That’s what happened to me when I started taking photos of my stuffed Kogepan toys on my vacations. I took them with me to California, to New York City, and around the monuments and museums of Washington DC. I thought I was original and maybe a little bit odd. Then I went to post the photos online and discovered there was more than one Flickr group devoted to traveling stuffed toys.

And now, I’m kicking myself for not realizing that this was actually evidence of a huge under-served market. Sadly, I was not as brilliant as Sonoe Azuma, who three years ago opened a travel agency for stuffed toys in Japan.

It’s called Unagi Travel, and it started out because Sonoe Azuma had the same hobby I did: she took photos of her stuffed eel Unasha and blogged about it. Now Unasha serves as stuffed animal tour guide and together they’ve taken about 450 stuffed toys from all over the world on trips around Tokyo as well as excursions to other areas. Her customers are so satisfied that more than half come back for another trip, and one, a hippo named Kaba-san from Osaka, has been on six trips.

Customers can choose from various options: a tour around Tokyo including Asakusa, Meiji Jingu Shrine and Tokyo Tower, a one-day tour to an onsen, a weekend in Kyoto, and special tours that are sometimes offered, including to the Tohoku region. While you follow along via social media, your stuffed animal will see the sights and learn about Japanese culture, like calligraphy:

…and have Japanese meals that you will envy:

If your toy is a real free spirit, you can surprise it with a Mystery Tour. The Mystery Tour may visit other parts of Tokyo, Azuma told us, such as Shibuya, Ginza, or Roppongi, or places in nearby prefectures such as Kawagoe or Odawara. Or it may have a cultural theme, and your toy may come home knowing more than you do about architecture of the Meiji period or bronze statues.

Tours are limited to ten so everyone gets enough personal attention. You’re assured that your animal will never be placed directly on the ground, and asked whether your toy has any food allergies, whether it gets seasick or carsick, and if there’s anything in particular your creature wants to see or do on the tour.

The form that customers fill out also asks how long you’ve been together and has you tell something about the toy’s character. Along with the photos, the answers to these questions often show up on Unagi’s Facebook page, so it’s fun to follow even if you’re not sending a toy on a trip yourself. People have all sorts of creative stories about their toys, and there’s often the hint of interesting human stories behind them as well.

One toy from France on a recent trip was said to have been with its thirty year old owner since she was one day old, and loves chocolate and knitting. A pair of handmade cats from Nara Prefecture called Custard-san and Hana-san from Nara Prefecture were said to be on a mother-daughter trip together. They’re supportive of each other, and the mom loves to listen to enka. And a toy called Little Brother Bear was returning to Tokyo where he had lived sixty years ago.

All sorts of creatures are allowed, as long as they weigh under 250 grams, and you need to mail your toy to Tokyo. The Tokyo tour is $45; special tours cost more, like $95 for two days in Kyoto.

Do you have more questions about this? So did we. Azuma was kind enough to answer a few questions for Tofugu:

Tofugu: What kinds of toys do foreigners send? Are they different from Japanese, or does everyone like the same kind of stuffed animal?

Unagi: Foreigners tend to send us realistic animal toys, whereas Japanese tend to send us cute toys. Regardless of whether it’s from Japan or overseas, the teddy bear accounts for a large percentage.

Tofugu: What’s the most unusual toy you have taken on a tour?

Unagi: It was a Japanese spiny lobster.

Tofugu: When you go on overnight trips, how do the innkeepers feel about having stuffed animals as customers?

Unagi: Once the business understands the concept, we are very welcome.

Tofugu: Your job sounds like so much fun. What do you like about it?

Unagi: I’m happy that I can make my customers happy and energetic. For example, there was a man who applied for our trip in order to make his wife happy, who was very busy raising their child. After the trip, he gave us the feedback that our trip became a good pastime for her and she really enjoyed it. Although this is a small business, it’s very satisfying for me because I can do something for someone else. This job also requires imagination, creativity, and interpersonal skills. That part of it is also fun for me.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “What is the matter with these people? What normal adult would pay good money to send a stuffed animal on vacation?” If you don’t get the fun of this, maybe what you need are some of the heartwarming tales: One customer who was in a wheelchair wanted her toy to go down narrow alleys that she was unable to navigate. Or you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be touched by Connor the Chemo Duck from Tennessee, a stuffed therapy animal for children with cancer, especially when he went to Senso-ji temple to fan himself with the healing smoke.

