Sometimes Japan is just different from everywhere else.

I was keenly reminded of this a few weeks ago while watching an NHK television program on expressions of conjugal love. One woman wrote a haiku about her passion for her husband: "My love for you Is like a warm toilet seat . . . "

I can't remember the last line, but I think those readers privy, if you will, to Japan's high-tech amenities will recognize the simile as referring to the heated toilet seats that one comes into intimate contact with in this country. Is there anywhere else in the world where a husband would smile at such a simile? If there is, please let me know.