Tokyo can best be described in four words: frightenly efficient and brazenly polite. There is no better place to go for the directionally challenged and those weary of today’s ill-mannered public. Got a business meeting? Look at the detailed map in English and Japanese drawn up by your colleague. Feeling far afield in the massive…

Gallivanting abroad these days isn’t the quixotic breathtakingly unique adventure it used to be. Let’s be honest, you’re more likely to experience the unfamiliar watching the Animal Channel than you are hopping a 747 off the Uncle Sam mainland into the continents beyond. KFCs and Ikeas are ubiquitous. There are however exceptions to the rule…