the eastern capital

I realized recently that I haven’t spoken much about Tokyo itself. It is still consistently inconceivable to me the exact scale of the place, and our proximity to it. The fact that I can walk down the road and take a 45 minute train ride into the largest urban conglomeration in the world is a baffling and exciting concept to me. 35 million people. 35 million. That’s more than 6 new yorks. Insane. The number is literally inconceivable but you get a sense of it when you’re squirming around on the Yamanote subway line, clawing desperately for a square inch of space to hold on to and hoping for all the world that the stars align and that 95% of the passengers decide to get off at the next stop.

Yes, Tokyo is crowded, but the city evens this flaw out by being absolutely massive on a ridiculous scale. The subway map alone reminds me of something out of a H.P. Lovecraft story; a terrifyingly complicated diagram that, to many, induces fear and panic merely by the sight of it. Tokyo, in fact, has grown so large that the Japanese have started growing more Tokyo; Odaiba, a fantastic neighborhood home to high-tech shopping centers, very un-Japanese wide open spaces, and an incredible Toyota museum (complete with arcade and Ferris wheel), has been built on reclaimed land, much as dirt from Norwell was once poured into Boston harbor in order to expand the surface area of my beloved home city.

One of my favorite places in the city is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in Shinjuku. Shinjuku is Tokyo’s equivalent to Manhattan or Boston’s Financial District – home to the majority of its skyscrapers. And tallest among them is the Met, rising high above Tokyo city hall, this dual-spired skyscraper absolutely towers above the city. Best of all, each of the two highest towers of the building are home to an absolutely free observatory with a view that puts to shame anything that Boston or New York has to offer. From it, you can see all the way south to Yokohama, and all the way west to Mt. Fuji. In between, you can see the residences of nearly a quarter of the nation’s entire population. The view is literally staggering; I often have to hold onto a railing just to keep my balance and perhaps sanity.

I am always fascinated and humbled by the scope and grandeur of this place, but often I am saddened as well. I know that no matter how long I stay or how hard I try that it is literally impossible for me to see and experience everything this country and city have to offer. I suppose that’s okay though. I wouldn’t want to live in a place where the whole thing could be done in an afternoon. You get a sense of life and vibrancy from Tokyo and Japan that is unrivaled anywhere else, and you can do little to prevent these feelings of joie de vivre from permeating through yourself as well. I wouldn’t have it any other way