Tokyo spotting
This trip takes me around southern Japan for just over two weeks. This is the shortest overseas trip I've ever done. It seems strange to be away for such a short time - like a tease really.
But I'm here and having a great time being overwhelmed by Tokyo. I've forgotten to bring my camera connector with me or I`d upload some photos, but for now you'll have to take my word for it.
Tokyo is all action all the time - New York wishes it was like this.
It's hard to know where to start really, but I just like to wander and look so I'm good.
There's so much to experience here. Japan requires a perception shift in a subtle but very profound way. We obviously get a lot of Japanese elements in the West now, food, techology, anime and so on. But the combined effect of all these elements as a total whole is a profound shift. All the design rules and sensibilities are just enough different to cause a sort of perception vertigo, you feel a little off-kilter all the time. I think this, more than the people, noise, lights and whatever, none of which are unique to Japan anymore, is what causes culture shock to hit westerners so hard here. It's strange cos in so many ways it shouldn7t be a 'hard' travelling city, Bangkok is more crowded and clautrophobic, Cairo is more alien. But Tokyo is just... 'shifted'. A little out of phase, in a way that maybe you can't ever directly understand, like something always in the corner of your eye.
Interesting.... more later.
But I'm here and having a great time being overwhelmed by Tokyo. I've forgotten to bring my camera connector with me or I`d upload some photos, but for now you'll have to take my word for it.
Tokyo is all action all the time - New York wishes it was like this.
It's hard to know where to start really, but I just like to wander and look so I'm good.
There's so much to experience here. Japan requires a perception shift in a subtle but very profound way. We obviously get a lot of Japanese elements in the West now, food, techology, anime and so on. But the combined effect of all these elements as a total whole is a profound shift. All the design rules and sensibilities are just enough different to cause a sort of perception vertigo, you feel a little off-kilter all the time. I think this, more than the people, noise, lights and whatever, none of which are unique to Japan anymore, is what causes culture shock to hit westerners so hard here. It's strange cos in so many ways it shouldn7t be a 'hard' travelling city, Bangkok is more crowded and clautrophobic, Cairo is more alien. But Tokyo is just... 'shifted'. A little out of phase, in a way that maybe you can't ever directly understand, like something always in the corner of your eye.
Interesting.... more later.
posted by becsh at 12:03 pm
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