Two Days In Tokyo

I'm riding on the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto and wanted to jot down my thoughts from the 48 hours I spent in Tokyo. I'll be back in a few days, but if I had to describe my initial impression it would be titled: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.

1. For the first time in my life I feel overwhelmed and overstimulated by a city. As a born and raised New Yorker no place has ever felt big to me, but Tokyo does. The city is just so much all the time, and it's never-ending. It's not that the buildings are big — though they are. It's not that there are so many people — though I do feel packed like a sardine in a way I never have before. The part that really strikes me is how there's always something in motion — it never stops no matter where you are.

2. Relatedly, I think I'm feeling culture shock for the first time in my life. I feel like a fish out of water even though everything operates exactly how I would expect. I constantly find myself looking around and going "ooh", as I see something I didn't expect out of the corner of my eye. It's all so novel, and I'm sure with time I would feel more at home, but I've just never felt this way before in all the places I've traveled to.

3. It may sound like I'm describing chaos, but everything here is so orderly that I feel like I know what to do. There are instructions for everything, signs for which side of a path to walk on, and they've made it all very clear. Everyone seems to follow the rules because that's the modeled behavior. It's just what you do, not solely because you're reminded to do so.

4. The subway here rules and I wish I could bottle up 90% of it to bring back home. As a New Yorker I have a pretty low bar for trains running on time, but it's just so nice to have trains that are consistent. There are also small touches that add up. Every subway platform has a sign telling you which direction the train goes — which sounds small — but every station also has a number like E7, E8, or E9. When you combine these two and the aforementioned signage, it's practically impossible for even a foreigner to get lost.

5. And another thing about the subway: I love the sound effects and music everywhere. It's absolutely lovely that instead of a buzzer or a door just closing in your face, you hear a delightful little jingle that informs you the train is set to depart. It's an especially nice touch that different lines and different stations have their own themes, like a nice little treat.

6. Everybody tells you that Suica is great, and everybody is right. The mascot is an adorable penguin, chosen because of how smoothly penguins glide through the water — and Suica lives up to the hype. It's so fast and easy, but it's not just a transit card. It's lovely as a tourist to have one simple way to pay for practically anything from my train ride to a rice ball at 7-Eleven.

7. Speaking of 7-Eleven, I'm sorry to my favorite city in the world but the bodega culture here is unmatched. Between 7-Eleven, Family Mart, and Lawson, there's a way to get water and onigiri and strawberry KitKats around every corner, or if you're in a jam like I was you can even stop there to print your baseball ticket on-demand.

8. Baseball here is awesome. My favorite part is that there are two sections in the outfield for the home and away team fans. While your team is hitting your fans are chanting and singing their fight songs — and the songs slap hard. The best way I can describe it is as if baseball met soccer and turned the anime up to 11.

9. Being so sick that I was hospitalized 48 hours before arriving I'm honestly amazed that I was able to walk 15 miles across our first two days here. I'm very grateful to come from a city that relies on public transit and walking, because I cannot imagine how my legs would feel if I lived in a driving-centric area.