On December 29, 1989 Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index hit it's all-time high of 38,915. That lofty point represented six times the value the market had only a decade earlier and reflected what became known as the Japanese asset price bubble. The next day the slide began and 2 days later as the 80s became the 90s the Japanese economy officially entered its "lost" period. Some say what followed was a lost decade while most others contend that all the 22 years since the Nikkei hit its incredible high qualify as 'lost' since the economy of Japan has shown no signs of emerging from its long funk. Few things illustrated the wild and crazy days of the bubble quite like the Nikkei and the same can be said of the 'lost' years as yesterday's official Nikkei 225 close was a less than impressive 8,390, a full 30,525 points below the Dec 29, 1989 high.