Wise Woman Travel

Before I came to Tokyo, I hadn’t realized it’s now the largest metropolis in the world, with a population of 37 million people.

That meant when we traveled around  the city, we experienced crowds. But I never felt unsafe or claustrophobic or disrespected. I never got pushed or shoved or had someone openly lose patience with me because I got in their way. And believe me, as we were figuring out where to put our subway passes or how to get through the gates at Tokyo Station, we got in people’s way a LOT. But always we were met with smiles and tolerance of our mistakes. People weave their way through crowds with an unspoken orchestration, rarely bumping into each other. Bike riders on the sidewalks take precautions, slowing down and even dismounting if conditions get too congested.

There was even a certain jolliness in some crowds. One Sunday afternoon, we visited the Asakusa neighborhood, which is known for its Old Tokyo vibe, and the Sensoji temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in the city. Turned out lots of Japanese and tourists had the same idea. Posses of young women had visited kimono rental shops and were parading around taking selfies. Rows and rows of food stands were lined up with people purchasing treats ranging from meat on a stick to matcha ice cream to my personal favorite, melonpan, a giant domed bun, its sugar cookie crunchy top scored to look like cantaloupe skin, its inside stuffed with whipped cream. Our favorite discovery of the day was the Kapabashi kitchen tools street, shop after shop specializing in all thing culinary –  knives and baking pans, lacquerware and chopsticks, even a store featuring the plates of  plastic foods you see on display  in front of many restaurants.

Were there crowds in all these places? Of course. Did we still enjoy them? Absolutely.  Tokyo has a lot to teach the rest of the world about crowd manners, and being respectful of other people making their way through the world.