The Tokyo metro area is somehow both dense and sprawling, an endless three dimensional urban environment. Measured together with Yokohama, some 30 million people call this megalopolis home. From its bustling and crowded subways to the canopies of its famous towers, Tokyo would take a lifetime to explore. The city invites you to try anyway, with its approachable and efficient pace of life. I found from my attempts, that when plying through one of its many distinct neighborhoods, it is easy to forget that one is navigating the largest city in the world.
Tokyo exemplifies the safe and clean reputation of Japan, and indeed of cities across east Asia, without any significant downside. It is relatively affordable when compared to other world capitals; it has cleaner air than Seoul and Hong Kong; ample green space is available even in close proximity to its busiest areas; and finally, though it may be the capital of one of the most homogenous and traditional societies on the globe, it still pulses with creative potential and caters to diverse sensibilities.
Each time I visited, I would board my bus home with the feeling I was leaving behind the finest city of our time.
