment you, tell you that you are handsome, put ketchup on your omelet in heart shapes while sitting on their knees at your table, make cute noises like a cat, blow kisses, make heart shapes with their hands, and encourage you to act cutely as well.  At many locations, they also play eating and drinking games with various prizes.

One example is that a maid will fix a huge stack of pancakes for you and a tiny pancake for herself and the bet is that if you can eat your pancakes faster than she can, you will get a kiss on the cheek, but if you lose she will slap you in the face in front of the entire restaurant.  All of this is done while they speak in an overly cute style called Mo-e “萌え” which in English I suppose would be the equivalent of baby-talk.  That sounds like it would get real annoying real fast, but people LOVE it, especially Otaku who don’t ever get attention from pretty girls (funny thing is, a lot of American otaku who learn Japanese on their own, probably using anime, often sound kind of like this… “funny” because it’s funny to listen to them talk like a baby girl).  It unfortunately leads to a lot of stalking, but in comparison, maid cafes are free from a lot of the other problems associated with kyabakura.  Almost everything you do at the cafe will cost money, from taking pictures to eating contests, and the food is of course at a premium cost, but for people who love Japanese girls dressed and acting like your personal French-maid servant, it is well worth the cost.

The wild thing about maid cafes though is that there are SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS! There are some that are the exact opposite of the description above, and basically involve the maid treating you like a piece of crap and verbally abusing you the entire time you are in the restaurant.  Others are for women who like called Butler Cafes, some of which are entirely comprised of European men, who will even carry you around for a fee.

Here’s a link to a video to give you an idea of what exactly happens at a few different types of maid cafes.  The first that is shown is the typical style, the second is tsundere “つんでれ” which is basically where they make you think they hate you but in the end they show they really like you, and lastly is like samurai adventure where they do mock battles while you eat epically named food. Tofugu even wrote about a pretty creepy maid cafe a while ago: Mom Cafes.

Disneyland – but far more creepy

One new style of maid cafe that’s real real weird is called “kigurumi” 着ぐるみ which is basically some one wearing a head to toe costume like in Disneyland, but in this case it’s much more otaku adult themed…

This place is just like a regular maid cafe except the people dressed in anime costumes do not talk, but write on whiteboards to communicate with you.  This sounds like a bad horror movie!  To each his/her own I guess…

Japan’s Fantasy Girls – Past and Present

There are of course many many differences between Geisha in the past and the present form of fantasy girls in Japan, but the connection is clear: women (and men) in this industry provide a service that goes beyond the physical excitement present in similar services originating in the West like strip clubs, Hooters, etc.  The people performing all of these services in Japan are of course physically attractive, but more so they are experts in creating atmosphere where the customer feels removed from the world they live in and receive special individual attention.  In the West, people pay two separate groups: one to listen to their problems like counselors, and one that is unrealistically physically appealing like strip dancers.  In Japan however, they have a tradition of combining those roles that arguably has roots during the time of the Geisha.

This post was written by Nick W., who has traveled throughout many regions of Japan in search of unique cultural gems.  He is currently earning his MBA and has researched topics like folk music in WWII Japan and Ainu cultural revival through music.  His favorite Japanese musician is the late Nujabes.  He has experienced great amounts of culture shock when unknowingly encountering kyabakura hostesses.  In hindsight it was hilarious.

Related posts:

1. If You’re Homeless In Japan, Here Are Your Options
2. Traveling to Saitama, Japan [Off The Beaten Track]

Japanese girls are great for a lot of reasons, I mean, get real, they’re loved world wide because they’re small, cute, wear tiny tiny skirts, and sometimes dress up in school uniforms (even if they’re not in school anymore).  It seems to be a rite of passage for every male exchange student, every JET, and everyone visiting Japan to try to find a Japanese girlfriend when they visit…

Many people even say that “the best way to learn a language is to date someone who speaks it!”  Sorry, but for the sake of your Japanese language skills

Flirting DOESN’T CUT IT!

I assure you, the longer you date a Japanese girl, the less likely you will be able read the rude t-shirt you started wearing to find one!  Why you might ask?  It only makes sense that the more you speak Japanese, the better you get, right? Right?  RIGHT?!

Wrong, and here’s why:

1.  You are lazy

Sure.  At first you might say, “Oh man, I’m going to get so good at kanji, and grammar, and all that stuff now!” and you might even convince your girlfriend to tutor you everyday, but that won’t last. It NEVER does. There are exceptions to the rule, but most of the time you’ve got a lot more “fun and important” things to do with your girlfriend than talk about freaking kanji radicals and grammar points (…at least I HOPE you do).  You’ll also have a lot more “unfun” things to talk about like when her mom is coming to visit or how bad you made the bathroom smell.  In any case, there will be times when you’ll get lazy and just use the easiest words you can think of, even if it’s just English that sounds kind of like Japanese.

2.  You will mix English and Japanese

There are lots of terms for this phenomenon, and it is not limited to just speakers of English and Japanese, but it is the DEVIL!!! This stupid practice, mostly caused by laziness will literally ruin your chances of speaking intelligible Japanese, and probably your girlfriend’s chances of remembering English.  You will create your own little language that no one else really understands, not even you, and that makes for absolutely terrible communication.

Here is a sample conversation that doesn’t make sense:

A.  When do you think the 図書館 is open?

B.  さあ、I don’t know, after dinner you should チェック。

A.  めんどくさいな。

B.  Don’t be a バカ。ほら見て、このサイトで it’s written right here!

A.   そうか。Fine, 夕飯を食べたら I’m gonna go return these 本。

See?  This conversation is wrong in too many ways to  “counto.”

