Tokyo National Museum: "We walked inside, and I paused for a moment in the foyer, craning my neck to look around. I tried to recall the last time my mother had taken me here—probably when I was seven or so. I didn’t expect to remember it well, and was surprised to find that I did. The imposingly high ceiling with its elaborate carvings. The tall marble walls. The massive split staircase, twenty feet across, and the metal carvings on the huge bannisters. And of course the solemn echo produced by all that stone and space."