‘World’s greatest living travel writer’ has spent 32 years in Japan

There are eleven arrows on the sign above you, as you disembark in Kyoto Station. They point left, right, straight ahead and backwards. In the middle is a question mark.

Platform 0 is close to Platforms 31 and 32, and a large “Restaurant Guide” board informs you that there are one hundred and seven dining options around the station alone. There are also 22 hotels in the immediate vicinity, just one of which offers 15 banquet halls, 516 rooms, a halal menu, a clinic, a photo salon and a church.

So much is available, almost nothing can be found. You’re in a living web site of sorts — boxes and links popping up on every side, leading to art gallery and “Happy Terrace,” to six-story post office and 13-floor department store — but nobody’s given you the password.