3.  Getting made fun of sucks

No matter how good at speaking Japanese you get, there will always be ways to get made fun of by your girlfriend.  Some are simply called “cute” for speaking with an accent, while others get called out on their weird grammar or pronunciation.  No matter what, most guys HATE criticism, even backhanded statements about how cute you are!  It makes you feel stupid, like you are being treated like a small child, and it’s easy to get defensive.  Even people who speak really awesome Japanese get made fun of because they speak better Japanese than normal people!  It’s frustrating!  It’s only fair though, because I’m sure not many of you can honestly say you’ve never made fun of Japanese English or “カタカナ イングリーシュ.”  It’s just so cute and funny.  アイ　ライク　ユウー！カン　ウイ　ハング　アウト　ツモーロ？ “I like you!  Can we hang out tomorrow?” Awwwwwww….okay, fair is fair.

4.  あんたの彼女とばかり話してると、かわいい女の子みたいに話しちゃうわよ！笑

This title means, if you talk with your girlfriend all the time, you might end up sounding like our friend above:

「あたし美しいね〜!」”I’m sooo beautiful!” (said very cutely)

This is probably not desirable, and believe me, everyone will let you know how girly you sound.  This unfortunate scenario also occurs a lot because a huge portion of Japanese instructors are women, and most foreign guys don’t spend their time looking for manly sounding Japanese dudes to chase around.  If you are just starting your language learning experience, you won’t be able to help but talk like girl.  On the flip side, if you over compensate, and try to talk like a Japanese THUG, then your friends, girlfriend, their friends friends, will think you’ve lost your mind and will all laugh until they turn blue.

5.  Your girlfriend wants to learn English

I know Koichi hates this with a passion, but most guys learning Japanese are going to try to get girlfriends in Japan by becoming language partners.  Sorry Koichi, but it’s the birds and the bees, and it’s the way it will always be.  Men, chances are your future girlfriend isn’t going to date you because she’s really pumped about teaching someone basic Japanese over and over again.  If anything, she’ll agree to hang out with you because she wants to learn English, at least as one of the perks.  If that is the case, you will probably spend a lot more time explaining things in English rather than learning Japanese.

6.  No keigo or kanji with your girlfriend

Maybe I have exaggerated a smidge in the above parts, and there are significant linguistic improvements that can be made in your life by chasing Japanese girls.  Keigo (formal language) and Kanji skills are probably not included in this theoretical list of benefits.  Unless you want your conversations with your girlfriend to sound like two bankers who aren’t quite sure which of them is 先輩「せんぱい」 “senior,” you won’t be getting a lot of time practicing keigo.  Even Japanese people have trouble learning keigo because no one uses it with anyone close to them.  Using keigo with people you like makes you sound like you are being especially cold and probably mad at them.  It’s like when your parents were driving the car on a road trip when you were a little kid, and your dad is super lost and your mom asks overly kindly “Honey, would it be at all possible if we could stop and ask for directions?” to which your dad replies very politely and forcefully restrained “Darling, if we can just find the freeway, there will be no need to stop and bother the gas station attendant…”  It’s a little different in Japanese, but it’s the same concept that something isn’t right if you’re suddenly being very formal.  It sounds weird to the point where a lot of girls really don’t like to practice it with their boyfriends.  Sorry guys.

For kanji, unless your girlfriend is really into calligraphy and wants to practice together everyday, she probably won’t be a big resource for helping you there.  Some people try to hand write letters, but most would rather be doing other things, like eating nachos.  A popular solution is email, but I can assure you, everyone can type a ZILLION more kanji than they can actually write!  You, me, and most Japanese people under 30 included.  Now there’s even 191 more kanji we’re all supposed to know…so better start writing some really complex love letters!

7.  Jesus that’s fast! Can’t you speak slowly?!  Oh wait…you are?

It may seem like your girlfriend is talking like a machine gun to you, but wait until she gets around her friends…it’s a blur of giggling lightning!  For a lot of us, the only real part we participate in once they get going is listening to how silly or cute we sound if we try to say anything.  That means that most of the time she’s going easy on you.  It’s nice and practical for mutual understanding, but really it’s like using training wheels all the time.  Once you take them off, you’ll crash and burn in real conversations.  An obvious solution is to tell her to speak normally to you, but that often doesn’t last long.  If she tells you at lightning speed to “Bring the chopsticks” はしを持って来てね 「hashiwomottekitene」and you hear “Go to the bridge and back” 橋に行って来てね「hashiniittekitene」she’s probably going to get tired of you fast if you’re gone for an hour while she’s waiting for chopsticks!

橋だろ？！

8.  Your conversation topics will be limited

Some of you might be dating Japanese bioethics experts who take time and care to explain each vocabulary to you to ensure that you understand every word, but most of you will be repeating the following conversation far more often:

A.  今日何食べよう？「kyounanitabeyou?」”What should we eat today?”

B.  さあ、なにがいい？ 「saa, nanigaii?」”Uhh, well what do you want?”

A.  分からない。冷蔵庫に何が入っている？「wakaranai. reizokoninanigahaitteiru?」”I don’t know.  What’s in the fridge?”

B.  あまり何もないよ。「amarinanimonaiyo」”There’s not much.”

On the edge of your seat yet??  It’s like repeating basic Japanese class over and over again.  Some of you will get to delve into deeper topics from time to time, but it’s not like you’re going to be seriously practicing Japanese all the time with every conversation.  It gets tiring to have real deep conversations all the time, so it’s really easy to be lazy and stick to the mundane stuff, and mix in some English when you don’t know the right word and hope she understands.  BAD BAD BAD!

