FROM THE ELISSON ARCHIVE

The Ginza, Tokyo, 1980.

I took this photograph on my first visit to Japan, back in 1980.

The Ginza was like New York with the volume and speed knobs turned up to 11 - but in Tokyo, cab drivers dusted their spotless vehicles with feather dusters and would refuse to accept tips. You could leave your wallet on the street and it would show up in your hotel room a few hours later, completely intact. And you could buy a can of the unfortunately-named “Calpis” soft drink from a curbside vending machine.

So you knew you weren’t in New York, if the above scene were not clue enough.