I’d heard stories of life on Japan’s north island of Hokkaido, a place that stretches the length of Britain and makes up 25 per cent of Japan’s land mass despite holding only 5 per cent of its population. With a history of colonisation, ethnic repression, threats from Russia, and as the bearer of Japan’s own Meiji-era gulags, it seemed to me to be Japan’s final frontier. I booked a flight to Hakodate, the port at Hokkaido’s southern tip, rented a car and set off on the long road north. Along the way I’d encounter power-tool wielding convicts, erotic wood-carving ethnic Ainu potheads, strung-out bikers and an apocalyptic scattering of abandoned buildings. Oh, and I also nearly got kidnapped by Russian sailors. Read more »
Posts Tagged ‘]dildos’
Moving house, moving on
I’m moving house again, which means I’ve got to deal with the treasure trove of perverse crap the previous tenants decided was too dark to move with them into their new life. I’ve always made some effort to clear my flat before moving out. You know, get rid of the old birthday cards, empty pill bottles, and nude posters of Paul Rudd. But I am, it seems, in the minority because every single room, flat, and house I’ve moved in to has been awash with the detritus of the person who lived there before me. Read more »
