> You might be correct though that you have less reason in Tokyo to go to the city center compared to a German city, e.g. for work, entertainment and night-live.
This is the misunderstanding most foreigners fall into.
There is no Tokyo City, there hasn't been for decades. You're travelling between cities, in Tokyo Metropolis, which is vast, think of it as a prefecture if that helps, since administratively speaking is closer to that. You can change cities by going from one train station in Taito to one in Chiyoda in a few minutes. Or spend 2-3 hours from Edogawa to Akiruno.
People do commute of course, millions of them from Saitama, Kanagawa or Chiba Prefecture into Tokyo. But it is equally normal for many other millions, and certainly desirable, to live and work in your city, which is one of many in Tokyo. So I take issue with "Tokyo is expensive"...
There are a myriad different offerings in living space in cities in Tokyo.
Setagaya, only one of the 23 central "wards" ( = cities, each with a City Hall and a Mayor ) has a million people. You can live, work, shop, go out and anything else you can think of without even leaving Setagaya.
To your point of foreign food in Japan, I find it to be of better quality than foreign food in Europe, where for instance 90% of Japanese restaurants are run by Chinese, and not that great, and Chinese restaurants have little or nothing to do with actual and good Chinese food. When in Japan you go to a pizzeria or trattoria where the owner / cook is Italian, or a Spanish tapas bar with a Basque owner, and they bring ingredients from Europe, that obviously is something you pay for.
Edit : I forgot to agree before on the very poor English skills of most Japanese.
I hope I'm not annoying you with my replies. I'm enjoying the friendly discussion.
> To your point of foreign food in Japan, I find it to be of better quality than foreign food in Europe.
That's mostly an illusion based on your expectation bias. Foreign food in Europe as well as in Japan is made to mostly cater for the local population. Pizza in Japan is twice the price and half the taste of most Pizza in Germany (in my small sample size of 2 pizzerias here, because I didn't like paying that much for something I don't like. Pizza is my favorite food though and I'm also very good in making it myself). But you probably like it more, because it uses less spices and Japanese food in general uses less spices. That's not an issue of quality, but of different expectation of taste.
I have been in Japan for 5 months and traveled for a month through 6 cities and to Okinawa, eating Ramen in every city at least once, but the best Ramen I had was still in Munich (by a Japanese chef). Not because the quality is better there, but because they added more species and more meat and that fits my taste. The sushi you get in German running sushi is mostly inside-out maki, with less nori and a higher amount of fish inside. I actually prefer it, but I would never say it's better quality than original Japanese sushi (I'm actually pretty sure the quality of the fish used is worse). Although I never liked miso soup before coming to Japan and I really like it here.
> Chinese restaurants have little or nothing to do with actual and good Chinese food.
Yes that's true and the same reason. Case in point, I personally strongly prefer German Chinese food over real Chinese food. Interestingly though "Chinese" food between Ireland and Germany have basically nothing in common but the name.
Well, this has gone off-topic quickly, but I certainly appreciate the notes comparing living standards and cultural differences. Whatever that may have to do with Recruit taking over the world, which I don't think is likely to happen at at all.
Certainly food talk is tricky, as it can be extremely subjective.
If you haven't yet, I recommend trying the local okonomiyaki in Hiroshima, cooked in front of you.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial should also be a mandatory trip for every school or university in the world.
Ah from my experience on HN derailing topics is acceptable as long as it stays constructive and new things are said. Also no one is forced to read a thread that already starts at ~3 levels deep, if he doesn't like the topic. It's really easy to just collapse that. I often really enjoy some threads that have derailed heavily, but tell me knew interesting things in a well written way.
I have seen the peace memorial. The children memorial close by left the most lasting impression. Ringing the peace bell was also a very special moment.
I only had Okonomiyaki in Osaka. Not cooked in front of me, but served on a hot plate built into the table and finished at the table with what I think was mayonnaise and dried tuna. It was good, but I will have no chance to visit Hiroshima again to compare.
Regarding water, I started drinking it bottled during the Fukushima accident in 2011, when in Katsushika City ( East of Tokyo ) they recommended not to give tap water to babies or young children for a few days when radiation readings briefly spiked. It took a few hours for bottled water to disappear that day... That one was scary.
This is the misunderstanding most foreigners fall into.
There is no Tokyo City, there hasn't been for decades. You're travelling between cities, in Tokyo Metropolis, which is vast, think of it as a prefecture if that helps, since administratively speaking is closer to that. You can change cities by going from one train station in Taito to one in Chiyoda in a few minutes. Or spend 2-3 hours from Edogawa to Akiruno.
People do commute of course, millions of them from Saitama, Kanagawa or Chiba Prefecture into Tokyo. But it is equally normal for many other millions, and certainly desirable, to live and work in your city, which is one of many in Tokyo. So I take issue with "Tokyo is expensive"...
There are a myriad different offerings in living space in cities in Tokyo.
Setagaya, only one of the 23 central "wards" ( = cities, each with a City Hall and a Mayor ) has a million people. You can live, work, shop, go out and anything else you can think of without even leaving Setagaya.
To your point of foreign food in Japan, I find it to be of better quality than foreign food in Europe, where for instance 90% of Japanese restaurants are run by Chinese, and not that great, and Chinese restaurants have little or nothing to do with actual and good Chinese food. When in Japan you go to a pizzeria or trattoria where the owner / cook is Italian, or a Spanish tapas bar with a Basque owner, and they bring ingredients from Europe, that obviously is something you pay for.
Edit : I forgot to agree before on the very poor English skills of most Japanese.