Okay I just had one of those 'Only in Japan' moments.

I was on my way to an evening class when I heard a truck playing a children's ditty complete with cute chipmunky voices, and than I turned the corner...and hello sewage truck. Has anyone ever seen or heard this before?

What, you never heard of a Honey Wagon? It's a Japanese institution.

Sewage trucks are ubiquitous around Japan, but musical ones...?

dimwit wrote:Sewage trucks are ubiquitous around Japan, but musical ones...?

Sure, I've heard music-playing honey wagons, but that was in a more rural town where most older homes didn't have sewer hookups. There is probably some sort of old tradition to the tunes, but I suspect that I don't really want to know.

dimwit wrote:Sewage trucks are ubiquitous around Japan, but musical ones...?

Totsuka City of greater Yokahama/Kanagawa has an urban poplation of 254,884 and is home to Hitachi and Sumitomo Electric...it's all a very "high touch/ high tech(c)" place. And in the middle of this techno-glitz are musical honey wagons.

My favorite trick to play on nama gaijin on their first day of work is when the musical honey wagon can be heard, I start gathering money and writing down a list of favorite ice cream flavors. Then we send the noob gaijin out to buy from the musical "ice cream truck" for the girls and myself in the office.

Here's a view of Totsuka downtown where the honey wagon parks to suck the toilets which sinks out the station, shopping mall, and ward office.

Taro Toporific wrote:My favorite trick to play on nama gaijin on their first day of work is when the musical honey wagon can be heard, I start gathering money and writing down a list of favorite ice cream flavors. Then we send the noob gaijin out to buy from the musical "ice cream truck" for the girls and myself in the office.

Truly funny. Cruel, but funny.

Taro Toporific wrote:... My favorite trick to play on nama gaijin on their first day of work is when the musical honey wagon can be heard, I start gathering money and writing down a list of favorite ice cream flavors. Then we send the noob gaijin out to buy from the musical "ice cream truck" for the girls and myself in the office ...

I love your work, Taro-san.

I'd also laugh, though, if one of them was cheeky enough to bring you all back some "honeywagon soft serves".