Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

I wish I was from Tokyo.

I say this not just because it would mean that I’d get to have perfect silky black hair, or long skinny cellulite free legs. And not because it would mean I would have high cheekbones and lovely skin but because it would mean I’m from an efficient, clean, friendly, intelligent, bright city. A city where there is more hustle and bustle and people then I thought possible and simultaneously more calm, quiet, tranquil green spaces and parks. I had high expectations for Tokyo. I had expectations on what it would look like, what the people would be like, how efficient and clean it would be – and it surpassed all of them.

12 million people live in Tokyo and it was hands down the cleanest place I’ve ever been. There was no litter; there was no visible pollution. The entire city sorts their garbage both in their homes and in the city. And maybe it was because I’m coming from one of the dirtiest places I’ve ever been that the cleanliness was so obvious but I don’t think so. I wouldn’t have hesitated to sit down on the floor of the subway or the sidewalk. I think actually it might have been cleaner than my apartment floor.

It was also very quiet. I don’t just mean in the lovely parks, shrines and temples scattered about the city, but on the subway or in a restaurant. Tokyoites seem to be very conscious of the fact that there are a lot of them and make a special effort to allow everyone their own quiet and space. They don’t use their phones on the subway – there are signs posted everywhere asking them not to. If it does happen that their phone rings while they are riding on the subway they talk quietly with their hands over the mouth piece so as not to disturb the person sleeping next to them on their commute.

There are 10 times as many people in Tokyo as there are in Ulsan and I was not bumped into or pushed once while I was there. I did however get stabbed by someone’s umbrella for which they bowed and apologized profusely. People are aware of their space and move around you. They don’t barrel you over trying to get on or off the subway. People queue outside of the train on the left side (they drive on the left side of the road) and wait until everyone has exited on the right side before they walk in and take their seat. No one is running for trains. They just wait for the next one.

The city was friendly and easy to get around. There was English everywhere and maps on about every second corner. We only got lost on the subway once and it’s because we went in the wrong station and bought the wrong kind of ticket. However, when we realized our mistake, we told the agent working the turnstiles and he told us in perfect english that it was not a problem and gave us our money back. If we were sitting on the subway people would move so that Jacob and I could sit together.

In all the ways that Tokyo surprised me, it also lived up to all my preconceived notions. You can buy any electronic device and paraphernalia ever made. I’m sure of it. They have huge (10+ floor) stores filled with nothing but electronics. And it’s cheap. We bought a 16GB SD card for our camera for about $30CDN. We also picked up a 320GB external hard drive for about $60CDN. But it’s not just electronics that you can buy. We went to a market that must have filled about 6 city blocks that sold everything from used clothes to $15,000 pearl necklaces, all in one place.

I really loved the time we spent in Tokyo. I have a new appreciation for the Japanese that flood PEI in the summertime (the guy that worked at the front desk of the hostel had been to PEI). It was a refreshing break – I never thought Tokyo would in anyway remind me of home, but it did. So as Jacob said about 100 million times while we were there: Domo Arigato Tokyo, Domo.

Oh, and for those of you that are looking for the details on what we did, you can check this out. (It’s still being updated so be patient)

As always, pictures are here