Half an hour from Tokyo, the Toki bullet train cleared the urban sprawl. In the distance, the Japanese alps appeared and what I'd thought were clouds were actually snow-covered peaks. On their flanks, the russets and reds of autumn foliage.

In the blink of an eye, this train had taken us from one world into another. Even finding our way to the right platform in the midst of Tokyo's rush hour, there was none of the stress of an airport. No queue for security, no long line at check-in or struggle with an automated bag machine that refuses to cooperate.

The only queue that formed was orderly and short - one for each car, clearly marked on the platform. Announcements made in Japanese are followed in English. Comprehensible English, unlike our airports.

And there was absolutely no delay. Not

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