A few more observations

Just a few different things about Japan.

You have to wear slippers around the house at all times EXCEPT when you enter a tatami room, tatami are woven mats that are laid on the floor, apparently in olden times rooms were measured by how many tatami it took to cover the floor. Wearing slippers is a problem for English people, at least for Ed it is, he forgets to put them on a lot and is often seen being followed around by one of the host family carrying his slippers to him...You can tell he is not swiss...

All toilets are high tech or low tech. If they are low tech you have to squat, this is mainly for public places but most modern building have high tech western toilets. How can a toilet be high tech I hear you ask, well for a start all seats are heated, even in public buildings, I personally find this a little disconcerting because i would prefer my toilet seat to be cold if you know what I mean. A lot of the toilets also have a control pad next to them where you can initiate all kinds of bottom cleaning and flushing. The first time you encounter one of these its good to know that the top button generally does the flush you are looking for. On no account press buttons at random when the seat cover is up, problems will ensue. A small thing that is actually very sensible is that the toilet tank fills up from a tap which pours into the cistern. What this means is that you can wash your hands with the water that will be used for the next flush, very eco friendly.

As I mentioned slippers are worn everywhere, including the toilet BUT not your normal house slippers, these you leave at the door to the toilet and put on the toilet slippers.

Finally putting a kimono on is not a trivial task, Stefania tried for over an hour on Monday night, you can see the pictures here