It’s that time of year again. Mark July 11, 2009 as the first day the cicadas, or せみ in Japanese, were heard by me in Nagoya. To me, that is a monumental day – it means that summer is here in all of its heat and humidity. It is the background noise for every Japanese drama or television show that takes place in summer. It reminds me of summers in Indiana (and Australia) and the noise is kind of like comfort food. So far this summer has not been as bad as last summer.

What I have found particularly scary about this post is that it is almost identical to the post I made on July 12 last year. Exactly one year ago. Those cicadas are consistent little devils.

In other news, today was the first day of the sumo tournament in Japan. I had better seats this year. Actually, I was basically ringside. Here’s a nice teaser picture, or two.