Quirky Tokyo Homepage

A taste of irreverent Japan

Ed Jacob, an English language teacher, has spent two years rolling around in Japan 's cultural underbelly to produce this site, which is dedicated to 'irreverence, kitsch and idiosyncrasy'. After his blunt warning; 'Conformists, puritans and package tourists not welcome', he begins his tour of Tokyo 's 'further out' institutions. These include what surely must be the world's only Laundry museum and Meguro's Parasitological Museum, home to metre-long tapeworms and a plethora of other things that slither and creep.

Spooky maybe, but not nearly as spooky as the TV show Japanarama, where hapless contestants have to guess what type of insect/reptile is crawling around on the top of their heads. The insanity doesn't stop here. Ed also escorts you around Tokyo's sultry Love Hotel Hill where rooms are booked either for a 'rest' - an interesting euphemism for a two-hour stint with you at the controls of a king-size bed, lighting panel and 'mood music' console, or for a whole night's 'stay'.

Slightly weightier are his tips on how to avoid the usual tourist pitfalls. Sumo can be seen without 'sitting through hours of tedious salt throwing and stare downs' by turning up at a sumo stable such as Futagoyama Beya for morning practice. Ed might even end up saving your life - Fugu(Blowfish) are to be avoided, especially in DIY-style restaurants, as an ounce of their poison can kill up to 30,000 people. A PR stunt for the Japanese Tourist Board this site certainly isn't, and therein lies its charm.

www.quirkyjapan.or.tv

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