I note that Japan Tobacco, one of the world’s largest producers of lung cancer, has a new tag line, proudly displayed on all its ads.

“The Delight Factory”

Well, I suppose if one is the type that enjoys playing host to malignant tumours, then it’s quite appropriate.

When travelling to uni, a journey of some 40 minutes or so, I flick through one of my many packs of flash cards. This morning the train was already pretty packed, and so when we stoppd at Nakano station I found myself pushed even harder against the buttocks of a docile salary man, on his way to spend another day Doing the Right Thing. Good job I hadn’t been thinking of *Twinkle*. Another result of the fresh onslaught of commuters (standing on the platform with their backs to the open doorway, hooking their hands backwards over their heads and against the inside of the doorframe in order to gain a bit of leverage) was the appearance of a rather cute lady to my right, clutching her umbrella and attempting to not thrust herself against anyone else. Being so close, she couldn’t help but read my flashcards too, which I had temporarily forgotten about, and was casually flipping them over without looking.

It was unfortunate timing. I was first alerted to the fact that something was not quite right when the cute lady looked up from my flash cards, startled. I looked down. The card on show was one that I’d written as a joke when with friends the other day. It said, in Japanese,

“A woman who likes to experiment with vegetables”.

It was surprising how far away from me she was able to move, considering how packed the train was.