Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo is by far the biggest, and cleanliest city I have ever been to. The city isn’t so much tall and looming like New York City, but it sprawls as far as the eye can see. I was lucky enough to be staying at a hotel that had 40 floors, so I could appreciate the large scale of the city.

I mentioned that Tokyo is an extremely clean city, and I am not kidding. You will be hard pressed to find litter on the ground while you are in Tokyo. Most Asian cities have this sigma that they are all smoggy, polluted, and dirty cities, but Tokyo is the complete opposite. It is spotless, and makes which ever city you are from, look like a pig pen! While, maybe not, but I was shocked at how clean it was. You can not actually smoke outside, there are designated areas for smoking outside. The downfall to this is that you can smoke inside, almost anywhere.

Tokyo is an incredible city. It’s bustling almost all the time, it does sleep, but goes to bed very late. The nightlife is comparable to any North American city. There are certian districts where clubs, bars, and lounges are active throughout the night. I found some great spots in Roppongi, Shibuya, and Shinjuku. The streets are lit up like it’s daytime, and they are crowded with people until the wee hours of the morning.

Food can be expensive, but also well worth the cost. There are some really amazing place to experience not only Japanese cuisine, but Asian food from all over the continent. I had the chance to stop at many different restaurants, in many different disctrics, so I’m assuming that no matter where you are in the city, you will be able to find a delicous meal. I did have one fun experience trying to get myself dinner. I would go to this ally across from my hotel in Akasaka. The ally was full of different places to eat. Mostly I would just walk into a restaurant, sit down and point. So, on this night I walked in, but before I sat down one of the cooks was guiding me back outside. He wasn’t kicking me out, but rather was showing me a vending machine that was completely in Japanese characters. Luckily for me, there was a man that spoke English and Japanese standing at the vending machine. What you would do at this particular place was pick your choice off the vending maching, insert your Yen, and press your button. A little receipt would print, you take that into the cook, and they cook your meal. I ended up getting a chicken and rice curry dish, it was really good, and inexpensive.

Tokyo is known as the vending machine capitol of the world, and for good reason. There are vending machines everywhere. You can get anything out of a vending machine, and if you spend enough time there, you will end up using one…you don’t really have a choice.

Getting around in Tokyo is really easy. The subway system is daunting at first, but once you start using it, you’re hooked. The routes are easy to follow, tickets are easy to buy, and it’s very efficient. Plus, if you are lucky enough to ride the subway during rush hour, you might get the chance to be squished into the train by a man with white gloves. That’s an experience that everyone has to have once.

I loved my trip to Tokyo, but I think my favourite part might have been the heated toilet seat in my hotel room! What a luxury. Okay, so it wasn’t my most favourite part, but it was pretty awesome.

Tokyo is a great place. It’s clean, efficient, scenic, peaceful, bustling, there is great food, and beautiful palaces to see. The one downfall is that it is expensive. There is no getting around it, if you’re traveling to Tokyo, be prepared to spend some money.

If big cities are your thing, Tokyo is a must.