Last week I still had to wear a winter jacket, but today I'm marking the start of summer with my first convenience store hiyashi chuka. The forecast says it's going up to 27c/81f today and pedestrians are already prepared with their sun umbrellas. The concept of spring is really more of a poetic thing here, marked by about a week of mild temps, cherry blossoms, sakura-flavored sweets, and pale green mountain vegetables. In reality, the weather gods abruptly flip a switch from chill to boil.