Elements of Urbanism: Tokyo

[BridgeTroll]

Try to get to a traditional japanese public bath or hot springs... very relaxing and an interesting cultural experience...

Thanks BT. If you have any specific names, please PM me. If not, anyways, thanks for the idea.

Nothing specific for the Tokyo area... I lived in the northern part of the country... Aomori prefecture

[Dog Walker]

Make sure you get to the district of the electronics stores, the Akihabara.  It is really amazing.  You will see stuff there that never makes it to markets outside Japan.  Edoites (residents of Tokyo) are the most gadget crazy people in the world.

You will see enough Hello Kitty stuff to mark you for life!

[ben says]

Just got back.

Trip: excellent. Love to travel, and I've never been to Asia before Tokyo, so this was great.

In summary: glad I went, had a good time, but, not super interested in going back to Tokyo. I'd go back to Japan, but Tokyo, for me, was just like a NYC on steroids. There were some things I'd like to go back to see again, but not sure it's justified by a flight that expensive, and a currency that's raging like the yen. When I left Tokyo, and entered the surrounding towns and shrines/temples, the beauty was truly startling. Inside Tokyo, again, I felt like I was just in a bigger/better/more interesting NYC.

Moreover, Tokyo seemed like a very sad place. There's very little of "old Tokyo" left. I think only one neighborhood survived the bombing in WWII. Interestingly, more people died in the firebombing of Tokyo than Hiroshima. It's so sad to see a place that's so old, with very few old things left. Moreover, modernization and urbanization and globalization have seemed to wipe out everything "old Tokyo" had left. Now it's just one crazy, tech driven, business oriented city. Never seen so many business deals go down in my life (was staying on the upper floors of the Hilton in Shinjuku...damn those business suits!

So, yes, GO to Tokyo if you have the chance. But, just remember, it's a city...a really really big city. If you want to see Old Japan, try Kyoto. Personally, most places I go, I leave with the "I can't wait to go back" feeling. With Tokyo, I don't have that feeling. I'd much rather see S.E. Asia and China than Tokyo again. That being said, I will go back to see the "other" Japan, i.e. the "old stuff."

Have some interesting "city pics" to post, but I don't know how 

[ben says]

Other relevant notes:

1) Credit cards are looked down upon. Most, if many, stores do not take credit. Local store owners, and the people in general, feel that if you use a credit card, you can't really afford whatever you're attempting to buy. On the same note, money is treated with respect. All bills are crisp, clean, and unbent. When you pay for something, or get change, a lot of detail goes into the transaction.

2) Smoking cigarettes only happens in designated smoking zones (which are hard to find). There are 1,700 (about 20 dollar) fines per cigarette if you smoke outside of these zones. The city is concerned that because cigarettes are held at the height of a child, children may get harmed. Furthermore, they want to prevent people from littering. Interestingly, people actually comply with this rule.

3) NO, and I mean NO honking on the streets.

4) NO, and I mean NO trash on the streets. And you have a really hard time finding a trash can. According to our Japanese interpreter, the city ripped up all the trash cans for post-9/11 security. Found this fascinating. How does it stay so clean??

5) When the sign says "don't walk"--people actually listen. It could be a ghost town, and still, people won't cross if the sign says not to. VERY compliant people, in a good way. They respect civility.

6) Subway system is efficient, but extremely confusing for foreigners. Almost nobody speaks English (which I wasn't expecting--although I should have). System is so busy/crazy, they pipe in "bird songs" to calm people down. They also have "officials" whose only job it is is to push you out of the subway at the stops.

7) Saw almost zero police.

Never felt so safe at night. Europe, at night, is scary. Same with South America. Here, I felt fine walking at any hour/any time.

9) Amazingly, zero road rage here. For a city of over 35,000,000, this was an outstanding concept for me. Their reason: "a lot of people live in this city and we respect others need to get around."

More to come later. Just thought some would be interested.

[BridgeTroll]

Old Japan still exists in the smaller towns in the countryside... of course a huge swath of coastal towns were wiped off the map from the tsunami...

[ben says]

Old Japan still exists in the smaller towns in the countryside... of course a huge swath of coastal towns were wiped off the map from the tsunami...

Yeah, the second I left Tokyo, and started exploring via car the countryside/small towns, I was overwhelmed with the "oldness" and uniqueness of what I was seeing. I'd love to go back and fly into Tokyo, rent a car, and see the rest of the country. Disappointed I missed Kyoto.