Don Quijote (sic), my neighbourhood store in Tokyo, is Japan’s answer to Wal-mart. It is a six-storey-high architectural monstrosity with a robotic mermaid reclining, Cleopatra-like, over the entrance. Every one minute, her arm comes alive with a jerk, reaching outward and beckoning shoppers in. Open from 11 a.m. to 7 a.m. (yes, 7 a.m.), seven days a week, Don Quijote is where Roppongi, Tokyo’s bustling night-district, does its after-hours shopping. Don Quijote, affectionately known as Donki, is also where I go browsing. In browse value, stores like Donki give bookshops a run for their money and beat museums hollow. They showcase everything that is eccentric, bizarre and unfathomable about Japan. This year, the top five contenders in the ‘eccentric, bizarre and unfathomable category’ are:

Hizamakura, (9,429 Yen)

Calling all men who need a shoulder to cry on and a lap to lie on, or well, at least the latter. This is a lap pillow shaped like a woman’s legs in a miniskirt. It’s perverse enough to appeal to single men (and to married men with the courage to explain this bedroom accessory to their wives). What would be so much more fun is a hizamakura with a recording that goes: ‘Get off my lap, you freak and try finding yourself a real girlfriend!’

Dog camera, (9,240 Yen)

Ever wondered what the world looks like from your dog’s point of view? Not really? Well, at least for the purpose of argument, you could be looking at…lamp posts, the ground, lamp posts, other dogs, lamp posts, you get the general picture, right? With Tomy’s Wonderful Shot, your doggie gets to wear the camera that takes the picture. Hang this cam from your dog’s neck and take up to 90 images by remote. Think of how good all those lamp posts would look in a photo album….

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