clean without bins

the holiday got off to the worst possible start when i was picked up in a cab (which i was not responsible for arranging!) and it turned out to be one of those 'transport for london sticker' cab driver mongs. the only way from that start was up.
and up it was. essentially, it's an awesome place to visit.

the best and worst of japan

best
everyone is polite. i got bowed to millions of times. and i'm not even important.
kids aren't bastards like they are here.
lots of women walk around in short skirts and long socks even in winter!
there was a little earthquake, about 5.3 Richters, when i was there (though it didn't wake me)
heated toilet seats
bullet trains. sat in first class by mistake for a bit. how lovely it was while it lasted.

worst
there weren't robots everywhere, flying cars, hoverboards and all the other gadgets i expected. although the taxi's did have automatic doors and you could pay them by card.
air hostesses on plane didn't speak english and on the way back all the meals were frozen. frozen fruit, omlettes etc aren't tasty even when you haven't eaten for 10 hours.
enormously high population density means everywhere in tokyo is always busy.
weak pound means everything is slightly more expensive than london.
stupid currency difference means i have no idea what anything costs. ie have to pay for everything in the thousands and am too lazy to convert numbers in my head.
no vending machines with anything other than soft drinks and cigarettes - nothing crazy like knickers.

oxymorons
it's clean but there are no bins


gonna add some photos when i get a chance.

had a tea ceremony where the lady said words to the effect of "you only get one meeting with some people in life, so make the most out of every experience"