I visited a company that makes equipment for defect detection today, equipment that can do a number of things we can’t, especially inspect large surfaces quickly.  It was interesting to see what they do and how they do it; they essentially mimic the eye’s neurological processes with an array of parallel processors and use a higher resolution to one-up the eye.  I showed them our equipment and very briefly demonstrated what it can do, which required lugging the suitcase through Tokyo trains and subways that are oriented toward commuters and not travelers.  Having the Suica on me helps, but the fact remains that there are several stations like Yoyogi where there are no escalators to the tracks and the ticket gate is not wide enough for me to get my suitcase through without standing it up.  And don’t get me started on how embarrassed I feel taking up the space of three people even in not very crowded trains. 

I did notice something funny when I mistakenly boarded the Namboku subway line at Meguro station.  For two stops it shares the track with the Mita line; I got off on the first one, realizing I’d made a mistake.  When I got on the Mita line, it was pretty crowded, but over half the train emptied out at the next stop in order to change onto the Namboku line.  What I don’t understand is why they get on when they have to wait for the same train they’d wait for at Meguro, except if they stayed in Meguro they might get a better seat because the car’s emptier due to everyone’s waiting in Shirokanetakanawa two stops down the line.  They must have some information I don’t. 

Done at about noon, I returned to my hotel, deposited my luggage, ate curry rice for lunch, went out to buy an envelope, came back to stuff a lot of documents into said envelope, and left again to mail it.  On the way back an American smiled at me: “How are ya?” 
“Fine, thanks, and you?” 
“Doing great!”
“See ya!” 
The vision passed, and I thought to myself that he mustn’t have been in Japan very long yet.  Most foreigners get used to avoiding other people’s eye contact like most Japanese do, or at least avoiding eye contact with foreigners who might be of the weird sort that expect instant camaraderie because they share your pointy nose. 

I took off and boarded the Narita Express for the airport.  Again I noticed the odd slowing down and strange bridge into nowhere that sits a few kilometers outside of Narita and wondered if they once had planned to build a shinkansen out to the airport.  At the airport I boarded the bus to the Holiday Inn Tobu Narita, where I undid all my calorie reducing efforts by going for the dinner buffet.  It was western food, centered around little strips of peppercorn steak that the chef cooked right in front of the customer, and offering a good mixture of different surf and turf options.  I did eat a bit of salad and some fruits, but they weren’t what was going to make the 4000-yen bill worth it. 

And here’s why one should never eat only to get one’s money’s worth: When I paid, I was told that because today was a weekday and there was therefore no crab in the buffet, the total would only come to 2700 yen. 

So either I rationalize my intake with all the heavy lifting or else I go for a few laps in the pool, which would also justify having brought along my swim trunks.  I think I better hurry: it’s only open for another hour.