9.  Your girlfriend probably doesn’t know Japanese very well

I hate to criticize your girlfriend without having met her, but her Japanese is probably not perfect.  Unless she’s used to teaching foreigners all the time, it’s likely that she won’t be able to tell you much about how to learn Japanese.  She learned it a loooong time ago, and way differently than you’re going to have to do.  It’s not going to help you that much to go sit in on an elementary school Japanese language class in Japan.  Too much worrying about protecting your anus from mean children to focus anyway.

The Japanese your girlfriend uses isn’t even exactly the same thing you’ll be learning.  Her kanji’s probably off some of the time, and the grammar she uses sometimes won’t be found in your textbook.  That’s okay for basic practice, and it’s great to learn theoretical and practical use of Japanese, but this isn’t Japanese class it’s your GIRLFRIEND.

10.  Just kidding.

Getting a Japanese girlfriend really can improve your Japanese.  A lot.  Please don’t run away from Japanese girls screaming that you need to protect your language skills.  Please.  A lot of them are nice, fun, and might actually speak to you in Japanese.  If you practice with real people, then maybe you won’t sound like a conversation from Nakama or Genki, which will make people laugh way more than if you actually try.  Hopefully you’ll learn lots of cool things about culture, dating style, a new world view, and if you’re lucky, find more meaningful things to talk about than kanji radicals.  Just keep in mind the frustrations and pitfalls along the road, don’t give up, and don’t stop actually studying.  みんな頑張れ！

P.S. All this probably applies to Japanese boyfriends, too, for all of you that like boys and not girls.

This post was written by Nick W., who has traveled throughout many regions of Japan in search of unique cultural gems.  He is currently earning his MBA and has researched topics like folk music in WWII Japan and Ainu cultural revival through music.  His favorite Japanese musician is the late Nujabes.  He does have a nice Japanese girlfriend, but is too lazy to learn much Japanese from her.

Related posts:

1. Should You Learn Japanese From a Native Speaker or a “Foreigner”?
2. 12 Completely (Un)inspiring Images To Help You Learn Kanji

I’m working on an article about studying Japanese using Japanese blogs, but need your help! I’m going through and categorizing Japanese blogs to figure out what blogs are good for what kind of study. I’m also looking for video blogs, if you know of any.

What I’m looking for is your suggestions / your favorite Japanese blogs (in Japanese) that people could potentially use for intermediate / advanced study. It doesn’t really matter what the subject is, how big / small the blog is… really the most important thing, I think, is that the content could be considered interesting (thus making studying it interesting as well).

So, whether it’s cat eater Shoko Nakagawa or Gigazine, let me know what you like. Video bloggers, as mentioned earlier, totally work as well (in fact, that would be awesome, because I don’t know as much about that area of things).

Then, thanks to your help, I’ll go through and figure out the best ones for use in studying Japanese, and it should be pretty awesome.

Tell me your faves in the comments section below!

Yee, haw.

No related posts.

Not to be confused with Dasai-tama…

Some people in the Tokyo area claim that their slightly more rural neighbor is super lame by calling it 「ダ埼玉」 “Dasaitama,” (dasai「ださい」= lame) but I am here to tell you that Saitama Prefecture「埼玉県(さいたまけん)」kicks butt and if you need a break from being smashed into subway cars with a million Japanese salary men, go to Saitama, have an adventure, and get Off the Beaten Track.  Traveling in Shikoku might be a little TOO rural for some, but Saitama Prefecture has a great mix of rural, urban, and special local adventures to be had.  I’ll be covering a few of the basic necessities to have a good time in Saitama: local foods, dialects, festivals, and most importantly adventures!

Saitama’s Food and Drink

There is a pretty little historical city in Saitama called Kawagoe City 「川越市(かわごえし)」, and in that city they seriously love sweet potatoes, especially the kintoki「金時」variety .  If you visit the historic district of the city, called Koedo「小江戸」meaning “Little Edo”, you can eat and drink various sweet potato themed delights.

The first kind of strange delight should come at no surprise: sweet potato ice cream.  Downtown, it is dished up on a big waffle cone soft-serve style.  On a hot day, that purple glob of cream, sugar, and sweet potato hits the spot for sure.  When it cools down during fall and winter, there’s usually carts rolling around with people selling “yakiimo”「焼き芋 」which is like a grilled sweet potato, so if you need something hot and savory that can be arranged.

Now for something truly bizarre:  SWEET POTATO BEER!!!

Sweet potato beer, the bottle in the foreground of the picture, is pretty disgusting BUT as a true adventurist you MUST try it and say “…what the #%*$?!”  If you had yakiimo in one hand and a nice cold beer in the other, it would taste great, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they should be combined in one bottle.  If you are a beer lover, after being in Japan for a while with nothing but light beer that for the most part tastes pretty similar, you might appreciate the effort at a little diversity.  Or you might hate it.  On that note, if you do love beer and need a micro-brew fix, something horribly uncommon in Japan, the Coedo brand of beers is actually pretty phenomenal outside their sweet potato experiment.  By all means, check out the Coedo Beer website, especially if you are in Japan and craving decent beer.  It’s really well done and has great descriptions and pictures of their products and brewing techniques.

Saitama’s Dialects (Saitama-ben)

Saitama is a pretty safe place to go if you are not interested in getting really lost by conversations in parts of Japan where the dialects are very far away from what you learned in your Japanese Textbook.  Saitama is close enough to Tokyo that the dialects really don’t change THAT much.  If you are interested in learning different dialects, Saitama is host to a few varieties that you might come in contact with.  Here are a few sample phrases you might hear. Saitama-ben is on the left.

いあんばいです。(ianbaidesu.)　＝　こんにちは。(konnichiha.) “Hello.”

