As we start our travels through Tokyo,
I continue to be transfixed by the juxtapositions of scale and age of everything we see.
Residential streets thread throughout every part of this city, and among them are mega-sized buildings and projects that showcase the latest in modern architectural trends. Some of these are mind-boggling and impressive, just as many of the old machida-lined streets are cozy and intimate and rich with life. Contrasts everywhere!
The Mori Tower is a recent skyscraper from which the views up top are reputed to be the best in Tokyo. Unfortunately it was pouring rain and nothing could be seen. Walking around at ground level is like moving in a Blade Runner or Star Trek set….so futuristic and a little alien feeling. But I am enjoying seeing all these phenomenally large architectural feats. It’s amazing to me how projects this size can be realized.
In the evening though, I am glad to return to our hotel’s neighborhood and wander the tiny streets where cozy little family-owned restaurants and shops hang their lanterns out for business, and people are walking and biking home with their grocery bags and sweeping the street in front of their doors. It feels friendly and welcoming, and the architecture, although old and quaint, is of a scale that makes me feel comfortable. I think this says something quite basic about human nature: that our living environment needs to be designed with human scale as a primary element.
