#voyage #glimpse into the future: #JAPAN #TOKYO !!

a TOKYO panorama - A METROPOLIS WITH A SOUL

Yes, I could definitely imagine actually living there - in TOKYO.

The image popping into my mind now when I try to recall the highlights of my voyage is a Shinto temple I discovered among giants of contemporary architecture, not so far away from Chiyoda, the Emperor's Palace and the Tokyo Central Station… I remember the bright red pillars of the proud gate so clearly… or the numerous and very steep “steps of success” leading to another temple hidden deep inside the southern part of town, somewhere in Shimbashi…

it was a real adventure to walk all the way from our temporary headquarters in historical Asakusa (home to another wonder of the city, the Asakusa Shrine and the vivid neighborhood around it - markets, bakeries restaurants etc.) to the western side of Tokyo, to Shinjuku, one of the most famous nightlife areas. And then to Shibuya and its humongous crossing surrounded by fosforescent night lights… or to Roppongi, with its inviting Ramen or Gyoza restaurants, fast food stands, pet shops, karaoke buildings and kinds of crazy cafés…

Shimbashi belongs to the same category of “lycanthrope” Asian areas: tranquility and discipline, squeaky clean streets (despite unavailability of public trash cans), hectic but incident-free traffic - order and harmony at daytime, pretty much the opposite at night time: loud game saloons topped with people that have just left their offices (we're speaking of ~7pm in the evening), yakitori spots and izakaya bars with extra improvised tables outside, fast food places crammed with partly apathetic folks concentrating on letting off some steam after an 11 hour work day, avenues invaded by teenagers, young people and occasionally tourists, too.

It's not only reaching well-known sights that made my days - more than 70% of the fun is the fantastic way there: one may cross the river Sumida or not; channels with river boats set in motion at night alternate with highways, apartment buildings with Edo or other traditional restaurants on the ground floor. You've got a 7 Eleven or the likes literally everywhere, every 100-200m (except in the CBC, where you find them every 500m), all multifunctional and open 24/7 (because they do provide you with anything you might need and substitute self-service cafés/bistros).

Plus, there are (again!!) multifunctional parks where you least expect it (not only in the proximity of office buildings), most parks being designed for jogging or workout fans -  the Hibiya or the Shiba Park would be an ideal example.

The orderly streets, calm people and pretty well managed traffic contradict the image most have of the world metropolis Tokyo, in reality a human and green concrete jungle. Naturally, traffic on highways/expressways is another story I was not confronted with on this journey - the omnipresent, perfumed and rapid subways were way more alluring after a day's walk than any cab or bus :)

Tokyo looks and actually is welcoming and sheer friendly: inhabitant-friendly, traveler-friendly, a true place to live.

Going south from Asakusa (as we did every day, with the greatest pleasure and enthusiasm), the bridges over the Sumida often offered a spectacular sight of the other side - though nightfall is the best time to drop by for a “viewing”, when the inhabited skyscrapers surrounded by the most beautiful gardens blend into the scenery and create the perfect Far East picture… the bridge I'm referring to is the one connecting the marvellous Tsukuda area (renowned for its seafood restaurants one must have a taste of a Monjayaki at!!) with the area of Shinkawa… in my opinion, a more breathtaking sight than the Tokyo Tower and the Shiba Park, but just as unique as the Rainbow Bridge with the glorious Tokyo panorama or the Yokohama seafront and Chinatown (another mandatory stop in the region!).

The day I came across the Rainbow Bridge was an adventure in itself. Initially, the quest had quite a different purpose: reaching the Japanese version of the Statue of Liberty that (according to my map), was in Odaiba, in the “insular” area of Tokyo. That meant km of modern boulevards, turning right, left, stumbling across all kinds of surprises - such as the biggest Buddhist Temple of the metropolis, Tsukiji Honganji, and the crowded Tsukiji fish market (that reminded me awfully well of the one in Seoul).

But that wasn't even the half of the way: we continued walking, breathing in the sea breeze and feasting our eyes on the views bestowed by the Kachidoki Bridge (and not only)… As we went ahead, the road became narrower, the pedestrians slowly disappeared (needless to say, there were no tourists in sight). Industrial landscape, polite guards watching over the construction sites, the wide road in front of us - the view was not that promising… however, we were about to be rewarded for our “Olympic” effort - finally a different sight on the horizon: the entangled multiple leveled highways on the one side, while on the other... the entire city and a sweet reminder of the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset - priceless!!

And that wasn't even 40% of what was still to come… 30 minutes and several bridges later we finally approached Odaiba, glanced upon the local (considerable smaller) Statue of Liberty and could lay our eyes on the mighty bay, the Tokyo skyline and the Rainbow Bridge glittering in the violet sunset... colored by floating tiny river boats shining their red lights… UNFORGETTABLE - that was the sight I had come to Tokyo for!… and I couldn't have let it go that easily - walking in the sand, turning towards the small park on the Eastern side, I followed my trusted cartographic assistant; and what do you know?! There was indeed a walking path back to the city - the Rainbow Bridge itself, “furnished” with a narrow cycling/pedestrian lane placed right under the loud highway… a divine gift for sports and beauty lovers - of course it turned out to be a walk to remember!...

Arriving to the port, the scenery seemed surreal - had we actually walked on water at that blessed time of the day, when the sun sank into the ocean and that monster-size urban conglomerate quickly lit up? Affirmative!

YES, I can definitely imagine living in TOKYO.