Seals and mushrooms

Don't worry; it will make sense in a few minutes. First, seals:

So, Alisha and I live in minato-ku, which is on the meiko-sen (Meiko subway line). On one end is 金山駅 (kanayama-eki, Kanayama Station), on the other 名古屋港駅 (nagoyako, Nagoya Port Station). Alisha and I have noticed that sometimes when riding the subway, every time the doors open, over the speakers are played seal noises. This is a fairly regular occurrence, but I still haven't quite gotten used to hearing ocean animals on a train 50 feet underground. We've been trying to figure out the reason for it, and the best we've been able to come up with is the fact that the end of the line is Nagoya Port where there might be seals (I haven't been there yet). I'll keep you all updated when I find out if there are actually seals or if it's just one of those things that sets this country apart from my own.

Next, mushrooms:

On Fridays, Alisha has no class so I ride the subways by myself. This morning, I think I left shortly after a school near my apartment let out. Behind me were 4 little girls, all decked in brightly colored clothing with equally clashy umbrellas. What made this so humorous is that each girl, who couldn't have weighed more than 60 pounds or exceeded 3 feet tall, had adult-sized umbrellas* which from my viewpoint at just under twice their height, made them looked like a brightly colored clump of mushrooms scurrying down the sidewalk. Their high-pitched chattering only made them more endearing but I did worry a little when they all started running full bore down the very wet sidewalk.

*Japan doesn't seem to sell anything but decent, useful, reasonably constructed umbrellas. I have yet to see any of those umbrellas that allows you to keep your legs or your head dry, but not both, that seem so prevalent in America.