Only In Tokyo, Japan

… would you find buses and trains that run on the dot. If the timetable says it will leave by 7:53 and arrive at your destination by 9:07, trust me, it definitely will! Somehow they’ve nailed down the whole statistics and counting business right down to the very nano-second.

… not sure who came up with this idea, but I saw it first in Japan - a camera that only takes the shot if the subject smiles. Sony has this new technology called “Smile Shutter Mode” that can recognize a model’s smile and quickly churn out as many as six shots in a row. My friend and I stood in front of the sample camera and experimented with it several times, each time having more fun than the previous.

… where the school skirts are practically shorter than a teenager’s mini skirt... and not get harassed by strangers on the streets. I guess eventually you become immune even to shapely bare legs in flirty skirts and hot boots.

… where it is 100% safe even in public areas. I had about $1,500 USD in my wallet and 2 newly-bought Nikon SLRs while I was riding the train from Akihabara (the “Electric Town”) back to my hotel in Tokyo. Amidst strangers, I also felt safe enough to pull out and fiddle with my obviously new and expensive camera.

… wherein it is nothing unusual to see people of all ages, both male and female and in between, wearing costumes during daytime. This is more commonly known as cosplay.

… can people with huge pot bellies bow all the way to their waist. It's amazing, really. Not that I'm a mean person, but to pass time, I sometimes count how many times the group would bow during a brief conversation in the elevator.

... can you find a seemingly innocent character like Hello Kitty on the front of a vibrator or some outlandish sex toy. Sex is everywhere. It really sells, especially in Tokyo apparently. They even have video games wherein the goal of the player is to get the cartoon character to bed with you. Jeez, if they spent as much time trying to get real people to bed as they spend playing their games, their lives will be so much more fulfilling, physically at least.

NOTE: No offense meant to anyone Don't get me wrong. I had a blast in Japan. I just found these things VERY interesting.