Actually I gave up any aspiration of fitting in not long after our arrival in Japan. Given that I blend like Cousin Vinny, it seemed the wise course. The one exception is in the area of running attire, where flying in the face of convention by not covering one's jiggly bits could be construed as downright offensive. To that end I have purchased a "jogging skirt" to be worn over my tights, the effect being not unlike the tutu-ed dancing hippos in Fantasia due to the design of the ensemble not taking into account the existence of hips.

The men can wear what they want, and most popular seems to be some kind of super spandex that allows me to make out the brand names of the cell phones in their back pockets.

For the top half, apparently the more layers the better. A down vest on a hot day is considered excellent for running, or so one would surmise from casual observation. On Saturday Matthew and I became involved in some kind of marathon going around the palace (by involved I mean they swirled around us as we went for a late morning stroll) and it was truly amazing how many of them seemed to be dressed for the Iditarod rather than a sunny day's run in Tokyo. Scarves, gloves, ski hats, the afore-mentioned down vests, and layers upon layers of high and low tech gear. We ourselves were over-heated in shorts and t-shirts. I find this so interesting--entirely different internal thermostats, I wonder why that is.