Will 'Queer Eye' show a different view of Japanese culture?

Mar 01, 2019 | News On Japan

Mar 01, 2019 (Japan Times) - Netflix's popular reality series "Queer Eye" recently wrapped up filming for a number of special Japan-based episodes.

The footage from the recent trip to the country won't air until later in the year, so curious viewers will have to wait to see just how the Fab Five highlight the country to the world.

However, the stars of "Queer Eye" and staff working behind the scenes shared plenty of posts on social media, offering snapshots of their visit (SoraNews24 compiled some of the highlights). How much of it factors into the show proper remains to be seen - something tells me Kiko Mizuhara and Naomi Watanabe weren't just playing travel guides for kicks - but, regardless, these updates offered a snapshot of how celebrities spend their holidays in the country. It, along with other recent cases, highlighted some new spots becoming popular with prominent figures, while also reminding us that time-tested landmarks persevere.

Maybe I'm naive about celeb life, but I always assumed that when they visit a city such as Tokyo they hit up elite establishments regular schmucks can only dream of accessing. However, it turns out they are just like your distant cousin reaching out for the first time in a decade looking for travel tips from a local. They end up going to Robot Restaurant or the Kawaii Monster Cafe. And the "Queer Eye" guys are hardly alone in visiting these places. Chrissy Teigen apparently loves the former location enough to have gone twice, while all sorts of stars have popped up at the latter. At least they didn't pull a Katy Perry or Nolan Gould, who spent part of their vacation in Tokyo riding around in those real-life Mario Kart go-karts.

But those are old hat at this point, and have inspired eye rolls from local non-Japanese residents for years now. The Fab Five's visit, though, points to what the next frontier of Tokyo tourism for the elite will be. The teamLab Borderless exhibition in Odaiba factored in heavily to the "Queer Eye" posts from the capital. The spot's relative newness hasn't garnered the same cynicism that Robot Restaurant or the Mario go-karts have, but has attracted visits from influencers eager to share photos of them standing in front of the brightly colored displays on Instagram. Expect to see plenty more rich and famous folks visiting that spot in the years to come.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.