And if you’re thinking this is one of those uniquely weird Japanese things, not so fast: right now, Azuma says that half of her customers are from overseas.

There was actually once a similar business in Prague – the owner was half-Japanese, and it eventually failed, and one in Berlin seems to be hanging on, although they seem to do tours far less often. But I think there’s global potential here. I’m thinking maybe I need to open a company like this of my own. Don’t you think Japanese stuffed animals would love to come see the cherry blossoms in Washington DC?

If you’d like to send your stuffed animal on a tour of Japan, be sure to visit Unagi Travel’s website to get more information.

Bonus Wallpapers!

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Links:

• http://unagi-travel.net/
• https://www.facebook.com/unagitravel
• https://twitter.com/unagitravel

References:

• http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20…
• http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/japan…
• http://kotaku.com/a-japanese-trav…
• http://www.japantimes.co.jp/communi…

Alright, I presume everybody’s interest in hige-man’s bento work has begun to ripen at this point. Let’s review his profile once again, to get the rice-ball rolling.

Stats:

Name: Keisuke Umeda
Age: 31
Occupation: Designer at a game company
Passion: Bento Art
Distinguishing Facial Feature: Majestic Mustache
Web page: Umeda no site

Q: Tell us about your bento art career.

I modestly began making bento about 2 years ago. I didn’t even realize that that my passion for bento art had been gradually escalating over that period of time.

In the summer in 2013, my bento art was selected to be shown on an NHK TV program called サラメシ (sarameshi). I held my bento art exhibition in the fall of that same year. I also published a book with a collection of my bento pieces that came out shortly before my exhibition.

I’m planning another exhibition this year, too.

Q: How long have you made bento art?

About 2 years. I make a bento box every day, except when I’m too busy, when I oversleep, or when I don’t have any ingredients for it.

Q: Why did you start making bento boxes?

I got sick of eating cafeteria food. I also wanted to brush up on my cooking skills. Moreover, after the Tohoku earthquake, I started taking food safety more seriously and gave more consideration to what I put in my body. Managing my food in this way is good for my health and helped me save money, too.

Q: Why did you start designing bento?

I’m not really good at cooking and don’t have much time either. On the other hand, I wanted to enjoy lunch time. I contemplated how to do it and I soon realized that I could be creative. I realized designing bento is a great way to enjoy it. I have some bento friends at work and it became something for us to talk about, as well. The more we enjoy our lunch time, the tastier the bento becomes – to me.

Q: What do you usually do after making it?

Naturally, I eat everything. Every grain of rice disappears. I’ve never had leftovers. If I made bento boxes like the ones I do and didn’t eat them, it would mean I’m just playing with food in a creative way. I’d rather treasure and respect the food and I show that respect by eating it.

This is MY LUNCH and if I don’t eat it, it means I don’t eat lunch.

There is a saying in Japan, “If you don’t finish your meal, your eyes will be crushed.”

Q: What kind of bento boxes do you make?

Pictures!

「クチビルべんとう」(Lips-bento)

「ヒゲべんとう」(Hige-bento)

「桃べんとう」(Peach-bento)

「サンマたちの横顔べんとう」(saury fish’ side faces bento)

「春風べんとう」(spring breeze bento)

「コンバットべんとう」(combat bento)

「ちりめんじゃこべんとう」(dried young sardines bento)

「フランクフルトべんとう」(Frankfurt sausage bento)

「フグべんとう」(Fugu bento)

「おでんべんとう」(Oden bento)

「金目カブト煮べんとう」(Beryx splendens helmet bento)

「松坂牛の、肉じゅうたんべんとう」(Matsuzaka beef carpet bento)

「コーンまっ黄っ黄べんとう」(Corn pitch yellow bento)

「タコウィンナーべんとう」(Octopus shaped wieners bento)

「生々しいべんとう」(fresh [flesh] bento)

「ひじき黒ゴマべんとう」(hijiki seaweed and black sesame bento)

「デッサンべんとう」(rough sketch bento)

「モンドリアンべんとう」( Piet Mondrian bento)

Q: What do you think of men who make their own bento boxes and how do other people react to it?

I think that’s good because they can be more careful about the food they eat.

People react interestingly every day and it’s fun to hear their inquiries; “Does it taste good?”, “Are you really eating that?”, “Is it hearty?”, “Why did you start making bento boxes like these?”, “What’s today’s bento?”, etc…

Q: What is your favorite bento you’ve created and why did you choose it?

