A note regarding things you really don’t want to do: Nankan Machi’s fire department has a tradition dating back to 1882 of including in their year-opening drill ceremony a water battle in the middle of Kan River wearing nothing but an outfit called Edo hara (江戸腹 - Google it and be glad you’re not them). The originating culprit for this torture was the introduction of the water pistol, called the ryudosui pump (龍吐水, りゅうどすいポンプ- literally, “dragon vomit water” - Google that, too; there were several types which vastly improved upon simply tossing buckets of water on flames). Video at the link. And, yes - it is cold: -5°C downtown, according to our trusty thermometer, and not scheduled to get much warmer this week. Stay out of the water is my advice. - William

http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20170114007.xhtml