Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Caution: poop zone



Well, maybe that's what the sign says. I'm not sure because I can't read kanji, but I'm fairly certain that's the message because overhead, on the train station sign, is a nest with four little baby swallows who are just about to abandon it. Apparently, the momma and papa birds have become quite messy, therefore the need for a poop barricade. And just in case anyone still wasn't sure where not to step after seeing the barricade and reading the sign, the train station staff took it upon themselves to run tape all around the poop as an added cautionary note. Cracks me up!



This picture of the nest is really bad because I couldn't zoom in on it with my camera, but you can get the idea. There are four little baby birds (although in this picture only three are visible), who have really overgrown their poor little nest. Today they were all panting from the heat, with their cute little yellow beaks gaping. Last night when I came through the station, one of the babies had swooned over the side of its nest, looking as though it had been out on a bender. Should have taken a picture but I didn't. Tonight, only two were occupying the nest but the other two and their parents had found another perch atop the ticket machine. This little family apparently loves trains. . .

Update: Peter--one of my blog readers-- translated the sign for us. Thanks, Peter!

Warning!
There is a swallows nest overhead,
excretement are dropping.
Because of this, please be careful.
Station master

4 comments:

California Kayaker Magazine said...

You are pretty much spot on with what yyou think it says. The sign says something like:

Warning!
There is a swallows nest overhead,
excretement are dropping.
Because of this, please be careful.
Station master

Absolutely Tokyo! said...

Peter! Thanks so much for translating the sign! I guess there are times when I CAN read kanji after all! hahaha!

EuroTrippen said...

Ha! Too funny... I love the attention to detail in Tokyo. It's probably a sign of too many workers and not enough to do, but really, we could all benefit from a little of that.

Absolutely Tokyo! said...

Hi Eurotrippen. Thanks for reading my blog. I've been a fan of your blog for a while now, so it was nice to read your comment.

I think there is a lot of attention to detail in Tokyo, expecially when it comes to certain kinds of jobs. Train companies seem to employ an excessive number of people as well as the construction companies. Can't tell you how many times I've seen men standing, all day, around a construction site wearing official looking uniforms, and doing--well, nothing! I kind of feel sorry for them. They must be so bored!

And banks have far too many people in uniforms who do nothing but direct the people waiting in line to use the ATMs. "Dozo," they say as they point to an obviously vacant ATM that you're walking toward anyway! No wonder Tokyo is one of the most expensive places to live in the world! All the salaries paid to these "unnecessary" workers get tacked on to every purchase I make!