Go ahead and laugh, but I dare YOU to take pictures of these kids, who seem to think that whatever is going on behind them is far more interesting than getting their picture taken. I have a whole closet full of pictures in which at least one kid is facing the wrong way.

Several times each winter, it will snow. At least once a winter, it will snow long enough and stay cold enough for it to stick around for a few days, and many families will come out to play and build snowmen. Most of the families will be foreign families -- the Japanese prefer to say inside where it is warm and dry.

Please, no cracks about my shorts. I made a lifestyle decision almost 30 years ago in Hawaii, and it is hard enough maintaining it in Japan without listening to sniggers from lost corporate souls who wear suits in the summer and have to commute to work.

If you look closely, you can see that I'm actually wearing my formal slippers, which are a cross between a sneaker and a slipper. They are my 'training shoes' , training me to wear regular shoes should the need ever arise. (The horror, the horror!).