So, a little more on my trip here. I got here Sunday, contending with the now familiar terror scare , to find Tokyo sweltering in heat and humidity. Luckily the evening was bearable enough to venture out for a meal in a down-home local place. The next day a short trip out of the city showed a little more of the real Japan – miles of rice paddies (all subsidised

How can you be dynamic and conservative at the same time? Tokyo seems to pull off both, at least from the outside. First impressions are of a hustling, bustling city at the forefront of modernity. But come across any person and you will soon be met with astounding formality. Don’t shake hands, bow. Don’t say who you are, present a business card, while bowing of course. Smile all the time.