東京都
I knew Japan was going to be unique and probably the most different to anywhere else I’d ever been before… but take a different country, different continent, different ethnicity, different culture, different language, different alphabet, different gastronomy, different toilets, different fashion, left-hand traffic… it’s been feeling like my senses aren’t working properly because they’ve been consistently failing to deliver familiar, recognizable inputs. All of them are being challenged every step I take: sight, smell, hearing… even touch (as proved by my experience at teamLab).
I was lucky enough to visit Sensōji just during the very weekend of the Sanja Matsuri (according to Wikipedia, one of the largest Shinto festivals in Tokyo), including enjoying authentic street ramen and drawing good luck at the ancient Sensoji Temple (including something about having difficulties making plans?).
Next stop was Akihabara. I don’t think there is a place on planet Earth with a higher concentration of… STUFF. Are there enough customers in THE WORLD for such a mind-blowing variety of products? All those stories, mangas, animes, characters of all shapes and sizes (except for the more predictable and recurrent patterns regarding the female anatomy).
Finally standing at Shibuya Crossing at nighttime reminded me of doing so in Time’s Square: the intense artificial lights, the loud sounds, the dimensions of every single construction around, the immense amount of people (apparently up to two million people cross every single day. It made me think of the 3 yearly million Blue Bridge bike crossings in Freiburg with endearment). Only, strangely enough, I felt… much safer than in NYC. A culture of honor with deep rooted values of mutual respect and consideration is somehow still palpable in the largest of crowds. Not one time did I think about my wallet in the front pocket of my backpack, or my Sony Alpha mirrorless dangling loosely from my right shoulder.
Hopping on a train and traveling for four hours to the ancient town of Takayama was just what I needed to let my brain calm down a bit. I still can’t believe some of the carp swimming in the pond in front of me as I’m typing this cost up to 10.000 USD and live up to 200 years, though. That’s making my neurons go crazy in a different way. Bet not even in Akihabara can you find that kind of quality telomers.
