Hiroko's Hitokoto

I bet most of you have noticed a lot more dogs in the streets these days: especially miniature dachshunds and chihuahuas. I love dogs and if I had to choose I would go for a dog rather than a cat. But since my apartment prohibits pets, I can't have any, unfortunately. But for those people who are really stuck on the idea of having a dog, how about a virtual experience? Sega made a simulation game of walking your dog! You walk the trend mill, holding the leash. You'll encounter obstacles and accidents throughout the course, but you have to reach your goal without irritating the dog, and you can't simply pat it to calm it down. Sounds like fun, but I can't help feeling that there is something missing in these types of games...

My husband and I went to Asakusa the other day, to check out Kimono for men. It was very interesting for me because usually I'm looking at women's kimono, not men's. And even when I do, what most department stores carry is formal, for weddings and other celebratory use, so there isn't much variety. We checked several stores in the back streets of Asakusa. Of course, thinking about it, clearly people used to wear kimono on a daily basis so it is natural to imagine that there are lots of styles, materials, colors, etc. Nevertheless, to actually go see the selections available is quite eye-opening and educational. If you're at all interested in Japanese traditional clothes, you'll definitely get a kick out of going to Asakusa. What we saw were kimonos made out of almost every conceivable fabric, including: silk, wool, synthetics. There were used ones and new ones, and interestingly, some which although men's kimono were imprinted with women's fabric pattern...