Most people who see pictures from Japan see only the good stuff, but the truth is that most neighborhoods are really ugly. Tokyo is one of the most poorly designed and aesthetically unappealing cities in the world. It's full of ugly concrete boxes for the most part. Unless you're a tourist or make an effort to hit beautiful spots in your free time, your time in Japan is mainly going to be filled with dingy, ugly streets full of cheaply constructed buildings.
I won't miss the ugly, boxy concrete jungle.
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A large part of the ugliness is power lines. I can't help but feel that the perpetuation of this habit (which may have been out of economic necessity right after the war )is somehow related to the lax relationship the government has with the power companies. Of course lately some cities have begun burying lines, especially in tourist areas and in the city center, but most Japanese are so used to it they really don't feel a palpable instinctive need for it (if you will). If only they could imagine how much better it would look, and how much less stress one feels.
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