Wednesday, 5.00 a.m. My alarm goes off in time to shower and dress, before my taxi comes to take me to London City Airport. Today I begin my journey to Tokyo and thence to Yokohama and to Nakamachidai, where my brother and his wife are staying.

I fly to Paris Charles de Gaulle were I catch my connecting flight to Tokyo. My flight lands at Tokyo Airport at 7.55 a.m. this (Thursday) morning (11.55 p.m. GMT). I catch the Narita Express train to Yokohama where Judy, my sister-in-law, meets me. We travel on to Nakamachidai.

Even with some rest on board the flight my body tells me, all the way, that it’s time to sleep. I sleep for a couple of hours before taking a walk with Judy around the area surrounding their compact apartment.

No amount of sleep deprivation can keep me from noticing many details in this country I am visiting for the first time. The number of couples – Japanese women and European men – on board my flight. The delays to trains – not leaves on the line here but earthquakes. The staff who clean the train whilst passengers wait on the plaform at Tokyo. The way children are free to roam around us in Nakamachidai.

I know I shall have plenty to explore.