“Hanasaka bento” (Translates to Flower Bloom bento)

A bento’s life is as short as a flower’s, but each one of them remains in the heart and it will stay alive as a part of our body.

Similar to the flavor of my tears, I will never forget the saltiness of the pickled radish and pickled Japanese plum as well as the welcomed tingle provided by the sansho pepper in this bento.

“That was the bento I made for the NHK TV program. It took me 2 hours”, he laughs.

Q: Have you made a big mistake before?

There are actually a lot of bad mistakes.

The most memorable one is Nanakusa Bento (the seven spring herbs bento).

In Japan, people eat rice porridge with seven different spring herbs on January 7. I used those herbs, just as they are found in nature, for my bento. It turned out to be just like eating grass. It was disgusting.

However, sometimes an interesting-looking bento box, albeit bad tasting, can become a popular topic of conversation at lunch time and is often even brought up again later on. In that sense, making a mistake is not all that bad.

Q: If someone told you they wanted to start designing bentos, what advice would you give them?

I would tell them that pickled Japanese plums have an antibacterial effect, so they preserve pretty well.

In my bento box, I often put them underneath the design.

Q: Could you tell us a bento story of yours that you haven’t told anyone yet?

It’s Kani bento (crab bento).

I couldn’t put the lid on the bento, so I ended up opening up the shell and started eating a little bit of it in the morning. It almost made me late for work. Furthermore, none of my bento friends showed up in the cafeteria during lunch time, so I ended up eating the luxury bento without anyone around to see it before it was eaten. It was pathetic.

Q: As for bento-making, is there anyone you respect?

My mother.

She made bento boxes everyday when I was a child. At the time I thought it was just a trifling thing, but now I know how hard it is to continue making bento everyday. Now I really appreciate what she did for me and I respect her even more.

Q: Is there anyone out there making bento that inspires you?

Actually, I get inspired by many things, not only by someone’s bento but also by anything from different cuisine to pictures to movies to scenery to my travels.

But I’m trying to find inspiration from the ingredients themselves.

Q: Is there one particular incident involving bento that has changed your life?

Bento has changed my lunch time, myself, and has made sight and gradual changes in my life and in a small way it has also changed the daily lives of the people around me.

For example, because of bento-making, I got to be on television, held an exhibition, and was even interviewed by Tofugu-san. It’s very fun and I believe bento will continue to make such changes in my life.

Q: Share with us what your favorite bento goods and tools are.

There you go!

The first one is bento goods that I design and sell. Please contact me via my website for more information.

This second one is my collection of some of the tools that I use or have used in the past.

Q: Do you think you could make a Tofugu bento? If you could, how much would it be?

I think I could, but it may be a very plain bento. The price is free because THAT’S MY LUNCH, YO!

A few days later, the picture arrived. Mecha Kawaii! Thank you Ume-chan!

Ingredients: Rice, a cherry tomato, 2 black beans, and seasoned ground meat called Soboro.

——At the end

Thank you for your interview. If you are interested in Hige-man Ume-chan’s bento art book, get in touch with him via his blog, http://www.k3.dion.ne.jp/~umetin/.

We found one such Japanese man to talk to. His mustache has come to define him. Not only that, we hear local legends are abrew around his facial hair. Remember, facial hair in Japan is quite rare, by worldwide standards. Salarymen (and most other people) are expected to be clean shaven. So what’s it like when you go against the bends of the mustache we call society? We “mustache” the expert: Hige-man Ume-chan.

Let’s begin with his stats:

Name: Keisuke Umeda
Age: 31
Length Of Hige: about 7cm
Type of Hige: Kaiser mustache
Morning Setup Time?: 5-10 minutes
Occupation: Designer at a game company
Website: Umeda No Site

And now with the pressing questions…

What do you think of hige history in Japan after reading “Japan’s Epic History Of Discrimination Against The Mustache”?

It’s very interesting. Although I didn’t know that hige was that popular during the medieval period to the beginning of Edo period, I was very surprised that hige was banned and there was even a punishment for having hige. What tough days for hige-holders.

Compared to that, I’d say we entered an era where we can enjoy our hige freely. I’d definitely prefer to freely enjoy having hige.

What do you think about hige in Japan today?

As I mentioned, we can enjoy our high freely in Japan today, but people tend to have the same kind of hige. I want them to find their own style. I believe that the high style that suits you will lead you on a good path.

