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Published: January 18th 2007
Shibuya Bright Lights
Larger than life. The sights and sounds surround.In an earlier blog I described Tokyo as being overwhelming. You might even say I described the city with mild disdain.
Well, in my second visit to the city I was won over! Tokyo was a breath of fresh air compared to my current digs… international, entertaining, creative. My preconceived notions pegged Tokyo as a typical metropolis - huge, cold, and distant. Over the four days I spent there, I found it to be quite the opposite. The people were friendly and helpful, even going out of their way to help a lost looking foreigner. Many Japanese say that Tokyo is a great place to visit, but not a great place to live. I can understand where they are coming from, but for a 26 year-old foreigner, Tokyo is just what I needed after spending four months in Kure.
I think I enjoyed Tokyo so much because it reminded me more of home and the “outside” world. There were countless hip pubs, bars and restaurants, fantastic clothes and shoe shops (indeed, I dropped some money), and above all, young people!
I live in a community of 200,000 and it sometimes feels like the demographics falls most predominantly in
Asa-kusa
This was taken near my hostel in the community of Asa-kusa. Asa-kusa is known to be the area of old downtown Tokyo - a stark contrast from the ultra-modern sites in Shibuya, Shinjuku and Harajuku. Down the road from this photo was a large temple. the under 20 and over 60 category. In Tokyo I saw countless young people, and moreover, I saw more people embracing “western” cultural mores. Yes - that means hand holding and even hugging in public. (In my region hand holding or affection between couples seems to be a definite faux pas). I’m not trying to say embracing western culture is better… just that it is more familiar, and after four months away from home, “familiar” felt good.
Tokyo is a city of 12 million, about one tenth of Japan’s population. I sometimes reflect on how it is that I can feel more lost in my Japanese hometown, a city of 200,000.
Enoy the pics...
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scott
non-member comment
tokyo!!
I agree about Tokyo being great, I regret only going twice. And wait until you try and describe Shibuya to your friends back home....even with pictures it is impossible for them to understand how crazy it really is!