A few weeks ago I had one of those "only in Japan" experiences that leaves you shaking your head and asking yourself, "Did that really just happen!?"

Let me explain. It was about 1:30 a.m. on a Saturday. My husband had already gone up to bed but, being a night owl, I was still pottering around downstairs. These days it's usually just the two of us at home, as our son recently started working and moved out, while his two younger sisters are currently studying overseas. I went upstairs to grab my pajamas before taking a bath and noticed that the door to my older daughter's room was very slightly ajar. Since we have cats, bedroom doors are usually kept closed to prevent "incidents." I cracked open the door and one of our cats rushed out, fur spiked up and eyes big and wild. "What's got you so spooked?" I asked him, peering into the room.

There in the dark I made out the sleeping figure of my husband, lying on our daughter's bed, snoring softly. There were no sheets on the bed, just a mattress protector. Odd, but maybe he went in there to get a book or something and then fell asleep. Whatever! I proceeded to our bedroom down the hall to retrieve my pajamas — and was met with the snoring figure of my husband in the dark. ... Hang on, who on earth was that in my daughter's room?!