Tomorrowland

walking around the Minato Mirai 21 district, i recall echoes of a field recording off of a Godspeed You Black Emperor! track. the voice recalls the halcyon days of Coney Island, and how people don't sleep on the beaches any more. Yokohama harbour evokes the atmosphere of a long forgotten theme park teeming with nostalgists looking for lost memories they wish they had. bizarre architecture, the looming Yokohama Landmark Tower, the Cosmo Clock 21, the Osanbashi pier, the Yokohama skyline in the twilight, China Town - Yokohama is a curious mix of the past, contemporary, and the future. the kind of mixture where you don't mind lying on the beach (or in Yokohama's case, the Osanbashi pier) all night admiring the beautiful city lights. it is a city where the future is contemporary, and the past still etches its mark on the pavements. in Yokohama, it is always tomorrow.

Tokyo Skytree

in my travels, i haven't had the opportunity to go up any observation decks at night. having being disappointed by the reflective glasses of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, i thought it essential that i went up the Tokyo Skytree. i frankly don't mind paying exorbitant entrance fees to go up observation decks. heck, even the KL Tower has an entrance fee of RM50, so paying roughly the same price for other observation decks is definitely a no-brainer for me. Tokyo isn't short of observation decks, it was between the Tokyo Tower, Roppongi Hills, and the Tokyo Skytree. i chose the Skytree for its height (350m, perhaps the tallest observation deck in Tokyo?), and for its close proximity to my hotel. worth the entrance fee? any observation deck is worth any entrance fee for me!

Tokyo

Tokyo - my biggest wanderlust after New York city. no other city encapsulates the organized chaos quite like Tokyo. deep in the bowels of the city, the insanity of the metro transit system contains the pockets of silence that is the train compartments - commuters locking their gazes into their cellphones, books, or perhaps catching a quick forty winks before the next interchange. up in the streets, neon signs buzz in epileptic intervals while pedestrians swiftly walk towards their predestined routes, never once knocking over the lost and amazed tourist gaping at the eye-catching, yet, unintelligible advertisements. the street crossings are crawling with people walking in a myriad of directions, like particles dispersing in randomized fashion, yet they each have an assigned destination.

in Tokyo, you will find solace among the discord, like a quaint cafe amidst the tourist-laden Asakusa streets. or the humbled Meiji Jingu sits in forested tranquillity amidst the contemporary and colourful Harajuku. there is this constant push-and-pull between opposing contrasts which makes Tokyo such a vibrant, beautiful, and lively city. my only regret is not staying here a little bit longer to absorb more of the splendour. i will be back, if only to walk the streets, or to be chasing trains in the labyrinthine metro system. more than that, i want to take more pictures.