Everything that is modern is Japan, and everything that is urban is Tokyo. The sprawling sea of people, all polite, most of them generally well kept, tall buildings as far as the eye can see(and then not so tall buildings after that), an endless maze of shops, convenience stores, restaurants and of course pachinko parlours, markets, and generally clean streets filled with vending machines and some wonderful drinks. Such as Beer Water - my favourite commercial of all time, where a group of Japanese surfers toss down some beer water Ale before going surfing. Yes, drink before you swim, it's the cool thing to do! From the high tech gadgetry to Shinjuku's insanity, I have never known urbanity like I have seen it in Tokyo. Mexico city comes close, but it is still a rustic place. Tokyo is a well oiled machine, and by extension so is Yokohama.
Yokohama was easier to digest, though; the minato Mirai 21 buildings were an oddly fabricated urban centre, built all at once, and incredibly futuristic, but still possessing those familiar trappings such as 7-11's and Wendy's. The inside of one tower is a shopping mall that took me back home. Of course, in Vancouver, we're not exactly far away; but our ale-guzzling english roots keep us from becoming this refined, this ordered, this organized.
Needless to say such a machine has many cracks that people slip through. A popular sleeping spot is the subway terminal. As well there was an odd experience where I was trapped in Shinjuku station with a valid ticket, and none of the friendly magnetic doors would let me out. So the only obvious solution was to make a run for it, blast down the doors and disappear into the massive crowd.
Does it end? Not really. It just transforms. Tokyo merges into other towns, and you have an urban area that is the world's largest on the east coast of Japan. Yet the dazzling colours of billboards, giant television screens, urban gardens and the obsessive cute-si-ness of Tokyo and Japan's urban culture is something to behold with your own eyes. Japan has promoted an orderly society, and perhaps as a result of this has produced some of the most brain-grinding music and culture on the planet; people like Merzbow, Yamantaka Eye, Melt Banana, and KK Null are all Japanese, all very disturbing. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Some could argue that no one does violent and twisted culture better than the Japanese. Nor does anyone do the sweet, pleasant, friendly, innocent Hello-Kitty culture better than the Japanese.

Tokyo is one of the world's great cities, and is not to be missed. For me it was an important place to visit, to understand my own city, and that of the Pacific Rim. Japan's culture is unique to itself, and has also begun to pervade the world's mass culture. But still nothing could prepare me for the information and electronic overload that exists in Tokyo; not matched by Hong Kong, and far more refined than Taipei; if Taipei is the dark future of the urban world, Tokyo is the massive, brand new supermarket right in the middle, carefully guarded by one thousand security officers.
And of course, Japan is the safest place on the planet. People are exceedingly friendly, places are exceedingly clean, and to a cynic you have to begin to wonder what the hell these people are smoking. The Japanese put us order-loving Canadians to shame; but also possess many demons of their own, as their strict class system and pressure to succeed overwhelm many individuals who are unable to work within these confines. For them, there's Vancouver.
But while Vancouver is postmodern, Tokyo is entirely in the future; and still, it shows no sign of a city that may one day become dated. Tokyo defines the future, and therefore is it. Now whether that future is one you wish to live in - I suppose you should make some effort to visit, and find out.

-May 1999





































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* A full account of my visit to this country is available in my yet to be published book, Means To An Exit. If you are an agent or publisher and would like to receive an outline and manuscript, please Contact Me.