City Rating: Tokyo
Population: 9’500’000
Date of visit: August 2012
Attractions & sights: 5/5
Nightlife: 5/5
Safety: 4/5
Infrastructure: 5/5
Low budget factor: $/5
Total: 👍👍👍👍👍/5
The city in a nutshell:
Huge, vibrant, clean and organized. Tokyo is the biggest city in the world. A fascinating one and also one of the most spectacular cities in the world. The list of Tokyo’s attractions seems to be endless. This city is full of superlatives, but alas, also a very expensive travel destination.
Where to stay:
Roppongi, Shibuya or Shinjuku would be my favorite neighborhoods. Actually, the most important thing is having a metro station near the hotel, as using the metro is the best way to explore this city.
The Good:
Where do I begin? Japan’s capital is the total package:
Attractions & sights: you can spend two weeks or even more in Tokyo without seeing all of the city. Each of Tokyo’s 23 districts has its own character and own vibe. Tokyo is a city that needs time therefore, but it pays off. The fact that the city is so diverse give you the opportunity to see a completely different place every day.
Food: the Japanese cuisine is one of the most popular in the world. That doesn’t come as a surprise, as the Japanese people generally have a high sense for quality. International food is widely available and as good as in the origin country. I’ve never had better French pastries than in Japan for example.
Nightlife: Tokyo is one of these few cities that provide nightlife every night. Seriously, you can go out on a Monday evening and you will have enough options for a good night out.
Safety: crime-rate is among the lowest in the world. I didn’t give Tokyo a 5/5 in this section though. I will explain the reason at the end of this article.
Infrastructure: the best infrastructure in the world is in Tokyo, period. The metro network is the most efficient way to get around. The trains are clean and the most punctual in the world.
Mentality: Japanese mentality is weird from the perspective of a foreigner. But this make the capital even more interesting.
To summarize, Tokyo is one of these rare „WOW!“-cities.
The Bad & The Ugly:
Of course, gigantic cities like Tokyo are not everyone’s cup of tea. Tokyo is a huge concrete jungle and people sometimes complain about the fact that everything is so well-organized in Japan’s capital.
The city is also expensive, and I mean very expensive. It’s probably one of the most expensive travel destinations in the world. Bring a big wallet with you.
The reason why I don’t give 5/5 for safety are the earthquakes. Japan is a country where earthquakes can occur and it happens often in the capital, sometimes even with casualties.
Find other City Ratings here.
