Before you start reading, you should know this is not a guide or a walkthrough of Tokyo. This is a personal reflection and a collection of thoughts after visiting. Tokyo may not have the same effect on you, but hopefully this will encourage you to find your own place in the world. Enjoy
I never really understood my fascination with Japan. It may have been the endless hours of Ultraman I watched as a young’un, it may have been the countless Animes and Manga characters I admired, or it could have been the fantastic games and technologies that came out of the country. I was never sure.
A strong love of Pokémon games prompted me to take Japanese classes when I was 11, Japanese versions of the games would always be out 6 months before an English version, I so desperately wanted to play it as soon as they were released.
I learnt Japanese for 3 years in high school, but you couldn't distinguish me between someone who has learnt it for 3 weeks these days. My parents denied me an exchange to Japan whilst in high school, that combined with a general laziness resulted in me ceasing to study Japanese.
However, the general awareness and a slight fascination continued.
This year, I made a last second decision to visit Tokyo. Even though it was only a week, it would prove to be a rather significant point in my life.
I'm no stranger to large East Asian metropolis cities. I've visited Hong Kong, worked in Shanghai and studied/travelled to Korea/Seoul. Urban jungles shaped by tightly packed buildings where a large amount of inhabitants teem with fervour and breathe life into an endless night.
I was impressed by the efficiency and infrastructure of Hong Kong, constantly amazed by the tenacity and the ambitious culture of Shanghai and Seoul seemed like a perfect place where a fast moving city came to be in harmony with a peaceful culture and identity.
Yet Tokyo was the only city that truly blew me away.
I spent a total of 10 days in Tokyo, utilising each day to try and explore each neighbourhood as widely as possible. To me, buildings and landmarks are only a small part of a city. It’s the people, the culture and the subsequent vibe that entails which really define and shape the city.
I was fortunate enough to visit Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, Asakusa, Ginza, Tsukiji, Roppongi and Akihabara.
Each of these areas had a distinct feel, not just to the architecture and services, but the people. I could go on for days trying to explain what the differences are, but it would not do these places any justice.
Tokyo seems to be a city full of contradiction. People work hard, people play hard and people are sexually conservative, yet it’s one of the most sexually liberated cultures in the world. You can pray in a secluded temple and walk out straight into a red light district. Everyone conforms, yet everyone is different. Customs and traditions are strict, but thinking outside the box is common. People are crazy but they are respectful. They are racists but they are extremely open-minded.
I often found myself sitting on a corner and just watching people walk past. It amazes me how significant and insignificant that simple act can make you feel at the same time. A world full of surprises.
The variety of people I met in Tokyo was astounding, hardcore rockers who went to great universities, a bboy whose parents perished in the tsunami, expats of various nationalities/ethnicities who had been working in Japan for up to 15 years, Japanese people who have been overseas and come home to their motherland never wanting to leave again and seemingly like-minded people who draw no conceptual boundaries.
The weight of each of the words exchanged during my conversations with new friends is probably not reciprocated and I guess I will never know. But chatting in an empty Shibuya at 4AM with the sun slowly rising really does inspire you in many ways than one.
At the Meiji shrine in Yoyogi, I wrote on an Ema in Chinese, Japanese and Korean:
A Vibrant Life
A Mysterious Future
A Clear Path
I never really understood my fascination with Japan, in many ways I still don't. But after this trip I think I'm getting closer. I felt inspired in Tokyo, more so than the first time I set foot in Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong or any other cities.
But once upon a time, I ranked these cities and saw them as rivals. But now I see them as different parts of myself and my stepping stones towards:
A Vibrant Life
A Mysterious Future
A Clear Path
