I have been living in Tokyo for a little over two months now, and I am finally starting to piece together this massive city. For those that don’t know, Tokyo is considered to be the largest metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 38 million people. For some reference, the largest city in America is New York City at 8.6 million. That’s 30 million more people (isn’t math fun). Despite the massive concentration of people, Tokyo has been one of the cleanest most efficient cities I have ever been to. The train system here is unlike anything I have ever experienced. The trains go literally anywhere. And I’m not talking just in Tokyo, I’m talking in the entire country. The train system seems like a complicated spider web of a mess, but its truly quite impressive. With the help of Google Maps, anyone Japanese or foreigner can navigate the train system with ease and precision. Just type in where you want to go, and Google Maps will show you which trains to take, what platforms they are on, what times they arrive, and how much it will cost. Its super easy. The hard part is figuring out where to go! I am honestly overwhelmed. There is so much to do here I feel like I’m always missing out! Don’t worry though, I’ll do my best to see as much of this vibrant city as I can.
I was surprised to find out that Tokyo doesn’t really have a distinct skyline. Sure, there are some famous tall structures like the Tokyo Sky Tree, but over all the city is just a massive expanse of urban area stretching as far as the eye can see. I was very curious to see what the city looked like so one of the first things I did here was go to the free observation deck at the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building to get a better look. This is what I saw.
So yeah, basically a sprawling urban landscape as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, it was hot and hazy so the view wasn’t as good as I had hoped. Apparently on a clear day you can see Mt Fuji from up there! Honestly, I was not very impressed by the view, but once I got into the city and began to explore I realized what an exciting place this really is.
Tokyo is basically a city made up of smaller cities, or prefectures as they are called. Each prefecture has its own identity and many of them are known for certain things. Some of the more popular ones are Shibuya, Roppongi, Harajuku, and Akihabara. Shibuya has the worlds busiest road crossing and is famous for go carting through the streets in costumes! Roppongi is known for its nightlife and has some of the most popular clubs in Tokyo. Harajuku is a good shopping district where there are lots of strange things to buy. Finally, Akihabara is the tech and anime district where there are buildings filled with figurines, trading cards and many other collectibles. Each prefecture has its own flavor and they all come together to make Tokyo a truly unique and diverse place to live.
One of my favorite parts about Tokyo is the food! Tokyo is home to more Michelin 5 star restaurants than any other city in the world! I haven’t explored any of the high end places yet, but the normal Japanese food has easily kept me occupied. The main dishes I prefer are ramen, gyoza (dumplings), sushi, and okonomiyaki (a savory pancake with meat). Here are some pictures!!!
The best way to eat your ramen is to loudly slurp the noodles as it is considered a compliment to the chef! Some of the restaurants have vending machines where you put your cash into it and they spit out tickets that you give to the chef to cook your food. Translation can be hard sometimes, but between using your phone, and looking at pictures you can figure it out. Tipping is not a thing in Japan, and if you try to leave a tip behind they will not accept it and will promptly give you your money back. Tipping is actually considered an insult here. Additionally, cash in king in Japan. Sure some places will accept credit cards, but cash is by far the preferred method of payment. As of right now the Japanese Yen is around 110 yen per US dollar. This makes an average meal cost around 1000-1500 yen which is kind of a strange thing to get used to.
Speaking of strange things to get used to, driving on the left side of the road is definitely different to say the least. It honestly was a pretty easy transition for me, the hard part is just getting used to the way people drive here. For example it is perfectly acceptable for anyone, at anytime, to put on their flashers and pull over to the side of the road to park their car. The roads are very narrow here in Tokyo and when people start parking on the side of the road in random places it can get very congested very fast. Additionally, there are always hundreds of people out walking and riding bikes. These people have absolutely no fear, they will walk out in front of you, cut you off, and just expect you not to hit them. Basically what all of this comes down to is always be on your toes when you drive because the roads are always full of surprises.
Finally, I have gotten to do some awesome flying around Japan and the pacific region so far. I’m gonna save specific details for future posts but I would like to show you guys some awesome pictures I have taken so far from the cockpit. Thanks for reading more posts to come soon!
FlyBoy Adventures 