Dr. Andrew Gallimore (131:58)
It really shows you that it is possible to have a very large, densely populated city that is Safe and clean and functioning. Doesn't have to be. People say, oh, you know, I got robbed. It's just part of being in a big city, or I was stabbed last night, or my car was broken into. And it's. This is just what happens when you live in a big city, man. And it's like, actually, no, it is possible to have safe and clean. And. And Tokyo is fascinating because it's an example of what's often called an emergent city. They don't have this very strict zoning where, oh, here it's got to be offices here, it's got to be houses here it's got to be small businesses or anything like that. It's like it's all mixed together and different kind of neighborhoods kind of just emerge. You know, there's a knife district, for example. People who sell knives, they all gather together as a bookshop district. There's a, you know, districts for all different things because they. Not because someone has decided, oh, only bookshops can be here. It's just that they tend to gather together, right? And so, you know, you walk around Tokyo and you might. You'll find yourself in some quiet alley and you'll have little houses and then you'll have a little store. Often very, very tiny stores that have been perhaps operating for. For decades. And in the UK or I guess in. In the States as well, they would have gone under decades ago. You know, the city would have just crushed them. But it's, it's. It seems very easy in, in Tokyo to kind of open a small. If you have a house and you own it in Tokyo, you can, by law, you can. You can convert the first floor into a store. You'll get these little old ladies who will. They bought their house decades ago, they're retired, and they think, oh, what can I do with my time? I know I'll open a cafe. And they say they open a little cafe. Hardly anyone goes, maybe it might be. Could be in the countryside, it could be on the outskirts or whatever, but it doesn't matter because they own it and they're not being raped by, you know, taxes and stuff and all that. And all this kind of red tape. They don't have to deal with it. So they just have this lovely little cafe, entirely unique. They might fill it with things they're interested in. So it's. It's a completely unique thing that you can go in and she'll serve you tea and maybe the cakes that she. She made this morning. And there are thousands of these throughout Tokyo. Not Just little old ladies, but young people who own, who will rent very cheaply. They have these. Have you seen in Tokyo when you see the buildings, you often see these, these neon signs coming down the sides of the building. These are called Zakyo, which is basically miscellaneous use buildings. And what they are is just very tall buildings. And each floor you will have some kind of business. Could be anything. It's often bars or, you know, pool rooms or that. Anything you want, little restaurant, anything like this. And of course, they can't. They don't have the, the frontage on the ground floor. And so they. Instead they will put their, their sign, neon sign, telling you what they are down the side of the building. And that's what gives Tokyo that unique look, is because it's all of these Accio buildings. And sometimes if you go. A friend took me to this bar. Well, it was. It was like a building. It was in Kabuki Church, which is right in the center of Tokyo. And it was on a side street. And there was this tall building, gray building. You would never look at it. No signage or anything. And you look at the Elevate, when you go into the elevator on each floor, there's like a name of a business, Top hat, eight Ball, Enigma. You have no idea what these are. They're not on Google Maps. And he just pressed the button for the eighth floor. He went up and it was just this little bar run by this one guy. And it was, you know, he played darts and had a drink. And a few people came in. Not many, because most people, 99.89% of the population of Tokyo, have no idea that this bar exists, nor could they ever know because it's not on Google Maps. There's no reviews of it. It doesn't exist. And I couldn't find it again unless I call my friend and say, take me there. I can never go to that bar again ever, because I don't know where it is.