One vice I can't rid myself of is listening in on conversations between JK (an abbreviation for joshikōsei, 女子高生, or high school girls) on commuter trains. This has become easier these days due to the introduction of joseisenyōsharyō (女性専用車両, women-only cars) on almost every major commuter train.

My radar tuned in recently when a conversation between three JKs turned to what they did on dates with their boyfriends. News flash: They all used rabuho (ラブホ, love hotels) — not so much for sex as, as a hangout. And because of recession-time allowance cuts, they were forced to use the sōchōwaribiki (早朝割引, early morning discount rates between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.). They would take the shihatsu (始発, first train), check in, nap, cuddle or do homework and have breakfast (corner store munchies purchased the night before), before reporting for school.

Call me old fashioned, but where's the romance? I had to fight the urge to tell these girls to head for Yoyogi Park after school like we all did back in a time known as the Showa Era. What's adolescent love without fighting off mosquitoes and creepy insects while lying on the grass, inwardly calculating the time it takes to pick oneself up, clean one's skirt of weed stalks and then sprint to Harajuku Station to catch the train home in time to make the mongen (門限, curfew). Oh, the heady excitement of it all!