Dogs in Japan

Just a Chihuahua sized entry this week. Winter came back for one last party (I hope) today. It was a crisp morning followed by freezing rain and then snow. All while the sun shined. It must have been a concentrated storm that blew over. There's buzz about when the Sakura, or cherry blossoms, will bloom. Spring officially begins March 21. Will it be before then? Who knows. Next week I'll be in central Kyushu, a few degrees or minutes latitude more South, so maybe I'll see them bloom there before here in Nishinomiya.

I like to take evening walks to unwind after the school day. Often I see owners and their dogs out for a walk, too. A guy who helped my dad with home improvement projects, Jim, said that if he ever reincarnated, he would like to be an American dog. They have THE LIFE, he says. Well, Jim has never been to Japan. I think these dogs have it better. I see numerous boutiques just for dogs. When its raining, every dog has a raincoat. When it's cold, I see dogs with more cover than their owners. Back in the 80's, there was a film "All dogs Go to Heaven". Did you see it? Well, I thought of a catchy title for the sequel to be set in Japan: "All Dogs go to Heaven, scratch that, Japan". Did you get the pun? For my native Japanese blog readers, "scratch that" is an idiom for "let me make a correction" and it is also what dogs to a lot: scratch themselves. Remember, you read it first on ABNW! Now I just need to go and buy the trademark for that phrase...

Also, please take note of the new icon on the sidebar: call me. This will connect you to my Skype account where you can call over the Internet for free. You'll need a Skype account, a microphone, and headset on your computer. Ok, so it's a little involved. But if you're savvy with this kind of thing, you're only a click away from calling me. Until next time, sayoonara!