SF Gate runs
a piece by John Flinn on his trip to Japan and his ruminations on
Japanese Capsule Hotels. Capsule hotels are
mausoleum-like sleeping spaces (so Japanese…so Six Feet Under) which can be rented for an evening and are used for the
most part by salarymen who consumed too much sake and missed their train home. The capsules are 3 1/2 feet wide, 3 1/2
feet high and 6 feet long…which probably makes for rather uncomfortable sleep for most Americans.
It covers more ground that that, though, and Flinn talks about the culture shock of being in Japan where little
English is spoken, but oddly poetic phrases can be found on T-shirts everywhere. I found some of the T-shirt sayings
quite amusing:
“Why waste lucky?”
“Mischievous blue rabbit skunk.”
“Oranges now!”
Who knows what these things mean…but it’s kind of like Americans who wear or tattoo themselves with Chinese characters
without knowing for sure what they mean. I know of a guy who got a tattoo with a character he thought said “Power” but
when translated really meant “Dog Smell” or something like that. Poor fellow wondered why he got odd looks and titters
in Chinatown.