Nothing could have prepared me for Tokyo. Something I had read came screaming to the forefront of my mind. The whole twenty-one million people who call Australia home can fit into Tokyo and then some. Let me rephrase that for emphasis:
"The entire population of my home country can fit into Tokyo!"As the train doors opened on Central Station I was thrown into a world of crazed Japanese people all power walking, on a mission to get where they are going. Everyone was so focused on the steps in front of them. A world of blank faces, formal attire, leather briefcases, polished shoes.
Escaping Central was my mission. Everything was clearly labelled, like it had been designed with foreign travellers in mind. I soon located a locker large enough for my thirty kilogram suitcase.
The frosty post-winter air greeted me as I walked outside. It was a cold, overcast morning in Tokyo. This appeared to be the business district. Surrounded by high raise office buildings for large companies turning over billion of yen every year. Extremely well maintained tar road ways and yet more Japanese business men. I began to explore.
I didn't know it yet but I had began phase one of culture shock: The Honey Moon period, I was in ore of my new surroundings.
I walked around for about an hour, with no goal, plan or mission. Just to explore, I have always found the best things to happen when you don't plan or set limitations on yourself. Walk around a corner to find something amazing, a lost temple, an abandoned house.
I soon came to the decision that this was a business district full stop, no retail, no stores nothing really of interest. I decided to head to Shibuya which is about five stops from Central.
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