Tokyo: Easy Days

Even without insider status, Tokyo has many layers to reveal. A lot of what effected my feelings about Tokyo was getting comfortable with the geography of the city. We walked a lot, and we walked a lot between neighborhoods. Getting your bearings anywhere is an essential part of the experience, but really becoming familiar with the layout of a large city frees you to explore. One of the best things about Tokyo is that it's so safe. You can go anywhere. You can walk there. You can ride there (on a most excellent public transportation system). You never need to contemplate the safety of a neighborhood or if someone is going to rip you off trying to get there. This aspect of the city cannot be taken for granted. It let's you relax in a way that Beijing and Shanghai don't. It let's you explore all of the little cities that make up the Tokyo metropolis. (As I write this we are on the plane to Bangkok and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a bit apprehensive about what awaits us.)

There are two other major things that make Tokyo a great and easy place to visit. The first is that there is a baseline quality to everything that frees you from having to search for good stuff. The people who live there care deeply about the city and the place is spotless. Shop owners have well designed and well curated stores. This baseline quality becomes the most obvious in the restaurants. It's hard to find a bad meal in Tokyo. You don't need to search at all, you don't need recommendations or a guidebook. The food starts at good and just goes up from there. It takes a lot of pressure off of meals. Often when we got hungry, we would walk into the next restaurant we saw and without exception we had a good meal.

The other thing that constantly blew us away in Tokyo was attention to detail. Everything is just so. Nothing is askew or out of place. It's just perfect. The milk for the coffee comes in a tiny perfect pitcher that has a most gratifying heaviness. The sphere of ice in your drink has been checked to make sure that there are no errant icicles that might water down your beverage. Each compartment of your gleaming black lacquer bento looks like a food stylist was called in to arrange it.