Hiroko's Hitokoto

A question to the guys in our office: do you want a Kitty-chan logo on your hair dryer? Well, they've just released "Hello Kitty Homme" for men now. (It sounds like some famous clothes brand, doesn't it?) Recently more women having been giving Kitty-chan presents to their partners. So Sanrio did the natural thing and made a range for l'homme. The range consists of hair dryers, curler sets, body hair and facial shavers, and eyebrow trimmers! Would you like one from your girlfriend/wife?

Do you ever have a moment when you suddenly recall something after smelling a certain fragrance? A dusty closet, your mother's perfume, etc. This season, the smell of Kinmokusei (Oleaceae/Osmanthus) has been giving me flashbacks to my childhood days. This tree originally came from China. Interestingly, almost all the trees on Tokyo streets are male trees -- with no fruit. For some reason, the ancients didn't bring female trees to Japan. I like taking a stroll during this season because I can smell it at almost every corner. I'm enjoying it while I can, because you can be sure that whenever Kinmokusei fragrance is in the air, the rain is not far behind....

The nuclear accident in Ibaraki Pref. is one of the most shocking new items in a past few years. To me, it is not only just news: my parents and grand parents live in south Ibaraki. Although they're about 30 km away from where the accident happened, you cannot tell how much radiation affects people. I can understand that we need nuclear power to produce electricity in Japan because we do not have enough natural energy resources. But the problem is, Japan does not have sufficient crisis management systems. People have a natural tendency to believe that the ills of the world won't affect them. But honestly speaking, how can you tell? Especially, human error caused the accident this time. Mistakes can have far-reaching consequences: computers gave us Y2K, butterflies cause hurricanes, and Kanemaru gave us Obuchi! Are you prepared for unpredictable events?

Have you tried a drive-thru at McDonalds? I heard someone say that in Japan now you can do a drive-thru order by bicycle. Really? I would imagine that it would be hard to take an order on a bicycle or scooter, because it's hard to balance bags, bars, and cash. But, apparently, lots of school kids like the challenge of doing a drive-thru by bicycle, and yes, Big Mac does sell food to them. One day, McDonalds had an old man walk down the drive-thru' lane and talk into the mike. The staff told him to come inside because he could be hit by a car, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. In the end, the Mac folks gave up trying to argue with him and let him "walk" the drive-thru'. Only in Japan!