The singular thing I'm finding about Japan is that even the chaos is organized. The neon of Tokyo's Ginza is often compared to Times Square; but the sidewalks are broad and the signs are similar in scale to each other, and strictly vertical or horizontal. The subways are very efficient, and even at their most crowded people wait for people to get off before they push on. We went to Emperor's Kyoto palace yesterday, where the Emperor almost never comes, and our group was followed by a very discreet Secret Service gentleman who never came near us but frowned when I tried to take a photo of a manhole cover (Japanese manholes are interesting and I happen to have a thing for manhole covers, okay?)