Land of a Million Javelins

I remember, as a kid, howling with laughter at an episode of Bugs Bunny, one in particular. Some hillbillies were after the good rabbit, and it appeared he'd finally met his match when he began calling a square dance. As the billies got dancing, he called, "Grab a fence pole, hold it tight, hit your partner with all your might." Not ones to argue with the caller, so it would seem, they each grabbed a pole from the fence and began whacking each other, thereby taking their minds temporarily off of the hunt. 

In most part of the US, one might be more likely to be hit by a 2x4 than a fence pole. In Japan even that is quite unlikely. A trip past a local lumberyard has me reasonably convinced the the Japanese equivalent of a 2x4 is a 4.5x10.5. The wood I saw didn't have units, but given the size and the modern local tradition, I'd guess they're centimeters. This, by my calculations, is about 1 3/4 x 4; a 2x4 more or less. Though the name doesn't have quite the same ring to it, a whack would probably hurt about as much either way. 

But it seems to me even more than a 4.5x10.5, the thing the traveler might not have known to be fearful of is the laundry pole.

Above a good many of the sidewalks in Tokyo, there are apartments, and a good many of them have balconies with poles for hanging clothes, like this. 

Let's just say, if anyone up there ever loses track of one of these, it's rather likely to be noticed down below.

When a golf ball takes a bad arc, the golfer yells "fore!" So, if you're in Japan and hear someone yell "ten and a half!," or the Japanese equivalent "juutengo!," it may be time to duck.