One of my favourite things to do is wander around different neighborhoods in Tokyo, meandering through back streets and discovering interesting shops off the beaten track. You find small specialty shops, eclectic places that devote themselves to one specific product or service, and random buildings that make you wonder what they are for. Here are some pictures, random buildings, coffee roasters, small tiny parks nestled in downtown areas. On another note, there are a lot of seemingly innocent things in Japan which make my skin crawl. Just like any country, there is a great deal of propaganda, manipulation and secrecy from the government that really makes you wonder about how such a developed, incredible country can be so corrupt. For example, here is an advertisement in the subway promoting produce and food from the Fukushima area. The government has made a big push to help promote the farmers and agriculture from that area, which was devastated by the nuclear disaster a few years ago. But should they be doing this? There are countless reports of the government hiding information, covering up radiation leaks and lying about the safety of the area. If you have a young child, and you are buying these vegetables, you might be endangering their future health and safety. It's crazy to think there would be such a widespread media blitz to ignore those dangers.
Don't get me wrong though, Japan is no better or worse than countless other countries, the US and Canada included. Just look at the propaganda surrounding our fracking and tar sands operations and you can see the parallels. It's disturbing to see the same collusion of big business and government no matter where you travel around the world.
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