こすいねぇ！(kosuinee!)　＝　ずるいね！(zuruine!) “That’s sneaky!”

えんちょくらっせ。(enchokurasse.)　＝　座ってください。(suwattekudasai.) “Sit down please.”

Chances are you’ll be able to understand most everyone while you’re in Saitama, but you might run into a few neat phrases.  Try to pick them up as you go and really catch locals off guard when you can nail some of their own dialect.  Even if you butcher it, trying it out is a good conversation starter and people will generally be excited that you’re interested in their local way of speaking.  There’s different variations around the prefecture so go out there, make friends who will teach you their way of speaking, and post some cool phrases in the comments section!

Saitama’s Festivals

This is the part you should be getting really pumped about.  Japan in general knows how to party, but the festivals in Saitama definitely showcase this prefecture’s dedication to having a blast.  They’re full of outdoor food stands, “dashi” 「山車」traditional Japanese parade floats, locally made alcohol, traditional costumes, puppet shows, lantern filled streets, and over a million excited people crammed into one small area.

Kawagoe Matsuri 「川越祭り」”Kawagoe Festival”:

Traditional “Dashi”

The Kawagoe Matsuri, one of the three largest festivals in the Kanto area, is especially rad because they put giant intense looking dolls on top of all of their floats.  There are 29 floats and each is uniquely designed to represent a certain region of the city and then they have FIGHTS between them in the street to see which one is better!!  It’s seriously like a big shouting match done with loud singing, flutes, acting out traditional stories, and spinning around on somewhat unstable looking vehicles with giant action figures on the top.  This is all done just inches from you as the force from the volume of the crowd of people pushes everyone, men, women, children, and you dangerously closer to the action.  The festival is in mid-October (for 2010 it’s Oct. 16-17), and should make it immediately to your list of amazing stuff to see before you die.

Chichibu Yomatsuri 「秩父夜祭り」”Chichibu Night Festival” :

Chichibu Yomatsuri 秩父夜祭り

This festival is the most fun you’ll have all winter!  It is one of the three most beautiful festivals and one of the three biggest with “dashi” in Japan「日本三大美祭及び日本三大曳山祭（にほんさんだいびさい、および、にほんさんだいひきやまさい）」It gets pretty freaking cold out there because Chichibu City「秩父市」 is right at the foothills of the Chichibu Mountains「奥秩父山塊(おくちちぶさんかい)」, so you’ll have to prepare warm clothes and a fist full of cash to buy belly warming libations.  Even if you are chilly, the buzz and the action around the festival is so powerful that you’ll soon forget the cold while looking at beautifully illuminated “dashi,” watching a stunning 2.5 hour long fireworks show (a rare thing in Japan during winter), snuggling up against millions of Japanese party goers, and most importantly drinking some AMAZING SAKE.  The sake served in this region is some of the best in Japan, and many of the tastiest bottles can be found sold on the side of the street.  You can buy everything from a small cup of warm sake to a big bottle to swig around while you’re taking in the sights.  Probably better to take it easy on the alcohol if you’re planning on making mochi though:

Kowai! 「怖い！」 “SCARY!”

Saitama’s Adventures

If you haven’t found your own wild adventures in Saitama after too much sweet potato beer, delicious sake, or getting a brain freeze after eating sweet potato ice cream too quickly then you probably aren’t trying hard enough.  Here’s a couple more ideas to get you towards the goal of having wicked cool adventures.

Urawa Reds:

Urawa Red Diamonds soccer games are the Japanese equivalent of to going to see Manchester United in the UK.  The fans are NUTS (a little less violent than their European counterparts), well coordinated, and consider themselves the rowdy 12th member of the team as per the following clips:

The “Urawa Reds” have a pretty great story of redemption in that they used to be terrible, but with the help of their fans, they climbed back on top.  Like most soccer clubs, it just isn’t the same without hated rivals.  Get ready for some wild games at the Saitama Stadium (2002 World Cup location) if they are playing Omiya Ardija, Osaka Gamba, or whenever they are playing a team that is highly ranked in the J-league.  Try to go with some Japanese friends that know the team songs, slogans, etc. so that you can get the full experience.

Chichibu-Tama National Park:

It is amazing how quickly you can get out into nature from Tokyo by just hopping on a train!  Other than the Chichibu Night Festival, the area has a lot to offer all year round.  For example, if you like hiking there are lots of beautiful views, waterfalls, and in the spring there is a great wildflower festival, with beautiful flowers covering huge hills in an event called the Chichibu Hitsujiyama Kouen Shibazakura no Oka 「秩父羊山公園芝桜の丘（ちちぶひつじやまこうえんしばざくらのおか）」which basically means “the hill of phlox subulata at Chichibu’s Hitsujiyama Park.”  In 2010, the festival runs from April 3th – May 5th so you still have time to catch some of the scenic and beautiful flower covered hillsides as featured in the two pictures below:

Once you get to Chichibu, there’s lots of opportunity to figure out other neat adventures.  When you ride the train, or visit their website, the tourist centers have done a good job of advertising and explaining the different activities, foods, onsen (hotsprings), and sights available in Chichibu through readily available maps and guides to visiting during all four seasons.  The catch is that you might need to figure some of it out in Japanese only, but chances are you can find someone at least during the day who will willing to assist in your adventures in the country side.

