Hirokazu and I took Pao to the dog run at a Shinozaki Park last Sunday. It’s fairly close to our house, but a car is needed to get there. A neighbor, Chinen-san, and I rented a pet taxi to take Pao and her dog, Sui-chan. My former professor, Nelson and his son, David, who were at the end of their visit to Japan from California also decided to join us. So it became a busy day!

We started with Nelson, David, Hirokazu, and I having lunch at Hamazushi and then taking Pao for a walk before letting him get into the taxi – just in case.

Here’s a photo, taken by Hirokazu, at the dog run. Left to right: Pao, me, Nelson, David, Chinen-san, and Sui-chan.

The pet taxi was… interesting. There are 2 seats in the front, and mostly chaos in the back . Here’s Hirokazu, Sui-chan, and Pao.

Sui-chan is a licker. She washed my face and cleaned my glasses for me. I resolved to sit in the front seat on the way back.

She is cute though.

One of my favorite photos from the dog run. I guess Pao is also cute.

Here are a couple of videos. Please take a look at them. There was a lot going on, and I think Pao and Sui-chan enjoyed running around. The dog park is separated from the outside and you need a PIN to get in. You apply for the PIN online and it’s good at all the Tokyo parks with dog runs. When applying you need to upload a photo of this year’s rabies vaccination.

The dog run is divided into two sections: one for large dogs and one for small dogs. Pao likes small dogs and some small dogs decided to visit our side. I took this first video. You can see Nelson running around with Pao in this one.

And the 2nd video was made from photos Hirokazu took.

All the dog owners were chatting with each other while their dogs ran around and played. For some reason, the conversion between Nelson, David and a couple of Japanese dog owners turned to the song, “It Never Rains in Southern California”. I don’t know how the topic got started, because I was off in another corner of the park with Pao.

When I went over to see what was going on, I was completely baffled to hear that Nelson (12 years older than me) and David (40 years! younger than me) said they had never heard the song before! Of course I had. The Japanese people there said it was also well-known in Japan and they knew it as well. I played it for Nelson and David on my iPhone (see video below) to confirm they had really never heard it.

How is it possible two Americans their ages, from California, have never heard it before? Is there anyone reading this who is not familiar with the song?

They did point out that they were familiar with The Eagles though.

It never rains in southern California…

On the way back. As promised, I sat in the front and let Chinen-san join Hirokazu, Pao, and Sui-chan in the back.

A good time was had by all. And you can see the full album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y346MBYy5VSh8rYU9