Tokyo

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Tokyo !
Population 12 million, vending machines 6 million. A city, where not all ATMs are 24 hours, yet most convenience stores are. You can’t smoke on most footpaths, yet you can cycle on them. To cross the road everyone waits when they see the little red man, when he turns green he is accompanied by a chirruping bird sound for the blind. In a city that invents and makes most electrical goods, mobile phones here are super size and flip top. They are everywhere and are even work on the Metro (in the silent mode of course). Getting around the metro I thought would be really hard, but luckily all the directions and signs are bilingual (Japanese/ English), so it makes it very easy to navigate. Although I found it really strange being the only white person one it. Unlike many undergrounds in other cities that are multicultural, Tokyo has very few other races. The city reminds me of New York in some ways, it’s big, bright, tall and has lots of people. Although Tokyo is a lot cleaner, safer, politer, quieter (never heard even one single car horn beep) and so ordered. Shopping is similar to NYC, with electrical goods (they are more expensive here though), international shops like GAP, H&M, Benetton, The Body Shop & Zara. Tokyo has not escaped the international food chains setting up shop here either with the likes of Hard Rock Cafe, Mc Donalds, Burger King, Weddys and of course you can find a Starbucks on every corner too ! I couldn’t get over how many things were automatic, from the taxi door opening, to the toilet flushing, the bin opening, even in the supermarket the cashier put the money in and the change automatically came out. In Tokyo everything just works. Having come from a month travelling South East Asia where brining you own toilet paper squat toilets are the norm, I was pleasantly surprised with the bathrooms in Tokyo. Not only are the toilets fully equipped with not 1 but 2 toilet rolls, with the press of a button they can also wash your bum for you or even play a waterfall sound. The highlight isn’t that it flushes when you stand up, but when you sit down the toilet seat is ... heated !!!

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