Saitama’s Transportation:

Whether it’s urban or rural fun you seek, it is pretty easy to get around Saitama by train.  As a warning for those who are buying Japan Rail Passes (basically a one-three week pass to ride anywhere you want on JR Trains), many of the train lines you will need to ride will not be with JR.  The best way to get to Chichibu from Tokyo is by riding the Seibu Chichibu Railroad 「西武秩父鉄道（せいぶちちぶてつどう）」from Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo.  If you want to hit both sites in one day, you can do it by taking the Chichibu Line 「秩父線(ちちぶせん)」 from Chichibu to Yorii and then transferring to the Tobu-Tojo Line 「東武東上線（とうぶとうじょうせん）」 back towards Kawagoe and Ikebururo.  You can use this handy resource to plan out your trip by train.  If all goes well, you’ll get lost and be forced into having misadventures and speaking Japanese!

いろいろな地域を探検してみてください！(iroirona chiikiwo tanken shitemite kudasai) “GO EXPLORE!”

This post was written by Nick W., who has traveled throughout many regions of Japan in search of unique cultural gems.  He is currently earning his MBA and has researched topics like folk music in WWII Japan and Ainu cultural revival through music.  His favorite Japanese musician is the late Nujabes.

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1. Traveling in Shikoku, Japan [Off The Beaten Track]

Going to Japan is all about having adventures.  Be they accidental adventures, such as getting too drunk and passing out on the last train of the night and ending up in the middle of nowhere, or purposeful ones like hiking in the temple-ridden hills of Kyoto, you MUST find a way to go out, get lost, and off the beaten track.  Japan is less than the size of California, but because of its long rich history, every region has its own special claims to fame.  That means that there are TONS of adventures to be had outside the main tourist traps, and this is the first of a series of articles to get you on your way.

This article is all about Shikoku (四国: Four Countries/Prefectures), the smallest of the four main islands of Japan.  If you want to get off the beaten track, this should definitely be one of your top priorities.  Most Japanese people associate this place as the ultimate inaka (田舎: rural) destination.  In the Tokyo area, it is highly unlikely that you will ever experience total silence or darkness, but Shikoku is one place in Japan you’ll find it.  In order for you to get the full experience in Shikoku, I’ll be covering the best local foods, dialects, festivals, and finally some AMAZING adventures you can take.

Shikoku’s Food

Repeat after me:

“I LOVE RAMEN I LOVE RAMEN I LOVE RAMEN I LOVE RAMEN I LOVE RAMEN I LOVE RAMEN!!!”

While you’re in Shikoku, you’re going to be crying tears of joy for having tasted this intense bowl of flavor and weeping big wet tears of sorrow when you get back to the states and find out that you probably wont find it ANYWHERE.  It truly is the heroin of Japanese cuisine.  If you don’t know anything about Japanese ramen, much less ramen in Shikoku, you’re probably thinking “Psh!  If I’m going to go have adventures, why would I want to fuel up with Top Ramen?!”  The answer is, because it is absolutely nothing like anything you will ever find in a Costco.  Here is why:

For those of you who are on top of your TextFugu lessons, you’ll notice on the back of this bowl is written:

“徳島ラーメンが一番 (Tokushima ramenga ichiban)” meaning “TOKUSHIMA RAMEN IS THE BEST!!!”

Tokushima ramen is the pride and joy of Tokushima prefecture in Shikoku.  One of the ramen shops in Tokushima City actually opened a museum in 1999 dedicated to the awesomeness that is Tokushima ramen.  The things that make this ramen so magical are the soup, made from a pork and soy sauce base that is thicker than most other types, the thicker noodles, and a raw egg on top to add to that thick delicious texture and flavor.  You may need a nap after eating this baby rather than jumping right into adventuring!

While ramen should be your primary source of sustenance while in Shikoku, the Udon there is arguably preferred among locals.  Sanuki-udon, found in Kagawa Prefecture, is the most famous for the texture and shape of the noodles and also was supposedly the first region in Japan to adopt the dish from China.

Shikoku Dialects

Japanese = a language mostly limited to the islands of Japan.  Tokushima-ben = a Japanese dialect limited to one prefecture in Shikoku, the rural island in Japan.  You + Tokushima-ben = not being understood by hardly ANYONE ON EARTH.

If you’ve been studying Japanese already, chances are you are probably learning the Tokyo dialect.  Going to Shikoku is about as different as going from New York City to Birmingham, Alabama.  The real famous alternative dialect in Japan is of course Kansai-ben, found in Osaka and Kyoto, and Tokushima-ben is really not that different since it’s only a super long bridge away.  If you get to talking to some local people though, there will absolutely be times when you’re like 『徳島弁が全く分からないからゆっくり話してください。』 Meaning “I really don’t understand Tokushima-ben so please speak slowly.”  Here’s a sample conversation you might encounter:

A.  えっとぶりだ！(ettoburida!)　＝　久しぶりだ！(hisashiburida!)     “It’s been a while!”

A.  うちんくにいぬる？(uchinkuni inuru?)　＝　私の家に帰る？(watashino ieni modoru?)   “Do you want to go back to my house?”

B.  おまはんくそんなごついかえ…(omahannku sonnagotsuikae…)　＝　あなたの家はそんなにすごいでしょうか。”I wonder if your house is really that amazing…”

A.  こんまいけどきー！ (konnmaikedokii)　＝　小さいけど来てください！(chiisaikedo kitekudasai!) “It’s small but please come!”

As you can see, Tokushima-ben can get pretty ridiculous, but this is what you can expect if you head down to Shikoku.

