Before I came to Japan I had very little expectations in terms of city structure. Honestly I didn't really know what to expect. Thinking that Japan is one of the most modern and technology advanced countries in the world, I guess I was expecting to see something close to a flying car. Not a flying car, but something pretty amazing that only Japan would have. And Japan has many things that you would only find there. I did expect organization and Japan's city structure is not organized. It is a giant clusterfuck of buildings. Tokyo is a maze. I amazed at how anyone finds anything. How does the mail get delivered? How the hell did I find my way around? My first two weeks in Japan I felt so overwhelmed. How will I find my way around? The last two weeks I was wondering how the hell I got so lost from the Orientation Center to the Aeon. What is this place?! What is Tokyo?
Tokyo is everything. That is the simplest answer I can give. Anything more and I would just fail to describe the intenseity of this city. It's modern, but in it's corners hides the bits of traditional. Sometimes I passed huge corporate buildings only to find that in the middle is a little shrine or temple. My neighborhood also had it's own hidden areas. I walked the same route just about every day and I discovered something new each time. One day I decided to walk home from Tsudanama station instead of Yatsu. Doing so takes about 2o minutes and I had juts discovered a shorter walk from the station. So, actually about 15 minutes walk. Anyway, as I was walking for some reason these old run down stone stairs caught my attention. I had never noticed them before. I stopped and just starred for a few seconds debating whether it was public property or not. Then I decided to take a chance. The worst would be a scolding from a Japanese person. Carefully, I went up the stairs and when I reached the top I discovered an abandoned cemetery. I say abandoned because compared to the other one near my dorm, this one appeared as if people forgot it was there. Suddenly I became scared and rushed away because I had never known of its existence. I passed by it numerous times. Why now did I notice it? Did it magically appear?
Throughout my stay in Japan this feeling of being in a magic world never left me. Like being in Miyazaki film, there was always something new appearing. It was like one day my eyes were open and the next day they were closed. I knew my reality of course, but these little discoveries threw off my sense of what was real. Strange? Yes, I know.
What amazes about Tokyo and I'm just talking the extreme opposites that are literally right next to each other. East Shinjujku is business while West Shinjuku is all play. Shibuya is high fashion, but if you look hard enough there's a dirty side to it as well. Harajuku is more shopping, but that's where you'll find many of the sub-cultures. Nothing looks to traditional or to modern. So it's a blend? I wouldn't say these they blend. The two are very distinct, but they co-exist. They've adapted to each other to an extent. And I think this is what surprises foreigners the most about Japan. All these very different things can just live alongside each other.
Despite all of that Tokyo has so much energy; it never dies down. At night, the lights combined with the people coming and going, shop owners flirting your eyes with signs that say "sale" and teasing your credit cards with 15 % discounts, and the foreigners begging for a picture with the cos-player. It's always on the move even when the trains stop running. You just can't capture that energy on a picture.
Tokyo has everything. It is everything without being exactly everything. Doesn't make sense? Well , Tokyo doesn't make sense. I just accept for the wonderfulness that it is and go to karaoke.
Asukusa
Harajuku/Yoyogi Park
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