Getting Down in Chinatown

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March 7th 2008

Published: March 7th 2008

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Yellow Head

Tokyo Tower

The converging streets form the Japanese character, 大 (dai) or big, an apt symbol for this sprawling beast of a city.

I have always liked visiting the different Chinatowns throughout the world. There is something about them that interests me and whether I am in Bangkok, London, New York or Yokohama, the local Chinatown is always on the top of my list of places to visit. I like the markets, the food, the crowds of people, and the lively atmosphere that these small districts always tend to contain. And Yokohama was no different. It may have been a bit over polished and pricey, in that normal Japanese way, but it was distinctive, it held an identity of its own.

I spent a great couple of days there while attending a conference with my friend Nick. We shacked up on the outskirts of Chinatown and spent the days attending a conference and the nights eating and drinking our way through the city. It put a bit of a strain on my wallet but it was well worth it. I left a well fed, albeit poor, man.

Another good aspect was the short commute between central Tokyo and Yokohama. Within 30 minutes and a cheap train ticket you can commute to Shibuya. This is one of my favorite areas of Tokyo and

Tokyo Fasion

there are an inexhaustible amount of things to do here. Bars, restaurants, boutique stores, and gaming centers line the streets and stretch up into the sky. You would be hard pressed not to have a good time here. It also has all of the imagery and things that come to mind when you think of Tokyo. The bright lights, crowds, fashion, pachinko parlors, capsule hotels, and specialty bars are found around every corner. They range from the normal to the bizarre and whatever your taste may be it will most likely be found in Shibuya.

The bar touts even guarantee that you don’t have to spend your night searching for a good watering hole. Within a couple of minutes, a smooth talking man approached and escorted us to a place called Bachelors. Upon entering, our dreams had been answered. It was filled with a dozen beautiful Japanese ladies that paid to have the chance to meet and talk with foreign men. It was a good night to say the least.

The rest of the days we spend wandering around the main city sights: Tsukiji Fish Market, Senso-ji, the Akihabara electronics district, the Meiji-jingu park, Roppongi Hills, and the

Old School

the way I like it

Tokyo Tower. It made me question my decision to leave Japan at the end of this coming summer. Tokyo would be an amazing place to call home for a short period of time and jobs seem to abound. Over the course of two days both Nick and I were offered jobs without even having to search online or open a newspaper. Nick was approached while shopping in an outdoor sports store and measured up on spot for a modeling job, while I was offered a job to work for an online Japanese/foreign dating service. And if neither of these options floats your boat the always-ubiquitous English language school is found on almost every street corner. It would be easy.

Who knows, in all reality, I may be calling this sprawling beast of a city my new home before too long.

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