Shinkansen...?

Up-and-down day today--the spectre of teaching is looming every closer. Yikes.

One of the many adventures of the day involved a 100-yen store in Sanjo, where I stumbled upon this:



For those of you who aren't Japan-heads, "shinkansen" means "bullet train." So, this thing is a bag. But is it also an advertisement? An expression of pride in an efficient, convenient, comfortable, and fast public service? An excuse to make something cute? Probably all of the above.

Oh, Japan.