Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Tokyo in Depth
No matter how many times I visit the observatory on the 45th floor
of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, I'm always struck anew by the city's sur-
real vastness, stretching in all directions as far as the eye can see. Yet despite its seemingly
forbidding size, Tokyo is actually easy to navigate and explore. Everything runs like
clockwork, Tokyoites will go out of their way to help strangers, and the entire city is
strikingly clean and orderly. Although skyscrapers are definitely on the rise, there are
many diverse neighborhoods with small-town atmospheres. And while the nation's capi-
tal takes a no-nonsense approach when it comes to conducting business, it's also one of
the quirkiest cities you'll find anywhere (coffee in a so-called “maid cafe,” anyone?). Like
most destinations around the world, Tokyo is a product of its geography, history, and
people. This chapter highlights how Tokyo came to be the way it is today, providing, I
hope, some insight into what I consider to be one of the most interesting—not to men-
tion fun!—cities in the world.
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TOKYO TODAY
With a population of about 12.5 million,
Tokyo is one of the largest cities in the
world—and one of the most intriguing
and invigorating. As the nation's capital
and financial nerve center, Tokyo has long
been a major player in Asia. In a nation of
overachievers, Tokyo has more than its fair
share of intelligentsia, academics, politi-
cians, businesspeople, artists, and writers,
and it's the country's showcase for technol-
ogy, fashion, art, architecture, music, and
advertising. People rush around here with
such purpose and determination, it's hard
not to feel that you're in the midst of
something important, that you're witness-
ing history in the making.
As for innovation, Tokyo has long been
recognized as a leader. Indeed, Japan, once
dismissed as merely an imitator with no
imagination of its own, has long been at
the forefront of all things technological,
from robots and cars to audiovisual equip-
ment and kitchen and office gadgetry.
Walking through the stores of Akihabara,
Tokyo's electronics center, provokes an
uneasiness few visitors can shake, for it's
here that the latest goods are sold long
before they reach Western markets. Tokyo
also stands at the center of Japan's cool pop
culture—
anime
(Japanese animation),
Hello Kitty, Pokémon—one of the fastest-
growing subcultures in the world. In other
words, this trend-setting Asian capital is in.
Yet despite outward appearances, all is
not rosy in the land of the rising sun. Its
unparalleled economic growth of the
1980s, generating both admiration and
envy worldwide, has never quite recovered
from the burst of its economic bubble in
1992. While the economy seemed to be
on the mend by mid-2000, the 2008
international financial meltdown brought
Japan's economy to a screeching halt, as
demand for Japanese cars, electronics, and
other exports dropped dramatically
around the world.
Meanwhile, homelessness is so com-
mon in Tokyo that it no longer draws
stares, even in the swank Ginza district.
Crime, once almost unheard of, has been a
