by Sue Noda
Tokyo is a crowded city. Tokyo Metropolitan prefecture, with a total area of 2,168 square kilometers (837 square miles), has a population of about 12 million, or about 14,339 people per square mile. Many who work in Tokyo commute from neighboring prefectures, such as Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa, making the population of "greater" Tokyo, the area within a 30 mile radius of the city center, around 30 million. This is one-quarter of the entire population of Japan.
Tokyo is the headquarters of many political, economic, and financial institutions as well as the mass media. The city has many functions similar to Washington DC, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. All the national and Tokyo Metropolitan government offices, as well as over half of the corporations with capital over 1 billion yen ($8.2 million), are in Tokyo. Over 31 percent of the GNP is produced in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. The three major newspaper companies in Japan--Yomiuri, Asahi, and Mainichi, the circulations of which are 9.9 million, 8.2 million, and 4.0 million respectively--send news every day to every part of Japan from Tokyo. Japanese believe that Tokyo can provide them with greater opportunities for careers and education than other cities in the country and that once within its bounds they can become better informed.
Tokyo is the home of the imperial family. Japan's emperor and the family live in the Imperial Palace, which is located literally in the center of Tokyo. The palace is surrounded by double moats and extends 3.1 miles from east to west and 2.4 miles from north to south. On the Imperial Palace grounds once stood Edo Castle, which was the home of the Tokugawa shogun (military administrator) for 250 years starting in 1603. One of the features of the reign of the Tokugawas was a radical isolation policy; the shoguns closed the country to almost all the foreign trade for the entire 250 years. When the last Tokugawa shogun resigned in 1868, the power and the palace were transferred to Emperor. The turning point for the city of Edo (Tokyo) was the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry's armada of black ships at Edo) bay in 1853. Perry's US Navy expedition demanded that Japan open to foreign trade.
Tokyo is a city of the old and the new intermingled. Shrines and temples stand side by side with modern "intelligent" buildings. What makes the buildings intelligent are the internal computer systems that operate like a network of nerves. They surround shrines which date back as far as the 7th century.
Tokyo is a city of young people; almost 40 percent of the students studying in institutions of higher education live in the Tokyo metropolitan area. In the districts of Aoyama, Harajuku, and Shibuya, you might think the population is made up exclusively of teens and people in their early 20s. Most are seen carrying a portable device that connects them to both the phone system and the Internet They are often seen eating hamburgers and french fries, and always looking for something exciting.
A long time ago I was one of them. After graduating college, I worked for the Tokyo branch of a US insurance company for several years. I lived in a small apartment ( 215 square feet) in Shibuya and commuted 30 minutes by crowded subway every day to the office. It was so crowded that the passengers could not move their arms and legs, once they got in, until the train arrived at the next stop.
My apartment in Tokyo had a small kitchen and toilet, but no bath. So, I used the sento, a public bathhouse nearby. The bathhouse was situated between two modern buildings. On the tiled porch in the bathhouse, I left my shoes and put on a pair of plastic slippers. In the changing area, almost the size of a family room in an American home, there were lockers, sofas, and chairs with electro massage. Through a sliding glass door, I could see the cream-tiled bathing room, where there were three pools: hot Jacuzzi, cold water, and one with medicinal herbs.
Today, Tokyo is where I regularly visit on business. During my stay in the city I often visit one of the temples or shrines. One of my favorites, Meiji-jingu-gyoen Park, whichwas formerly an imperial garden, has some very peaceful walks. I also go to sento, where I not only feel soothed by the warmth of the steamy room, but also find a sense of security in being surrounded by women of all ages and all naked.
Tokyo is where I feel like going about every three months. Each of my stays in the city lasts two weeks--and I feel relieved every time I finish my meetings with my clients and can get away from the crowded, confusing mix of old and new of Tokyo and return to San Francisco. But I always go back.
In fact, I am leaving again for Tokyo next week.
