Capsule Apartments and the Internet

Here we go again, look how whacky those crazy Japanese are!  People actually live in 1.5 jou capsule apartments!!!

Where do I begin...


Yes, some nights in Japan made me wonder how screwed up Japan actually is but what you have to realize is that Japanese people are just that; people.  Human people.  Japan is a country that kicks America's ass at everything important, so how 'weird' can they really be??  (The answer is actually Pretty Weird, but not weirder than most.)

Before I continue, let me stress that this is the internet where anything can, and often is, published before validating anything.  We've seen this with LED mouth lights, bagel heads,
Egypt Necrophilia law,  Obama is a 'muslim', and on and on.  Unfortunately as a result of the never ending quest for page views, most 'news' has lost its credibility.

So how about this crazy city of Tokyo (pronounced Tou Kyou - 2 syllables)?  Tokyo, like the internet, is large enough for anything to exist.  Tokyo is quite literally the largest city in the world so it really doesn't surprise me that ANYTHING exists in Tokyo.  If you've ever spent time in Tokyo you'll know that transsexual host clubs are just the tip of the iceberg of Tokyo's weirdness.

All that aside, lets assume these apartments are popular and they are popping up all around Tokyo.  For the single recent college graduate with zero free time and a low salary, this type of living makes a lot of sense.  It is minimalist to the extreme, but I get it.  Would I ever rent one of these apartments?  Of course not.  I need the extra room to take back 3 women from the clubs.  But those young salary men and women have 10 hour days and live on $2K a month.  If all you do is sleep in your apartment, why would you bother paying for the extra space?  The question shouldn't be 'how can people live like that?'  It should be, 'why hasn't anyone else thought of this before?'


I would also like to add that unlike many Americans, most Japanese people are not  fat tubs of goo that require 1000 SF of closet space for their Doritos...so there's that.  Also, the 1.5 jou (Tatami sizes differ but I think this converts to 3ish square meters or about 30 something square feet) is just the sleeping area.  Since there is a communal kitchen/bathroom, you have a lot more space available to you.  So how about it?  Would you be willing to give these apartments the old college try?

Weird Ass Japan

I’m a huge fan of cracked.com, and a common theme on the website is how ridiculous Japan is. Here is what most readers think of Japan. While it’s easy to blame the media….you know what, I’ll just blame the media. The only stuff from Japan to make it to the US is their over the top and usually perverted アニメ (incorrectly pronounced anne-ih-may), even stranger porn, sushi, bad お酒 (incorrectly pronounced sock-ee), and more recently, Hello Kitty.

Did you know that all Japanese AV (adult video) has to be censored so you can’t actually see anything? When you have to blur all the good parts, you end up getting creative to keep people's interest. The weird AV that you see now is sort of the movie companies’ way of exploiting a loophole. Apparently Japan feels like you shouldn't see genitals, but it's okay to see 23 dudes take on one crying teenager...but I digress.

Its crazy how quickly the weird aspects and traditions of one culture spread to another faster than the legitimate aspects. For instance, America views Japan as a workaholic, rice & endangered species eating, tentacle loving, fetish haven; While they view America as an obese, rude, guns and beef loving, crime infested crap hole. I think the major problem is both parties are getting all their information on each other from youtube or their local news. Its fun to say Japan sells used underwear in vending machines or that everyone in Japan knows karate, but that just isn't the case.

This Scene is Not Normal

It is a bit odd that Japan is pushing the cool Japan slogan, when its key exports are anime, video games, and TV's - 3 things least likely to be associated with the word 'cool. Meanwhile, all of the best stuff from Japan (umeshu, jyagariko, sexy fashion, trains, and some music) is nowhere to be found in America. You need to get on that Japan. America needs to know what you really have to offer. At least send over a few skinny girls once in a while to help counteract America's morbid obesity.