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monsoon

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Wow. Very interesting thread. I'd have to say for any of you wanting to go to Tokyo for the first time, (sorry if somebody already said this...) get yourself one of the bilingual area atlases that will include maps of the different wards as well as detailed maps of the rail systems. Don't be too intimidated; if you get yourself into trouble, chances are you will find an English speaking foreigner or a helpful Japanese that will be able to help out. You're more likely to have issues when you get out of the city and more into the "country".

Another thing too depending on what kind of line you're riding and where you are; learn the symbols on the trains that indicate what kind of train it is; local, semi-express, express, etc., and know which stations they stop at and which ones they bypass.

I have to agree with ORULZ: ride the Yurikamome, and visit Odaiba! It's awesome (IMHO). There is a TON of stuff to do in Tokyo; it's a city I never find boring. I absolutley hate crowds here in the U.S., but for whatever reason, they never bothered me in Japan. I think it's because the Japanese just seem to get along a lot better; I never felt the tension there that I do here, even on jam-packed subways. I'm sure others have very different experiences though..... :lol:

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Please. You're delusional. ;)

Shanghai...Taipei...Hong Kong...Seoul...Dubai and heck, even Frankfurt, gives Tokyo a run for it's money. :D

Amen!

First of all, Tokyo is NOT a city. It is not incorporated as a city. It is a prefecture that is totally urbanized. It has NO central core, no central business district, and is surrounded by other large cities. That is the reason tall buildings are far off in the distance, there is no "core." The only reason it has such a massive urban area is because it has grown together with Kawasaki (pop. 1,000,000+) and Yokohama (pop. 3,000,000+) It would be the equivalent of NYC, Chicago, and Philly growing together into one metro. Still, the USA's megalopolis is far larger.

Second, Americans are still under the illusion of the grandeur and the superiority of the Japanese, even though the Japanese mimic everything about the USA. The USA has more than twice the population of Japan, and growing far faster, while Japan sinks into population decline. I doubt thier great cities will survive unscathed.

Third, NYC has the largest urbanized land are on earth, or it did just a few years ago. It also has the greatest amount of highrise buildings on earth. Both of these are well known facts.

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On the topic of the city with the most highrises. Only if you define a "high-rise" as a structure 35m and above in height is NYC #2 in the world...Only Hong Kong has more.

Even with this conservative definition, Sao Paolo doesn't even have 2/3 the number of high-rises as NYC.

http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/sr/

Furthermore, NYC is the undisputed world capital in terms of number of building structures over 150 m in height. Using this definition (which is probably more accurate for "skyscrapers") NYC is #1 in the world. It beats out Hong Kong, Sao Paolo, Chicago (certainly Tokyo) or whoever else you wish to throw in there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-rise_building

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Wow. Very interesting thread. I'd have to say for any of you wanting to go to Tokyo for the first time, (sorry if somebody already said this...) get yourself one of the bilingual area atlases that will include maps of the different wards as well as detailed maps of the rail systems. Don't be too intimidated; if you get yourself into trouble, chances are you will find an English speaking foreigner or a helpful Japanese that will be able to help out. You're more likely to have issues when you get out of the city and more into the "country".

Another thing too depending on what kind of line you're riding and where you are; learn the symbols on the trains that indicate what kind of train it is; local, semi-express, express, etc., and know which stations they stop at and which ones they bypass.

I have to agree with ORULZ: ride the Yurikamome, and visit Odaiba! It's awesome (IMHO). There is a TON of stuff to do in Tokyo; it's a city I never find boring. I absolutley hate crowds here in the U.S., but for whatever reason, they never bothered me in Japan. I think it's because the Japanese just seem to get along a lot better; I never felt the tension there that I do here, even on jam-packed subways. I'm sure others have very different experiences though..... :lol:

That is because the Japanese culture is way different than ours. They have a quiet resolve instead of an in your face bravado that Americans have. I lived there for just over 4 years and I can remeber riding the train and no spoke or said word for about 10 mins. My daughter asked if the people were ok. I loved Tokyo but there is no place like the USA.

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I found the battle between Tokyo and New York City very humorous at best. The topic being Tokyo, The Planets Only 21st Century City, I have to agree. There are many cities in Asia and the Middle East that are making strong advances to become 21st Century Cities but Tokyo stands alone at this claim.

What is most unique about Tokyo is how the Japanese way of life has never been lost, but is still an integral part of Tokyo's future. You can walk down a street in Tokyo and see a Geisha wearing traditional yukata and obi and talking on a state-of-the-art cell phone. Some people say Tokyo has become Americanized, but I argue the fact that although there are some American influences in Japanese culture, NONE of the traditional Japanese culture has been replaced by or lost to any foreign culture.

Aside from the fact that Tokyo's skyscrapers and bustling districts are among the world's greatest, you can find traditional Japanese architecture in the midst of some of the most modern architecture in the world. You'll find traditional kabuki theaters, shrines, bath houses and Kokyo, or the Imperial Palace, the former site of Edo Castle as well as futuristic architecture such as the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, the NEC Supertower, and the Tokyo Midtown Development, some of the most modern buildings in the world.

Tokyo may not be known as a city with much greenery, but it has several noteworthy parks and gardens, which offer residents and visitors an opportunity to get a break from the concrete. Tokyo parks are also known for their traditional Japanese landscape gardens which are among the most beautiful gardens in the world. Many buildings and current developments in Tokyo have greenspace which softens the concrete and glass structures that make up most of the city.

Some other unique aspects of Tokyo places it light years ahead of the world in terms of 21st Century technology and vision:

[*]Remote-controlled toilets with heated seats and integral wash-basins that save water by refilling the flush tank.

[*]Vending Machines. Unlike typical vending machines Tokyo has numerous vending machines that vend out alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, ice cream, rice, instant cameras, cup noodles, fortunes, batteries, music cd's, chewing gum, hot meals, milk & eggs, newspapers, pornographic magazines, comics, videos, sex toys, rice, tampons, tee shirts, toilet paper and even umbrellas. And that's the short list!

[*]24-Hour Automatic Video Stores (Need I say more?)

[*]Some of the world's most advanced technologies come from Japan and most of the most of Japan's biggest technology companies are based in Tokyo. Tokyo is home to ASIMO, the most advanced humanoid robot in the world and AIBO, the most advanced canine robot in the world.

[*]Mass Transit. Tokyo has one of the most advanced networks of subways, heavy-rail transit, street cars, monorail and high-speed rail. Shinjuku Station in West Tokyo is used by an average of 3.22 million people per day, making it the busiest train station in the world.

[*]Japanese Anime & Manga have influenced Western animated television programs, movies and comic books. Manga caf

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Is Shinjuku Station with 3.22 million passengers really the largest station in the world?

By capacity, yes. It is the busiest station in the world. I don't know if it is the "largest". I think a station in China boasted the single highest daily count recently for the Chinese New Year, but that was for one day.

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From an infrastructure standpoint, Tokyo is unsurpasssed worldwide. No city in the world does such a good job at moving so many people around to so many different destinations so effectively.

On the other hand, nearly all architecture in tokyo, for large and small buildings alike, is at least uninteresting, and much of it is just downright ugly. There is also a lack of truly public, usable, park space. Most open spaces are attached to a temple or a palace or a shrine and can't in all honesty be called a "park."

Much of Tokyo city is clean and safe at just about any hour of the day (not all of it by any stretch, however...) but it is expensive, crowded, and overwhelming, even some people who have lived there their whole lives.

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When I was in Tokyo we stayed at Camp Zama army base, and that was by far the greenest, most lusciuos part of the "city" that we were in.

A bunch of people in our group decided to head out and see Shebuya one evening and got horribly lost in Shinjuku station. We couldn't figure out that you needed to buy not only a "normal" ticket but if you wanted to go express (on the nicer, sit down like an ICE type), you had to buy an extra ticket. We understood that you only needed the express... so what happened, we bought a normal ticket to connect to an express station and then bought an express and got on the train. Then when we tried to exit the station, we couldn't.. so rather than figuring it out, we just wedged our way out.

That was hell trying to figure it out on our way back since we were dead tired with only 3 hours of sleep the night before. Then, on the train, a man has a seizure and whacks his head on the ground.. and all hte people were just sitting there not knowing waht to do, and this Japanese lady is yelling at us in Japanese and pointing at the E-brake lever.. so we pulled it and the train stops and my friend has to make sure the guy is away from anything he could hurt himself on. (he's a trained EMT).. anyway, it was a nightmare. I was so happy when we got Burger King on the base and went straight to bed in an American style hotel.

Other than that, Tokyo was a great city. I loved Japan despite eating some questionable things. Our first time in a Japanese restaurant, the waitresses almost didn't know what to do and they were incredibly friendly, but neither of us could understand each other so we just pointed. The food was great.. but they always seem to find room for some type of ocean animal that you just can't find yourself eating. At least not for someone from the mid-western U.S that grew up on Walleye and Omaha steak.

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Tokyo is the place to be. The people are cordial and gracious. The city is immense and these folks are organized! I have flown the world...Kuwait, Dubai, Frankfurt, Brussels, Rome, Lisbon, Australia, Thailand, and etc and there is nothing like Tokyo and Japan. The outskirts are breath taking like Iwakuni. The trip is worth it! If I had the opportunity to live and work there, I wouldn't think twice.

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The outskirts are breath taking like Iwakuni.
Iwakuni is in Yamaguchi Prefecture - just west of Hiroshima... Japan is very densely populated but I wouldn't go so far as to say Iwakuni is in the outskirts of Tokyo ;)

It is, however, definitely breathtaking.

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BTW, this is the reason why Manhattan trains are on the whole not quite as crowded as those in Shinjuku or Shibuya:

http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?40315

Now tell me WHERE in CENTRAL Tokyo would you have not 1, 2, 3, 4, but THIRTEEN subway transit lines in ONE station? In fact this number of lines exceeds the number of lines in the entire Tokyo subway system (Toei + Tokyo metro subways combined only have 12). Get the picture?

Are you seriously counting the 1/9 and the A/C as four separate lines? Sounds pretty desperate to me. The S? Girl, please.

Shinjuku station is served by 11 lines (soon to be 12) and handles 3.22 million passengers a DAY. To put that into perspective, the entire NYC subway system sees about 4 million riders a day.

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True, But NYC has the most subway stations in the world. Tokyo is more advanced with there bullet train.

are you kidding me?!? "SUBWAY" (as in underground train systems) maybe. But NYC's Subway doesn;t just consist of underground trains. A lot of them in Brooklyn and Queens, et are above ground or at ground-level. Now, compare New York's commuter rail transit system to Tokyo's with these pictures.

NYC rail transit system (excluding the few hardrail lines to NJ/PA, Long Island, and north).

407px-NYC_subway_simplified_map_50pct-optimized.png

Tokyo's comuter rail system (thank's monsoon)

-condensed... you have to strain a little to see the stations whose names aren't shown.

rosen%20tokyo.jpg

And.... haha. Tokyo deffinatly DOES NOT use bullet trains for commuters. Think of traveling on the Shinkansen (bullet train) as taking an airline, that's how it's viewed (and priced) here.

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I heard Tokyo's not on a street grid. That must make getting around the city frustrating

terrible. I live on the outskirts, and it takes me 40 min in no traffic to drive to my girlfriend's house only 19km (of road) away. The speed limit doesn't help either. on a 4-lane city road or national highway, the speed limit is either 50 or 60 km/h (roughly 35 mph). on the Expressways, the speed limit is 80 (55-ish).

Also, Tokyo has the worst drivers I have ever driven with... and I even lived in Seoul for a while. ha. Driving around here deffinatly frustrates me more than anything else. I'm glad that most people use the trains.

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Why are you trying to drive in Tokyo?

first of all, for work. I travel from the Hachioji area to Narita Airport and back every day for work... about 70 miles each way I believe. Second of all, it's cheaper and faster to drive to my girlfriend's house than it would be to take the train.

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Tokyo City = Approximately 8M+

Tokyo Prefecture = ~12M+

Tokyo Metro = ~32M+ (this is an arbitrary definition of about 50km from Tokyo center)

Kanto Region/Kanagawa/Tokyo Bay = ~52-54M (this is the complete Tokyo urban area)

just to clear up the confusion in this forum, there is no such thing as "Tokyo City". It was done-away with in the 40s and replaced with a unique prefectoral government. All of the 23 city wards then became, pretty much, individual cities. Sooo... since then, there has been no official City of Tokyo. "Tokyo" now just refers to Tokyo-to (Tokyo Prefecture).

further information can be found here and here.

While "Tokyo" is the capitol of Japan, the government buildings are spread all throughout the different wards. So technically, the prefecture is the capitol instead of just one city.

Confused? Thank General MacArthur ;)

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