Is Tokyo an Overrated City? - Perhaps.
It has been quite a while since I've last blogged! I have been working in a Japanese travel agency and life has never been so busy where I can find something to do, because it was the peak of travel season to Japan!But I have seen a strange trend: Everyone wants to go to Tokyo, and I kind of do not understand why.
Here are 7 reasons why I personally think Tokyo is kind of overrated:
1. DisneyLand and DisneySea are actually not in Tokyo.
To some's surprise, Disneyland and Disneysea is a place that many would go when they visit Tokyo, but to many's surprise, they are actually not in Tokyo! They are located in Chiba prefecture (now you know why it takes so long to visit Disneyland from Shinjuku).
Holiday seasons are worse. With the holiday crowd, I'd say that every ride had wait times of over 3 hours. Definitely a place to go if you wish to test your patience.
(No worries, this place is still as magical and dreamy for all princesses out there! Avoid Friday~Monday in general!)
2. Transportation is not cheap.
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| Looking at the Tokyo Metro Map alone would give people headaches |
For first-time visitors visiting Japan, navigating around Tokyo is a lot of headache! Boarding the wrong train, going to the wrong platform in the crazily large Tokyo Station (Shinjuku Station too!), not knowing Japanese is one of the biggest problems too (thanks to technology life is slightly easier!). Transfers are not exactly easy without a little knowledge and sense of direction as well.
(Getting lost is also what gives you a different travelling experience!)
3. Trains are crowded. Everywhere popular in Tokyo is crowded.
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| Crowded JR Train |
Although it is not crowded all the time, but they are definitely scarily crowded for school/ work hours! The scariest time is also the times when there is the last train! Everyone just rushes into the trains and if you are that much of a risk-taker to party until the last train's timing, be prepared to be squished like the sardines in a sardine can! If you have a train transfer on your way back, you might want to reconsider your life choices.
4. Too much of time needed to go around. Way too much.
Sick of shopping in Tokyo? Wanted to go for day trips? No problem! Mt. Fuji is 3 hours by train (with transfers), Nikko, Ashikaga, Hitachi Seaside Park, Gala Yuzawa is also more than an hour away by train! Yokohama, Kamakura, Odaiba is also great places to go to, but they also take more than an hour by train. Quelle surprise! Not just that they are time-consuming, the train tickets are also costly!
(But this is also what makes Tokyo a great hub to make day trips from!)
5. Sexual Harrassment. It happens too.
Japan is not completely safe. Maybe safer than the rest of the world in terms of crimes, but groping, sexual harassment, etc. has been quite an issue (hence there are Ladies' only coaches!). Groping is not just an issue happening to women, but men and children experienced them as well (one example from Hanawa-san on Quora). Personally, I have also witnessed males trying to hit on random girls on the train, and someone also tried approached me in an unpleasant manner in Tokyo too.
6. Harajuku is no longer the Harajuku we knew.
Famed for street fashion that has signs of rebelliousness against the uniformity of the Japanese culture, Harajuku was once a place where people wish to express themselves. Now, it has only lesser and lesser street artists and cosplayers (in fact, I only manage to see a few when I was casually strolling around for crepes). You don't really get to see people dress like above image, but instead, THIS is what you're going to see if you are going to Takeshita Street:
(Don't worry, crepes there are still nice and worth a try!)
7. Robotic, cold and depressed society.
Japan is wonderful with its innovation of robots (they even have hotels fully 'manned' by robots!) that are useful, helpful, and adorable! However, even locals in Osaka had a stereotype of Tokyo people as 'cold-blooded', workaholics, and are always busy. After interacting with people in Tokyo, whether in business terms or outside-of-business terms, the more popular areas of Tokyo does seem to have such a trait. People here are so caught up with their work and wouldn't care much about anything outside of their own world. Sometimes, you would wonder if they are polite to you in a genuine manner.
(In the less popular areas, people are more friendly!)
Conclusions?
Although there are more than just expensive rentals and cost of travel in Tokyo, if you do your research well, you can definitely still find parts of Tokyo that you would enjoy!
Besides, Japan is also consisting more than just Tokyo. Try giving other areas of Japan a visit! You'll never know what Japan can bring to you until you're there!
Hopefully in near future, I'll get a week's leave to Setouchi. Can't wait for it!
Until my next update! ☆