Poll of the Day > Tokyo is the greatest city on Earth.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I would say change my mind but that would be a waste of time because it would be impossible to do so.

Maybe it's still my tourist goggles from getting back last week as a filthy American, but I've never been so astounded at how such a massive city can be so nice, clean, and well-oiled, while also being extremely vibrant and fun at the same time.

I'm sure there are downsides to living there, but with technology making things super easy for getting around the language barrier, I'm really struggling to think of anything. Not was was I thinking, "hmm I like this back home more!"

EDIT: And cheap too. Maybe it's because the yen is weak, but everything was insanely cheap by comparison.

my favorite smashing pumpkins song!!

It's also the largest city. Shit's huge yo.

dragon504 posted...

It's also the largest city. Shit's huge yo.

By what metric?

Have you visited any other cities that aren't bogged down by North American car dependence?

rjsilverthorn posted...

By what metric?

population

im an idiot, so take this with a grain of salt, but i think Los Angeles is the biggest by size. this dumbass place takes hours to drive across and thats mostly because of traffic but still

Yes, I agree. Hong Kong is great too though if you like Tokyo but want something totally different at the same time. More density and liveliness, the little mountains and islands right next to the city (vs sprawl of Tokyo mega city), better views, hiking, beaches, taking the ferries, English is more commonly spoken. Hotter weather. Hotter girls.

Compared to Tokyo, it is less clean, more expensive, less day/weekend trips, and doesn't have as good train coverage.

I prefer Tokyo but it's not that far ahead. lots of people prefer HK. and It is part of China of course but still has a separate border control which does not require a Visa from most countries. Worth visiting if you like cities like Tokyo.

I like it a lot, but I prefer Hanoi.

Is there any trick to not paying a fortune for a flight? From my very brief research, that alone seems like it'll be more than half the cost of the entire trip. Also, how prevalent were English speakers at restaurants and such? Can you really get by on Google Translate for everything?

VideoboysaysCube posted...

Is there any trick to not paying a fortune for a flight? From my very brief research, that alone seems like it'll be more than half the cost of the entire trip. Also, how prevalent were English speakers at restaurants and such? Can you really get by on Google Translate for everything?

Depends where youre flying from. Its quite a reasonable flight for me, but not for most of the users of this site.

Ive been twice now and basically speak no Japanese. It was never a major issue.

tokyo aint got shit on winthorpe massachusetts

ConfusedTorchic posted...

tokyo aint got shit on winthorpe massachusetts

Its got not being in the US. Id consider that a plus.

I got back from my first trip to Tokyo myself a couple weeks ago and can echo a lot of what has been said. Wonderful city.

VideoboysaysCube posted...

Is there any trick to not paying a fortune for a flight? From my very brief research, that alone seems like it'll be more than half the cost of the entire trip. Also, how prevalent were English speakers at restaurants and such? Can you really get by on Google Translate for everything?

Be flexible with which days you travel on. Some airlines are cheaper on certain days, and some airlines only fly certain days. Living near a major airport with direct flights also helps. Personally, I was able to do round trip for ~$1000 CAD.

In terms of English at restaurants, half the places I went to had an English menu, and Google Lens was sufficient in all other cases for translating menus, and you can just point at what you want. Not too many people had good English but that was never an issue. Things like ramen or udon you typically just buy a ticket of what you want and hand it over when you get your spot so you don't need to say a word the whole time.

VideoboysaysCube posted...

Is there any trick to not paying a fortune for a flight? From my very brief research, that alone seems like it'll be more than half the cost of the entire trip

No real trick or secret unfortunately (if you find one, tell me). Set a bunch of google flight trackers and you'll be able to get yourself down to at least a small fortune rather than a large fortune. But you're absolutely right, the flight alone cost me more than nine nights at a decently nice but basic hotel (think like a mid-tier Mariott). Granted, I did splurge for Premium Select on Delta, but that was only an additional $400. Flight was still around $1,200 for basic seats. And with how weak the yen is right now (or even in normal conversions), everything is insanely cheap too. 6000 yen (around $40) covered the subway for the entire trip.

If you can get the flight, everything else will feel like pennies.

I'd like Tokyo a lot more if it wasn't so crowded. I couldn't imagine living there and having to deal with commuter traffic every day...

Sarcasthma posted...

I'd like Tokyo a lot more if it wasn't so crowded. I couldn't imagine living there and having to deal with commuter traffic every day...

We did end up on the train during rush hour once or twice on weekdays and yeah it was pretty nuts. I was like uhh ok i think we're full now! and at the next stop 15 people would still make it in

It wasn't a huge deal to be crammed like that for a few minutes, especially because when it gets that bad you don't even have to hold onto a handrail/bar for support. If that's the hardest thing about living there then sign me up today.

Cupcake2006 posted...

. If that's the hardest thing about living there then sign me up today.

Hardest thing about living there would be the cut throat work culture

DirtBasedSoap posted...

population

im an idiot, so take this with a grain of salt, but i think Los Angeles is the biggest by size. this dumbass place takes hours to drive across and thats mostly because of traffic but still

Yeah I thought atlanta traffic was bad until my band went through LA. I swear we were in rural area way outside the city and still stuck in dead stop traffic. Atlanta can be like that too but it definitely was awful

Cupcake2006 posted...

