My sister and parents are on another of their Japan trips, which have of late become quite frequent: They have by now probably done more sight-seeing here than I have. This time they are on a package tour (and obviously have no visa problems whatsoever) that will take them from Tokyo to Hakone to Himeji to Hiroshima to Nara to Kyoto and back to Frankfurt next Saturday (except for Jutta, who has some other event coming up, and will leave a day early on her own).

Side effects:

• A family trip to Odaiba
• Mom-made lunch on Saturday
• Lebkuchen (which I doubt will see Christmas)
• German newspapers and accumulated letters (such as my high-school alumni newsletter)