What's in a name...

...i've grown a bit numb to all the ridiculous ways that japanese people use english on everything from clothes to, well, everything...there's wacky english on just about anything you pick up here, and at first it was pretty entertaining, but after a while, like anything, it gets old...not so much old, but the comedic appeal hasn't lasted for me...once in a while you get some gems, like one of my female students who wore a t-shirt that read 'double breasted' across the chest, but by and large, 'engrish' just doesn't move me like it used to...one bastion of hilarity that remains is in apartment names...they are always short but powerful and complete misuses of english...today i took a stroll around my neighborhood and snapped a few photos...this is a particulary rich area for wacky apartment names since the area is littered with low-budget student housing...i've lived in two apartments since coming to japan, the first was the infamous 'corp cherry' and i'm now residing in 'summerge four' which chieko and i have yet to decipher the meaning of...but these are by no means extraordinary when it comes to apartment names in japan...read on...
...we'll start things off in the international department...this is a ploy often used in the naming of japanese apartment buildings...it lends an air of sophistication to anyone who can shell out the monthly rent...



...i always expect to see well conditioned, spunky young olympic athletes going in and out of this place...alas, just japanese families...they do keep christmas lights up all year though, which contributes to it's festive appeal...



...while this isn't english, it is another good example of japanese landlords going international...i have no idea if this means anything, but by throwing in the umlaut, at least it looks like german...



...lots japanese people will tell you they live in a mansion, and they wouldn't be lying, nor would they be bragging...in japan, 'mansion' is the name given to any apartment building...in english we say 'apartment building,' in japanese they say 'mansion'...i didn't see any of the residents of this particular place, but it would be very ironic if they were all depressed...



...this places falls into the 'makes not a bit of sense' category...you find a lot of places like this, where it's clear the landlord wanted an english name for their apartment, but apparently didn't know any actual english words...i mean 'mingus,' what is that???



...and last but definitely by no means least, my personal favorite...how do you say copyright infringement in japanese?