Have you ever been there? It is one of the places interesting to visit, but I would not live there for anything. Mass of humanity, tiny houses, noise. Crazy road layout. Total mess! A lot worse than NY!
And, due to US bombardment in WWII, there are not even any historical places there to see. Kyoto is a lot more interesting place to visit in Japan!
I went to high school in Yokohama and have been back to the Tokyo metropolitan area a number of times since, and there are enough sights to see there, though Kyoto is much more traditional. Having said all that, I'm the provincial type myself, if I were to move back to Japan today I would rather live in the Japanese equivalent of flyover country, like Matsue where Lafcadio Hearn lived, or Kanazawa where Takayama Ukon lived, or Miyazu near Amanohashi-date.
>Kyoto is a lot more interesting place to visit in Japan!
I lived in Arashiyama for years. My father in law lived across Marutamachi street from the Imperial Palace.
“Mass of humanity, tiny houses, noise. Crazy road layout”
The picture in the article supports that. Aren’t Japanese cities also kept clean? I’ve never been to Japan.
I’ve lived in Tokyo for the last 34 years, and from my point of view, everything you wrote there is either wrong or misleading.
Tokyo, to me, is the greatest city on earth. Clean, modern, safe, and very friendly. Oh, there are some places in this huge city that would match what you wrote, but by no means all, and where I live in the west part of the city outside the central loop, it’s amazingly quiet.
I can leave my bicycle and door unlocked, kids can take the trains to school unaccompanied and unafraid, from where I am sitting right now, there are five convenience stores, three supermarkets, two hospitals, two train stations, three churches, three health clubs, and a nice variety of restaurants — all within a 15 minute walk.
Historical stuff? You mean like the Imperial Palace, the Budokan, Yasukuni Shrine, more temples than I can name, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Sky Tree, etc., etc., etc.
To each his own. This is my adopted hometown. I don’t think I’ll ever leave.
Kyodo is boooooring!!! Give me the Big Mikan any day!