I want to live in Tokyo

 For as long as I can remember I have always been drawn to everything Japanese, despite not ever having set foot in Asia. I have spent hours looking through pictures and reading articles online about Japan, Japanese culture and of course city life in Tokyo.

Tokyo at night.

Life in Tokyo (as well as life in London, Dhaka, Mexico City and Shanghai) is explored in the new documentary series by the BBC, which follows Andrew Marr through the Megacities of the world(link). Although marvelling at the sheer size of the city and its high-tech efficiency and innovation, the documentary showed a very negative view of life in Tokyo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011qmcl

Marr speaks about the very limited living space, the simplicity of his accommodation and the facelessness of the city as a whole.

Andrew Marr in apartment in Tokyo.

Crowds in central Tokyo.

He mentions that he would “prefer to be in the shack (where he stayed in a slum in Dhaka).

–there is a mechanical coldness and an unsettling robotic uniformity–I find myself searching for corners of friendliness and normality.”

Although many people may be put off Tokyo due to the size and expense of living space, I am, as always drawn to it. Despite sometimes feeling claustrophobic I would welcome the idea of living in such a compact flat, although I do agree with Marr, in that I would want more privacy, as the whole flat is walled with transparent glass and every part of the flat is clearly visible from the street including the toilet and bath.

I imagine that flats in Tokyo would have a feeling of cosines to them and would seem for want of a better word ‘cute’, as with many modern Japanese designs.

Although I like lots of space and openness, I think I am drawn to the compactness due to the level of design and innovation, which goes into the buildings designs which of course is necessary due to the limited space on which to build in Tokyo.

Large Tokyo apartment.

The limited space in Tokyo has meant that homes have become a very private place more so than we in Britain are used to. It is my understanding that the Japanese rarely entertain in their homes-normally because there simply isn’t enough room to do so-and so homes are rarely seen by anyone other than close friends and family. This again draws me to the idea of living in a small space in Tokyo.

I am also fascinated by Tokyo due to its street culture in fashion, music and design. Harajuku among other districts is known for its street culture, most notably for fashion for which it was made famous by publications such as, Fresh Fruits by Phaidon and Tokyo Fashion.com. Tokyo’s street culture which is well described by Marr as “a sci-fi comic come to life” is what really interests me about Tokyo.

http://www.phaidon.co.uk/store/fashion-culture/shoichi-aoki-fresh-fruits-9780714845104/

www.tokyofashion.com

Marr also remarks about people who have become reclusive and simply can’t face the city of Tokyo, due to the pressure, facelessness and unfriendliness of the city. Although I have never been and experienced it I wouldn’t imagine Tokyo is faceless and unfriendly.

      I think that when visiting any city you can get a feeling of coldness and unfriendliness. Although I think if you were to live somewhere you would experience the place on a much deeper level and would find very friendly and welcoming people, as well as small pockets of community, similar to any city. Of course these feelings and experiences depend on where you stay and the people around you, as of course every city has good and bad areas.

I love old fashioned ideas of quality and precision, as well as modern quirkiness and unusual designs. I like simplicity and efficiency and I like to be surrounded by people and ideas, as well as having my own private creative space. Tokyo for me is a place which offers this and despite many negative opinions of the city I am desperate to visit and hopefully in the future I will live there.