However, the hige-man population is still such a minority in Japan. Hige doesn’t just make men look manly but also charming, even sexy! I can’t wait until the day comes when all Japanese men have their own hige and can happily live their lives.

What do you think of the hige court cases?

This is a difficult issue. I’m a salaryman, so I might face this issue someday as well. It’s not simply a concern of some stranger I don’t know.

I’d say that the key to acceptance will be found by talking to other people and finding some common ground through compromise. If people around you can learn to accept hige, then everything will be great, but if they can’t, it forces someone to either fight for their hige, or give it up. I really hope that everyone simply comes to understand and accept one another. That’s the best way to form good relationships.

Why did you start growing your hige?

About three years ago, I went on a vacation to India for a little more than 2 weeks.

During the trip, I never shaved my hige. When I came back to Japan, I looked in the mirror and actually thought, “Wow, that’s dirty. It doesn’t suit me at all.” But I had a lot of difficulty saying goodbye to the hige that took me so long to grow, so I decided to keep it. Then, having hige turned out to be pretty fun for me. My friends all liked it, too.

So since then, I’ve grown it and the shape changes from time to time. I even feel as if I’m doing cos-play every day. Every feeling was new to me.

Hige has become my trademark now. Even strangers passing by me on the street often get surprised and start talking to me. Of course all the kids I meet like it too. It’s a good thing to be memorable to people as well. Oh, once I was also mistaken as a member of the Japanese imperial household!

I was surprised to hear a rumor about myself where I had become “Hige-man Ume-chan” among people that I didn’t know. So many fun things happen just by having hige. I actually joined a hige association that was established in Kyoto, too.

I keep growing my hige because I like seeing people’s reactions to it and there are so many fun things related to hige.

What does your boss think? / What does your employer think?

For quite a while I was afraid that I was going to be told to shave it off, but they’ve accepted my hige so far. Some people even praise my hige and say things like, “Such a majestic hige!”.

I think it all depends on how you grow your hige. I believe that my hige-style is a cleanly trimmed style, so it’s more easily accepted than other styles. I even started choosing formal clothes to match my hige-style.

So, I think it’s important to choose a hige-style that suits your circumstance.

What do your family and friends think?

Both my family and my friends were shocked upon seeing me with hige after my trip for India. Nobody in my family has ever had hige, so my parents looked very uncomfortable with it at first. They eventually adjusted to my new look and now they share in my joy of having hige. Since my hige nestles itself between my upper lip and nose so naturally, people say that they can’t even remember me without hige anymore.

Do you have hige friends?

Yeah I do. I mentioned earlier that there was a hige association called “愛髭会” (aihigekai/Love Hige Group) established in Kyoto and I became a member. Almost all of the members are over 60 years old, but I met a lot of great people there and I never would have met them if I didn’t have hige. So, I really appreciate my hige for that.

I also became friends with some foreigners because we had this same thing in common. I believe people with hige can become quick friends.

How did you grow such a passion for hige?

Although I started growing my hige just by letting nature take its course, it is such an essential part of me now.

Now I’m pretty set in my preference to the Kaiser mustache, but I used to challenge myself and tried many hige styles. Every day was a new chance to try a different style. I didn’t get enough information on how to grow a beautiful hige or how to set it, so I just had to find out for myself.

I don’t remember exactly how my passion for hige grew, but I do know that I’ve continually thought about my hige for as long as I’ve had it – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You know? Hige is the most distinguishable hair on your face.

If your hige could talk to you, what would it say?

I wish us a long-term relationship and please give me a treatment every day.

How has your hige changed your life?

I don’t have any remarkable experiences, but hige has been at the most prominent part of my face and whenever I meet people it is the most memorable to them. I’ve met many people just because of my hige and I hope I meet many more people because of it.

I think my hige has had a small effect on the people around me, just as it has influenced me. I change and then they change, until they make me change, then I make them change again. We keep changing.

It’s a sequence of simple and small changes, but when I look back on my past, I see that big change has occurred.

What’s one story about your hige that you haven’t told anybody?

I’ve mentioned a lot of good things about my hige, but there are some bad stories too.

For example, if I don’t set it, eating food is extremely difficult. Something you have to use both lips for, such as soft serve ice cream or a hot dog, will definitely make contact with my hige. For those kinds of food, I need to open my mouth really wide, or else I’ll eat my own hige. My hige gets pretty stinky if food does touch it or if I eat my own hige. Thus, I always have to have Kleenex in my pocket.

