The Japanese expression of gratitude we heard everywhere, almost always accompanied by a bow, delivered with a lilt, is so different from the distant almost insincere “thank you” we mutter in most parts of the world. And that is Japan for you: a modern, developed society, that is so genuine, still steeped in ancient culture, that it stands apart from every other developed country we have been to.

Before you go

Packing: there was much debate in the family about how to pack for our 8 days in Japan. We did China with backpacks and that worked really well. We wanted to do the same in Japan as we foresaw a lot of train and subway travel. But the kids argued that Japan has excellent infrastructure featuring long walks in train terminals and airports and very crowded subways, where a small rolling pullman would make more sense. As it turns out we found Japan was both — backpacks work best outside the big cities and the rolling bags worked better in the giant train terminals. …