Not only was it organized via email, but back then, I didn't have email in my pocket. I had to go to Internet cafes to access my email when I was on holiday in Japan. And sometimes it didn't work because my email was on a server in France, and I was in Japan, and Windows 9x was sending packets with a TTL too low for the many hops in between here and there.
BTW, 20 years later, I still have the emails (found them). I just sent something along the lines of "I'm in Japan right now, I'll be in Osaka soon, can I come say hello". And the reply was essentially "Sure, when?". And they sent me pictures afterwards.
This put a huge smile on my face. :- ) A blog post about the whole experience would be very cool. I really enjoy your storytelling, the context is a delight.
