Tokyo, Japan (Spring 2024)

Tokyo might be my favorite city. This was my 4th time visiting and I can’t wait to get back here. The exchange rate being extremely favorable at this time made the trip a lot cheaper as well.

A major plus for me is how Japan as a society still functions. Everyone more or less just cooperates and is polite.

For example:

Everybody stands respectfully on the left side of the escalator so the people in a hurry can walk on the right side

(They drive on the left here so our passing lane is reversed)

Also:

This is a spotless bathroom in a subway! It’s cleaner than almost any public (or private for that matter) bathroom you can find in the US.

People are in general respectful of each other and their surroundings. The social contract is working here.

People often point out the many things peculiar to Japan that also make it entertaining.

Here is a sneaker washing & drying station in a laundromat:

Apparently eating blowfish is still a thing:

We were hoping to avoid summer crowds by coming in the spring. What we didn’t realize was that this was Golden Week. It is a week where there are a bunch of national holidays so a ton of people are off work. So instead of throngs of tourists, we got throngs of Japanese people out and about in Tokyo.

Constitution Memorial Day parade during Golden Week in Yokohama

Popular areas were packed with people enjoying Golden Week