東京だよ!

So after weeks of travelling across Europe, I finally made my way to the Land of the Rising Sun. Slight irony though, that the sun set while on the plane, and I arrived pretty much just in time to catch the last train heading into the city from Haneda Airport.

I don't even know where to begin describing Tokyo. Istanbul may have been huge, but Tokyo is almost like its own country in itself. It's much larger in area, and has about twice to thrice as many people. There's a crowd just about everywhere you can go, and you're never far enough from the person next to you.

Another person may feel asphyxiated and claustrophobic in such circumstances, but strangely enough I felt well at ease in here. Being able to speak Japanese probably helped a lot, but maybe I'm just a big city person anyway. It may sound like a huge waste of time for some people, but I thoroughly enjoyed just walking around the different districts, and sometimes just allowing myself to be lost.



Possibly the most interesting feature of Tokyo is that it has so many contrasting places within its large boundaries, which is to be expected probably but still pleasantly surprising.

Odaiba is a man-made island just off the coast of Tokyo Bay, created during the bubble-economy days. Originally set aside for commercial use, these days it's pretty much a recreational space away from the hustle and bustle of the main city with a few shopping malls, but more importantly wide open spaces that families flock to during the weekends just to relax and spend quality time together. It also houses the futuristic and awkward looking Fuji TV headquarters.



On the other hand, you have Shibuya, world famous shopping haven and home to the busiest traffic intersection in the world. The area is just buildings after buildings, and people rushing off to the next mall or restaurant while busily chatting away on their over-decorated cellphones. There are also the huge LCD screens as well promoting the latest CD releases and providing weather forecasts. This could just be the noisiest place in the world, with everybody and everything trying to outdo each other to get the attention of the consumers.

Add in the skyscrapers of Shinjuku and Marunouchi, the teenybopper haven of Harajuku, the wide expanses of Ueno Park, the historic quarter of Asakusa, and you pretty much have a city that is impossible to be bored in. It's definitely a city that is best experienced, rather than be read about.