Spending two weeks in Japan, traveling between Tokyo, Kyoto, and Yokohama. As much as I love New York, I must say that Tokyo may truly be the city that never sleeps. One minute your senses are being bombarded by the sounds and lights of an intersection that makes Times Square look tame- the chiming Pachinko parlors and video game arcades, salesmen shouting from electronics shops, otaku in their anime attire; the next you can turn down a narrow side street and be standing in the manicured garden of a Shinto shrine- koi fish ponds, wish trees and five story pagodas.
Truly a culture of contrasts, of the past and the future.
And it is on these side streets and back alleys that Tokyo’s character truly comes alive- sake bars smaller than Manhattan studio apartments, ramen shops with business men bent over bowls of noodles, vending machines glowing on every corner.
While there is a certain masochistic charm to New York’s megalomania and aggressiveness, and certainly to it’s cross section of ethnicities, we could stand to learn a thing or two from Tokyoites politeness, cleanliness, and urban planning. Don’t even get me started on the Tokyo Metro vs. New York’s oft dysfunctional subway.
I plan a major update to my travel portfolio when I make it back stateside and I manage to sift through all of the pictures. For now, I have posted an interpretation of Shinjuku below.
Now if I could only find bowls of ramen this good for ¥500 in Manhattan.
