Amazement and Enthusiasm
The avant-garde metropolis stretches out like a nebula. More than a city, Tokyo is a fascinating amalgam of modernity and tradition.
Contemporary Tokyo, formerly known as Edo, has undergone a dramatic change. In this metropolis, the present connects with the past and constantly flirts with the future. The city ignores the linear narrative. It reinvents itself every day, breaks down and rebuilds itself. Wiped out twice, burned down twice, first by the Kanto earthquake in 1923, then by carpet bombing by the US Army in March 1945, Tokyo rose from its ashes, at the price of a heavy tribute.
The urban landscape fascinates and baffles. The constructors have a field day. There is a variety of places to see and things to do, suitable for everyone. A visit to a museum, a nice escape to a park or garden, a foody visit to the basement of a department store, a stroll through the streets with ever more innovative contemporary architecture, the discovery of a Shinto shrine (Original religion of Japan) or a Buddhist temple, the spectacle of a hieratic Noh or sumo tournament. Everything is possible in Tokyo.
"It is not a city, but a cluster of cities." Marguerite Yourcenar
Each quarter has its own style and its customs. Shinjuku, Ginza, Asakusa, Shibuya and Odaiba tell a plural and universal history, the history of the impermanence of things. Here, nature intertwines with modern life. An old willow tree watches over an alley garlanded with electric cables. The cherry blossoms are the first to announce the arrival of spring. The weeds take refuge in the cracks of a building. While Tsukiji, the worlds largest fish market, reminds us of Tokyo's coastline.
In the evening, the Tokyoites devote themselves to unwinding from the days stresses. From bars to restaurants, jazz clubs to nightclubs, each person follows the adventure they want, up until the last metro, and even for the hardened clubbers, until the early hours.
See more about night life in Tokyo
1 comment