It's a little like home, but with a twist. That makes me smile. Bullet trains and androids, geisha and sumo, J-pop and pachinko parlours. Subtle etiquette amid bold layers of architecture, cuteness now softens years of ritual and austerity.
Japan is forever on the precipice – the earth could tremble at any moment. In 1945, the country slipped off the edge and it's as if the humility lingers. It is a polar opposite to the UK and USA - here there are manners, slenderness, a government that funds infrastructure not war. The divine is in the detail - Braille signs embedded into handrails on the subway. Bicycles left unlocked in parking racks. Technology that helps make life a little easier.
(originally published 1st Oct 2007)
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