Pokemon vs Cicada

AM

Least: By about 9:30am I was awake enough to sit through some kids anime on TV. They were slightly entertaining, but for the simply awful voices screeching from most of the characters. It brought to mind the discomfort of hearing the shop-girls in Shinsaibashi spruiking for customers. Painful.

Most: Just after 11:20am, Rosie and I went for a walk around the lake. The paths were drenched after last night's storm and, as usual, council workers were tinkering with something - this time paths and drains. The interesting thing though, was the deafening sound of thousands of cicadas screaming almost in unison. Despite a few kids and their grandfathers collecting specimens to take home, the insects were victorious in dominating the park. They sounded like a giant dial-up modem - I wondered who they were calling.

PM

Least: By 9:35pm I had spent nearly six hours doing 40 minutes of work. I spoke to yet another, otherwise lovely student who suffered from the deficit of enjoying Disney characters too much. She had a penchant for Donald and Minnie combined with overseas travel. Her favourite memory was her stay at the 101 Dalmatians Hotel in Orlando (pictured right).

Most: At approximately 10:05pm, I took a turn away from my usual route home from Tezukayama station to pop in to the Family Mart. The dark road that took me there was littered with massive and sprawling mansions. The most impressive were the Japanese-style houses, surrounded by gardens and hedges. The bigger the house, the more barbed wire and spikes surrounded it. Japan appears to be a safe place, but people are still paranoid about crime.