Note to self: do not make flippant remarks about the Emperor's properties!

Walking home tonight the sky was ablaze with color - real red-sky-at-night stuff. So I thought to myself, "Either we're going to have a beautiful day tomorrow, or the Imperial Palace is going up in flames." *snarkily giggling to self*


Not one hour later this is the view outside my apartment:



That's right. My apartment building was on fire!!! Now I'm not saying that the Japanese thought police caught wind of my lese majeste and decided to dish out a bit of 'rehabilitation'... but let's just say I won't be thinking bad thoughts about the Emperor or anything Emperor-related for a while.

Really please don't worry; apart from a bit of smoke, some very loud sirens, and a little confusion as to whether to stay in the building or not, all is well here.

And just in case my family is reading this and freaking out, here have some nice flowers to calm you down. So since fresh green, I've been very slack in keeping you up to date with blossom watch. I didn't even bother with azalea season, so let's just skip straight to 'Here come the Hydrangeas!'




Once again, all flowers kindly provided by the Japanese roadside.