&gt; I think my biggest takeaway from Japan was that it&#x27;s stuck between two worlds -- one 20 years ahead, and one 20 years behind.<p>I don&#x27;t know that it&#x27;s the right way to put it — after all mayhaps things are just as odd the other way around — but some things were definitely jarring, like the ubiquitous vending machines (cheap and with cold <i>and</i> hot drinks) next to houses with no central heating (heated room by room mostly with kerosene heaters) or the weird ubiquity of &quot;busybody&quot; jobs (e.g. any form of road encumbrance having one person on each side directing traffic, and we crossed a lot of roadworks).