When did I first become aware of Japan? A tricky question for someone who can’t remember what I ate for breakfast! I think the answer to this would be origami, the art of taking a flat piece of paper and, without any glue or clips, folding the paper to create 3D images. So Japanese, and I wondered if reflected the people: the paper, on the surface steady and uniform, but once sculpted, a people of the most amazing history, culture, and creativity. Origami also pushes through to their modern architecture and to the minimalist interiors that I relish so much. Not forgetting Yohji Yamamoto, who even now, at 83, still transposes origami into fabric and a master of his craft.

My next memory would be the 1997 Arthur Golden book “Memoirs of a Geisha,” about a girl sold, by her family, into the tough training to become a Geisha, this at a time, after WWII when there were 80,000 Geishas. There is now only 1000. The book transported me into another world of white faces, tea ceremonies, academia, and bound feet.

Cherry blossoms, super-fast trains, Mount Fuji’s snow- covered conical shape, roly poly sumo wrestlers, sushi, and my new passion, poke bowls. No poke… just a simple blend of rice and crunchy vegetables in a small bowl, overwhelming you with colour, but not with amount.

I am visiting a country that puts the common good above the interests of the individual, where modesty, humility, and social harmony reign supreme. A society that lives longer than any other, has lower rates of homicide than nearly all countries, celebrates its history, but looks forward to a high-tech future. An economic powerhouse. One, yes, like the rest of us showing fault lines, but it is said a population more happily shouldering the burden of high costs for the good of the long-term economy. Does this sound like the old-world order run by grown-ups?

I was finally sold on the idea of Japan after seeing a travel programme. The presenter said there is nothing like getting off a long-haul flight from Europe, nine time zones ahead, to a neon light overload, 37 million people who all look so different, and nothing about the signs, buildings, and language that looks familiar. Terrifying and exhilarating all in one breath. I’m ready for the sensory overload.