Nice weather this morning, about +13C and clear. My commute takes me by the Nokia Corp global headquarters, and every now and then there's a horde of tourists taking pictures of the building. The best shot can be obtained by standing in the middle of the MUP passing the building.

It must be the season, as I've now seen two big Japanese groups there within a week. The first one barely missed me, their bus had just arrived and they had not yet crowded the MUP. The group today was better prepared, there were 2 busloads of them and the path was totally blocked. All the bell ringing and shouting ("OY!" from a distance, "EXCUSE ME!" closer up) did me no good, I came to a screeching halt right before crashing into a forest of Nikon optics pointed upwards.

Once they got a hang of what's going on, I had an impressive pathway instantly, with nearly military precision. Were they my fellow countrymen, they would have loitered every which way, adding to the chaos, but not this lot. Nods, sorries and thankyous were exchanged as I rode through the crowd, all in good spirit.

Still, the idea behind this particular tourist attraction is beyond me. It seems to be mostly the Japanese who include it in their itinerary. Weird.

--J