Japan - See What I Saw: May 2017

Say What?

I really love Japan and its people. What a great place, but, I can't help but be entertained by some of the use/misuse of English. Yokosuka, where I reside, has a good size U.S. Navy base with hundreds, probably thousands, of American citizens, including active duty, along with their families, expat retirees, and contractors to the military, yet, these Japanese business can't hire the people with the capabilities to present a proper translation.

I present to you, for your perusal and hopefully entertainment, some of interesting uses of English, mostly found in Yokosuka and the surrounding areas.

First up, a banner presented by the city of Yokosuka. Though many places accept "dollors" the exchange rate is not consistent. I prefer to use a reputable exchange service.

Yokosuka, a city where you can use U.S. dollors...

This sign is posted at the entrance to a shopping mall where there are no doors/barriers to the pedestrian traffic. Close, but, not quite right (and that's ignoring the "rollerskates" error)

NO BICYCLES SKATEBOARDS ROLLERSKATES ALLOWED IN THIS STREET

This sign was found at the Yokohama drivers license testing facility. The point can be understood, but, really, from such a large government facility?.

NOTICE TO THE APPLICANTS

Sign from a well know chain of electronic stores. If my "JUST" ever needs electronics I know where to go.

For Your JUST

Who knows, this one may be intentional. I've found really odd phrases on clothing even in the states, but, this needs sharing.

BETTER ESPECIAL TIMES

This one was found on the outer wall to a small shopping mall. I think I can make a reasonable guess to what is being offered... "HOMING", obviously associated with homing missiles.

HOMING

Ah, this beauty was found on the wall to a beauty salon. "Make" what, you might inquire.

Hair & Make

This mural was found in a very large indoor shopping mall in the dining area.Words to live by... if only they made sense. Too bad they ran out of "e's" for the "happend".

It rise as clearly before my mind as if it happend yesterday,

Alright, this one does not have problem with English, but, I felt it worth posting. What is the underage sexpot advertising? A 24 hour parking lot is the answer. JR, one of the larger train lines here uses a very similar icon for its advertisements. Actually, similar company "mascots" can be found throughout Japan.

Welcome

This old sign belongs to a high-end bicycle shop. When open (they have some odd hours), the 25-30 year old owners/employees sit outside, hanging out, shooting the breeze with each other. Some day perhaps I'll ask what a "Global Pimp System is" but I suspect I would be disappointed with some bland insider joke response.

Global Pimp System

This one is a hand made dupe of an actual sign inside my favorite Chinese restaurant (the actual photo was on a bad angle due to the small size of the shop). The sign is at the exit, which is at the cashier station and does not give you much room to maneuver.

Attention please. A door is coming from your left side

Much like the earlier ball cap photo, this sweatshirt slogan may have been intentional... dumb, if you ask me.

SANFRA NC ISCO

Seen at a street fair. Once again, may be intentionally odd, but, give me a break, this is just stupid. At least she was a pretty good singer.

Boys Shirt Growin

Golly gee, I don't quite remember what type of shop this was at but obviously all patrons are "Well Come"!

Well Come

Question of the day: Would you patronize a tattoo shop that can not spell properly even on its own sign, the first thing every customer sees? A hyphen for "Walk In" wouldn't hurt.