Didn't I Just See....

I went down to Tokyo a short while ago to take care of some business at the Canadian embassy.  I could have done it via mail but I needed an excuse to go down there.  I suppose I didn't want to face the (minor) challenge of sending something by registered mail (I have no clue as to what the service is called in Japanese).  But the trip is worth it for a chance to touch base with friends and do a little shopping.
As it turned out I managed to squeeze in visits to a fair number of places: Akasaka, Shibuya, Kajigaya in northern Kawasaki city, Ginza and Ueno.  Once again I managed to get lost in Shibuya though by a much smaller degree than usual.  I suppose I'm slowly figuring out the place.  I took the Ginza subway line to Ginza so I could buy some "anpan", sweet red bean paste filled pastries, at the Kimuraya shop there.  On the subway train I noticed an ad featuring a photo of Kitano Takeshi (aka: Beat Takeshi).  I quickly scanned the other ads and read what I could read on the ones I found interesting.  After all, there's not much else one can do when riding a crowded Tokyo subway train alone.

After purchasing my ¥2500 worth of confections, I continued on the Ginza line towards Ueno.  Upon taking my seat I looked up and once again there was Takeshi looking out from the same ad I had spotted on the incoming subway train.  Then I scanned the other ads and realized they were the exact same ones as those on the train I had been on.  Not only that, they were in the exact same locations!  For me, that was a little perplexing.  After all, up in Yamagata, there hardly are any ads on the trains.  I've been on trains where there are virtually none. 

The following morning, after grabbing a morning coffee, I passed the entrance of Ueno Park.  There were a number of people gathered there who were taking photographs of the cherry trees which had begun to bloom.  I, of course, snapped some photos too using my iPhone.  There still was snow on the ground back home when I left the day before and I just had to take back some evidence that spring was on its way.