A recent article in the Japan Times says that there are now about six million more pets in Japan than there are kids under 16 years of age. This is very different than my experience in Japan during the late 1980s. I’m guessing there were probably 10 million more children in Japan than pets back then. That’s quite a change is just over 20 years.

Jizo (the six statues) are associated with children so I’m trying to show you a bit of irony in the above photo. I took this picture at Gokokuji.

Posted on March 9th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: jizo, pets. Comments: 2

While out for a walk along the Kanda River (神田川) we came upon some Tokyoites taking their pets for a walk.

Someone had a dog on a leash. Another had his pet tortoise walking behind him, no leash required.

The tortoise was almost as fast as the dog and seemed to know exactly which way to go.

The tortoise sported some fancy booties. I’m not sure if the booties were just for looks or if they protected the tortoise’s hind feet.

Another time I was out in the rain, without a camera, and watched pet owners walking their dogs. The dogs had on raincoats. They looked rather miserable–not because it was raining but because they had to wear raincoats. I think they wanted to enjoy the rain hitting them, but that wouldn’t have been fashionable in this town.

Posted on October 21st, 2009 under Japan. Tags: people, pets, Tokyo. Comments: 2

Japanese attitudes about pets have changed rather dramatically in the past 100 years–especially the past 20. A few years back I read a book called Yankee Hobo in the Orient. The author describes the inhumanity of the Japanese toward dogs in pre-WW2 Japan.

A few decades later Mishima wrote about the torturing of cats in 午後の曳航. A couple decades after that, in the 1980s when I lived in Japan, I observed not much progress. Few people had pets, and those that did didn’t seem to treat them well.

All of that has now changed. The pet business is booming in Japan. Pets seem to be treated as well as children, and pampered, little, “cute” animals can be seen everywhere. Girls bring them in their purses on trains, older people are out walking them, and a large share of the population seems to own at least one–despite the limited space. I saw a guy just yesterday with a tiny dog in a purse. The dog was white but the ears had been dyed purple.

On a recent holiday, I had to wait an hour and a half for my bus (which usually arrives every 20 minutes when it isn’t a holiday) at the Ebisu Station so I killed a little time at the nearby shopping center. A dog show was taking place so I captured a few images of the pet craze. Not only were there dogs on stage, but there were hundreds in the audience as well.

At this show the dogs are auditioning to become a “Dog Idol.” I’m guessing this is like “American Idol” for dogs?

Everyone at the shopping center on this day seemed to own a little dog (or two or three).

On a recent walk around the Okubo part of Shinjuku we happened upon our first Japanese pet store. I didn’t have a camera at the time. Sorry.

The pet store was the strangest I’ve ever seen. Many, if not most, of the animals can not be legally sold in the states I’m guessing. There were owls, falcons, pigs, rare birds, monkeys, ferrets, hedgehogs, chinchilla, and about a dozen species I have never even heard of or seen before. It felt like a pet store one would find walking down Diagon Alley. The prices also seemed fictional, with many animals being listed for the equivalent of thousands of dollars.

Posted on October 20th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: people, pets. Comments: 1

When a foreigner first visits Japan they will undoubtedly be surprised by the differences. Some of these anomalies may even seem more than a bit wacky. After a while the wackiness becomes commonplace and the shock factor wears off. Soon it would seem strange for things not to be so consistenantly out of the ordinary.

With that intro, I’ll present to you one of the countless crazy shops we have encountered. This one, called “Howl’s Cafe & Shop: Life Style with Dog,” is a mere stone’s throw from our apartment in Nishi-Waseda (which is in Shinjuku-Ku which is in Tokyo). These kinds of places (and associated Engrish) will be passé for those living in Japan but still may be of interest to those abroad.

As we were heading home the other night this Japanese girl and her dog were enjoying their ice coffee in this doggie cafe. She jumped at the chance of a photo op and beckoned my children to join her, passing her dog off to my son. Her dog immediately started to lick my son’s face (I have a picture of that too that I may post someday).

It is good to be considered a cute dog in this land of cuteness.

Posted on August 21st, 2009 under Japan. Tags: engrish, nishi-waseda, people, pets, Tokyo, wacky. Comments: 5