Shikoku Festivals

The Awa-odori (阿波踊り:dance of Awa) is the place to be if you want to get your traditional Japanese groove on.  They’ve been partying like it’s 1999 every summer since 1585!  They may have about a 400 year head start, but that does not mean that you should not go party with them.  This harvest festival, a part of obon celebration (kind of like memorial day weekend), prides itself on two very important historical activities: drinking too much and dancing in silly clothes.  The basic moves of the dance are put your hands above your head, palms facing inward, and step forward to the beat moving left hand forward with the right foot and the opposite.  The dance is traditionally done in tightly bound kimonos and big straw hats in the sweltering heat so it the steps in the dance are very tiny.  No one goes very far very quickly, but it’s definitely not about the destination in this case.  The Awa-odori is truly a dance invented by the drunk, so if you go there and you can’t quite get the moves right, have a few more sips of sake, put your hands in the air, walk around a little, and you’ll fit right in! Here’s a video to motivate you to grab your dancing shoes:

The main event in Tokushima City runs from August 12th to 15th and is the largest dance festival in Japan with around 1.3 million viewers, but people are dancing all over the island that time of year so there are plenty of chances for you to practice!  Remember the wise words of the Awa-odori song: 『 踊る阿呆に見る阿呆、同じ阿呆なら踊らな損々』(odoru ahoni miru aho, onaji ahonara odorana sonson) “It’s a fool who dances and a fool who watches.  So if we’re both fools, you might as well have fun dancing!”

Shikoku Adventure

One of the most hardcore things you can do while in Japan is to walk the 88 temples of Shikoku.  Legend has it that Kobo Daishi, a famous Buddhist monk and scholar, was the first to visit all of these temples.  They say his spirit will accompany you if you chose to accept this pilgrimage.  If you really do choose to walk the entire route at once, it will take you around 5 to 7 weeks.  Visiting beautiful old rural temples, befriending the ghost of a famous monk, and taking a really long trek through mountains in the rain and heat, while people will even stop sometimes to give you gifts of encouragement!  What more could you ask for?  Locals are usually a little more sensible and visit the 88 temples over the course of a few years via car, so if you too want to get the enriching spiritual experience without the agonizing blisters on your feet, see about renting a car or moped, or getting friends who will take you.  If you want to do it, though, this is how you’d go about it.

If you’re looking to REALLY get off the beaten track, the Iya Valley (祖谷渓谷), also in Tokushima prefecture, is one of the three hidden regions (三大秘境) in Japan.  It is so remote that defeated warriors retreated to the region to hide out.  You can still visit several vine bridges that were originally set up to ensnare pursuing enemies!  If you are in to outdoor adventuring, Iya valley is home to great hiking and there is world class rafting in the nearby Oboke valley (大歩危).

These are just a couple of adventure ideas, but Shikoku is full of places off the beaten track.  You just need to get out there and explore!  If you get tired of roughing it, stop into Matsuyama, Ehime to relax at the famous Dougo Onsen, the oldest hot spring bathhouse in Japan!

Transportation In Shikoku:

From personal experience, Shikoku is not an easy place to travel in as far as finding public transportation.  Unlike on Honshu, you probably won’t be able to get to EVERYTHING you want to see via train.  That’s part of the fun though!  They’ve definitely got enough rail to get you to the major cities, and there are public busses in a lot of towns, but better yet, go make friends to have adventures with!

いろいろな地域を探検してみてください！(iroirona chiikiwo tanken shitemite kudasai) “GO EXPLORE!”

This post was written by Nick W., who has traveled throughout many regions of Japan in search of unique cultural gems.  He is currently earning his MBA and has researched topics like folk music in WWII Japan and Ainu cultural revival through music.  His favorite Japanese musician is the late Nujabes.

Related posts:

1. Wash Your Hands Japan, or This Guy Will Dance Again

I just read a great article by awesome j-blog WhatJapanThinks, which translates Japanese surveys into English for your enjoyment. This particular article is titled “How Japanese Call Their Partners.” i.e., what Japanese guys and gals call their significant others. I thought it was a particularly interesting study, and since what you call someone says a lot about someone in Japanese (There’s a lesson about this on TextFugu, if you’re a member), but this article goes deeper into one particular niche… the girlfriend / boyfriend. Oh baby oh baby.

Survey Results

Although you can read about the entire survey here, here are the most important bits of information for this particular article. Data was collected by iShare, and translated by WhatJapanThinks.

★ How do you most often refer to your partner? (Sample size=383)

*Most Common nicknames were those with -tan or -nyan added to the end of names

★ How does your partner most often refer to you? (Sample size=383)

*Most Common nicknames were those with -tan or -nyan added to the end of names

★ If you were to be called a name by a partner, which would you most want to be called? (Sample size=484)

Now, this data that was collected consisted of 289 males, and 195 females, which means the “All” percentages will tend to lean toward the male point of view, and this is what I want to focus on, especially with my special interest in male / female speech patterns (which I wrote about in the Japan Times in 2009). Let’s take a look at the top results, broken down by male/female from each data-set, and compare.

How do you refer to your partner?

• Men: Given Name Only (i.e. first name without -kun, -san, -chan, etc., name enders). 36%
• Women: Given Name plus -chan, -kun. 30.4%

In this data block, it’s interesting to see that the largest group of men who took the survey refer to their girlfriends without using name-enders like -kun, -chan, etc., whereas women response shows that their largets percentage block do call their boyfriends by name + chan / kun. Let’s keep this in mind while we move on to the next data-set.

How does your partner refer to you?

• Men: Given name plus chan, kun. 34.7%
• Women: Given name only. 34.2%

Of course, the opposite of the first dataset should be true, and that’s reflected here. Men are referred to by their name + chan / kun, and women are referred to by their given name only. This helps to validate the above data set even further.

What would you like to be called most?

