Merry Run

On Christmas Eve, a bunch of my biker buddies and I rode around the streets of Tokyo dressed as Santas, reindeer, snowmen and such, distributing smiles, candy and Christmas spirit. This is a couple of the ladies who ride with us posing on my hog. Those interested in seeing more pictures should check out my Merry Run page. (I wrote all the captions in Japanese since the page is mostly for my Japanese friends.) I love Christmas in Japan. Everybody uses it as an excuse to be happy and have a good time, and it's completely untainted by the actual Christian nonsense that gets forced down your throat in the States. I can wave and smile and yell "Merry Christmas!" to people I don't know on the street, and they smile and say "Merry Christmas"(actually meri- kurisumasu, the closest you can get phonetically in Japanese) back, and there's no religious baggage attached--everyone knows it's just an excuse for a winter festival anyway. After reading about all the ridiculous claims by Christians in the States about being oppressed by "Happy Holidays" I am truly thankful that I am able to celebrate Christmas in a secular society. Christmas should be fun--a celebration of giving and joy for people of all creeds and people of no creed, with pretty lights to brighten a dark winter night--and that's what it is here in Japan. So a belated メリー・クリスマス to everyone, and best wishes for a happy new year.

業務連絡

It's amazing how little time is left for blogging when raising a 2-year-old. This post is mostly just here so that my slightly hyberbolic response to the November elections isn't the last entry. I've got all sorts of things I want to express, but I get most of that out of my system by posting on our BBS on the main Gaijin Bikers in Japan page. I figure the world can get by somehow even if I don't regularly publish my thoughts here. It even looks like the biker gaijin blogging niche is being adequately filled by a guy whose handle is the same as this blog's title, my sole commenter, Gaijin Biker. I will therefore feel no need to post here unless the spirit moves me and I somehow actually have time to write something. Instead, I will continue my meaningless crusade of pedantic anti-pedantry comments at other people's blogs.