Tokyo.

kneemos

An incredible 38 million souls.
Tokyo Bay
Japan
https://maps.app.goo.gl/JriJWkU3RV19h9wz8

Packed into what mostly looks like this rabbit warren of streets.

Itabashi City, Tokyo
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WeuyPPVWGX9nVARi7

No doubt the apartments are glorified wardrobes. No front or even back garden,very little in the way of parks or playing fields either.

A human anthill.

Plumbthedepths

Grand bunch of lads though, just like their other Asian buddies.

Ninthlife

Dont forget to throw in Godzilla

Sharp MZ700

Safest city I've ever been in.

McMurphy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJUTBOMsAcE

Omackeral

kneemos wrote: »

An incredible 38 million souls.
Tokyo Bay

Packed into what mostly looks like this rabbit warren of streets.

A human anthill.

Also an anagram of Kyoto, the old capital city. The more you know.

Bobblehats

WWWWW

Was wonderin’ why wibbs wasn’t too keen on those girls.

Richard Hillman

My favourite place in the world.

It's very well organised and people are respectful of personal space both physically and in terms of noise. Remarkably clean too. If you're walking down a busy street, people will keep to the left hand side of the path, like on the roads. It works well because the people make it work.

Hong Kong is very similar too. Extremely dense (Second most dense to Dhaka) but so well organised that you'll never feel overawed.

henryporter

They even have an area named after a motorbike!

ShauntaMetzel

I love the Toyko because of their hard working people. They don't engage in others' stuff. Secondly, I love the cherry blossom trees of Toyko. The third and last love of Toyko are their anime and manga.

cml387

I suppose that knowing that you're living in an active earthquake zone would add a certain frisson,especially if you live on the 34th floor.

Bobblehats

Room shared with son of a japanese minister at my uncles in cricklewood once the chap had only brung a stack of razzles with him so he didn’t get homesick! Offloaded them to me upon leaving, nice gesture

wakka12

The space is limited and they dont have big gardens but they have ways around with good architectural design.Look at streetview, every residential building is built to fit individual needs and react to specific site context and make most use of space. Courtyards are small but impactful and space is well considered to be efficient despite limited size as well.

Mean while every irish house is an exact replica semi d repeated over and over. Sitting in an ocean of wasted space, massive unused garden, wide lifeless roads, huge ugly driveways, I much prefer live in a well designed micro house in tokyo with plenty of street life and amenities right outside my door than the soul sucking depressing existence of endless sprawling irish suburbia

I heard an interesting quote once that the only thing worse than too little space is too much and I think that really applies here in the context of japanese micro housing vs irish mcmansions

NickNickleby

My son lived there for 8 years, he speaks reads and writes the lingo fluently.

I saw his apartments, and one of them might possibly have fitted into my living room. It was specifically designed and built to house singletons. But it was in a beautiful area of Tokyo, called Oji. It has beautiful parks and riverside walks.

He brought me to a street in Oji, not too disimilar to the one in your photo, and there was a small plaque - easily passed by without being noticed. It marked one edge of land that was the domain of William Adams - the Englishman marooned in Japan who became a samurai. His life story is worth a read. Or you can watch Richard Chamberlain in Shogun, which I believe was loosely based on Adams' life.

Anyway, despite what you might think, the locals don't go nuts because of the close quartered living conditions. I think that is why they have developed the strange to us behaviour of being in their own little bubble while out and about. But when you do interact with them, they (in my experience*) were all very helpful and polite. My son says I view them through rose tinted glasses.

Even though he's now home, I might still try to engineer another holiday there. Even with my fairly good local knowledge (ie, where the cheap hotels are!) its still a very expensive trip. But unforgettable. I am of course not confining that to Tokyo, which has its own fascinating places to visit, I have also crammed in Hiroshima, Yokohama,Kyoto, Osaka, Morioka (where? you ask :D) and Tokyo into a 2 week visit. Nearly killed me. Didn't help the bank balance either. But enough of the bragging!! (no, honestly, I just like remembering it).