• Men: Given name plus chan, kun. 27%
• Women: Given name only. 39.5%

This is the most interesting table, I think. Although it was fairly split up amongst men (#1 was given name + chan / kun, but there was a close second, which was “given name only”), the women pretty much only had one answer that really stood out, which was “given name only.” I find it really interesting that women are most interested in being called by their given name only, though they are more often calling their significant others by given name + chan / kun.

Although I have very little real data to back this up, I think there are some interesting hypothesis that can be.. er… hypothesized from this.

1. This is part of the whole “women must talk like women” thing… i.e. more polite, more submissive, etc. Even though kun / chan aren’t necessarily considered to be “polite” in the purest sense (nothing wrong with using these on your significant other, though), it is considered more “polite” than just doing given name without adding an honorific to the end.
2. Since “given name only” was a close second for men (26.3% versus 27%), and the top spot for “what would you like to be called most” when you add male/female responses together, this could be showing a change in the Japanese language towards a more Western style of language (i.e. just calling people by their first names, at least in casual situations). I’m not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, but the Japanese language does change very quickly, and this could be one of those changes. People surveyed in this study were between the ages of 20-50, which, overall, is pretty young, and could represent a more “modern” generation that is making various changes to the language. It’s hard to look at this data and get too much more out of it without looking at the age groups individually, and then getting more results per age group.
3. Everyone actually calls each other “snuggy-bottoms” and just don’t want to admit it.

What insight can you pull from the survey data? Personally, I’m not all that good with numbers / statistics unless it involves baseball, so I’m sure I’m missing something, and would love to hear what you think, even if it’s something like “Koichi, you’re full of #$!@.”

What Should You Call YOUR Japanese Sweetheart?

If, by chance, you had a Japanese boyfriend or girlfriend, and you didn’t want to call them Snuggy-bottoms, I’d stick with the given name + kun / chan. It’s safe, it works, and there’s nothing wrong with it. The four “main” ways to do it are:

1. Given name only
2. Given name plus kun, chan
3. Nickname (i.e. snuggy bottoms)
4. Given name plus -san

Everything else drops way off there, and seem kind of weird. I feel sad for the 1-2% of people who are just called “you” or “Hey” or “Oy!” … unless their name is actually “you” or “hey” or “oy,” then I guess it’s okay.

Oh, and before you go, you should follow me on Twitter.

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Have you ever noticed how almost every zipper you own has “YKK” written on it? I didn’t, until I read this post about it. I did a little more research, and found out there’s quite a story behind YKK and their “circle of goodness.” Just remember, every time you zip up imagine Mr. Yoshida standing there watching, double thumbs up with approval.

What Does YKK Stand For?

YKK stands for “Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha” (also known as Yoshida Industries Limited), which is the #1 zipper manufacturing company in the world, making 90% of all zippers from 206 factories in 52 countries. Who knew the zipper industry was so big. Makes you wonder what the “button up pants” industry thinks of YKK. Probably not good things.

The Vibrant History of YKK

Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha has been around for a while, though they didn’t come up with the idea for a zipper, which happened in 1891. YKK came about in 1934, two years after Tadao Yoshida started working at a failed zipper company in Japan. Apparently, Yoshida was “impressed with the product” (people are impressed by zippers?) and went on to start his own zipper company after bankruptcy closed the Zipper co. he was working for at the time.

In 1945, YKK hit a setback, when their factory was burned down (I guess someone forgot to unzip the oven?), but they bounced back and bought a US company that helped automate zipper manufacturing. Can you imagine what it was like doing the zippering by hand? From there, YKK went on to bigger and better things, moving to Tokyo, expanding overseas, and basically dominating the zipper industry… an industry they dominated so much that they got in trouble for zipper price fixing. I guess Europe didn’t have much to do until Microsoft came along.

According to Wikipedia, while they made incredible innovations to the zipper, they also worked on some non-zipper (gasp) products. I’ve bolded the particularly *amazing* features:

• Zippers
  • YZip: Metal zipper, extra durable for jeans
  • Ever Bright: Metal zipper, polished for visual appeal (oh yeah!) and corrosion resistance
  • Excella: Metal zipper, polished and plated for visual appeal, also in different colors (Purple? Pink? Oh yeah!)
  • Conceal: Plastic coil zipper with no visible teeth (nom nom nom)
  • Vislon: Rugged plastic zipper
• Hook and loop products, more commonly known under the Velcro brand name of a competitor.
• Plastic parts, including various types of clips and buckles
• Snaps and buttons, including snap fasteners and jeans buttons

To make a long story short, YKK is “teh sexy” of zipper companies. When you think Japanese companies, things like Sony, Nintendo, Toshiba, Honda, and Toyota come to mind… but never YKK. Next time you zip up, make sure to thank Mr. Yoshida for the bladed death teeth next to your private parts. If they’re colored, you should give double thanks. Z-Z-Zip!

P.S. I feel like this article lacked, and should have some “zipper” puns… create some for me in the comments?

P.P.S. You should follow Tofugu on Twitter.

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I’ve always been a big fan of traditional wood block prints (and similar Japanese art styles), but now I think I’m a bigger fan of Japanese traditional… er… video block prints?

A friend of mine who splits his work time between TEAMLAB (which does the art I’m about to talk about) and Pixiv (a Japanese art sharing community) told me about their most recent project (which we’ll get to in the next couple of days) and it just absolutely blew me away. That got me poking around their portfolio, and time and time again I found myself hitting the full screen button and becoming hypnotized. I’d love to have some of their art on my wall, but I can’t afford all the LCD screens required.