Another bad thing about having hige is that it gets wet and even freezes in the winter. When it’s cold, the water vapor in my breath quickly condenses into water droplets that stick to my hige. On really cold days I’ve even had icicles form on my hige.

Setting it up is really difficult too. I use gelatin or a solid oil called “歌舞伎油 (kabuki abura)”, which is used underneath the white foundation of Kabuki actors. In order to form a beautifully shaped hige, it takes a lot of time to find the right tools that will help you to set it properly. My hair is really curly too, so the longer the hair in my hige grow, the more difficult it becomes to set them and keep each side in good balance.

I also have breakage or a split hige issues, too.

Who has your ideal hige?

I think the hige of Salvador Dalí is wonderful. Upon seeing my hige style, everyone instantly recognizes it as “Dali’s hige”. . It’s totally iconic. I personally think his hige increased his craziness, toughness, charm, and his sexiness.

Do you have special tools or goods?

I have a T-shirt with a picture of a man with hige printed on it that resembles me a lot. I came across it in Taiwan.

Actually I have a lot of hige goods because my friends give me them from time to time and I also buy them if I find a good one in a shop. Many hige goods come to me.

This picture is just a part of my hige goods collection.

Have you ever thought about competing professionally with your hige?

Yes. But the world is wide and my hige is not yet strong enough. When I look at all the hige in the world, my thoughts are that I could never beat them.

They are truly amazing. If there was a mustache-only-contest or a Japanese-only-contest, then I might be able to compete.

Are you going to keep growing your mustache?

As long as I don’t get sick of it, hahaha.

I’d like to be a man and as majestic as my mustache is.

/End Interview

This interview was a great opportunity to consider about my hige. Thank you.

Bonus Hige Man Wallpapers!

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Looking at the website, it was apparent that two gaikokujin were available for rental. One Australian with dark hair and a smirky smile and one American with a beard and blue eyes.

Turns out they are the co-founders and they have had many clients between them… too many, in fact. If you’re a gaikokujin in Japan get in touch with these guys. They’re looking to add some folks to their roster. You can visit their website at gaikokujin-rental.jp.

Although they are in their early goings over at Gaikokujin Rental, I thought it was an interesting idea. I also had no idea what it was they were doing, so I sent them an email asking if they’d be willing to do an interview. They were very gracious and got back to my questions super quickly. What follows is said interview, and it includes stories, success stories, and information on what the heck all this gaikokujin rental stuff is all about.

#Interview START

1. Who started gaikokujin-rental.jp?

Two guys, one Australian and one American. Both have called Japan home for a handful of years: Six and ten respectively.

2. Why did (you) start it?

“Why has someone not?,” is what we have been asking ourselves for years. Peer to peer business in Japan has always been BIG. Big for both client and contractor. Yet it seems every year the market is not adequately accessed, and unfortunately for many the public space for self-promotion is in, we feel, terminal decline.

For-hire platforms available at present are largely top-down corporate to individual, not peer to peer, and we think peer to peer is important and remarkable. We think it makes for new economy.

Also, we feel Gaikokujin Rental serves as an alternative meeting space to the usual foreigner/Japanese social venues which exist in Japan today.

Author Note: Oh, so it’s like AirBnB but for people and their skills/time. Now I’m starting to get it.

3. How long have you been renting foreigners?

Gaikokujin Rental officially launched on November 29, 2013.

4. It looks like you have two people being rented out. Who are they?

They are the co-founders, Austin and Adams.

5. Are you looking to add more people to rent out?

We are actively looking to add more foreigners as well as increase Japanese readership at our site – We wish to bring as many people together and build as many success stories as possible. To this end, we have invested energy and time into the idea, sustainability and scalability of Gaikokujin Rental.

Author Note: There’s a contact form on their website if you’re interested.

6. What kinds of things have you done? I need a bedtime story.

Austin:

I once had a woman hire me to look after her children and clean her house.

I was hired by a Japanese women to go shopping with her and pick out a birthday present for her husband because he was a foreigner.

I was asked to attend a bonenkai with a group of salary men and speak only English with them.

I was asked by a young Japanese couple to come to Kyoto and take pictures of the two of them.

Author Note: Now Austin tells a story:

Well, it started around 8:00 on a Friday night. I got off from work and was asked to meet my client at Nagoya (Meieki) station. We engaged in small talk for a few minutes, after which she asked me if I could do two things. The first was to check some English paper work which she had been given by her boss. I was asked to explain it and help her with some possible answers.

