Tokyo definitely takes some getting used to because it is exceptionally unusual, in that the usual frames of reference are nonexistent. There are no great cathedrals or breathtaking classical structures — other than the occasional colossal shrine, which to the untrained Western eye all look pretty much the same.
The two oldest buildings we saw were the Tokyo Train Station in the heart of the city, a who cares-looking red brick-domed building designed by a German that looks vaguely British, dating from the late 1800s, and the National Diet Building (Congress) that was built in 1936. That’s the pyramid-roofed structure that Godzilla was always trying to destroy .
Tokyo, while endlessly unique and entertaining is totally lacking in ANY sense of “style”. I mean, the two most significant structures in Tokyo are giant radio transmitter towers.
Yes, Tokyo’s two primary structures are radio towers, the silver Sky Tree and the red and blue Eiffel Tower knockoff Tokyo Tower. They are both very cool, but hardly historic. So, it’s strange to be in one of the world’s greatest cities and not be able to point to multiple grand old buildings that command the skyscape.
To be brutally honest, Tokyo is incredibly interesting but pretty darn bleak. It’s all grays and browns, earth tones devoid of color and often looking pretty rundown. When it’s sunny, it’s like a shabby, drab expanse of six story apartment and office buildings, with a few shiny skyscraper in the city center and a sterile new town being erected along Tokyo Bay. And when it rains, the fog and mist settles over the town like a soggy wet blanket and it feels like Blade Runner. There is absolutely no discernible architectural style.
Nothing is old or historic other than the occasional Shinto or Buddhist Shrine. This is because of the fact that the old structures were all made of wood and shoehorned tightly together, so they all repeatedly burned down, starting in the Edo Period, in 1657, when the Meireki Fire burned Tokyo to the ground. The Japanese didn’t start building with brick until the Europeans sold them on its merits in the 1800’s. Then, of course, we bombed the crap out of the place during WWII. So, in Tokyo, a building from the era of the American Civil War is really old.
And that’s just fine with the average Japanese who tend to live in the here and now and do not look to the past or the future. They don’t revere their history and do not celebrate what happened long ago, other than what can best be described as murky legends.
The Japanese worship their dead family members, fireworks, and sports, making them pretty much like the average Westerner in many regards. And they even love beer!
