February was a blur

I’ve always immensely disliked February, so I am happy it’s done with yet again!

I have a few blog posts lined up, but I will start with something silly:

I spotted this the a couple of weeks ago as I was passing through Ōsaki station. I am not sure in the least how or why this duck in a chairlift is meant to entice me to buy a JR ski travel package.

Please don’t leave a comment telling me that “Japanese people like cute things, so they use cute things to advertise”. I have lived here long enough to know about all things kawaii. It’s more a question of “why a duck?” or  “is this what the enormously popular AFLAC duck does in its down time?”

In previous years, JR has used other animals on skis – a few years ago it was an ostrich, which was even more bizarre than this little duck. Here’s one of the commercials (it’s a blend of live action and CG, but looks pretty seamless):