We were pre-warned about the importance of giving gifts in Japan: One must carry a wrapped gift everywhere One goes in the likely event One is surprised with a present and thus required (by the unofficial 'law of politeness') to reciprocate. The ritual of handing over the gift is an art-form in itself. You must present it with both hands and bow to the recipient whilst disparaging the gift you're giving as much as possible, regardless of what it is, to gain extra humble brownie points. ("Tsumaranai mono desu ga" is a common expression in Japan, roughly translated as: "This is a triffling thing, but please accept it").

I'm not sure where this tradition comes from but it doesn't really matter what you give, providing it is beautifully and carefully wrapped. The Japanese are big on presentation and as 'well-off work-alcoholics' they don't seem deterred by the financial and time-wasting implications of such social customs. Well, at least on the surface. Speaking to some young Japanese University students we discovered that every Valentine's Day women are required to give all the men in their lives chocolates (even the bully boy in your history class/pervy bloke in the IT department). 'White Day' in March requires men to do exactly the same for women (popular gifts being anything from marshmallows to white lingerie). The students we met seemed to face these Hallmark traditions with the same depressed resignation that would accompany a particularly laborious work assignment. Of course, this doesn't mean they would break tradition by going against the grain. One University student revealed that she made around four-hundred chocolates for one particular 'Feb 14th' (Seriously?! I didn't know four-hundred people in my teens!!). Though she did admit this was motivated more by social pressure than actual desire.

An odd thing happened during our first week here in Japan. Kate and I were about to leave the bathroom of a community centre where we were performing, when we were approached by an incredibly giggly and embarrassed Japanese lady holding two beautiful gift bags. Through her broken English we understood that she was an old friend of our administrator and had seen us the previous evening performing in Tokyo. She was very complimentary about our performances and then began to tell us about her recent shopping trip to a very expensive lingerie boutique. Apparently she had underestimated her own size (at which point she gestured, in an enthusiastic attempt to communicate, towards her bottom). Only when she got home did she realise her 30,000 yen mistake. (A minor note here - You couldn't detect a trace of bitterness or 'buyer's remorse' on this smiling lady's face. I'm starting to think even the high-court judges in Japan have the positivity and politeness of kids TV presenters...) Anyway, after seeing us at the show the previous evening she had decided that these beautiful embroidered panties were, in fact, destined for Kate and I (at which point she gestured, in an enthusiastic attempt to communicate, towards our bottoms). So there we were, in the toilet, gracefully receiving beautifully wrapped pants from a lady we'd met five minutes earlier.

Note to self: Always keep a present handy, you never know when you might need it.