0lddog

kneemos wrote: »

An incredible 38 million souls.
Tokyo Bay
Japan
https://maps.app.goo.gl/JriJWkU3RV19h9wz8

Packed into what mostly looks like this rabbit warren of streets.

Itabashi City, Tokyo
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WeuyPPVWGX9nVARi7

No doubt the apartments are glorified wardrobes. No front or even back garden,very little in the way of parks or playing fields either.

A human anthill.

Sounds like you have not been there

Make a virtual trip

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqwxJts-6yF33rupyF_DCsA

and post again


< edit >

Let me spoon feed you a few links :

Q & A Quality of life in Japan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKVtBDbQBEA

Parks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tm8WRniGFY

They furnish their new house https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_uOX3IeD68

riffmongous

MrAbyss wrote: »

The Japanese are basically a tribe. They work for their tribe and not global diversity. This generally results in putting things like oh I dunno...developing world class infrastructure which can manage the 38 million in the Greater Tokyo area instead of say, real social achievements like getting a bi-curious, disabled, trans-fluid Moslem in charge of the police force like normal sane countries do.

They've also got some incredibly ****ed up social issues, and let's not get started on their sexual deviancies

Junkyard Tom

MrAbyss wrote: »

The Japanese are basically a tribe. They work for their tribe and not global diversity. This generally results in putting things like oh I dunno...developing world class infrastructure which can manage the 38 million in the Greater Tokyo area instead of say, real social achievements like getting a bi-curious, disabled, trans-fluid Moslem in charge of the police force like normal sane countries do.

15 posts before the outrage junkies start to ruin things. I recommend you go back to YouTube comments to immerse yourself in the dopey US culture war.

Bobblehats

JT should know here’s been there n all

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82VMBj6E1aQ

Pherekydes

I wanna go!

...to the Olympics!

JohnnyFlash

Was there a few years ago. Mighty spot, if a little overwhelming due to the sheer size of the place. Exceptionally good food as well.

branie2

The setting for my favourite James Bond movie

Realt Dearg Sec

Total cornage

Sharp MZ700

Some lads to drink whiskey those tokyonese?
And not your run of the mill Paddy or Jamieson.

Had the sushimi and the whole wasabi works the first night I was there, blew the hole off me. Remember going to the city gardens, it was pure tranquility. The TV tower at night time was epic.
Crossing part of Tokyo bay walking one of the bridges was about the most familiar feeling to home I had, other than that, every thing was a culture shock. You'd be looking at a shop and not have a clue was it a supermarket, hotel, cinema or whatever. Not one iota of English bar the bigger brand names, and that's what made it for me.

KilOit

Always amazed at how populated Japan is for it's land size and yet have nearly 70% forested

Your Face

I was there years ago and am now an expert on everything Japanese.

wakka12

KilOit wrote: »

Always amazed at how populated Japan is for it's land size and yet have nearly 70% forested

Thats what you get with a culture that doesnt value over sized mcmansions

biko

Possibly my favourite place in the world.
Considering they were nuked not once but twice and still bounced back to become a world leader is truly remarkable.

SixtaWalthers

Though people love Tokyo because of its manga, anime and culture, but I love it because of its people because they care a lot about feeling. I also respect their honest and introvert personality traits. Secondly, I love Tokyo because of cherry blossoms. Before this coronavirus pandemic, we had plans to visit Tokyo in April. But unluckily, we missed it. But I can share some of my favourite Tokyo places here:





Hopefully, next year, we can plan to visit Tokyo in the Spring season. By the way, Tokyo isn't a city but a big prefecture with 26 cities 23 wards and many remote islands, and you can read more from here https://www.jluggage.com/blog/japan/is-tokyo-a-city/. In my opinion, instead of visiting different places in Japan, it is better if you only visit more cities in Tokyo Metropolis state. You can explore more about travel guides from this place https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html.

