Dr Taylor, you'll remember, was elected as independent MP for Wyre Forest in 2001 and again in 2005 on a tidal wave of public outrage over the downgrading of Kidderminster General Hospital.

BBC: Stafford Hospital report to shape the health debate

Hirauchi Kaichu onsen, the tidal pool in which the man and I were poaching, is on Yakushima, an island whose cedar forest earned a spot on Unesco's World Heritage List (and was the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's anime classic "Princess Mononoke").

WSJ: Soak Up Japan's Oases of Calm (Bonus: Snow Monkeys)