After that, she wanted me to join her for dinner. My client enjoyed eating spicy food but none of her friends or family enjoyed spicy food. We had exchanged mail previously and found that we both had a liking for spicy food. She had already found one of the spiciest Nabe restaurants in Nagoya and made a reservation.

After making our way to the restaurant we entered, took a seat and decided what we wanted to eat. I then helped my client with the paper work which had been mentioned earlier after that our meals arrived and we chatted while we ate. She asked me some questions about what it was like living abroad ( because she was thinking of doing the same one day).

And also asked me questions about my country. The rental period was for 2 hours. So after the 2 hour period was up we talked about the possibility of meeting again, paid the check and went home.

Adams:

I’ve had clients ranging from housewives to businessmen to ramen chefs to entrepreneurs to bohemian outcasts – a motley cast of characters. Once I was asked to work in a Ramen shop to take orders from Russians, because apparently the Ramen shop Master “couldn’t understand the Russians.” I’ve done interpretation work between Italian businessmen and a Japanese apparel firm, but most of the work involved making reservations at onsens for the Italians.

I’ve been in front of and behind the camera for modeling and photography work, behind a desk as a freelance journalist and webshop master, a private mail courier for digital products, Santa Claus… YES, Santa Claus, an English teacher, a flyer boy, a bar server, and a BIG buyer of Switzerland-made outdoor clothing for a Japanese Trading company.

7. Have you run into any problems while running this service?

Yes, but not the kind one would bemoan about. Actually at present there are simply too many orders to fill for our current line-up of two foreigners. This is the scenario we envisioned, and to ratchet up both the supply and demand we are working in earnest to promote our service via virtual channels, magazines and ultimately word-of-mouth.

8. What’s the best success story of someone using gaikokujin-rental.jp?

It would be difficult to only talk about the best success story and not mention all the really good ones. On the Japanese side of it, students have increased their TOIEC scores, hobbyists have procured parts and various nick-knacks from abroad that otherwise could not have been gotten, local businessmen have been fed detailed information on foreign market trends, party-goers have been entertained, and the list goes on.

On the foreigner side of it, success is in the MAGIC. The magic being that once your profile goes up online at Gaikokujin Rental you can get paying customers who deal with you directly. Furthermore, your new customer is an in-road into their own network – ehem, your new network.

9. What are you hoping to achieve with gaikokujin-rental.jp?

In a word, symbiosis. We want to turn the disconnect between peer-to-peer business into uber-connection! To us growth means lots of little success stories the length of Japan, new networks forged, smiles, and satisfied customers. We plan to make this happen by staying online as a professional go-between for that all-important first connection between Japanese and foreigners.

For Japanese, we hope to attract anyone and everyone, including businesses, who seek to employ foreigners in one way or another.

For foreigners, we hope to attract everyone from young transplants to long timers to even those residing abroad who perhaps offer services via the Internet, and in general anyone here who seeks odd-jobs, freelance stuff, part-time work, one-off arrangements, and basically new money and customers. That’s teachers of all sorts, musicians, caregivers, models, IT people, photographers, artisans, entertainers, self-proclaimed ambassadors and more.

#END interview

So there you have it. At first I thought Gaikokujin Rental was some kind of joke. Something someone put up as a kind of commentary about how “differently” gaikokujin were viewed in Japan. Or, at the very least I thought it was a hobby that a couple of dudes set up because they thought there was an opportunity to make some extra yen.

It turns out, in my opinion, to be a pretty smart business idea. Of course, they have to find new people on both sides (Japanese and gaikokujin), and they are eventually going to have to deal with the problems that come with bad experiences, etc., but in Japan I can see this business model working. Anywhere else? Not so much. Just imagine if there was a “Rent a Norwegian” company in America, where you would get your Norway-related needs filled. There would be a small mob outside the Rent-A-Norwegian office demanding that this racism stops.

In Japan, however, I doubt this is going to be seen as racism. There’s actual need for gaikokujin-related tasks in Japan, as was illustrated in the stories above. A Japanese person needed an opinion from a foreigner about a gift for her foreign husband. Some people needed someone who could speak English. Another person just wanted to eat spicy food with someone (which I can attest to, Japanese people don’t know what “spicy” really means).

I hope they keep on trucking along and start to grow and do okay. Maybe we’ll see if we can meet up with them and see what they’re doing the next time we’re filming in Japan.

