I'm depressed. And hyperventilating. This is because I just came back from visiting my cousin and his wife in their new Tokyo manshon (condo) that boasts among other things, a fully automatic kuchoki (air adjustor) that comes with a year's free supply of shinsenna sanso (fresh oxygen).
Apparently this boxy gizmo is now a prerequisite sabisu (service) feature for a lot of new manshon. So what happens after the year is up -- will they be forced to open a window? My cousin's wife smiled beatifically and replied that they will buy their own tanks of sanso and keep those windows closed, thank you very much.
Well what can you do except make a polite rejoinder and sit listening to the hum of this kuchoki, along with the hum of the reibo (air conditioner) and Eikichi Yazawa on the stereo. It was as if I had suddenly been transported to the confines of a shinkansen (bullet train) that inexplicably played J-pop oldies.