Day 1: 10 hours in the air before wheels touched down in Tokyo. I get of the plane and in moments I feel it, the air is different, the smell is different, the voice over the intercom is impossible to understand. In Europe I can figure things out, I feel like I have a one up on all the "tourists", because I speak french and can muddle through understanding some German, Italian, and Spanish. I can look and act European. .....well here, not so much. I am one down, and then some.  I can't look or act Asian. I caught myself bowing like they do and then i wondered, is that rude? Does it look like I am just copying them? Am i bowing to say thank you or hello? People are eating dehydrated calamari from bags, money is a yen...what is the exchange rate on that?!...., I went to the bathroom and there was a little trough in the ground, I waited 3 minutes for the toilet I am used to and every woman I let in front of me just smiled and they were all thinking, "silly westerner".  Maybe later in the week I will give that a whirl, but after a long flight I think I would fall over or end up peeing on myself. There is a little good to this though because, my toilet had a bunch of controls. Flushing noises to mask other noises, cool air, bidet, rinsing, and lights? Yes technicolor lights. I opted for lights and they did add that certain something to my time in the lou.