72 posts tagged “tokyo”
They've got this illumination thing going on around Roppongi Hills.
This is right next to that Spider thing in front of Mori Tower. Just ignore some dude in front:-)
No, it's not the title of the next Chuck Palahniuk novel. This is for real. Someone is putting together a labor union, serious, legit, workers-be-united type thing. For the hostesses working in Tokyo, to solve problems such as unpaid salaries and sexual harassment. I am not making this up.
First thing comes to my mind is, they would have to start with defining exactly what type of employment it is (this changes what type of legal regulation will be applied). Are they directly employed by the club? If so, the club is legally required to provide health benefits and paid holidays. If they are freelancers, the club cannot bind them exclusive to one club. (Wait, is a club incorporated in the first place? It's probably owned by some dummy company)
Also, the management in this case is not your average square type characters; raise a hand if you think hostess clubs are run by square, honest, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens with no affiliation whatsoever with Yakuza (or a front company / individual working for Yakuza). I wouldn't try to sue these people for sexual harassment because some customers just kept saying obnoxious things. They wouldn't want the money flow too clear to outsiders (the whole thing would go down in public if there ever is a lawsuit; tax authorities would love to be on the hearing seat)
Which leads to another question- unlike day-time office environment, there has to be a different set of criterea for what constitues as verbal sexual harassment, because, you know, you could argue that the whole business is about those men letting out what they can't say in today's office (or at their home). Read WH's blog for a while. A guy talks about his impotence in his office to female co-workers? He could get sued. Should the same criterea apply in hostess club environment??
Interesting story, but I don't think it would catch on.
Crap, I was going to write something completely different but instead I started to go blah blah blah about games and Russian language:-)
There have been suspiciously innocent looking Western people in front of my JR station with this piece of paper that says they'd give "5 Minutes English Lesson" for free.
I eat fairly lot, for a skinny, bony Japanese guy (I'm about 170cm tall and weigh like 58-60 kg). My height/ weight ratio is considered "average" for the Japanese, but I guess it would fall under female category in some other countries. (There has been more than one occasion where a western woman complained that she looked fat lying next to me; it can't be helped. Bone structure and stuff is different:-)
There's this small Irish pub near Roppongi Hills that's non-smoking. It's just a small joint, owned- as I understand- by a bunch of guys who used to be working for another Ex-Investment Bank used to be stationed up in Roppongi Hills. It's so cool. Nothing special if you really think about it, but an Irish pub that's completely non-smoking environment, is just great as far as I'm concerned.
Strange. Last week, three people asked me if I have been to a hostess club. To be more precise, one of them asked me which hostess club I frequent. (He just assumed I must be frequenting one!!!) Yes, all three of them were male, and all three of them were Japanese.
Apparently, there have been too many wireless LAN networks around where I live. I can't get the decent connection lately, I'm considering changing my wireless HQ (I'm using AirMac Express, which isn't exactly the most powerful stuff out there) or going back to hard line completely.
I found this state of the art invention at the Kasumigaseki subway station.
Apparently it can polish your shoes automatically for 100 Yen (about one USD or so). I wouldn't trust mine to it but it sure sounds awesome. 霞ヶ関 is like mini-Washignton DC in the middle of Tokyo where all the important government agencies are at.
Cars. Less of them. I don't see too many cars on the street.
