I was up in Ueno, Tokyo today, killing a little time before I had to meet my friend Lee Chapman. And on the south end of Ueno Station, next to the main entrance to Ameyokocho, are a couple of restaurants with distinct and funny ways of attracting customers.

So to convey how odd and fun these displays are, I shot the short videos below. You’ll quickly understand why still photographs would not do these advertising contraptions justice. Attention-getters like these are probably common in Tokyo, and Japan. But so far in my focused wanderings throughout the city I have only seen kinetic noodles and giant smoking bowls of food in this location.

I swear to you, if I could have slipped this thing somehow into my camera bag, it would be coming home to California with me.

This advertising device is, I think, less interesting than the noodle machine, but I like this video because of the kid in the background trying to hang up the banner.