* Japan is ahead in other services. In a lot of places you can not only get free plastic sleeves for your wet umbrella, you can also leave your umbrella in lockable racks. Take the key with you while you shop.

And if you're suddenly thinking that the reason why there are lockable umbrella stands is because people steal umbrellas, don't. It's to make sure you don't take the wrong one! Most umbrellas are either similar in colour or pattern, or identical!

* A blind girl got on the subway train and a lady helped her put her hands on one of the straps while she stood. Then, when no one got up to give her a seat she tried to go to the next compartment but no one helped her get the door which seemed to be stuck. Then the carriage emptied and a guy gave up his seat and assisted her in sitting down. I was surprised that only a couple of people noticed her.

* People get on the trains without really looking where they're going. This is deliberate. If they DO look, they might see an old person they have to give up their seat for. So they close their view, look at their mobile, comic book, mp3 player or quickly fall asleep. You might think this is rude but Japan has the highest population of people over the age of 65 in the world. It means that you would never, ever get a seat on the train if you look. You'll find, in Tokyo, that you'll quickly start adopting this view, especially as you'll probably be exhausted from walking everywhere and are desperate to sit down. I certainly did. And I made sure that I took a seat that was not in a special designated seating area.

* Internet cafes sometimes have special sets of services including the type of chair and features you want in your internet experience. They assign you a seat, once you've chosen what you want, then give you the bill and the start time in a restaurant wallet. Great idea and very efficient. Lots of comics to read if you wished, too!

* The sheer length of time it takes to work out the cost for each stop, walk the distance between lines, find that your ticket is swallowed by the connection gate, having to buy a new ticket for your destination etc, means that buying a Passnet Metro ticket is a timesaving investment. If you don't use up the whole amount on your card, buy a new one. When you go through the gate again, move your credit from the old one to the new one via the fare adjustment guard. There are no fines on the train stations, just the fare adjustment officers where you can pay the difference at the end of your journey.

Having said all that, of course, still expect to walk at least a kilometre of pathways and steps between some connecting lines at the various entrances to Shinjuku station.

 < Shinjuku | Mammoth's Head >