Via Fark, the Daily Telegraph reports on a true hardcore biker:

A JAPANESE biker failed to notice his leg had been severed below the knee when he hit a safety barrier, and rode on for 2km, leaving a friend to pick up the limb.

The 54-year-old office worker was out on his motorcycle with a group of friends in the city of Hamamatsu, west of Tokyo, yesterday, when he was unable to negotiate a curve in the road and bumped into the central barrier, the Mainichi Shimbun said.

He felt excruciating pain, but did not notice that his right leg was missing until he stopped at the next junction, the paper quoted local police as saying.

The man and his leg were taken to hospital, but the limb had been crushed in the collision, the paper said.

That's why you should always use your rear brake, not just the front brake: So you know if your right leg is missing.

Japanese company Toto makes the Washlet, a robo-toilet that sprays a jet of water to cleanse your nether regions and then dries you off, making toilet paper virtually unnecessary. I have similar units in my new house, and they're awesome. But it's definitely a hard sell until you've tried one for yourself.

Blogger Gen Kanai notes that Toto is now marketing the Washlet in America; check out this comprehensive flash-based website. It's kind of funny to watch the actors on the site talk about the product while dancing around the subject of what it's actually doing.

Ladies and gentlemen, the inimitable Danny Choo:


Via Jean Snow. (I previously blogged about Danny's stormtrooper antics here.)

From the Inside Looking In reports:

Burger King returns to Japan this Friday, with the first store opening in Nishi-Shinjuku...

The Burger King is located within the Shinjuku Island Tower building, taking over the premises of a Lotteria burger joint (the BK franchise is being developed by Lotte which owns the Lotteria chain).

Interesting to note, the Island Tower is home to McDonalds Japan’s head offices.

Just a coincidence, I'm sure.

I've been on hiatus for a while, but I simply can't fail to note this update to a story previously covered here at Riding Sun.

Via Fark, the Wall Street Journal reports:

TOKYO–All over Japan, retailers are scrambling to keep up with a new look known as "bon-kyu-bon." It means "big-small-big" and it signals a change in the way Japanese women look: they're getting curvier.

...Today, the average Japanese woman's hips, at 35 inches, are around an inch wider than those of women a generation older. Women in their 20s wear a bra at least two sizes larger than that of their mothers, according to Wacoal. Waist size, meanwhile, has gotten slightly smaller, accentuating many young women's curves.

...The physical changes are largely the result of an increasingly Westernized diet, say nutritionists. Meals that used to consist of mostly fish, vegetables and tofu now lean heavily toward an American-style menu of red meat, dairy and indulgences such as Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Cold Stone Creamery ice cream.

So the WSJ has finally caught up to this story, which I covered over a year ago. But I tip my hat to the Journal for, um, fleshing out the facts by interviewing actual Japanese women:

Nami Sakamoto, an advertising-agency employee, embodies the new look. The 26-year-old is tall – by Japanese standards – at 5 feet 5 inches. She's also voluptuous, with a 35-inch bust and 35-inch hips.

"I had a hard time finding button-down shirts that would close," says Sakamoto, especially when she was in high school and there were fewer foreign retailers in Japan that actually sold bigger sizes.

"Sometimes the buttons would burst off." Now she buys clothes at Western retailers that carry larger sizes.

The WSJ's not a bad newspaper, really. But when you need the scoop on Japanese breast sizes, you know where to turn first.

FOLLOW-UP
Fark has cravenly deleted its thread on this topic after readers complained about not being able to post pictures illustrating the trend of increasingly busty Japanese women. This is not the Fark I knew and loved.

I know I said I was busy, but this is too good to pass up. As I mentioned in the previous post, I am looking for a house in Tokyo. At the real estate agent's office today, I saw a listing for a very nice, luxurious, spacious new house, with a suitably high asking price. And since this is Japan, sellers often think up an elegant-sounding Western name for such high-end properties, like Garden Cove or Park Terrace or some such.

The name for this luxurious estate? Welfare Court.

Hey, my fiancee and I could have our wedding at Twin Ring Motegi!


The name "Twin Ring" refers to the two racetracks they have there, not wedding rings. Their special "Circuit Wedding" plan lets you do a "Wedding Run" lap around the racetrack in a Honda S2000 convertible. I wonder if they let you use your own motorcycle instead...

I thought I found a good place for our upcoming wedding. Just check out this artist's rendering from their website:


Looks nice, doesn't it? Here's the view they don't show you — what's on the other side of those trees:


I was hoping for something a little more secluded.

