Walking around Niigata (and also in Itami City), Jan and I kept hearing and seeing a van with loudspeakers mounted on top, displaying banners and pictures. Unable to understand what its message, we watched the local Japanese people to gauge their reactions. They seemed to listen, and then move on.
But we didn't know what it meant. It could have told of a mandatory evacuation, safety procedures, or the end of the world (for all we knew).
So while walking around Niigata on 12/11, we stumbled upon this scene.
A kind Japanese person answered our questions. Evidently, elections are imminent. The politician in black with the microphone was already an elected person from Tokyo, and he is running for re-election. However, this assembly was to promote the lady politician in red, whom he endorsed. You can see her picture on the van too. They caused quite a scene, with security folks, stopped traffic on the street behind them, and the NHK news crew filming the event.
As we walked on, I stopped to sing a song. This stone monument (to something, I don't know what) was written with beautiful music - and accurately scored too.
The weather was a bit better, so we took a picture on the bridge overlooking the canal.
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