Raze wrote...
So, my first impressions of Tokyo.
Holy crap it is big. Almost New York City big. I landed in Narita airport, and boy there were rice fields everywhere. I guess they do have to feed a lot of mouths eh. Took the Narita Express train to Shinjuku, and you could seriously see the shift from rice fields, to village houses, to buildings, and then huge cities. All this in a span of almost an hour and a half.
Tokyo is larger than New York City. 3 million more ppl too.
Which brings me to another thing that struck me, goddamn there are a ton of people. Maybe it was because it was Friday afternoon, but the train stations were jam packed with people coming back from work, and going out for dates and stuff.
Any afternoon and the trains will be packed. Morning, noon, and evening are the busiest times. Doesn't matter the day.
And damn, I have to say, like 90% of the girls there are amazingly pretty. Again, maybe it was because it was Friday night and because I'm basically smack bang in the busiest part of Tokyo, but holy shit. They're young, extremely well-dressed, high-heeled shoes, hair dyed and done as if they were headed to some formal, a ton of makeup, jewellery... large eyes, beautiful hair, smooth white skin, and for the most part had amazing bodies with boobs of just the right size (B-D cup range). Probably sounds weird to put it this way, but you could seriously tell how much money they put into making themselves look absolutely stunning. The hair, the facials, the dieting, the clothes. It's as if everything was about appearances. Of course, this focus on appearance isn't limited to women; the better-looking guys also have their hair dyed and done too, and they are also very well-dressed (I noticed all of the men wore at least dress shoes though). Like I said, a land where appearance is everything, which honestly did not strike a very positive note with me. Also, another thing worth mentioning was how everyone just minded their own business. While this is pretty normal in developed East Asian cultures, the scale of it in Shinjuku/Ikebukuro was beyond anything I'm used to. It's as if it's rude to even look at a stranger for more than a split second, and the fact that there were so many hot girls everywhere really didn't help.
All you saw is workers. That's definitely not what they dress in for casual.
Another thing which struck me was how much the people there indulged in cigarettes and alcohol. You could constantly see men smoking as you walked down the street, and a general smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol lingered everywhere. It's as if you walked into a bar. Though it turns out it's the men who smell like alcohol and cigarettes. No wonder they think that their women smell nice (though I have to admit, they really do smell nice). Life in Tokyo must be pretty darn stressful for people to smoke and drink that much, wow.
Their smokes aren't as strong as American smokes. It's like smoking a Marlboro Ultra Light. It's more for looks than for actual nicotine intake. As for alcohol, who doesn't drink?
So, the impression I get is that Tokyo society is very patriarchal, where the men do all the work, get stressed, and indulge in tabacco, alcohol, and sex, while the women spend tons and tons of money on themselves so that every damn guy who lays eyes on her wants to ram his cock inside her like there's no tomorrow. It's no wonder the otaku keep to themselves; like they have a choice! Though of course these are just my first impressions that came from interacting with a small sample of people.
Well the women have nothing else to do. They get married, quit their job, and become a housewife. Luckily, majority of women aren't slapping on 5 pounds of makeup, putting on 6 inch heels, and so on.
Anyway, nothing too interesting happened so far for me. By the time we got to Shinjuku the sun had already set pretty much, so we just messed around with the JR line and went to Ikebukuro for a ramen dinner. Too tired to do anything after that having travelled the whole day, we just went straight back to the hotel after the meal and bought some Taiyaki along the way. Despite it being like 11PM, there was no shortage of hot Japanese women with their dates; I'll bet those love hotels will have no shortage of business tonight either.
Tokyo doesn't sleep. Only the trains and buses stop. Anyways, the best time to roam is Sunday.
Harajuku will have the ganguro, gothic lolita, punk, etc ppl there.
Akiba will close down it's main road for pedestrian traffic. I suggest going there around 5-6 pm. That's when the maid cafe girls come out to hand out flyers or tissues.
For clubs, it's all on Saturday. I'd suggest Shibuya for the Japanese crowd. Roppongi for the foreigners. Kabukicho for naked girls. Roppongi is the easiest place to pick up Japanese girls. They're there for foreigners to begin with.