And so we shuffle away from the imperial palace, away from Tokyo, away from Japan. In most countries, I would say the capital city has nothing to do with the real country. In today's globalized environment, big city life isn't that different from continent to continent, and it's the small villages where you can really see the spirit and character of each country come through. But Japan is different, in its turbo charged path from post war devastation to economic superpower, what little is left of traditional Japan is more like an open air museum than the "real" Japan. To me, Tokyo is really what Japan is all about, frenzied, post-modern, jam packed, quirky bordering on crazy, all wrapped up in the most elaborate packaging by the most polite people on the planet.