No real trick or secret unfortunately (if you find one, tell me). Set a bunch of google flight trackers and you'll be able to get yourself down to at least a small fortune rather than a large fortune. But you're absolutely right, the flight alone cost me more than nine nights at a decently nice but basic hotel (think like a mid-tier Mariott). Granted, I did splurge for Premium Select on Delta, but that was only an additional $400. Flight was still around $1,200 for basic seats. And with how weak the yen is right now (or even in normal conversions), everything is insanely cheap too. 6000 yen (around $40) covered the subway for the entire trip.

If you can get the flight, everything else will feel like pennies.

You can certainly get by not spending a huge amount. Its also possible to spend loads quite easily. I spent $800 on strawberries last time I went.

Ogurisama posted...

Hardest thing about living there would be the cut throat work culture

True yeah work culture is brutal. We had a view into an office building from our hotel and there were some poor souls in there until at least 8pm most nights, some as late as 11pm one night.

Honestly, while Tokyo is wonderful, I prefer a lot of the other Japanese cities. Naha is incredible and is my personal favourite (just don't ever go in the summer months, though that advice applies to most of Japan), but Aomori city and Morioka are both very charming and very conveniently located near some pretty amazing countryside spots.

VideoboysaysCube posted...

Is there any trick to not paying a fortune for a flight? From my very brief research, that alone seems like it'll be more than half the cost of the entire trip. Also, how prevalent were English speakers at restaurants and such? Can you really get by on Google Translate for everything?

For flights, fly mid-week instead of on the weekend, and don't fly during peak tourist seasons (year end, summer, Golden Week, etc.). If you really want cheap stuff, be flexible with airlines (just be aware that some are terrible) and timing. I once found a direct round-trip flight from Vancouver to Osaka for $600 CAD on sale, which absolutely wild.

If you're not flying during tourist season, it's quite possible to get a direct flight from one of the west coast airports for around $1200 CAD round trip (assuming you're in North America). Airfare is generally your biggest cost, but that's because travelling Japan is surprisingly affordable - trains are cheap and all but the most remote places have train stations available, and hotels are surprisingly inexpensive given the population density.

English knowledge is pretty good at the tourist hubs (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, the parts of Okinawa that cater to the American base, etc.), but falls off pretty quickly once you get outside of those areas. That said, it's not hard too hard to get by with very little Japanese, so long as you memorize the stock key phrases (excuse me, where is ___, this one, etc.). Also, if you're looking for translators, DeepL (for sentences) and Takoboto (for individual words) are both substantially better than Google Translate (and both are free).

Good info, thanks.

I am not interested in going to Hanoi or Hong Kong.
The traffic in Hanoi is a mess. It is like reckless zone.
Hong Kong have both Article 23 and National Security Law.
Besides, the prices to travel to Japan is cheaper than to Hong Kong or Hanoi.

Susanowo posted...

I am not interested in going to Hanoi or Hong Kong.
The traffic in Hanoi is a mess. It is like reckless zone.
Hong Kong have both Article 23 and National Security Law.
Besides, the prices to travel to Japan is cheaper than to Hong Kong or Hanoi.

If youre avoiding visiting Hanoi because of the traffic, you really dont get Asia.

Tokyo is so overcrowded, I enjoyed my time in Osaka a lot more, even the foreigners seemed much nicer and more chill, nobody in cringe anime apparel either.

ToadstoolPeach posted...

Tokyo is so overcrowded

Weirdly I didn't feel this way at all. Maybe living there feels that way when you go into a tiny elevator with 8 other people to go up to a tiny apartment surrounded by dozens of other apartments on the same floor, but I never experienced that side of it (or know if that's even realistic).

OhhhJa posted...

Yeah I thought atlanta traffic was bad until my band went through LA. I swear we were in rural area way outside the city and still stuck in dead stop traffic. Atlanta can be like that too but it definitely was awful

One time it took me over 7 hours to drive from LA to San Diego. Its only like 130-140 miles

Cupcake2006 posted...

Weirdly I didn't feel this way at all. Maybe living there feels that way when you go into a tiny elevator with 8 other people to go up to a tiny apartment surrounded by dozens of other apartments on the same floor, but I never experienced that side of it (or know if that's even realistic).

I wonder if it depends on the time of year? It was around New Years when I visited so it was wall to wall people, even two weeks before.

ToadstoolPeach posted...

I wonder if it depends on the time of year? It was around New Years when I visited so it was wall to wall people, even two weeks before.

New Years is definitely huge over there so that was probably a factor. I went during cherry blossoms and never felt particularly crowded, but I missed full bloom so maybe a majority of the traffic had left.

ToadstoolPeach posted...

I wonder if it depends on the time of year? It was around New Years when I visited so it was wall to wall people, even two weeks before.

I was over there for Christmas and new year and found that it massively varied depending on which part of the city you were in. Shujinku, for example, was much less crowded than I expected it to be.

Cupcake2006 posted...

New Years is definitely huge over there so that was probably a factor. I went during cherry blossoms and never felt particularly crowded, but I missed full bloom so maybe a majority of the traffic had left.

Oh that must have been lovely!

ToadstoolPeach posted...

Oh that must have been lovely!

It absolutely was. Can't wait to go back.

No; but Japan is the best country on Earth when you weigh the pros and cons.

I dated a girl from Shimonoseki-shi and flew-out to meet her parents before we got married. You want to visit anywhere outside the touristy areas to see the real country, in the way of any country.

zebatov posted...

No; but Japan is the best country on Earth when you weigh the pros and cons.

I dated a girl from Shimonoseki-shi and flew-out to meet her parents before we got married. You want to visit anywhere outside the touristy areas to see the real country, in the way of any country.

Lmao. This guy is still on it.