Winter lies heavy on Japan. In this country, that means ski slopes, hot sake, common-pot stews, frosty smiles, rosy cheeks and -- at least for those in the highlands or up north -- buckets of snow. It's but one cozy chapter of the chipper romance that all Japanese feel for the four seasons.

But -- and you can ask my wife on this -- I am not Mr. Romantic. Especially when my partner is Old Man Winter. I have but one desire in this season of chilly delights, and it is not to escape to the slopes or to build a snowman or to munch "mikan" under a comfy "kotatsu." It's merely this:

I want winter to go away -- now.