Arigatō, Tōkyō 🇯🇵 Next stop: Kyoto 🚅
#tokyo #meijishrine #gotokujitemple #ramen #japan #travel #wanderlust #travelnoire #summer19
Surprises:
1. For as large of a metropolis that Tokyo is, it is also shockingly clean. There are hardly any trash cans in public and walking while eating is frowned upon.
2. Even in the most crowded places, it’s always relatively quiet. On a packed (standing room only) subway car, no one really talks and I totally appreciate that!
3. The sense of order transcends everything - people generally stay on the left side of a sidewalk/escalator/walkway.
4. Even though we haven’t had much of an opportunity to interact with many locals, the tone has been very others-focused and considerate. Lines magically form in front of congested areas, and even though people may be in a rush to get somewhere, it doesn’t show.
5. You bow when you express gratitude to someone. Everyone from taxi drivers, restaurant staff, business owners - have all done this to a little ol’ American traveler like me :) Quite humbling. I say thank you all the time, but it just feels a lot more genuine here.
6. Japanese language is so beautiful! Thankful for the kind people we encountered who were patient with me and my 4-5 basic phrases 😌