Tokyo, like any capital of a country with a powerful economy (and Japanese economy regularly makes it into the top 3 (of top-4), outperforming Germany and any other EU country), is a city of millionaires and billionaires.
This creates a severe dissonance, but wealthy Japanese are NOT voting with their yen for Japanese cars!
It's surprising to see such a number of top European cars in the capital of a country that gave the world so many first-class automobiles.
The roar of German engines is a common sound in Tokyo - apparently, it's the whole "yes, it's expensive, but I can afford it, and let everyone see that" thing.
G-Wagon on Tokyo streets.
New VS Old.
Tokyo Taxis
Mass transit taxis are exclusively represented by old-school Toyota Crowns. Who said "just like in Hong Kong"?
They're big, stylish, comfortable! But keep in mind that many of them use manual transmission, so the smoothness of your ride might occasionally suffer - it all depends on the driver.
The main color is black, though variations exist. Very stylish. Inside, as befitting the modern kawaii Japanese style, the driver wears white gloves. Oh yes, and taxis are not cheap, of course.
Another taxi variation.
But not all Tokyo residents have saved up for the latest Porsche!
Mario! It's a special city tour - everyone gets into funny Mario-style go-karts and follows a specific route through the city guided by an instructor. Known as "Street Karting" or "MariCAR" (before Nintendo's lawsuit), it lets you drive around Tokyo dressed as Nintendo characters!
Tokyo Details
A product of the millionaire city - a cute hotel for dogs. How could we do without them?
Japan, despite its huge territory, has problems specifically with livable area. Actually, due to the Mercator projection on maps, Japan looks tiny, but in reality, it's large, at least bigger than Germany.
At the same time, I might be wrong, but a huge percentage (almost 70%) of the territory is uninhabitable for various reasons.
They survive as they can :)
A pretty common picture in residential areas.
Tokyo Umbrellas
Tokyo is frequently hit by rain, so Tokyo is the "city of umbrellas". A very common Tokyo sight – umbrella bags at the entrance to buildings. All this is done in a very Japanese way through a special device – you dip your umbrella inside, it's automatically wrapped, and with a slight movement, you pull out your now-packaged umbrella. The whole process takes literally a second or two! And in some cafes, they'll take your umbrella and give you a claim ticket. Japanese style!
The urban planning of Japanese cities is simply amazing. This is what's called "loving your country."
Every Japanese person incredibly loves their country, but honestly, after visiting many prefectures, I'm not sure if it's "every" person, but definitely the majority.
Tokyo Drive
What makes Tokyo absolutely captivating is its drive.
No, not like that. DRIVE!
The famous intersection - Shibuya. Actually, there's no pure "S" sound in Japanese, it's something between "S" and "Sh". Shibuya! Shi-bu-YA with emphasis on "YA".
This intersection is one of the most dynamic places on the planet. The thing is, every so often they stop vehicle traffic across many lanes, and huge crowds of people simultaneously pour onto the intersection from all sides.
Insanity!
Why look at photos when there's video?
Tokyo's drive is born from the same limitation on livable territory, so Japanese cities (and especially the capital) are, to put it mildly, overcrowded. But this isn't expressed in huge skyscrapers, but in small, sometimes ridiculously small spaces for everything. Though this doesn't apply to the wealthy, of course.
About the Helpers
High tech delivery! Japanese-style repairs - in the photo. You can't just put up barriers and signs; there must be a person showing passersby (just a few meters away) that there's construction here.
Or like this. A man stands all day helping cars exit and pedestrians walk around them.
Yikes. The problem here is that due to Japanese specifics, they need to somehow employ elderly people. I'm not sure this is the most useful application of elderly people's abilities.
And this goes on - all day, all year round.
Japanese Homeless
Well, let's add a drop of tar to balance things out. Like in any other city, there are those who not only didn't become millionaires but literally hit rock bottom in life.
The homeless and the helper.
Tokyo landscape under the overpass. On the left - a homeless person's nest. Nobody chases them away; they quietly occupy a small space. While in Japan this is an extremely rare phenomenon in itself, it does exist.
The overpasses themselves (often for trains) are an important part of Tokyo's architecture!
If you ask which country is the coolest for tourism, if we're talking about the country as a whole, it's definitely Japan.