Porn In Vending Machines | See But Not Notice

PornVending-Sakuragawa-1, originally uploaded by sleepytako.

I don't know what books and classes it came from, but I've been taught there's a cultural trait of Japanese to not notice things. Better said, to notice things, but not pay them any heed. Loud kids on the train, people littering, not stopping at stop signs, drunk salary men passed out on a park bench, drunken gaijin speaking loudly, porn in vending machines are good examples. I'm sometimes drawn back at this power to disregard things. Once walking through a redlight district in Osaka, one where girls sit in doorways while the Mama-sans call out to men walking down the street, I witnessed a family riding their bikes oblivious to their surroundings more than once. I wish I could have taken a picture of the scene, but my nerves said that might not be the best idea. I wondered what happens when the little daughter asks what are those pretty girls doing all dressed up sitting there. I wonder if they even ask.

I saw this vending machine next to a chain discount store near Sakuragawa station in Osaka. The machine had 16 magazines in it all around ¥700. As I was taking the photo, late in the evening mind you, 2 elementary aged children walked behind me.

Am I bothered by this. No. I find it all so interesting. I love juxtaposition, if that is what this is.