Your tax ¥ at work

Being unable to locate any foreigners in Japan, the government will:

...pay travel allowances to about 100 native English, Chinese and Korean speakers to visit key cities and come up with ideas on how to make it easier for travelers to use public transport, stay at local hotels and eat at local restaurants, said an official at the Japan Tourism Agency. Reuters

Far be it from me to accuse whomever came up with this as being someone who is out of touch with the country in which he/she lives, for I am sure that there is a good reason for it. Perhaps Uncle Taro figures he could get better advice from someone who doesn't actually know Japan and just drops in out of the blue and gets to experience the kid-glove visiting gaijin treatment. Besides, anyone who has been here long enough to know much about the country might make some embarrassingly uncomfortable suggestions, for example, "Maybe you should begin by firing the folks who came up with this idea."*

Anyway, anyone who has read @Tyler Bru^le`! *would know that Japan's tourist facilities are already nirvana.

*Gonna knock off the yokoso Japan fingerprinting too?

**Does the world envy Tokyo Midtown yet?

What would Tyler Brule do?

It was so hot today that I actually canceled even a one-hour cycling workout along the Tamagawa in spite of having the time. Naturally, canceling a ride or any type of workout for any reason is cause for near depression, fears of gaining 5-15 pounds, and losing months of physical conditioning by the next morning. In such an emergency, I often find myself wondering what Tyler Brule would do. Luckily for me and the rest of the world, I found the answer.

Tyler, the continent hopping dilettante and apparent gazillionaire, graciously provided "The Fast Lane Guide to Doing Business Without Breaking a Sweat” in his Financial Times column. Although he did not mention wearing a blazer with short pants to a meeting in Tokyo like he did a few years ago, he suggests "showing a bit of leg," Gatsby Ice Type facial wipes, a folding fan, and something known as a "Tokyo hat" which has additional benefits "if worn at the right angle." "Cold thoughts of swimming in the Baltic" may help too.

What has me concerned is that I already do some of those things.

I do not know how to make the diacritical marks (with a Mac) that Brule uses on his last name. I suppose I should learn, but for now I will be satisfied with the fact that I have learned that the correct name for those are "diacritical marks."