The same, but different

I read somewhere (so it must be true) that Japan watchers end up arguing from one of two positions:

1. Scratch the surface, and Japan is just like every other country.
2. The country and its people are incomprehensibly different, so don't even try to understand the place.

I'd like to think the truth is somewhere between the two extremes because if you subscribe to the second view, horrors like the A-bomb become an easy reality, but if you believe the first, you will miss the local flavour that makes the world a more interesting place. So, in the spirit of cultural exploration and understanding, here are some pictures I took while shopping this weekend, proving that the Japanese are both like everyone else, and very different at the same time.

Well, the English almost makes sense, if a little mysterious on this sign by the entrance to an indoor market. What would cause shoppers' eyes to sparkle? Why, maybe this:

No, it's not what you think, it is in fact for a racially insensitive novelty ashtray:

Hmm. Not quite the wife's cup of tea. Maybe she would prefer one of these:

Yes, it's dressing-up for adults featuring maids, airline stewardesses, high school students, and perhaps most worryingly, assistants at shinto shrines (bottom row, fourth from the right). Just what kind of market is this, you might be wondering...    

...it's the kind of market that sells good old Wedgwood porcelain all the way from the Potteries of little old England. Now, that's definitely more my wife's cup of tea, but maybe not served from this drinks dispenser: