Tokyo Top Five

The Top Five Reasons I would stay in Tokyo forever:

1. Everything is so damn convenient. Want to take the train but you have no cash on you? Use your metro pass. Thirsty? There's a vending machine around the corner. The point is, everyone uses the same system for everything and everything is made to cause you as little stress as possible. Everything is done for you; you just have to insert coins and let the machines worry about whatever problem you face. It makes Montreal look very clumsy.

2. Everything is so clean. I could probably eat food off the subway floor and not get sick. Tokyo is highly hygienic, almost obsessively so. Streets are litter free (even in amazingly crowded areas like Shibuya on a Friday night). Mat and I could probably count on one hand the amount of trash we've seen on the streets so far, in units. While it doesn't seem like much, it definitely makes a city look reliable, safe, healthy. That's always good,

3. The girls are way too pretty. Mat and I have rated that around 95% to 97% of the girls here are too9 hot for words and would be seen as bombshells back in Montreal. Mat's friend Tetsuya says it's not that high and that we're just not used to it, the same way he wasn't used to white women in Quebec. True as it may be, we're getting constant neck sprains from the amount of hot, dolled-up women walking the streets.

4. Everything is so cheap. Okay, that's a bit of a lie. A watermelon will still cost you around 20$ but in a city where a pack of cigarettes costs you 3$ (in vending machines, no less), a bottle of Jameson costs around 15$ and you can have a full meal for around 5$ (main entry, salad and soup), who cares? The fact remains that most of what we've seen, from the subway fare to electronics, to most services, cost less than they do in Montreal.

5. Bars. Insane, crazy, it can't be properly described. While some have pretty high covers, it comes with free drinks, which balances everything out and still makes it pretty cheap. The fact that tipping is not required (and even frowned upon, as it is sometimes perceived as an insult) makes it even better. Now, the music can be annoying. Want it or not, most hits are old North American hits. That's normal, given where we are. Still, the atmosphere is amazing. I've never seen so many hot women (see #3) grind with perfect strangers. The girls dancing on bars are just too hot for words, the drinks are strong and you usually come out thinking that this was the best experience of your life. And the bouncers seem to recognize gaijins pretty easily. We've had to pay cover at one bar only one time and then bar hopped all night; they'd always be smiling and waving us back in when we arrived.

Now, of course, there's a downside to Tokyo.

1. The discrimination. While some will look at you with pride (you've chosen to spend time in THEIR city), most will look at you with disdain. While this is not entirely true in certain parts of the city (Roppongi, Shibuya), it sure feels like it pretty much everywhere else. People will avoid you whenever they can. They won't sit next to you in subways, they'll pass you when they give people free samples in the streets and so on. This can be annoying to some. However, once you realized that Japan was a country closed to most of the world for a long time and with a culture that is so different than other places, you come to understand and make peace with it,

2. People are way too polite. This is true for most stores and services. This level of politeness and availability can seem nice at first but slowly gets on your nerves. Sometimes, I wish the person serving my food would act how he feels and not repress everything. Mat doesn't seem to mind but I do, so I guess that it depends on the person.

3. Japanese people follow protocols for everything; it's like everything they do is a ritual. While it's pleasant to see them being so dedicated most of the time, it can become unnerving. Take for instance a convenience store like 7-11. The clerk will greet you as you come in, in Japanese. When he realizes that you don't speak the language, he still has to go through all of the premade sentences whether you like it or not. It's like, the person could get fired for not saying them so even if you don't understand, he still has to say them. Sometimes you just want to buy beer without going through five thousand steps, you know.

4. I don't understand a word of Japanese. Okay, maybe a couple sentences. This is not a real problem as it would disappear if I learned the language. However, until I do, there are places and things I cannot do because I can't understand what's going on. While most streets and public services also offer English translations, the most "local" parts of Tokyo can't be accessed. For instance, family restaurants. Tourist restaurants often have pictures next to their meals, if they don't offer an English translation. Family-owned restaurants do not. This limits you to tourist traps, which can get pretty boring.

5. Everything is too convenient. I know that it seems pretty silly to state that convenience is a good part of Tokyo and then state that it's a problem. The thing is, everything is so easily available in machines and services that you often don't realize how quickly you're spending money. Just in machine drinks, I must have spent over a hundred dollars in one week. It can ruin you if you don't pay attention. I'm wiser now but still, it's something that can become a problem in the long run.

Well, laundry is over so I've got to go. Until next time,

-Pat