Well, in case I haven't told you yet, I am going back to Canada for Christmas. I still haven't finalized anything, so I am not 100% certain that I will be coming back at all, but I plan to. The travel agent is trying to get me on a specific flight which is totally booked right now, so I am on the good old waiting list. I hate this feeling of helplessness, but there isn't much I can do about it. My ETA is approximately 7:30pm on Christmas Eve.

Frances was supposed to come see me in Japan, but due to some minor complications, she won't make it. Unfortunately, I will only be home for about a week, which is precisely enough time to make me not want to come back to Tokyo. I really don't want to go through homesickness again, but it should be better this time around because I know some people here now.

Anyway, wanna see what Christmas is like in Tokyo?

I don't know how well you can make this out, but the green banner that is strung across the top of the entrance of this gun shop says "Merry Christmas."

What the hell is up with that? Well, I suppose that gun-toting maniacs need some holiday cheer too.

This is why it's stupid to wait at the Dog for anybody. I can honestly say that every single second of each evening looks like this, as far as the size of the crowd goes. Actually, it's not even that busy today. On a Friday or Saturday night, you can barely make your way through this place, let alone have enough space to whip out a camera.

Anyway, this is where Em opted to meet up on Sunday night. We spent the entire evening at the Tokyo Foodshow. Surprise surprise.

Well, this is a violation of Christmas if I ever saw one. This is a Christmas stocking stuffed with goodies for nice little boys and girls. On closer inspection, you will see that this "stocking" has a heel. Good Lord, it's a fucking hooker boot! Merry Christmas, children.

The perversion continues. Deeply tanned kogal Hello Kitty dolls wearing skimpy, slutty little leopard-skin Santa suits. What on Earth is wrong with people? Em kept telling me to lighten up, but seeing all of this makes me fear for Easter.