Finding my happy place in Tokyo

This is just a quick post to touch base, since I’ve been in Tokyo for two full days and haven’t written anything yet. But I want to share some general impressions. I’ll write more detail later.

I haven’t been enamored of Tokyo. It’s extremely crowded, both with tourists and locals. It’s huge and spread out, so everywhere you want to go takes time to get to. And it’s a big, modern city without anything particularly beautiful. Sure, there are cityscapes that are impressive. And there are a few historical sites. But much of it feels generic to me. No “wow” factor. No charm. It has among the lowest percentage of green space per person of all major cities. And nothing to capture my heart and make me think I can’t wait to come back and spend more time here.

So yesterday afternoon, after a day and a half of group activities, we had some free time. And finally I found my happy place.

This is the Tokyo National Museum. Here I spent about three hours immersing myself in Japanese art. I also had a little time in the National Museum of Western Art, which had an astonishing collection.

I will share photos and more stories later. But I just wanted to take a moment to revel in the joy of great art.