“Flower And Corpse”

“Flower and Corpse” consists of 12 LED screens (think of them as modern-day hanging scrolls) that coordinate a story. Now, the really interesting thing about these hanging scrolls, is that they tell a story in 4 dimensions. The first three dimensions consist of the 3d art-style being used, and the fourth dimension comes from the various “scrolls,” which creates a time axis (and the 4th dimension). Really interesting stuff if you ask me, though it’s probably best if you just watched it. Be sure to full screen this sucker.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The story that takes place on these 12 LCD scrolls consists of the following. It can also be read here.

1. At the zenith of the HEIAN-era’s prosperity, Hikaru Genji lives in brilliant colors. One day, the capital HEIAN-KYO is suddenly struck by an unfortunate disease. Hikaru Genji leaves the capital on a quest to find out the cause of the disease that has fallen on his people.
2. Continuing on his search Hikaru Genji follows the trail of the disease and he arrives at a village. The village is holding a festival of thanks and gratitude to nature for its benevolence.
3. After the festival, the village starts to return to normal life, and the people live bravely and courageously even though there is still the threat of disease. They fell trees and work hard to continue to develop the civilization. Nature rewards the people with its benevolence and the people live good and peaceful lives.
4. The village people are requested to cut down more and more trees by the capital governor, in order to construct more buildings in the city. The village people plan to cut down a big tree from a forest deep in the mountains. After cutting down the big tree, suddenly, a YAMATANOOROCHI appears. The dragon burns with anger, and lets loose heavy rains that flood the village.
5. The YAMATANOOROCHI carry on rampaging and destroying the houses of the village. Then the forest gods come down to the village and take out their anger on the people in the village.
6. When the plight of the village is reported to the governor, he sends a group of Samurai to drive out the YAMATANOOROCHI and forest gods. The Samurai go to the village and start to fight the dragons with flaming arrows. After bitter fighting, the Samurai finally win the battle and kill the YAMATANOOROCHI and forest gods.
7. After the fight there is desolation, the ground is scorched and the houses are wrecked. The village loses nature’s benevolence and the people begin to suffer the torments of hunger.
8. Hikaru Genji is stunned as he stands surrounded by the dead YAMATANOOROCHI and forest Gods. In a state of bemusement Hikaru Genji tries casting seeds over the corpses. After a while, Shoots comes out from the bodies of the dead and flowers begin to blossom from them. Those flowers grow up trees and the forest comes back to life. The village people who have survived start to feel once again the benevolent forces of nature. They realize that whilst they make progress and start to develop civilization they must live in harmony with the forest. Finally, the festival is held in the village again.

Over the next week or two, I’ll introduce you to a few more TEAMLAB projects. I’ve been seeing a lot more modern traditional style art lately – I wonder if there’s a traditional art + modern style resurgence going on. Anyways, watch the art and become smart, etc.

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This video was made because of the swine flu, and because children don’t wash their hands. Also, apparently this video thought hand washing just wasn’t fun enough either, which is why they’ve turned it into a dance. GREAT.

A while back, when this whole Swine Flu thing got started, I was going to write one of those “controversial” posts on how Japan was way too worried about the Swine flu, and how they were never going to have a problem with it. Granted, I knew they, and everyone else probably would have some kind of problem, but it’s always fun to write things that will get a lot of angry comments. So, I thought this was a great opportunity to write about the Swine flu and Japan, and why I think Japan should quit worrying about it so much.

Why Japan Won’t Have a Problem with the Swine Flu

1. Culturally, things tend to be a lot more clean, and people tend to be a bit more anal about things (eww, not that anal!).
2. When someone is sick (or going to someplace that might have a lot of sick people), it’s common to wear a facemask to help protect yourself.
3. They have Swine Flu fighting business suits (that don’t even cover important areas…)
4. Japan is an island, and slightly xenophobic, which means less people will be coming in with the Swine Flu.
5. Japan is a 1st world country, and like all 1st world countries the Swine Flu has a death rate lower than the normal flu.
6. People in Japan don’t handshake so much like we do in the West.
7. Kissing isn’t as common. ewww, you like giirrrrrls.
8. There’s a ton of emphasis on going to the doctor / hospital the moment you get sick. Seriously, I’ve never seen so many people go to the doctor just for a cold. Very good preventative thinking, I suppose.
9. Moriyama (the guy in the hand washing video) will be there to dance the flu away, if he has to.
10. Robots will take the place of any Japanese human who comes down with the Swine Flu.

See? Nothing to worry about, except for the guy who choreographs weird dances and songs for dirty children that don’t wash their hands.

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My Japan-related YouTube buddy Gimmeabreakman posted this video up about a week ago – it does an amazing job summing up naked men, festivals, and Japan, all in one (very nice HD) video, which you can view above.

The Hadaka Matsuri happens all over Japan at different times, though there tends to be a lot more of them in the winter, when it’s especially cold (another popular time is summer, for the weak girly-men). Mostly men strip down, drink saké, and put on shorts or loincloths (fundoshi) to keep themselves somewhat decent (though some people do end up going 100% naked, and it usually isn’t considered vulgar). It’s a Shinto purifying ritual, and a pretty damn cold looking one at that. Sometimes there’s a “sacred object” that people try to find / touch for good luck. It looks like this particular Hadaka Matsuri’s “sacred object” was that poor dude getting mobbed by a bunch of naked, wet, probably very drunk, men.

This particular version looks like disaster waiting to happen…

Should you want to go to a Hadaka Matsuri and experience the excitement for yourself, I found some vague info on when / where these are held throughout the year, though I’m sure there are plenty more (you’ll have to ask your local contacts, I’m afraid). You can view the article with Naked Festival scheduling information here.

Anyways, Nice Job, Victor. We’re all very pleased that you didn’t strip down for everyone on camera. Give him a subscribe if you want to see his clothes stay on (or off) and see more Japan related stuff, like the video above!

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