Details, Details, Details

I had the pleasure of going to Sendai yesterday with my "boss" in the wedding business.

The Shinkansen ride was brilliant. I'd not been on a Shink in almost 10 years. They leave Tokyo more frequently than #8 busses leave Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. They are also clean. The busses aren't.

We got there so quickly and smoothly that I was awakened during the ride by the ambient noise at the only station at which we stopped, Omiya. I had the sensation there that we were moving - when actually moving I had no sensation of motion at all. The Shinkansen works very well. The cars were nearly full, the seats were as comfortable as those in Business class on my last international flight and the whole shebang was on time coming and going!

In the title of this post I alluded to details and two come immediately to mind, but there are many others.

Spotlessly clean is a detail, certainly, but I was particularly impressed that the girl/lady who sold things exited with a bow to those in the car she was exiting. Good manners never fail! She also gave me instructions about heating my box lunch with the heating device included. The grilled tongue lunch was hot and delicious!

When we'd arrived at our eventual destination there were familiar faces from the Tsukuba branch of the same company. They had come up to Sendai by bus, had been dressed and coiffed and were the "guests" at the wedding I was to perform. They were having a great time! After the ceremony they would be the guests at the banquet! I had to go home - with a burger from Loteria to quell my hunger pangs.

No matter - the next incident shows the beauty of Japan in small and close. On achieving Tsukuba I'd intended to visit my favorite bar, meeting Mako there for dinner. Just before boarding the I met the owner of that bar and we rode to Tsukuba together. Mako picked me up at the station and we proceeded to the bar where I drank too much but ate sparingly. Mako ate too much and didn't drink … part, a huge part, of our synchronisity!