Before I begin, follow this link to listen to Bela Fleck while you read.  It’ll do you good. 

I took it a little too easy this morning because my train didn’t leave from Tokyo until 10:26.  I took it too easy until it sunk in that that was 10:26 from Tokyo station and I was nowhere near there.  Within a bit over half an hour I washed my head, shaved, got dressed, divided my belongings into what would be sent in my suitcase to my next hotel in Tokyo and the bare necessities I needed for my four-night trip to Kansai (two changes of underwear, a second shirt, and my nécessaire), packed everything, filled out the forms to send the suitcase on its way, paid for the shipment and headed out the door.  In under ten minutes I had hotfooted to the Shinjuku station, where I caught the 9:53 Chuo express to Tokyo.  I arrived on the Shinkansen platform nearly 15 minutes before the train left, with enough time to buy grilled fish sushi and a coke for the ride, but I couldn’t wait to air out a bit. 

One can’t help but think about fashion in Tokyo.  In a city with trains this crowded every wagon has at least one fashionista and a few early adopters.  It makes a person think of how often those clothes need to be cycled in order to keep up.  I know that we “need” to spend to keep the economy going – at least that seems to be the idea behind the stimulus package thing – but if spending is a meaningless accelerated spiral through acquisition and expurgation of ephemeral goodies, do we really want to keep that economy going?  Surely stewardship can’t mean breathlessly using everything up?  My problem is I have a hard time imagining an alternative and how it might work.  It might be cynical to base our economy on greed, but the cynic will point out that at least sin is a reliable human constant. 

I got a window seat and got to see Mt. Fuji a couple times.  I have yet to tire of that mountain.  Unlike our alpine peaks, unpolished urchins clamoring for attention, Fujisan exudes an air of calm and unruffled majesty. 

My partners picked me up at Kyoto station, from where we drove south to Doshisha University.  It seems like all the temples are north of the station, and south is the industrial zone and, very soon, the boonies.  So we got lost for a few hundred meters, but soon found our way again and ended up in a 17°C laboratory checking out atoms on graphite.  They’re ambitious and want to look at other stuff on graphite, which will require some nifty sample preparation for it to work, but they should now be able to operate our system with confidence. 

On the drive back to Shin-Osaka station, a good base for my operations in this area, we stopped at the first convenience store to buy warm drinks.  Shortly after leaving the conbini we passed a gas station and I realized that the symbiotic relationship between gas stations and convenience stores characteristic of the US and most of Europe has not evolved in Japan.  In Switzerland it exists because only at gas stations and a few other locations may a store be open 24/7; in the US it exists, I suppose, because people fill up often; in Japan, my guess is that lots in interesting locations are too small to be home to both at once. 

We drove through the town of Hirakata, which meant driving through a maze of narrow roads, swerving to avoid pedestrians, bikes, and oncoming cars.  The Japanese don’t seem to do bypasses or fat four-lane roads through the town center.  I’m not even sure Hirakata has a town center, even though by Swiss standards it’s a pretty big town. 

I recognized one of the groups being played on the radio, the Southern All Stars.  They have apparently still not disbanded, making them one of the most enduring bands in Japan.  The lead singer’s voice and the rich accompaniment are as distinctive as ever.  Wikipedia shows that they’ve been together for 30 years, and Ray Charles covered them. 

For the first time I can remember, I saw a Smart car in Japan.  And for some reason, that reminded me of the movie that I could have watched on the flight to Tokyo, “Stephan.”  Up to you to psychoanalyze.