In Japan, when you think summer, you ostensibly think… marathon TV, right?  Who needs festivals when you have a 27-hour TV marathon and a 24-hour TV marathon to entertain you.  It’s more than Jerry Lewis could have wished for.  It’s live TV throughout, plus they get one celebrity to run a 100 km marathon during the broadcast.  Whether he or she will arrive before the end of the TV marathon is always in doubt.  So, what’s the difference?  The 27-hour marathon is done just for fun.  No charity, just raking in the advertising dough, exploiting as much of its celebrities as possible.  This year, they tied it in with the 30th anniversary of talent Tamori (Kazuyoshi Morita).  The 24-hour marathon is for charity.  They even have a special song they sing at the end every year, preferably along with their dead-tired celebrity marathon runner.  The song itself was written during a previous 24-hour marathon and is quite famous (title: Sarai).  So forget the summer festivals and fireworks.  Avoid the heat and humidity.  Don’t fatten yourself up on festival yakisoba, okonomiyaki, kaki-gori and beer.  Stay inside with your air-conditioner and TV set.  Because it’s marathon time.