Yakuza with full-body tattoos at the Sanja Festival.

Because of the association of tattoos with gangs and yakuza, people with tattoos, like Matthew, are not permitted to go to many of the onsens (Japanese hotsprings of which there are many due to the volcanic nature of the country). Some places will allow entry with band-aids covering the offending ink work.

When we went to the gym at the hotel back in April, Matthew was obliged to wear a long-sleeved polyester sweat-shirt handed to him by the sweetly smiling gym attendant so as not to distress the sensibilities of the other guests.

(The hotel had attendants for everything. I could never quite get comfortable with the girls in kimonos whose sole function it was to push the UP or DOWN elevator button for us and then stand and wait so they could usher us safely inside when it arrived. Now that we have been here a while I have become used to the heightened level of service in almost all aspects of daily living, and probably the elevator girls would no longer register as remarkable.)