There are numerous reasons Tokyo is a great place to live:
1. Otaku Wonderland
If you've got a nerdy side Tokyo is your city.Let's say you're building a robot and need a few parts — Tokyo's got you covered. Akihabara has a few shops that sell nothing but robotic components.
Tokyo is the place to be for manga, anime, cosplay and video game enthusiasts. Nerdy stuff pops up everywhere imaginable.
2. In Tokyo, You Can Be Yourself
Visit Tokyo's Shinagawa station on a weekday morning at 8:53 AM and you'll see a stampede of black suits. From this view — it's hard to imagine Tokyo's individualistic side.Visit Yoyogi Park on any given Sunday and you'll see another side of the city. Many Tokyoites enjoy a great deal of personal liberty.
Fashion, music and artistic subcultures thrive in Tokyo. In Yoyogi Park, it's okay to be who you want to be.
3. Bright Lights Big City
It's hard to think of a more stimulating urban environment than the bright lights of Tokyo. Central Tokyo has at least 50 large neighborhoods — each with its own charm.
4. Safety
Anyway that you slice the statistics — Tokyo is a low crime city. It's safer than New York, Paris and London. Only the police have guns — shootings are rare. Even swords are regulated and difficult to obtain.The Japanese police solve 95.9% of homicides and 75.9% of thefts. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police even find time to solve bicycle crimes — over 50% of stolen bicycles are recovered.
5. Community
Tokyo isn't really a city.Politically, it's a prefecture (similar to a state or province). Tokyo is divided into 23 special wards, 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages that each have their own city hall.
Each of these municipalities has a strong sense of local community. City life revolves around participation in events at local shines and temples. For example, many shrines and temples hold small neighborhood festivals. In many cases, half the neighborhood participates in a festival — carrying mikoshi or performing a dance.
Neighbors also meet at local sento (public baths), parks and neighborhood shops. Tokyo has a surprisingly small town feel.
Many of Tokyo's old, conservative neighborhoods seem lost in time. Things change at a snail's pace. When someone new moves into the neighborhood — it gets all the neighbors gossiping.
In Japan, it's common to buy a small gift and introduce yourself to neighbors when you first move in.
6. Surf and Snow
Tokyo is within hours of decent surfing and snowboarding. In winter, you can surf (wetsuit required) one day and snowboard the next.
7. Job Opportunities
Tokyo has a wide range of job opportunities in fields such as research, engineering and IT. Tokyo is also a land of opportunity for many creative professions such as fashion, animation and art.It's the best city in the world for careers in the automotive or robotics industries. Other industries, such as investment banking follow a dramatic boom and bust cycle in Tokyo — mass hirings one year and mass layoffs the next.
8. Train System
Tokyo has the most extensive, efficient and punctual train system in the world. Its 121 train lines connect 882 stations and carry 14.6 billion passengers annually.Trains improve Tokyo city life in numerous ways. For one thing, Tokyo people don't spend much time sitting in traffic jams. With trains running like clockwork — there's no excuse to be late for work.
One of the reasons that Tokyo nightlife is so vibrant is that few people drive to work or school. Many people go out for drinks a few times a week — filling Tokyo's izakaya, bars, karaoke and clubs every night of the week.
9. Food
Tokyo is a great place to find a good meal. The total number of restaurants in Tokyo isn't known — it's certainly more than 100,000 (greater Tokyo) probably closer to 200,000.B-class gourmets scour the city looking for the best cheap restaurants. When a restaurant is good — word spreads. Tokyo people are willing to line up for long hours for decent food (especially if the price is right).
Tokyo is the best city in the world for fine cuisine — it has more 3-star, 2-star and 1-star Michelin Guide restaurants than any other city in the world.
Restaurants in Japan traditionally serve reasonably priced lunch specials. It's possible to sample fine cuisine for a fraction of the regular cost at lunch.
10. Youth Fashion Energy
Tokyo is alive with street fashions. Tokyo's many fashion subcultures influence styles from New York to Milan.
11. Weekend Trips
Japan's excellent shinkansen network makes vast tracks of Japan's countryside easily accessible to Tokyoites. It's also possible to visit cities such as Kyoto within 2 hours.Many Tokyo people travel a great deal within Japan. Jump on a train and within hours you're in a charming seaside town or mountain village.
12. Events and Concerts
Tokyo attracts a great number of cultural and industry events.Industry events such as the Tokyo Motor Show, Tokyo Game Show, and Tokyo International Anime Fair are amongst the world's biggest trade shows.
Tokyo also attracts a great number musicians, performance artists and visual artists. There's always something happening.
13. Fashion Shopping
Tokyo has hundreds of large departments stores and thousands of smaller shops. From the posh flagship stores of Ginza to the secondhand clothing shops of Shimokitazawa — it's a great place for shopping.
14. Cyberpunk Architecture
Tokyo's architectural landscape is a happy hunting ground for architecture buffs, photographers and urban explorers . Tokyo has a dark, cyberpunk feel like no other city in the world.
15. Tokyo Attractions
In Tokyo, you could visit a different attraction every weekend for 10 years — you would never run out of new things to do.
16. International Travel
Japan is a huge travel market — Japanese tour groups get deep discounts based on their buying power. In off season, it's possible to get packages to Europe, North America and the South Pacific at ridiculously low prices.Tokyo has a wide variety of direct flights — it's surprising where you can fly without a connection.
17. Electronics
Tokyo electronics shops have a stunning selection. They buzz with activity and glow with a trillion colors of light.
18. Festivals
Tokyo's festival calendar is packed with fun filled parties.
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