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All the shiny new buildings and moving walkways at Narita airport could have given a first-time visitor the impression that they really meant it when they put up the big sign “Welcome to Japan.” But soon the passages narrowed and the long, winding line for immigration started. Strategically placed signs let us know that from this point on it would be 1 hour wait to clear immigration, then 45 minutes, than 30 minutes.

I had to chuckle about nearly everyone’s confusion about the infamous “Embarkation” and “Disembarkation” card — one card really, and except for the bar code the same design as nearly 30 years ago when I first set foot on the shores of Nippon and could not figure out the form either. In all this time nobody had found it necessary to add a clearly visible and unambiguous explanation for those poor, clueless visitors. Welcome to Japan, indeed.