Tokyo asks why not?

Q: Where can you find Disneyland, the Golden Gate bridge, and the Eiffel Tower all in the same place?
A: (Bet you weren't gonna say) Tokyo!

The real question is, what can't you find in Tokyo? Last Friday, we drove into the world's most overcrowded city, with a population of 35 million (the fact that we drove in was an amazing thing to most Japanese who can take the train almost anywhere, and who in their right mind would want to drive in Tokyo anyway?). One route into the city passes by Disneyland, but we decided to take the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line. This monstrous construction is a 2.7 mile bridge and a nearly 6 mile tunnel across and under the bay. In the middle is an "artificial island" designed to look like a large cruise ship.

Looking back on the bridge.

Looking over the tunnel toward Tokyo.

Our GPS quite sensibly points out that we are in the middle of a body of water.

Upon exiting the tunnel, we then drove over Tokyo's own Golden Gate bridge.

To be quite honest, Tokyo frightened me. Part of the problem was my fear of bridges (and this one was massive) but everything was also so metal-and-concrete and huge and sleek. I have probably read too many sci-fi novels, but the scene felt really alien. And the gimicky Eiffel tower and Golden Gate added to the feeling that this was a city and a very real progression of the human race that asked, if we can build it or create it, why shouldn't we?

Plus, the highways around Tokyo are elevated above the streets, so when you drive in, you feel "among" the skyrises and don't really see any people. I felt better when we were on ground level and I spotted a mote surrounding a large walled-off area of gorgeous green. It was the Emperor's garden, preserved and sitting in the middle of the city. I decided that if I had to live in Tokyo, I would want to live there, in the Emperor's garden, but in general, I preferred Kamogawa.