So far, in these last two weeks since I came to Japan, I feel like I just keep getting underwhelmed by Japan. I was underwhelmed by Fukuoka, and then I was underwhelmed by Tokyo.
Yeah. I was underwhelmed by Tokyo. Tokyo, the land of colourful craziness and seas and mountains of people. Tokyo, the city that never sleeps. Tokyo, the place where all these American celebrities love to go because ka-ka-ka-kawaii.
But I felt none of that when I went to Tokyo… the only times I got super excited was when TVXQ happened and when we stumbled onto this cosplay/lolita shop in Harajuku and I was in cosplay heaven.
I already had kinda expected to not really see much of Tokyo, seeing as I was only there for three days, and the main reason for my trip was for TVXQ and for my friend’s 21st. But still. It was so underwhelming.
Maybe you’ll think that I was being harsh because my two friends and I were staying somewhere far away from all the action and stuff. And we were admittedly staying in a super ‘cozy’ hostel we found on AirBnB, but that hostel was super close to Shinjuku, one of the main stations of Tokyo, so it couldn’t be location. I don’t know. I just feel like Tokyo was just like Hong Kong, except they speak Japanese, and people are nicer and more polite and dress more colourful and eclectic.
Also, Tokyo sleeps so early. For Fukuoka, I expected it to sleep somewhat earlier, since the city is smaller. But when my friend and I went to walk around at night because we wanted to do something exciting, the last trains were still at midnight, and everyone was going home. And midnight is so early for a city to wind down when globally, Tokyo is somewhere that supposedly never sleeps.
Anyway. I still had a lot of fun, and it was still amazing. It just wasn’t as exciting and as different and OMGSH THIS IS SO GREAT as I thought it would be… I blame animu for bringing my hopes up SO HIGH that real life doesn’t cut it anymore.
STILL! Everyone! Come to Japan! Go to Tokyo! I promise it’s fun!! :D :D :D :D :D
Just don’t expect too much. Japan is weird, Japan is amazing, but in the end, it’s just another country. The people living in it are ultimately still human beings, and so yeah. Come. Fall in love with the place. But don’t fall in love with the idea of Japan.
diary of a dysaniac 