Really long gas station
This gas station in Yamaguchi Prefecture is apparently long enough that it deserves to be featured on TV as something odd and strange:
There isn’t really any shocking reason why it was built that way. The owner just says he thought it would be a good idea to have it set up so that customers wouldn’t have to wait.
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Categories: Odd / Strange
Buddha sculpture made from dead insects
“Nanikore Chin Hakkei” takes us to Gunma prefecture to see an amazing sculpture (video clip subtitled in English):
For directions on how to visit the Itakura community center and see the sculpture, check out the map on this site.
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Categories: Odd / Strange
Hokkaido Belly Button Festival
The city of Furano held its annual Heso Matsuri (“Belly Button Festival”) yesterday. Participants took to the streets with a variety of amusing faces painted on their bellies.
Here are a few belly button parades video clips that folks have uploaded to YouTube:
The second clip is the best. Gotta love those Dragonball bellies and the Barack Obama dude!
The Hokkaido Heso Matsuri is:
[hat tip to Ken Y-N]
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Categories: Odd / Strange
A bizarre bowling team
A team of non-pro bowlers in Kyoto who use bizarre techniques [clip from "Nanikore Chin Hakkei"]:
Apparently they are capable of regularly getting scores of around 200.
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Categories: General Japan
Japanese girl screaming contest
Female students at a high school in Fukui participate in a screaming contest:
Summer vacation is about to begin, so the school and local police held the contest to help teach the girls to make some noise if they run into suspicious individuals. A little gadget is used measured the decibel levels of their shrieks and shouts for help. (According to the report, a 90 decibel scream is required to scare off an attacker.)
The report doesn’t mention anyone being named the winner of the contest, but their teacher does a pretty good job of loudly shouting an insult at the guy.
Do you find this to be a good example of practical crime prevention training?
Related video: While we’re on the topic of suspicious guys, here’s a comedy video starring Ken Shimura:
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Categories: Japanese Girls
Curse of Colonel Sanders officially lifted
The Colonel Sanders statue that was fished out of the Dotombori River in March has been exorcised:
“The curse is completely broken,” chief priest Tsunetada Mayumi said at Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka, home to the Hanshin Tigers, after reciting a prayer in front of a life-sized doll of the bearded, bespectacled colonel.
The statue of the KFC founder was raised from the sludge of a canal in Osaka in March, 24 years after it was tossed there by overexcited supporters when the Tigers won the national championship for the first time.
“It is destined to become a saviour for the slumping Hanshin Tigers,” the priest, an 86-year-old devout Tigers fan, told reporters at the 1,800-year-old shrine.
The rite was held during the fast food chain’s annual service to give thanks to the chickens it has served up.
I wonder if the KFC restaurants in America hold rites to honor the spirits of the chickens they fry?
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Categories: Odd / Strange