Friday, January 10, 2003

January 11, 2003

Well, back in my 2K apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba after another vacation back home in Canada. Certainly warmer here than in Toronto but with the lack of central heating in Japan, things balance out. I'm just lucky to have come back into a long weekend. We've got Adulthood Day on the 13th. For those who are not in the know about Japanese national holidays, Adulthood Day is a celebration for all those teens who will be celebrating their 20th year on Earth.
For most of these kids...sorry, adults....they'll be getting all gussied up: women in kimonos and fur collars while the guys don suits. Then they may all head over to the local town or city hall and listen to the mayor exhort the privileges and responsibilites of the new age, which includes exercising the right to vote...usually for him/her. Of course, being the 21st century, there will be a few incidents of some of the new breed exercising their right to drink and heckle the mayor. They usually make the news on the holiday, which is a slow news day.
Then, the kids head out together either with family or on their own to party it up at a bar. Some of them will discover their new rights to have hangovers, then, as well. Of course, some of them may have already found this out several years prematurely.