There are little spots of green here, there and everywhere (thankfully), but it feels pretty weird to have buildings (not even houses), everywhere.
The town itself feels like it is trying to outdo itself to be like the fantasy it wished to become in the late 80s. To put it more simply, our part of the city feels “fake”, but I am pretty sure it may be the dream attraction park for animefans - or Blade Runner ones, when it is dark and there is a typhoon around.
The good side of all that crazyness is that it is incredibly convenient.
The noise at our place isn’t bad - even good, considering we only get the common city background noise - no drunkards (yay!), no nearby cars. Our previous place was the calmest place I ever had the pleasure to live in in Japan, so I am being harsh. The relative calm, the easy access for my wife’s commute, the lack of facing neighbours, and the wide open skyview where what motivated us to pick it. Me, it was the tatami room, because I am a weebo.
The most striking difference is the sky. Just like Paris’, it isn’t really blue.
A bunch of “social” surprises struck me about the local society. It feels like we were really living in a different country in the west of the country.
You tell me! Some dude on Steam last year was telling me it is a term to designate non-Jap guys whose dream is to become Japanese or something. Brr!
As for the silly differences:
So many people.
You get on escalators on the left side if you don’t intend to climb it hastily. It is on the right side in the Kansai. A small diff, but one I just can’t get my head around now.
On the same note, you get in bus from the front door, and pay upfront. In the West, you got in from the back door, and paid when exiting.
Trivial stuff that doesn’t concern people using one of those spying boarding pass, but it seems you aren’t supposed to buy your tickets 2-ways: you need to buy each of them from the station you are boarding. Silly difference, but a very disconcerting one.
On the more grave side, the rumours I had heard that Tokyo had become a hub of prostitution seem very true. There were a load in the West, but it felt limited to certain areas. Here it’s still “hidden”, but it feels like it is everywhere, and it’s astounding.
Tons of foreigners (well, I’d say about 5%. But that feels huge, here). Especially attending restaurants. I was very surprised.
Speaking of which, restaurants are much more expensive. The average lunch menu was 750¥ in the West, I’d say it’s around 1050¥ here.
In my short time here, people have felt even more avoiding than in the western part of the country.
No chitchat at the counter in shops. That’s the old man in me: I love to talk about the weather. Seems it is heavily prohibited in Tokyo. Or my Japanese isn’t up to the capital’s standard.
Speaking of which, we were frankly very surprised by the major store’s clerks, who in their majority are also avoiding; maybe because they seem to have zero clue about what they are selling. I guess they all took the “Smartphone” specialization at school, and now they get randomly assigned to other domains they have no interest in providing counsel for? We have spent most of my days in stores to buy furnitures the past 3 days, and the differences with the Kansai’s exact same shops have been jarring. My advice, after this exhausting experience: to get proper guidance for anything home-related, look and hunt for the elderly store people. The few clerks who have provided us with, bless them, very good advices were well over 60.
The guys on bicycles in this town have a death wish. Good for them. I just ask them to not get me or my wife involved. Assholes.
Climate feels so mild, almost temperate. Even the jump of 15 degrees in the typhoon’s aftermath today felt merely warmy, compared to the insufferable daily heat of the Kansai.
Still tons of insects, whee!
Very few birds though, boo!
Overall, it feels like a new country.
Most of this will probably come as “doh” to people familiar with the area. Anyway, end of rant!
I’m a country guy myself so I can definitely relate to your experiences with city life! That said, I’d rather not hear about the weather any more. In Britain, most folk just moan about it! ;-)
To be honest, that sounds amazing to me. Since I was a teenager, I’ve always wanted to live in a large city with that Blade Runner neon/video/electronic feel, and Asia seems to have the lion’s share of cities that meet that description. I would be totally happy coming down out of my cramped little apartment to have a rice bowl dinner at some street vendor’s shop while the neon illuminated the rain-soaked streetscape all around me and people hustled by, shielded by their umbrellas and intent on their own secret agendas.
Sadly my life could not be more the opposite. Married with kids, I live in a four bedroom house in the suburbs of a mid-sized and totally non-descript Midwestern city. Not a giant video screen or a neon light in sight. Teenage me would be so disappointed in middle-aged me.
Sounds like you and your wife lucked out with the location though, at least in terms of commute and easy access to everyday needs. Kinda stinks about the lack of green space that you’d become accustomed to, but maybe if her work schedule permits you guys can take frequent trips outside of town to more nature-friendly locations? Do you work out of your home? Are your schedules compatible with frequent excursions to explore your new surroundings? Could be fun…
Well, to cheer you up, Teenage You would romanticize about this for a short period, and then would probably notice he is one of the bees with a secret agendas who doesn’t have time to ponder or consider his position ;)
Thanks to the directions provided in the thread, we know where to head when we will have time. We are about two hours away from the proper countryside, be it northward or westward, so it will involve leaving up early, which is something we are accustomed to.
I have a couple of weeks to set myself up and go to the nearby Parasite museum, and maybe that huge park that seem to be about 15 minutes away, so I will report back!
It’s a cute, flat (you get to watch the head shadows from the rank in front of you, like in MST3K!) little theater with a hundred seats. The owner is walking you in. You can make him suggestions for future projections too.
The screen is well attended and the sound is great stereo.
No commercials, of course, which is a tremenduous plus and time save, as the movies start properly right on time. In another feat of respect for people coming, you can bring in your own drinks and food - provided they don’t make too much noise.
So far, I have seen the Right Stuff (that was terrific) and Blade Runner Final Cut (not fond of this version at all, for some reason - did I remember the Director’s Cut wrong, or are they that different?). I am going to Dunkirk this week, and La La Land in two or three weeks.
I am going to suggest Saraba Uchusenkan Yamato for a future retro-week: fingers crossed!
I love this theater: it reminds me of the small one I was attending in the early morning when I was a teen. The surprise, each week, of looking at the posters of what is coming up is also part of the enjoyment.
Just wanted to say I hope you are enjoying your new life! Feel free to update us all about your thoughts and experiences. I spent a couple months in Tokyo and it was quite a change from my previous existence :)
Agreed; I really love reading this thread. Like @SlainteMhath, my dream is to live in a bustling urban area (again, in my case–I spent 4 years living near downtown Boston in college and loved it), so getting to hear about your Tokyo experiences is really interesting to me. I was a big of a Japanophille in my youth–less so now, though I still love the cuisine–so a place like Tokyo would be as much on my list as NYC or Boston (or Stockholm or Seoul, to round out my top 5).
I would probably not be a good counsel for anecdotal reports on Japanese urban life, given my genuine aversion for it! I’ll try to not give in to the usual negativity in here.
The grand @marquac, from his cryosleep, suggested this may entertain enlightened individuals, such as @ChristienMurawski, so here is a reproduction of the custom-made pamphlet of my theater, as it was handed at my latest projection:
It is quite a cute effort. They make one for each of their programmation. My wife sadly threw away the Blade Runner/Gone with the wind/Rage of the Dragon/The Right Stuff/Moonwalker one.
