We've all heard of the "porcelain beauty" of Asian skin, and from what I've seen it's not a myth.  I don't know how much of it is genetic and how much a result of hyper-vigilant dermal guardianship, but there is an obvious prevalence of unlined faces on the streets of Tokyo.

When we first got here a young woman from Matthew's office was teaching me the best way to hold chopsticks. I looked at her hands and thought, "This is what an egg would look like if it had fingers."  They were so preternaturally smooth as to be almost unformed, making mine suddenly seem ideally suited to perform in the hand-puppet version of Jurassic Park. 

Parasols are the norm for females of all ages, handled as deftly as are umbrellas--juggled seamlessly with cell phones, purses, magazines, and subway passes.