Other places that must be visited could be Ginza District, The Sensō-Ji Temple and Ueno Park and Zoo. I would also be willing to click photos with my favourite characters in the Ghibli museum, but I heard its still close. I think Tokyo authorities should open it when Disney lands around the globe are beginning with SOPs.

amadangomor

Bobblehats wrote: »

Room shared with son of a japanese minister at my uncles in cricklewood once the chap had only brung a stack of razzles with him so he didn’t get homesick! Offloaded them to me upon leaving, nice gesture

Hope he didn't learn English from you. :pac:

Also sorry if rude again but what are you on about?

king_of_mayo

It'll be half empty in a few decades.

ohnonotgmail

amadangomor wrote: »

Hope he didn't learn English from you. :pac:

Also sorry if rude again but what are you on about?

razzle was a porn mag back in the day. so a stack of razzles was a stack of porn mags.

SixtaWalthers

king_of_mayo wrote: »

It'll be half empty in a few decades.

How? Due to low birth rate or what?

ohnonotgmail

SixtaWalthers wrote: »

How? Due to low birth rate or what?

something like that. last year they had 500,000 more deaths than births. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00747/

iamstop

I had a great time there visiting my cousin. I was living in Singapore.
Great selection of funk and soul records for very reasonable prices. This was over 10 years ago now though.
Street vend cold beer, great public transport, safe and clean streets, lots to see and do. Sushi, sake, archtecture, history, clothes, culture etc.
5/5 Would recommend to a friend.

Fantastic city. Been there five times and loved it each time.

First time there, had a tiny apartment. Lesson learned. Spend a bit more, get some locals to help, and there are reasonably large apartments available. Costs a bit but definitely worth it.

Still waters

wakka12 wrote: »

The space is limited and they dont have big gardens but they have ways around with good architectural design.Look at streetview, every residential building is built to fit individual needs and react to specific site context and make most use of space. Courtyards are small but impactful and space is well considered to be efficient despite limited size as well.

Mean while every irish house is an exact replica semi d repeated over and over. Sitting in an ocean of wasted space, massive unused garden, wide lifeless roads, huge ugly driveways, I much prefer live in a well designed micro house in tokyo with plenty of street life and amenities right outside my door than the soul sucking depressing existence of endless sprawling irish suburbia

I heard an interesting quote once that the only thing worse than too little space is too much and I think that really applies here in the context of japanese micro housing vs irish mcmansions

Jesus that self deprecating Ireland is shìte and everywhere else is shangri la gets really fcukin boring after the thousandth time, i dont think I've ever encountered it anywhere else but on boards

Capt'n Midnight

kneemos wrote: »

An incredible 38 million souls..

"I know South Korea better than anybody," he said.

"It's a very tight - do you know how many people are in Seoul? Do you know how big the city of Seoul is? 38 million people. That's bigger than anything we have."
- A complete moron


Seoul.
Elevation. 38 m (125 ft)

I really want to go to Tokyo now.

Have been to Hong Kong and wasn't mad keen on the place (polluted, bad vibes, very Anglicised), so am not sure what to make of the statement that Tokyo is quite similar. I would have assumed (hoped) there are big differences between the two cities.

Spanish Eyes

I have to try and keep an open mind, but I am not sure.

Having been in China (I know it's a different culture), I doubt I would travel all that way to see a few cherry blossom trees that are already on the verge outside my house. lol. Don't get me wrong there is more to it than that. I know.

The older I get the distance matters, and I think we will be looking online for a good while anyway.

ScallionAyter

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

something like that. last year they had 500,000 more deaths than births. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00747/

Since 2011, sales of adult nappies have overtaken sales of baby nappies.

3d4life

Might or might not confirm some of the preformed views that some of y'all seem to have

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqw...yF33rupyF_DCsA

A Tyrant Named Miltiades!

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I really want to go to Tokyo now.

Have been to Hong Kong and wasn't mad keen on the place (polluted, bad vibes, very Anglicised), so am not sure what to make of the statement that Tokyo is quite similar. I would have assumed (hoped) there are big differences between the two cities.

