Five Centres

I'm back from Japan and exhausted. It's the most full-on place on earth. So many people, so many shops, so many restaurants, so much noise. It was amazing. I went in 1984, but since then I think it's all ben knocked down and rebuilt. It's like going to the future. It was quite an experence - we even had a minor earthquake.
Some observationss:
Everyone is incredibly polite - even the newsreader bows at the end of a bulletin.
No one has a problem eating food that moves.
A lot of people wear surgical masks in the street, however that doesn't stop 90% of people sneezing and/or coughing copiously.
You can get any CD or DVD ever made. There are lots of HMVs.
They're mad on the Beatles.
Everyone is dressed up the nines at all times.
Coke and McDonalds don't seem to have made much of an impression, which is nice.
When department stores are about to open, the manager comes down and gives a welcome speech.
No one speaks English.
All sugar comes in liquid form.
The cakes and biscuits are out of this world, especially the choux creams.
The Lost In Translation hotel bar(Park Hyatt, Shinjuku) is tiny and full of tourists.
All TV is a mix of Game For A Laugh and Popworld.
Most people think you're either Australian or American, but are pleasantly surprised to find out you're British.
They're so thin.
Every brand name in the world has a giant-sized, bizarrely architect-designed superstore somewhere in Tokyo.
Things are so beautifully wrapped it's a shame to open them. The Japanese must be the world's biggest consumers of paper.
Bars with electronic dart boards in them are jam-packed.
Drinks are very expensive. Food is not.
No one crosses the road unless the lights are green. Ever.
Japanese people with blonde hair just don't look right.

More later.