Today was just as hot as it has been since I got here - its like a sauna except I'm in my work clothes.
No better day for an ice cream popsicle, I decided as I eyed the market across the street from my apartment; sure enough they had a little frozen items bin with various ice creams and popsicles. At first glance, one reddish wrapper stuck out. Even though I couldn't read the wrapper, it seemed like strawberry was a fair guess. Yea, strawberry was just what I wanted. It was only 98 yen. That's like 98 cents. So as soon as I bought it I ran out of the store on to the sidewalk and ripped open my prize. Strawberry, alright. So I took a bite. The surprize taste that followed, I may never forget. This was a special Japanese popsicle. No strawberries,... just red kidney beans. It was like eating habichuela dulce (sweet cooked beans) frozen, on a stick. It wasn't bad... but certainly was not strawberry.
Japan is full of surprizes. The moment you're positive about something is actually getting ahead of yourself and is when you can be most easily taken by surprize.