Tokyo and HK have completely different atmospheres. I wouldn't be putting them side by side. Shanghai and HK together, sure, but Tokyo? nope.

HK was fun and has some great restaurants (especially after living on mainland China) but Tokyo is a completely different level. I'm not bothered by pollution, but I felt that Tokyo overall was less polluted (although parts could be) kinda depends on what time of the year you go too.

Go to Tokyo. I'd already traveled extensively through Asia before hitting Tokyo (I was put off by how expensive everyone said it was) and the experience blew away most conceptions I had about Asia (although I must admit I actually prefer Kyoto to Tokyo) [And Japan properly managed and researched can be quite reasonable in cost... especially if you connect with some locals before going]

Spanish Eyes

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

I have to try and keep an open mind, but I am not sure.

Having been in China (I know it's a different culture), I doubt I would travel all that way to see a few cherry blossom trees that are already on the verge outside my house. lol. Don't get me wrong there is more to it than that. I know.

The older I get the distance matters, and I think we will be looking online for a good while anyway.

Well... for me, Tokyo (and Japan) was (ranked kinda in order), food, women , ancient culture, learning archery, the weird fetishes, mountain climbing, exploring Japanese sub culture, etc.. I think the cherry blossoms were pretty far towards the bottom, and I have no interest in anime/manga, although I do enjoy cosplay events.

Tokyo is so much more than China. China tries to pretend that they're connected with their ancient culture but, they're not really. And traditional culture is dying fast there. Japan... is that weird mix of ancient and modern fused just right.

Don't get me wrong. I've loved living in China... And I enjoyed living in S.Korea, but Japan is very.... different. That appeals to some people. I know it does for me.

As for distance, it's a pain. Trust me I know. I travel to/from China to Ireland 3 or 4 times a year... but. It's only a pain for a day, and then you're fine to enjoy whatever you want.

Seamai

Tokyo (and Japan) has been on my bucket list for a long time. Like the previous poster that blend of ancient tradition and almost science fiction like modernity has always fascinated me. It always seemed ridiculously expensive but doing some internet research recently prices seem a lot more reasonable, has the yen lost value? Fingers crossed, maybe I'll get there in the next couple of years.

JupiterKid

Another fan of Tokyo despite having never actually been there yet. Not just the largest metropolis in the planet but the city of the future.

Definitely on my bucket list as Japanese culture has always fascinated me. The fusion of ancient and modern seems amazing.

scilover

I wanted to go to Japan this year for the Olympics....but unfortunately covid 19 happened and all plans have been ruined. I heard they postponed it to next year but I don't think it'll be safe still.

andekwarhola

Tokyo /Japan is one of the few places that I've always wanted to go and have never got round to it.

It's actually nice to have somewhere like that in reserve to think about visiting, perhaps when the kids are older and we have time to do a nice long holiday by ourselves.

branie2

branie2 wrote: »

The setting for my favourite James Bond movie

You only live twice? Best Bond song imo

topper75

biko wrote: »

Possibly my favourite place in the world.
Considering they were nuked not once but twice and still bounced back to become a world leader is truly remarkable.

Perfectly true and noteworthy Biko. I've very much enjoyed meeting the few Japanese that I have met.

But then there is the Rape of Nanking and loads of other Pacific war atrocities.

Will the real Japan please stand up?

Kilboor

JupiterKid wrote: »

Another fan of Tokyo despite having never actually been there yet. Not just the largest metropolis in the planet but the city of the future.

Definitely on my bucket list as Japanese culture has always fascinated me. The fusion of ancient and modern seems amazing.

Debatably Shenzhen or some other Chinese city these days

I really want to go to Japan for a couple of weeks some time. Fly in and out of Tokyo, spend a few nights there, would also like to see Kyoto and Nara, and maybe Kanazawa if time allows. Ideally I'd love to spend months travelling around the whole country but time and financial constraints would not allow for this even at the best of times.