I was thinking that Tokyo would be overwhelming, this vast city (the metropolitan area has over 35 million inhabitants) seemed rather intimidating after what was now the relative known of South East Asia. How many people would speak English, how much of the signage would I understand - or not? In the end, Tokyo seems oddly like the western world - and so very quiet! So clean and calm. Where are the people setting up cooking stoves in the middle of the pavement, where are the children running around, the motorbikes beeping and hooting all over the place, the colours, the noise, the litter, the life? It is so clinical in comparison with Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos etc. that it seems a bit like a ghost town. What I thought would be overwhelming is instead very calm and rather odd...it feels a little bit dead.
This however I am putting down to being exceedingly tired - my flight left Hanoi at 11:30pm and flew in to Narita around 6:30am. Just over 5 hours flying time was filled with the very talkative Vietnamese man next to me asking numerous questions and making conversation, which was nice but when I apologised and said I was tired and needed to sleep the questions continued regardless... oh well, it was nice to have a connection with another person on their way to an as yet unknown city. I am relishing the calm collectedness of this island country and intend to explore it's capital more tomorrow....
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