Asakusa Random - Tour Guides and Whippets

To say that dogs are pampered in Japan would be like saying that the Pope is Catholic. This fashionable whippet was perched on a railing beside the Sumida River, admiring the last of the cherry blossoms no doubt, when we happened upon him during our recent pilgrimage. His master must have positioned him there before retiring to a nearby bench because there is no other way this little dog could have scaled that railing.

We also ran into a clutch of nursing home residents who didn't seem all that enamored with either the cherry blossoms or the sunshine, or me for that matter, but the sight of them struck a familiar chord, one that hasn't been plucked since we laid my mother to rest. There don't seem to be nearly as many nursing homes here as there are in the United States. From eavesdropping on my friends' conversations, I have the impression they are a relatively recent development in this part of the world.

These beautiful young ladies were clustered near Asakusa Shrine. Shinagawa-san told me they are bus tour guides-in-training. The school year ended last month and these girls are standing on the threshold of the real world. Maybe the Smithsonian Institution should institute uniforms for docents. One of those jaunty red scarves might have motivated me to lead perkier tours of the Postal Museum back in the day.

And that, dear friends, concludes the cherry blossom season for this year. On to wisteria and azalea!