Hi.

The weather's warming up, although it's been windy.  Really windy.  Like, the shaking house woke me up and I thought we were having an earthquake kind of windy.

It's wreaked some havoc on the transportation here.  Some of the trains were delayed or shut down outright, and riding bikes has become very difficult and hazardous.





Maybe this guy's responsible.



Or maybe it was a gust of flatulence from this truck.



Now, this is not the first time I've seen signs designating Japan's Ass.  In fact, it was almost one year ago exactly that I first sighted Japan's Ass.  To wit:



It's everywhere now.  I can only deduce that Japan's Ass is expanding.

With the wind comes pollen.  And hayfever.  Which people run from as if it were Godzilla laying waste to Tokyo although, alas, they seem to have been caught.



But fear not.  No matter what the problem, rest assured that someone will make some goofy plastic figure to combat it.



Yes, it's Spring.  Where a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of...the love that dare not speak its name.

Yes, I'm talking about the "fire in the heart."  The fire in the heart that can only be experienced by a man who is truly in love...with wild animals.

Here they are enjoying a coffee after...you know...



Before you think I'm stretching this "man and animal" thing, you should know that this entire campaign has big logos that say "Fire In My Heart" and feature this guy in assorted embraces with various farm animals.  There's a whole series dedicated to him hugging different pigs.  I tried taking pictures of those, but I've only seen those on the train, and pictures taken there end up blurry at best.

So what does the spawn of such an unholy union look like?



"I love my son, even if he does have the nose of a pig."

Speaking of fire, I went to buy a blanket a few days ago.  I was not successful.



Nobody was hurt, fortunately, but yikes.

In lighter news, I had dinner with Dan and some of his charming lady friends.



I have no idea where he met 'em.



Still need to work on that flashing horns thing, though (the thumb goes in!)  At least she's not doing the "V" sign.

Enormous fun they were.  We're having a BBQ later.  Wish me luck.

Maybe we'll dance.  Maybe we'll find some Disco Infants to instruct us.



Burn, Baby, Burn.

OK, as promised last time (but not delivered due to my malfunctioning brain,) here are some pix that Jon And Bonnie took when they were here.  Their camera is better than mine.

In Ueno Park:



Traveling outside Tokyo:



Staying at a ryoken.



Traveling on the train.  Fortunately, Bonnie is a bolder photographer than Yours Truly.  I would have demurred.



And, most impressively:



OK, that's all this time around.  My one year anniversary is rolling up, and the cherry blossoms are coming out, so maybe I'll take this photo again:



...without Twinkie Man.

As always, mail me here.