At first glance it seems as if this city is in the throws of complete anarchy. Its only when you look closer you realize your mistake - not chaos but hyper-efficiency. It is slightly baffling how easy it is to get around and how polite and respectful everybody is in such a seething metropolis. A station we visited yesterday has 2 million users a day - yet every train leaves on time, in smooth air-conditioned bliss. Every inch of space in the city seems to be considered used - the residential area where we are now staying is perhaps the antedote to the sprawling American suburb. Tiny cars fit into driveways with an inch to spare either side, the skinny roads have no sidewalk and gardens perch precariously on balconies. Air conditioners hum.It quickly became clear that it would takes months to get to know this city in any meaningful way, a luxury that we do not have at the moment. Besides, it's way too hot. 35 degrees Celsius with 100 percent humidity makes for very sweaty sightseeing - we've become expert seekers of air-con.
We went for a meal with Elina and Shinji. It was a bit of a random encounter. Elina is a friend of Claudia, who I met at a conference in Arizona last year, and who put us in touch. The bizarre bit is that we found out over dinner that Elina studied at Royal Holloway in EGHAM for 3 years. What are the odds of 4 people meeting up in Tokyo that have all been to little old Egham?!　Tomorrow we're heading up to Mt Fuji, where hopefully the air will be cooler, and the buildings sadly less eye-popping.