i'm going to burn in hell

Dear BLOG,

Before I begin this next rather strange entry, let me say this: at the moment, there's a lot that I like about life here in Japan. Very few things bother me about being here in Japan, but this was one of them.

Tuesday night, post-work, I went with my co-worker/homie Selman to grab a bite to eat in Osaka. After a humble meal of coffee and sandwiches, we linked up with one of Sel's Japanese friends, who took us to place to chat and have drinks.



Hmmm.... was is it a church we went to?



Hello, Babylon...

Nope.

It was an entire bar/cafe (name, "CHRISTON CAFE") with a "gothic Catholic church" theme. The lighting was dark, the paint on the walls was intentionally dirty/musty, and the place was filled with actual Catholic church artifacts - mostly statues and busts of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and apostles. Even the staff all wore t-shirts with an old Medieval woodblock etching of Jesus face.

Creepy? Yep. Especially with the industrial dance music pumping in the background.

Sacrilegious? Mos def. While I can forgive the modern Japanese ambivalent attitude toward religion (heck, they learned from America/the West), creating an entire bar with a "religious theme" for the express purpose of making money... e v i l.

Apparently, there's also a "Buddha" themed bar too that's owned by the same group of people. Aiyah. And I wasn't the only one who was bothered. Selman, a devout Muslim, found it all a bit bizarre and freaky too. I'm steering clear of the joint next time. I half-expected to be struck down by lightning after exiting the place.

"Gothic church" themed bars... add that to the list of things that are wack about Japan, along with schoolgirl cults and used panty vending machines.
posted by G at 4:12 AM   |

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33