Tokyo, modern metropolis

Tokyo is the largest city on the planet.  It is the city of cities.  There are over 35 million people in Tokyo Metropolis.  This is almost twice the number (20 million) of the next most populous metropolitan areas (Seoul, Mexico City, New York City, Mumbai).  As a resident of Chicago, I feel like I live in a big city.  But when I came to Tokyo, Chicago seemed tiny to me.

In my opinion, Asian cities look a bit different than European cities.  European cities often have had some urban planning done, so the streets flow well and landmarks are easily accessible.  Asian cities don't seem to have this.  Tokyo is no exception.  Tokyo is a sprawling concrete jungle.  You see tall buildings everywhere you look.  The streets are hard to navigate.  There's no "downtown" to look for.  There really aren't any iconic landmarks for Tokyo either (Arc de Triomphe, Tower Bridge, Coliseum, etc.) .  Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to insult Tokyo; I'm just trying to explain that the city is different.

Instead of looking at landmarks, you need to go where the locals go to see Tokyo's beauty.  The photo above is of the Shibuya district.  No, there was no festival going on.  It's just an average weekend afternoon, with thousands of Japanese people flocking to the shops and restaurants.  There is no shortage of places to shop and eat in Tokyo - big or small, cheap or fancy, it's all around you.

Perhaps the most well-known feature of Tokyo is its neon lights.  They are everywhere.  We Americans are proud of the lights in Times Square.  Brits like their Picadilly Circus.  In Tokyo, there's a Times Square equivalent in almost every district.  Every street with shops seems to be lit up by bright neon lights.  Here are some photos from the Ginza (also the top photo in this article), Shinjuku, and Roppongi districts.

The neon lights are even more interesting in the red light areas :)

Tokyo seems to pride itself on the beauty and ingenuity of its modern buildings.  The following two skyscrapers are really nice, and you can go up to their observation decks to admire the view.  The first is the Metropolitan Government Building, the tallest building in Tokyo, in Shinjuku.  The second is the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. 

There are a number of buildings in Tokyo that are well-known for their architectural beauty.  Here are photos of the Tokyo International Forum, located next to Tokyo Station, and the Prada Building in Aoyoma.

Here's a lovely sunset from the top of the Mori Tower.

Related links:

• All articles on my Japan trip 
• Slideshow of Japan trip highlights on Flickr 
• My full blog 

Onwards to Xi'an

Greetings from Xi'an, China!  Xi'an is located in north central China.  It was an ancient capital city (complete with city walls!), the seat of the empire for several dynasties.  It is most well known for being the home of the Terra Cotta Soldiers, considered the eighth wonder of the ancient world.

Sometimes it is hard to appreciate the fact that China has over one billion people.  When we were planning our trip, we considered going to Xi'an first.  But then we thought it would be a good idea to go to a big city first, before going to a small one.  Well - big and small are relative in China.  Beijing is huge indeed, with over 10 million people.  Xi'an is smaller - but it still has a whopping 3.5 million people!  I don't think there are 10 US cities (including their suburbs) that would be any bigger.


As I wrote earlier, Beijing was not what I expected to see.  So modern, so clean, so orderly - so dull.  I think the combination of Party HQ and the Olympics has made Beijing boring (or perhaps it has always been boring).  Xi'an, on the other hand, was exactly what I expected.  Xi'an is full of life.  Right outside my hotel room, you can see a busy intersection.  There are small vendors selling things like squid on a skewer.  There are clothing stores, cell phone stores, and restaurants.  When you walk around downtown, you don't really feel like a tourist.  You're just another person in a crowd. 

It's really nice to see so many people walking around all the time.  In the States, it seems that everyone cloisters themselves at home.  Once in a while, they may go shopping or out to eat, but they go right back home afterwards.  It seems that people spend more of their time outside in Xi'an.  You see lots of people just taking a stroll, hanging out on a park bench, grabbing a snack from a street vendor.  Perhaps it's due to tighter living quarters.  Or perhaps it's just culture.

Traffic is pretty amusing here (it's like this in Vietnam too).  The streets are full of cars, buses, mopeds, bikes, and pedestrians.  It seems like the rule of the road is "just do it."  People will turn left with oncoming traffic.  They don't stick to driving lanes.  While we were waiting for a train to cross yesterday, the drivers (including ours) queued up on the wrong side of the road so they could cut in front of everyone ahead of them.  As a pedestrian, it's a similar deal.  To cross the road, you just start walking at a steady pace.  Cars will avoid you.  You just shouldn't make sudden moves or hesitate.  And if you wait for traffic to clear, you may have to wait forever.

Photos available online here.

Last day in Beijing

Today is our last day in Beijing.  We've been here just for three days so far, but it seems like a whirlwind of stuff to see!  It was great seeing all the tourist things like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.  But it was also great to check out local stuff like all the markets and restaurants.

I have to admit that I was a bit surprised about Beijing as a city.  Although I knew it was a huge city of over 10 million people, I didn't think it was as modern of a city as it really is.  It's full of large buildings - skyscrapers, office complexes, and high-rise apartments.  The streets are arranged in a grid pattern, with "Ring Roads" running as beltways around the city.  Aside from the smog, the city is very orderly and clean.  When I told one of my friends about this, she was shocked; everyone else seems to think it's a dirty city.  Perhaps they are trying to change their image for the Olympics. (check out the new Olympic stadium).   I didn't even see as much public spitting as I thought I would see (though it still happens).  One advantage about being a communist state is that you can choose to build anything or to clean anything up, and the people will comply...

Taxis are really cheap in Beijing.  You can go all over for just a few bucks.  This is amazing, considering the exorbitant fares I pay in Chicago.  One downside, however, is that traffic can be pretty bad (well, I guess it's bad in all big cities).  What's even worse is that the taxi drivers don't speak English.  Public service people speak English, so do market vendors, so do the local farmers who hang out with you at the Great Wall.  But not the taxi drivers.  You have to hand them printed names of where to go (or get the hotel concierge guys to talk to them).  We thought we were fine, but then apparently lots of taxi drivers either can't read or have such poor eyesight that they couldn't read our pieces of paper.  We've had to get out of at least five taxis because of this.  What a nightmare!

I'm proud of my non-Asian travel companions Mo and Ryan.  Not only did they eat funky foods, they were able to haggle successfully at the Chinese markets.  If you can haggle in China, you should be set for life!

Yesterday we went to the Great Wall.  What an amazing place!  The Great Wall is actually multiple walls, constructed at different times by different dynasties, and located in different places.  Most people go to the wall at Balaling, where it is fully restored and is very tourist friendly.  We were sick of the crowds and wanted a more natural view.  So we did a 10km (6mi) hike between the Great Walls at Simatai and Jinshangling.  It wasn't a long hike, but man was it tiring!  Up and down, up and down, along the countours of mountains.  It was the most strenuous hike I have ever done.  It was well worth it though.  The scenery was spectacular!

Now it's time to close out our visit to Beijing.  Tonight we fly to Xi'an and visit the Terracotta Army.

Photos available online here.