Website: http://gaikokujin-rental.jp

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A former English teacher himself, Martinson draws from his own experience to create a fictional account of a young man named Dan Wells. The story is often ambient and introspective, emphasizing the day to day events of life abroad. Our hero, Dan, is a passive character rarely found in American storytelling. Martinson expertly guides Dan through the story and keeps him balanced, so we can easily look down on his passiveness in one scene and sympathize with it in the next. This expertise makes Tonoharu more than a mere parody of teaching English in Japan. It is a purposeful tale of a fully realized character teaching English in Japan, which in itself is rare.

The art, of course, is what draws most people to check out the series in the first place (myself included). Martinson’s style is reminiscent of the Belgian artist, Herge. The intricate backgrounds contrast with the simpler designs of the characters, allowing the reader to inhabit the story’s environments. Of course, there is little I can say that the art itself can’t say better.

Image from Lars Martinson / Media

Lars Martinson studied East Asian Calligraphy for two years in Fukuoka after his initial experience of English teaching. His own personal style, compounded with his knowledge of ancient inking technique, really shows and the art alone is worth a purchase of both volumes.

A paperback edition of Tonoharu Part One is due out this summer. Until then, hardcover editions of both parts are available through most book retailers and Martinson’s own website: http://larsmartinson.com/buy/

For the tech-savvy, Martinson’s more light-hearted e-comics are available digitally: http://larsmartinson.com/e-comics/

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to correspond with Lars for an EXCLUSIVE Tofugu interview! Below are insights into his stories, his art, his process and, most excitingly, the future volumes of Tonoharu!

For those who may not know, who is Lars Martinson?

Image from Lars Martinson / Media

I’m an American cartoonist that has spent half of my adult life in Japan. For the past decade I’ve been working on a graphic novel series entitled Tonoharu.

What is Tonoharu about?

Tonoharu tells the story of a young American who moves to rural Japan to work as an assistant English teacher. It is based (in part) on my own experience doing the same from 2003 to 2006.

Because Tonoharu is fictionalized and not a direct telling of your Japan experience, what inspired you to tell this story? Did you have an “aha” moment?

I’ve always been frustrated by how hard is it to relate my experiences in Japan to friends and family back home. It’s sort of like when you try to describe a dream to someone. It’s fascinating to you because you experienced it firsthand, but it’s almost always tedious for the listener because they don’t have the same frame of reference. My inspiration to create Tonoharu came from a desire to bridge this gap; to describe the experience of living abroad in a visceral way.

You’ve mentioned elsewhere that your main character, Dan Wells, is not you but merely a fictionalized character. That being said, how do you as his creator feel about him and his decisions? Was he difficult to write?

I’m certainly more driven than Dan. I made much more of an effort to improve my Japanese abilities when I first arrived in Japan, and have a clearer sense of what I want to do with my life. That said, I share a number of qualities with him, so he wasn’t hard to write. Like Dan I’m introverted, and often struggle to form meaningful connections with people around me.

How much Japanese did you know when you went on JET? How did the language barrier affect your experience?

I knew very little Japanese when I first arrived. Just a little bit of hiragana and katakana, and basic grammar. It improved quickly, but even now I feel like I have a long way to go. I heard somewhere that you can become fluent in three European languages in the same amount of time it takes to learn Japanese, and I believe it. It’s a huge undertaking.

One interesting consequence of my mediocre Japanese abilities is I tend to be more forthright when I speak it. It’s easy to be evasive in English since its my native tongue, but in Japanese I don’t have the language skills to dance around the subject. So I’m forced to distill what I want to say down to its naked essence. There’s a Dostoyevsky quote that goes “Stupidity is brief and artless, while intelligence squirms and hides itself. Intelligence is unprincipled, but stupidity is honest and straightforward.” I feel like this applies to how I use English compared to how I use Japanese.

Your main character, Dan, goes through a difficult bout of negative culture shock in the first volume. Did you have a similar experience?

Image from Lars Martinson / Media

Most people who live abroad experience culture shock to some degree, and I’m certainly no exception. I sometimes worry that I favored those negative moments a little too much in the first volume of Tonoharu, because many people who read it seem to assume I had an unequivocally horrible time in Japan, which certainly wasn’t the case at all.

You went back to Japan to study calligraphy for two years after finishing JET. How did that trip affect your art and your relationship with Japan?

Before I really got into it, I had no idea how deep East Asian calligraphy is, both in terms of history and technique. I’m now convinced that it’s the most sophisticated line art tradition in the world, hands down.

