Tanabatagate

Reuters (Nagoya)

Recent reports from Anjo, Japan have described an unhealthy increase in the amount of community fellowship followed by an upswing in the number of people who have flocked to Anjo like lemmings to a sharp drop.

Leading Japanologists are baffled, but some point to the shiny decorations hanging from bamboo poles that sprouted up in a single night last Thursday as the source of the phenomena.

"It's something that we can't really guard against," said Dr. Watanabe of the Watanabe Institute for Watanabe studies. "No one knows how to resist the siren call of shiny pieces of paper and 500 yen karage."

A brief glance of Asahi-machi on Saturday morning revealed many people stumbling through the streets, clasping overpriced festival food and sweltering in the morning humidity. However, some are trying to put a bright face in the face of tragedy

"Yeah, it's not too bad," said one extremely handsome foreign resident, "I've had yakitori and beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner"