To look at the photos I’ve been taking over the past few days, you’d think umbrellas were mandatory in this country. Of course, it did finally let up raining this afternoon… just in time for all the cultural tourist attractions to close for a long weekend. It’s vernal equinox, which much to our surprise is a huge holiday in these parts. Yup. We sure did time this one well.

But of course if we’ve learned anything in our time at the Blair Warner School of Existential Truths, it’s that you take the good, you take the bad, you take it all. So let us celebrate the positive, as well: We ducked into a sidestreet off Kyoto’s main shopping concourse in search of lunch and discovered a place that sells chirashi. I couldn’t read the kanji of the shop’s name, but my guess is that it translates to something like “Nuthin’ But Chirashi!” It’s probably the best idea for a restaurant ever; I love chirashi, but in the U.S. it’s only sold in sushi restaurants, where it feels like ordering a cheeseburger in a steakhouse. But take away the other food options and offer a line-up consisting entirely of fish over rice and, hey — no guilt.

Then I celebrated the end of the rain by picking up Bangai-O Spirits, a game probably best played indoors. While it’s raining, say. Sorry, I’m too deranged with grief from Umihara Kawase Portable being delayed from its intended release date of today to function rationally.