When a cartoonist wants to improve their penciling, they usually study Western art fundamentals such as perspective, anatomy and composition. I would argue that Eastern art fundamentals are just as useful to learn comic inking. Practicing East Asian calligraphy has improved my inking more than anything else I can point to.

Regarding your calligraphy learning experience, was it more of a disciplined practice that enhanced the skill you already had or was there something inherent in East Asian calligraphy that got added to you? Do you have any stories about the learning experience?

The discipline was certainly a huge part of it. Art classes in the US tend to emphasize personal expression over technique, so student critiques can be vague and coddling. The calligraphy classes I took in Japan were the exact opposite. We would be tasked with replicating a piece of classic calligraphy as accurately as possible. We’d show our attempt to the professor, who would point out where we went wrong, and we’d try again. They were technical exercises rather than creative ones, but they helped me learn how to control the brush in a way I never would have if left to my own devices. These skills, in turn, benefited my creative work.

Beyond technique, East Asian calligraphy has a number of qualities that informed my development as a cartoonist. It’d be too lengthy to get into them here, but if anyone’s interested I wrote a few entries about it on my blog:

http://larsmartinson.com/thoughts-about-lines/

What inspires you as an artist in the realms outside of comics? Music, film, visual art, etc.

I’ve always been fond of stories told through pictures, so most of what inspires me has visual and/or narrative elements. Wong Kar-wai movies, Knut Hamsun novels, and Hokusai’s sketchbook collections spring to mind as sources of inspiration. For music I really like Scandinavian folk; Hedningarna and Triakel are particularly good.

Recently I’ve become intrigued by the narrative potential of video games. I played Persona 4 Golden on the Vita last year, and it’s taken a place among my favorite narrative experiences in any medium. It paints a surprisingly subtle and nuanced portrait of a Japanese school life for a game that features demon-summoning and serial murder.

What is your favorite manga or manga artist? What draws you to that manga/artist?

I read tons of translated manga when I was in high school. Favorites at the time included Masamune Shirow, Johji Manabe, and Rumiko Takahashi. Eventually my interests drifted elsewhere, so I have to admit I’m not too familiar with the current manga scene. My favorite manga these days is hardly cutting edge: “Sazae-san” by Machiko Hasegawa. I explain why I admire it in this comic:

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http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/sazae_930px_2.jpg

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What has been the reaction of Japanese people who have read your graphic novel?

Image from Lars Martinson / Media

More than anything Japanese people tend to be surprised by the format. The Tonoharu books are hardcovers with two-color interior pages, which is all but unheard of in the manga world. Manga is usually first serialized in weekly or monthly b&w anthologies, so creative choices such as page sizes and printing methods are out of artists’ hands. Conversely, anything goes for American indie comics, so there’s a lot more diversity in terms of presentation, use of color, and binding.

Many of our readers have expressed interest in moving to Japan to become mangaka. What advice would you have for them?

I’ve never actually worked in the Japanese comics industry, so I’ll refrain from speculating on that in particular. But in broader terms, I wouldn’t advise pursuing a “career” as an artist unless you can’t imagine being happy doing anything else.

By some measures, Tonoharu has been a massive success; it’s been covered in the Wall Street Journal and Entertainment Weekly, translated into French and Spanish, and has sold out two hardcover printings with a paperback edition coming down the pipeline. But for all that, I’ve never made anything even approaching a living wage off of my work. Granted, I don’t have many books to sell, since I work at a glacial pace (spending more than ten years on three books is pretty ridiculous). But either way, trying to make a living as an artist rarely makes financial sense no matter how productive you are.

That said, I’m certainly not trying to dissuade people from pursuing something they’re passionate about. Obviously I wish I made more money from my comics, but I don’t for a second regret creating them. I guess my advice to someone looking to work in the Japanese comics industry would be the painfully obvious; strive to improve your craft as much as possible, and become proficient in Japanese. And make sure you’re having fun doing it, because there’s a good chance it may not provide as much monetary compensation as you’d like.

Tonoharu Part Two ends with a cliffhanger. What is in store for Dan in the third volume?

With each book, I’ve tried to capture different aspects of the experience of teaching in Japan. Notably absent in the first two books is any sort of meaningful interaction between Dan and his students, so I devote a significant chunk of the third book to that. This makes for some of my favorite scenes in the whole series, so I hope readers enjoy it as well.

What is your opinion of Japanese cake?

Almost always disappointing.