In Part 1 of this special edition of Three Green Lights, mortifiedpenguin tells you why you should go to Tokyo if you have the chance, even if you’ve been there many times before.

( Read the rest of the blog entry after the jump! )

There are few places in the world that make you feel at home, and make you reluctant to leave.

Going on holiday in a foreign land is one thing.  Everything seems so different it makes you stand out in the sea of locals.

Going to Tokyo is a different experience altogether, at least for a Singaporean like me.

Firstly, we’re all Asian. That makes you less distinctive when you’re walking on the streets. But of course you would still be identified as a tourist on first sight from the way you dress up. Japanese people have a distinctive fashion taste for both genders which changes according to the seasons. For us used to the bloody hot and humid weather back home, we cannot help but wear a jacket even when it’s summer over there.

Tokyo is a mix of both modernity and traditional Japanese culture, just like how Singapore is progressing and attempting to retain its heritage at the same time. In the shopping districts of Shinjuku and Shibuya, you would feel like you were walking down Orchard Road, but with the vibrancy and human traffic multiplied by ten. You won’t find so many bright neon lights on shopping centres, or salespeople announcing promotions using loudhailers or even at the top of their lungs, or just greeting you when you are walking past a section at a department store even if you have no intention of trying out the clothes. Something that Singapore still has to work on if it were to promote itself as a tourist hub – don’t you feel you were the only non-zombie sometimes?

If you’re afraid of getting lost in a city which speaks its own language, fear not. There are English signs almost everywhere, especially at the subway stations, and the people here are more fluent at English than in the past so you shouldn’t have a difficult time asking for directions. Talking about the subway, I have never seen a more efficient public transport system. Tokyo is so inter-connected by the many subway lines that there is no need to take a bus to get around. If you’re feeling lazy, you could even get from one of the street to the other without walking. Back home we’re still lacking connectivity on this scale, not to forget the long waiting times for the MRT. But the fares are not cheap though – one ride on the Metro costs around 160-180 yen which translates to almost three Singapore dollars!

Don’t believe how easy it is to get around Tokyo? 10 months after my 2008 Tokyo trip, I still remembered the exact routes to take from my hotel to the various shopping centres and the cafes hidden in the underground maze. And note that I was only there for three days on my previous trip. Maybe Tokyo just had a lasting impression on me.

You would say it’s lame to go back to the same city twice in a row, and honestly speaking I thought so too initially. I had actually wanted to go somewhere fresh like Bali or Egypt before my enlistment. But actually Tokyo is more than just Disneyland and shopping – there are so many events and festivals happening throughout the year that you just can’t experience everything at the same time. This year I’ve been fortunate enough to catch the late blooming of sakura, and the week before my arrival there was the International Anime Expo and Tokyo Fashion Week. There’s so much to do and see that every trip to Tokyo is worth it.

I wouldn’t lie – if there was an opportunity for me to stay in Tokyo on a long-term or even permanent basis I would really consider it carefully. I’ve been completely bought over by the politeness of the people there and given the familiarity of living in a modern city, why not? I’ve grown sick and tired of having to put up with an ignorant and selfish society which after forty odd years of independence still has not gotten rid of that disgusting ‘kiasuism‘ mindset, even with the major progresses the government has made in shaping our education system. Does that make us unique? Definitely, but I’m not the slightest bit proud of this fact.

Perhaps I’m being too picky.

Part 2 of this blog entry would be about the food in Tokyo, so stay tuned!