Interesting article. A long time ago I was invited to a scientific conference in Nikko I was looking forward to the Japanese traditional hotel experience but it turned out that the conference was in a western style hotel (Kanaya) - not the local Hilton, or whatever, but a Japanese idea of what a western hotel is like, with faux-French food etc. It was a bit disappointing, but also a curiosity as it turned out to be where Einstein stayed in Japan, and is an aspirational destination for Japanese.
The point of these reminiscences? None really, but I wish I'd had a knowledgeable guide at the time!
