quarta-feira, 16 de maio de 2012

50 razões que fazem de Tokyo a maior e mais legal cidade do mundo


Tokyo -- a city hard to describe. But we've given it a shot.

1. The world's most sophisticated railways

With 13 subway lines and more than 100 surface routes run by Japan Railways and other private companies, Tokyo's railway system seems like it was designed to win world records. It's rare to find a location in the metropolitan area that can’t be reached with a train ride and a short walk. Now, if only the government could devise a way to keep middle-aged salarymen from groping women onboard.

Tokyo Sky Tree
Tokyo Sky Tree. (Tim Hornyak/CNNGo)
2. Sky-high one-upmanship

When officials in Tokyo learned that the new Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower in China would be 610 meters tall -- the same height that was planned for Tokyo Sky Tree, then under construction -- they did what any rational person would do: They added 24 meters to the top of Sky Tree to preserve its claim as the world’s tallest tower. Now complete and scheduled to open in May, the Guinness-certified structure features shops, restaurants and an observation deck that lets you see almost all the way to Guangzhou.

3. Tongue-gasmic food porn

You could spend hours drooling over the elaborate pastries and picture-perfect sushi rolls at Isetan’s recently refurbished, super-stylish depachika. Square watermelons and ¥50,000 matsutake mushrooms are displayed with gallery-like reverence. Other highlights: Eat-in counters run by some of Tokyo’s snazziest restaurants and free samples of food and booze on weekends.
Check out the depachika at IsetanMitsukoshiTakashimaya and Matsuya.

Shibuya scramble crossing. (Flickr/su.bo)

4. Street crossings are like a battle scene from "Braveheart"

The scramble street crossing outside of Shibuya Station is easily the world's busiest, with a thousand people running into the middle of the street, weaving together in a huge organic mass. The scramble perfectly summarizes the essence of Tokyo's true tourist landmarks: not old buildings, but lots and lots people coming together in celebration of culture. 
Outside the Hachiko exit of Shibuya Station

Imperial Palace. (Flickr/travlinman43)

5.  The Emperor will see you now

Visit the Imperial Palace on December 23 or January 2, and you’ll see something impressive: Its owner. Emperor Akihito and family make a twice-yearly public appearance at the Inner Palace grounds for the monarch’s birthday and a New Year’s greeting. If you’re tall enough, you’ll be able to glimpse the man-god himself amid a sea of Rising Sun flag-wavers. Map

Harajuku crossing. (Flickr/The_Other_View)

6. Youth fashion stores by the hundreds

Even with the arrival of Forever 21 and H&M, there are countless independent fashion boutiques in the Harajuku area -- all dedicated to generally insane forms of youth fashion. If you count adjacent Shibuya, Omotesando and Aoyama into the region, you have the world's largest fashion district: featuring basically every single major designer brand in the world.

7. You can act as bait in the world's most bizarre beauty treatment

A toe-curling, heel-buffing experience. This spa treatment, sinisterly named “Doctor Fish,” at Odaiba’s Oedo Onsenno Monogatari involves sticking your feet in a tub for half an hour while tiny fish nibble away at your corns and calluses. Your heels will be smooth, but you may never look at sushi the same way again.
Oedo Onsen no Monogatari: 2-57 Omi, Koto-ku, +81 (0) 3 5500 1126

8. More Michelin stars than anywhere else

When France's lauded Michelin Red Guide announced it would release a Tokyo edition -- the first one to cover an Asian city -- many scoffed at what they perceived to be a mere marketing ploy. But they awarded the area's restaurants a total of 293 stars in the "Tokyo Yokohama Shonan 2012" edition of the guide. It's only fair; Tokyo sports 160,000 known eateries, over 10 times the number in Paris. There are a few three-star standouts in the Tokyo Guide -- Kojyu in Ginza, serving delicate traditional Japanese cuisine; Joël Robuchon in Ebisu, the Tokyo stronghold of the famed celebrity chef; and Quintessence in Shirokane-dai, whose young French-trained chef has finally achieved recognition in the Japanese culinary hierarchy, thanks to his inclusion in the Guide. More than anything, though, Michelin has proven something that most Tokyoites already know: this city is undoubtedly the gastronomic capital of the world.

Yodobashi Akihabara. (Flickr/wyzik)
9. The electronics stores are like theme parks

The Japanese have taken their love of the latest electronic gadgets and modern appliances to a new level with Yodobashi Akiba, the largest electronics store in a section of Tokyo known for being the center of gadget, video game, and anime culture in the city. Going into any electronics store in Akihabara is like stepping into a wonderland of flashing lights and monstrous screens, but Yodobashi ups the ante by offering six massive floors of televisions, stereos, appliances and game consoles, with three more floors dedicated to restaurants, juice bars, bookstores and music shops.
Yodobashi Akiba: 1-1 Kanda-hanaoka-cho, Chiyoda-ku, +81 (0) 3 5209 1010


Chanel in Ginza. (Flickr/d'n'c)
The most absurdly priced retail establishments on one block

Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Coach, Harry Winston -- and many more -- as far as the eye can see, each a dedicated storefront encased in a building of impeccable modern architectural design. Ginza is where to go to see and be seen and to spend more money than most salarymen ever dream of on fashion, handbags, and jewelry. Ginza used to be pithily described as Tokyo's 5th Avenue, but nowadays it's more accurate to call 5th Avenue New York's Ginza.


Para ver todas as 50... clique aqui.

Beijos da Alex:)

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