Excerpt:
A hat emerges from the crowd strolling in the Chinese quarter. The hat is a metre high, a crazy mixture of colours, adorned with multicoloured artificial flowers, cheap toys, sparkling trinkets and a bowl with a goldfish swimming in it. Under the hat is a man riding a bicycle: Eijiro Miyama. This is Yokohama, near Tokyo in Japan.

Decked out in brightly coloured clothing, with one, two or three robes on top of each other, and proudly sporting a pair of false breasts, every weekend Miyama puts on one of his extraordinary hats and goes on a public parade, bicycling along the streets without a word, a smile on his lips. Oblivious to the scornful glances and the jeering remarks, he enjoys the children's amazement at his strange appearance.