Japan has an unholy obsession with poop. This stems partially, I think, from their ability to make just about anything adorable, even natto. Natto is a vile substance that 99% of foreigners despise, and my one attempt to ingest it ended in a battle over who should have to sit closest to the noxious fumes emanating from the tiny package. And yet I purchased a notebook emblazoned with frolicking baby natto because I couldn’t even tell.
Poop in Japan resembles a pile of soft serve ice cream with a face. You can buy poop stickers and and cell phone holders and even socks.
My Japanese friend Bunchan is a bit of an artist, and she often doodled random things that we all enjoyed imensely, and the header actually came from something she drew. Our favorite doodle was the kitten very stealthily hiding poop behind its tail, and it became a sort of anthem for us all.
And now, as my return to Japan approaches, random information that I forgot in the past few years floats to the forefront, things like chicken flavored chips and peach flavored coke, the adorable mascots and the jingles endlessly repeating at stores, and of course the poop.
I want poop souvenirs. Ryan does too!
I’ll keep my eyes open!