The Mainichi Shimbun reports:

Two trains came to an abrupt halt early on Wednesday after running over rocks left on the tracks, police said.

The driver of a Keihan Electric Railway Co. train applied the emergency brake after hearing an unusual noise as the train passed a railway crossing in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, at about 5:10 a.m.

...About 1 kilometer south, another Keihan train made an emergency stop after its driver also heard an unusual sound.

Police think the rocks were left on the tracks deliberately. No word on how long the trains were delayed by this sabotage.

...at speaking Japanese.

Ugh. You'd think a movie meister like Spielberg could find a dialogue coach.

Based on a recommendation from Gen Kanai, I have tried the bagels at Maruichi Bagel. As their website says:

MARUICHI make bagel based on the way of Ess-a-Bagel as known as #1 Bagel Store in NEW YORK.

My verdict? Perhaps a bit too chewy, but clearly the best bagels I've had in Japan. Doing the Atkins diet here just got harder.

I just got back from this year's Merry Run. Here's some pics:




I got stopped on my way back by some cops who checked to see if I'd been drinking. You know, just because I was dressed as Santa Claus riding a bike covered in tinsel and flashing lights is no reason for them to single me out.

FOLLOW-UP:
Big Ben's own Merry Run post is up over on his blog.

Via Fark, ANP (Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau) reports that a Japanese trend I blogged about previously appears to have spread to the Netherlands. I love globalization.

It's a little small for a caption contest photo, but this picture of an itamae serving up a piece of sushi is quite amusing. (Via Gen Kanai)

According to Oddpeak.com, of the ten most bizarre people on earth, a whopping three are Japanese. (Via kottke.org)

Shuu-san sent me a few issues of Big Comic Spirits, a weekly manga with several ongoing stories, including "Master of Sea Umishi". In that one, the main character, Rintarou Nanba, a diver in the Japan Coast Guard, rides a Honda X-4:


Sure beats Richard Gere's dinky little Bonneville from An Officer and a Gentleman.

Via Fark, ConsumerAffairs.com has named the so-called "Grandparents Scam" one of the top 10 scams of the year. It works like this:

An elderly person is targeted by the scammer who calls and says something like, "It's me, grandpa." The elderly person will respond, thinking it's one of their grandchildren.

The scammer then tells a tale of woe, saying they are in trouble and need some money, "and please don't tell mom." The grandparent obligingly sends a few hundred dollars, thinking they're helping a grandchild. Investigators say it works more than you might think.

It certainly works a lot in Japan, where it's called the "Ore ore" ("It's me!) scam, and is one of the most common cons.

I previously said that I didn't think the "ore ore" scam would work in America (or, at least, in New York), where people are, in theory, more cynical and less trusting. But apparently it does.

Via Gen Kanai, Ironic Sans has the coolest idea for a building ever:

The people of Tokyo should construct a giant building shaped like Godzilla. Imagine what it would do to the city’s skyline, and to the tourism industry. People would come from all over to take pictures. His eyes could flash red so airplanes don’t hit him. There could be an observatory in his mouth so people could look out over Tokyo. One of his arms could house a bar, and the other arm a restaurant. They could serve drinks called Mothra Martinis and dishes like Grilled Gamera Steaks, with a side of Mashed Potatoes.

Of course, since Godzilla is known for smashing buildings, turning him into a building is wonderfully ironic.

The Mainichi Shimbun reports:

TAGAWA, Fukuoka — A 10-meter stretch of a communication cable has been stolen from a railway line here, forcing its operator to cancel at least 14 trains, police said.

There have been numerous incidents in which copper wire has been stolen as the demand for nonferrous metal is growing due mainly to China's economic growth. Police are investigating the latest case, suspecting the culprit stole the cable to sell its copper wire.

Of course, people steal motorcycles, too. But you can always lock your motorcycle up, or park it in a secure place. How are you supposed to guard an entire rail line?

The absolutely insane James Klauzner, a fellow member of TokyoRiders, is at this very moment riding around a loop of the Shuto Expressway. Here's his route, in yellow:


His goal is to rack up over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) in 24 hours with witnesses at key checkpoints verifying his progress, and thus qualify for "SaddleSore 1000" certification by the Iron Butt Association, perhaps the world's best-known long-distance endurance motorcycle riding organization. At a little over 130km per lap, he'll be doing over twelve laps on one of Japan's twistiest, most crowded highways. Good luck, James.

FOLLOW-UP:
He did it! 1,646.5 kilometers in 23 hours and 47 minutes. Here he is (right) with his buddy Colin, who did at least part of the ride the whole thing with him:


More photos here.