sleepy john - news, pictures and videos for the jpop, kpop, gravure, racing queen, grid girl and av idol fan!

I get sleepy quite often but my need for a little shut eye pales in comparison to the Japanese. They seem to have this uncanny ability to fall asleep on command, regardless of where they’re at! Here are a few snapshots I took of them sleeping:

At Narita International Airport…check out the stylish pose!

At a bus stop in the Tokyo business district of Nihonbashi

Spotted this salaryman on my way home along a busy street

Even on the mountain…slope side sleeping at its finest!

Yes fellas, like I previously announced I arrived in the land of milk and honey & rising skirts! Sorry about the unexpected delay…I was busy having too much fun and wiping the drool off my mouth. Here are a couple teasers for your viewing pleasure. I will throw up a lot more pics in the days to come so be sure to check back!

Hachiko Crossing in Shibuya, the mecca of Japanese goodness

The lovely Aki Hoshino was everywhere…here she is pimping body spray on a train

Ryu as he appears in Street Figher IV. The game will be presented in “2.5D” with cel-shading effect.

Has it really been that long since the first Street Fighter video game came out?! At last month’s Amusement Expo 2008 held at Makuhari Messe convention hall in Chiba (just east of Tokyo), Japan, Japanese video game giant Capcom made the official announcement that they will indeed be releasing part 4 of the game that has become a cultural icon worldwide.

Street Fighter IV is brought out just in time to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the original Street Fighter debut in the video arcade. Capcom hopes to capture older fans from its earlier series (mainly Street Fighter and Street Fighter II). I hope this latest version will be easier and less distracting to play than Street Fighter Alpha / Street Fighter III, which to me was just too complicated to play and all the eye candies on the screen make things really confusing.

Chun Li looks hot as ever, new character Crimson Viper is standing next to her

Haha check out this pervy dude in southern Japan and what gets him off:

KITAKYUSHU — A man arrested for stealing dozens of pairs of women’s boots has told investigators that he smelled them to imagine what the women who wore them looked like, police said.

Kazuhiro Watanabe, 33, from Okagaki, Fukuoka Prefecture, admitted to the allegations of theft during questioning. “I got excited when I smelled them and fantasized over what the women who wore them looked like,” Watanabe was quoted as telling investigators.

In the specific case for which he was arrested, Watanabe stole a pair of boots belonging to a 42-year-old woman, worth 5,000 yen, from a sports club in Yahatahigashi-ku, Kitakyushu, on Feb. 22, local police said.

Investigators confiscated 27 pairs of women’s boots from his home and car. Local police said they suspect that he stole the boots from hospitals and gyms while on his way home from work over the past few years.

Stealing panties is quite common, but gathering boots…now that’s dedication!

That’s right, Barack Obama is big in Japan!

U.S. presidential hopeful and Democratic Party front runner Senator Barack Obama is getting support from the oddest place…in Japan! The city of Obama (小浜市), a small seaside town facing the Sea of Japan in Fukui Prefecture happens to share the same name with the charismatic candidate from Illinois and the residents there couldn’t be happier.

Lovely receptionists at Sekumi-ya Hotel in Obama, Fukui Prefecture show off a sign of well wishes to Barack Obama

The town which served as an important stop on the trade route to Japan’s ancient capital Kyoto in the old days first noticed the connection when Senator Obama appeared on Japanese TV TBS in 2006 recalling an immigration officer at Narita International Airport telling him that his home town is also called “Obama”. In case you haven’t noticed, in general it takes very little effort to get the Japanese excited about something and start a new craze since the society is very group oriented. And the small fishing town of 32,000 in western Japan has found their calling…to rally behind Barack Obama while selling all kinds of related souvenirs from t-shirts to chopsticks to cellphone straps.

“Thanks for pimpin’ my name…I’m gonna be rich, bitches!”

The people of the 1,500 year old town that used to be responsible for providing food to the emperor are taking this event quite seriously and have formed an official support group for Senator Obama. A representative in the lobby of Sekumi-ya Hotel where they have set up camp says, “I think our support base will keep growing. We wanted to do something because Mr. Obama doesn’t feel like a stranger to us. He’s like a relative to us.”

Seiji Fujihara (R), manager of Sekumiya Hotel in Obama, Japan points to a banner wishing good luck to presidential hopeful Barack Obama

So umm,… yesterday, 5 people died while eating mochi rice cakes. Can you say, WTF? I mean, the article does make sense, but I mean, seriously,… where was the water? What about tea? If it’s the elderly, they must’ve had tea around. C’mon now. And where were their children when they were eating such a dangerous substance?!
+++
TOKYO — Tokyo Fire Department officials said Thursday that five elderly people had died and at least eight others had been hospitalized after choking on mochi rice cakes in the metropolitan area on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The dead included a 59-year-old man, an 83-year-old man, two other men in their 70s and a man in his 60s, fire department officials said. Each year, the health ministry warns elderly people to be careful eating the sticky mochi which is a traditional New Year food.

Yes, you heard right…Sanrio, the creator of the iconic Hello Kitty wants to see guys get in on the craze too!

Sanrio has tried a “limited edition” collaboration in men’s clothing with designers in Tokyo’s chic Harajuku section earlier this year, and they proved popular.  The usual bubble-headed shape of Hello Kitty was slightly changed for a more rugged, cool look to appeal to men in their teens and early 20s.

“The cute cuddly white cat, usually seen on toys and jewelry for young females, will soon don T-shirts, bags, watches and other products targeting young men, company spokesman Kazuo Tohmatsu said Friday. The feline for-men products will go on sale in Japan next month, and will be sold soon in the U.S. and other Asian nations, according to Sanrio.”

Would you shell out $36 for a Hello Kitty t-shirt?

The Koreans aren’t going to be happy about this.

This somewhat obsessed doctor in Spain gathered statistics from his contacts and medical journals throughout the world and announced the average penis size from different countries.

US men came out surprisingly on the short end while French, Italian and Mexican guys appear to be well equipped. One thing that’s puzzling is that Japan actually beat out the US!

Let hope this finding doesn’t lead to some violent protest in front of the Spanish embassy from the Koreans which they’re known for.

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be BUKKAKE’D IN THE FACE with coffee?  Well, several high school and junior high school girls in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan know the feeling.

This 26 year old loser felt extremely irritated because he got dumped.  So in order to relieve his frustration he would drive up to the poor school girls after he gets off work, takes a gulp of coffee and sprays it all over the victim’s face!

The funny thing is when the TV news interviewed this one school girl she said, “oh it’s worse than getting sprayed by tea.”  That makes me wonder what else she has experienced…

If you’ve been following Japanese news recently you’d know that NOVA, the largest and perhaps most well-known English language school chain has filed for bankruptcy, and its founder and CEO Nozomu Sahashi has basically cashed out before everything folded and is nowhere to be found.

Some independent filmmaker has put out this satirical short film about all the chaos that ensued and people affected.  Even if you’re not familiar with the case it’s still pretty funny.  Look out for some old school Street Fighter fight scenes and a special appearance by public enemy No. 1 Mr. Sahashi himself!