August 2010

Shanghai surprise: Japanese Expo gals banned from evening escapades

By Amy Takahashi • August 29, 2010

Japanese female staffers banned from mingling with men from other countries

Tour of Asakusa

By CJ • August 29, 2010

Tokyo can be crudely described as a metropolis of soaring and undulating concrete collectively illuminated by a glow of garish neon. Yet bordering the Sumida River in the east is the Asakusa district, which adheres to many of those characteristics but also retains certain cultural elements of life back in the Edo Period (1615 – 1868).

Couple wiggles and giggles in car during a summer washout

By Winnie Waniguchi • August 24, 2010

“The other day my boyfriend bought a new car, and we promptly headed for a drive through the mountains to admire the scenery. The skies had been fair, but clouds began forming and we ran into an unexpected rainstorm. Before long it was coming down in buckets.”

Entertainment world to follow sumo in baseball betting clampdown

By Kenji Nakano • August 22, 2010

An idol and enka singer are rumored to be gamblers on baseball

Pairity for charity: Tokyo porn channel raises funds for AIDS

By CJ • August 22, 2010

Porn channel raises funds for AIDS charities

Right-wing groups protest anti-Yasukuni Shrine march in Tokyo

By CJ • August 15, 2010

Right-wing groups protest anti-Yasukuni Shrine march in Tokyo.

Playful prankster’s uninhibited prancing provokes prudish front-desk staffer

By CJ • August 15, 2010

In her latest weekly installment in Nikkan Gendai (Aug. 12) the pseudonymous Shoko Harano, a divorcee who has spent three years working at the front desk of a Tokyo love hotel, relates a wacky incident in which she was involved.

Cooler goes kaput, gal plugs in for the duration

By Winnie Waniguchi • August 10, 2010

“The wheezy old air conditioner in my apartment finally gave up the ghost, but my cheapskate landlord was dragging his heels on getting it fixed, and in this unbearable heat, I got desperate for new digs. Fortunately this guy at the place where I work part-time had a spare futon and invited me to come over to his place and cool off.”