Monday, November 17, 2008

Only in Japan . . .

Guess what I found on sale at the grocery store last night? Hello Kitty toilet paper!



I bought four rolls. But it's almost too cute to use. I think I'll save it for when I have guests over. They will be rationed two squares per day.

Is it just me or is there something slightly subversive about slapping the Hello Kitty logo on toilet paper? The company that owns Hello Kitty has very strict rules about what kind of things it will and won't endorse. It's not okay to use Hello Kitty's image on cigarettes, hard alcohol, guns and "sharp objects." But it's okay to use Hello Kitty's image on a product you wipe your ass with?

Speaking of awesome finds at the grocery store, I also discovered single-serving size boxes of sake for sale. Just like a juice box, the sake box comes with a little straw glued to the side and a hole on top. Perfect for school lunches!


They only cost 100 yen ($1 Canadian) each. Boxed sake is cheaper than bottled water. The mind boggles.

If drinking cheap sake out of a box isn't classy enough for you, you can always pour it into a porcelain sake container and pop it in the microwave for a more sophisticated drinking experience.

Do not scorn the microwave. Japanese microwaves can do magical, mysterious things like bake cakes and toast bread. In Canada, microwaves have automatic settings for popcorn. In Japan, microwaves have automatic settings for sake. (Take a close look at the second button on the microwave panel below. That is the sake button. Cheap, cold sake goes in the microwave. Delicious, hot sake comes out. All at the press of a button. It is a magic machine.)


The more sake you drink, the more you have to go to the bathroom. The more you have to go to the bathroom, the more Hello Kitty toilet paper you use. Forget the Lion King. This, my friends, is the real circle of life.

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