I've already discussed parts of my trip to Tokyo but I'm going to get into more detail because there's so many fascinating things about the place. It's long so click the extended entry to read more. Don't want to push too many posts off the screen at once.

After landing on Sunday night I made my way to the passport queue. As an 'alien' there are plenty of signs telling me that I'm in for extra security checks. And the man in front of me in the queue told me it will take at least an hour to get to the front. He wasn't kidding. Yet I glanced over to the Japanese nationals side. That side emptied out in 15 minutes. Did any of those officers then come over to the aliens side to help speed things up? Of course not. Did any more flights land after mine? Of course not. Was it frustrating? Not really. By the time I got out of there I headed to the bus ticket counter. Last bus to my hotel area had already left. The only bus going was to the central station. OK give me one of those, I said. How much is a cab from that station to the hotel? About 2,000 Yen and the bus leaves in 3 minutes. A quick glance at the queue in the money changing counter and some rapid mental arithmetic told me it will be close. I chanced it. I got to the front of the queue but I can saw the bus arriving. It's the last bus. I figure I'll take a punt I can get away with no cash in downtown Tokyo at 11pm on a Sunday night. Hour long bus ride. Make it to the deserted T-CAT station. Walk over to the taxi stand. I see that blessedly universal sign with credit card logos. I enter the warm cab thankful for Japan's affinity for technology. You can't use credit cards in cabs in HK. The Tokyo taxi driver understands my destination. He is friendly in a no-common-language kind of way. Amazingly there's a traffic jam. It's 11pm on Sunday. Everytime the cab stops at a traffic light, the driver turns his headlights off. I know not why. They all do it. Does it save money? Fuel? Lightglobes?

The hotel is big. It has two seperate buildings, a main section and another tower. At check-in I'm told there's only smoking rooms available. Stale tobacco to lull me to sleep, just great. I ask where the ATM is to get some cash. The ATM only operates from 9am to 6pm. The clerk apologises. That's OK, I tell him, I'll get some in the morning even though inside I was steaming. What kind of country shuts the ATMs?

The room has a great view looking over a park (the Akasaka Guest Palace, I later discovered) and out towards Mount Fuji. But even better was the bathroom. Particularly the toilet. It had a built-in bidet. I've always been sceptical of bidets. It never struck me as right that a squirt of water like that was the best way to do things. But here was my opportunity to try it. I braced for it and tried it but I don't think I'd ever get used to it.

Woke up for a traditional hotel breakfast: CNN and a couple of warm pieces of toast. Cash-less and freezing cold, despite several layers of clothing, I caught a taxi to the office. We zipped in and out of lanes, onto main thorofares, back into laneways. We were driving in what looked like a suburban area when when pulled into the courtyard of our office. An office block in the middle of a bunch of houses. This random assortment of housing, businesses and office blocks plus Tokyo's unique address system (where the hell is 2-20, Akasaka 5-chome) adds to its charm. The building security is incredible - I go through a security check every time I enter the building over the next two days, including x-ray scans for my bags and metal detectors for myself. The rest of the day was a blur of meetings and people. The office also had a view to Mt Fuji and the stunning sunset made for great viewing. Except sunset was 4pm. My "Cartier" watch (that's Cartier of Kowloon, not Cartier of Paris) impressed a few people. Can't beat that Hong Kong ingenuity. Looking out over Tokyo city I noticed that every high rise had red flashing warning lights over them. I don't know why that's the case but it certainly made for pretty viewing.

While I did all this Mrs M and her sister spent Monday night on a junk. They headed out to Lamma for seafood and returned gazing at the myriad of lights adorning every Hong Kong skyscraper of note. I have calculated that Hong Kong has approximately 110% of the world's fairy lights. If it's not moving they chuck a bunch of fairy lights on it. If you look hard enough you can pretend it is snow instead. Instead of a white Christmas it's more of an incandescent yellow Christmas, but it's pretty close.

Returning to Tokyo I drove past the Imperial Palace several times. During the bubble years Tokyo property was out of control. Well the palace must have been worth a fair penny because the grounds are huge. Tokyo itself, at least the areas I was in, was great. The autumnal trees, the small shops juxtaposed with office blocks and houses. Everything is clean. Everyone is polite. There is a concept of personal space. These were times I noticed the contrast with Hong Kong. The disorder of HK is part of its charm, and the order of Tokyo is part of its charm. Driving around I noticed many of the cars had in-car navigation systems. Little TV screens with live maps showing where you are and how to get to where you are going.

One particular cab ride was exteremely illuminating. I was visiting a customer with a local salesperson. We got to chatting about work. About how they work. This guy's average day started at 6am and finished at 11pm. That's his average day. Not if he was working hard. That would be 1am or so. Plus he comes in Sunday nights. Why, I asked? So he can view reports before calling customers on Monday. But what do you do all day then? There aren't that many times you can call customers and the like. His answer was they basically sit and wait for the phone to ring. But they have to be there just in case it does ring. To miss a call would be unthinkable. Furthermore the managers work even harder. I asked whether once you've made it to the management level can you ease off a little, see your family more? No. You're expected to lead by example. Each of the 3 managers in this guy's area had been hospitalised in the last 2 years and wore that like a badge of honour. Getting by on a few hours sleep each night and doing 100 hour weeks is considered the norm. Not that they do any more productive work compared to someone who gets in at 8am and leaves at 6pm. Simply being at work is expected. Being productive is a bonus.

The contrasts with Hong Kong are huge. People in HK work hard too. But there's no thought to be working just for the sake of it. There's too much to do outside of work. Where the Japanese are polite, formal and reserved, Hong Kongers are abrasive, casual and in your face. People in Japan would hold the open door button on the lift, rather than the traditional HK method of trying to get the doors close before anyone else enters. Tokyo is clean and neat where HK is chaotic.

I know which I prefer.