Tokyo, Osaka, Niigata
Clean and tidy.
However, it is true that Japan is not clean everywhere. This is a revision of the stereotype I had earlier. It's extremely difficult to keep a crowded and crowded place clean in any city. Once you get into the countryside of Niigata, it's really "spotless".
It is not totally true that your experience in Japan will be better after learning Japanese. You can easily feel the unfriendliness of Tokyo shopkeepers towards foreigners; but on the other hand you can also hear the kindness and warmth of Niigata people towards their guests. I think the small and medium-sized cities in Japan might be the ideal place to live; the rush, anxiety, and excess consumerism of the big cities know no boundaries.
August, 2023
About to depart.
Akihabara, Tokyo & Shinsaibashi, Osaka. These two pictures are perhaps the stereotypical image that many people have of Japan's big cities: crowded skyscrapers, huge signs, and endless consumerism.
Asakusa Temple. Compared to domestic ancient buildings, Japanese buildings use more white as the main color.
Compared to the SKYTREE, the old Tokyo Television Tower looks a bit insignificant nowadays. The whole building is much shorter than expected, and even less noticeable than some of the newer buildings in the neighborhood. But there is no doubt that it is still a symbol of Tokyo.
Even though Japan is known for its tidiness, you can still see bottles and cans scattered and men lying outside the Akihabara subway station. They may have just missed the last subway.
Tokyo's sky is laced with the blue color of the sea breeze. The city's overall cleanliness is emphasized by the large number of white buildings, bridges, steel frames.
The TOKYO SKYTREE is a place I think one must visit in Tokyo. It can be seen in many places in the city.
You can see all of Tokyo from the Skytree. This photo is special because it captures a helicopter.
The SKYTREE is impressive not only because of its own height, but also because of the Tokyo it overlooks. Tokyo has a density of buildings and construction that even Beijing, known for its congestion, has not achieved.
Tradition and modern. I had an overwhelming desire to see the RX-78 Gundam in Tokyo Odaiba. And now the RX-78 has been replaced by Unicorn Gundam.
Niigata, and the economically weak Tohoku region it represents, is my favorite place in Japan. The cars here are as slow as the pace of life. The vast fields and far oversized parking lots hardly remind you that Japan is an island with many people and little lands. Most of the young people here, like those in Northeast China, have already left to work in the big cities.
What struck me most during the whole trip to was various tombstone manufacturers in Niigata. I'm afraid this is one of the hottest business in a place that is seriously aging, which is so similar to my hometown.
