Kitagwa: Art of the Almost Useless

Kitagawa village

I've been working out among the rice paddies of rural Japan on the JET Program as a 'CIR' My home for almost 2 years now has been a small hamlet in eastern Shikoku called Kitagawa village .
Foreign population: 1

Currently...

With only a matter of weeks left at my current job, I'm getting ready for my next big trip - a cycle tour across Japan, top to bottom. The plan is to set off in August from the northern tip of Japan and just keep on pedaling south.
More here...

Art of the Almost Useless

Chindogu (珍道具) - the art of the almost useless invention. With a cult-like following in Japan and growing world-wide, Chindogu are largely the brainchildren of Kenji Kawakami. Fed up with Japan's obsession with convenience (case in point here), these "unuseless inventions" are his subtle protest against modern consumerism. Whatever the reasons, they always crack me up.