Teirnan tells Sheryl and I about her time spent in Japan. I myself always been suspicious of the orient, and I don't think I'd ever have the balls to visit on account of living everyday without language or a phonetic alphabet. I think I'd commit seppuku in two days of such isolation.

In Tokyo, she explained, there are many religious types: shinto, and christian sects mainly, that approach people on bustling street corners at random with a deepset desire to pray for their peace and happiness. They approach the subject and ask outright 'Would you mind if I pray for your peace and happiness?' As Tiernan says, they are so genuine, how can you say no?

What happens next is they ask you to hold your hands like so (a buddhist meditative position that prevents prana from trickling out your fingertips) or folded as in christian prayer. Next they ask you to close your eyes for three minutes while they hold an outstretched hand above your hand and pray.

Do you know how long three minutes is? Tiernan asks us. Three minutes in one of the biggest most populated cities in the world, a million miles from home, with your passport, credit cards, ID, and cash money hanging from a little strap around your shoulder. Three minutes of complete vulnerability while you anticipate good wishes from a stranger. Three minutes where you shut down the city in your head for a total leap of faith. And as a tourist you naturally are at some risks, and naturally you become a well-wisher magnet. Naturally, most of the time- it works.