Why Tokyo Is Like Disneyland
By Asian American in Tokyo | December 25, 2008
2 of my favorite places in the world are Tokyo and Disneyland. At first these 2 places may seem very different, one being one of the world's largest cities and the other being a theme park, but there are surprisingly many similarities between the two. Let's make a list and see what we come up with:
- Disneyland is decentralized, with various themed "lands" (tomorrowland, fantasy land, etc.) spread out in a hub and spoke fashion. Tokyo has no central city area, and instead consists of various mini-city districts (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ueno, etc.) each with a unique personality and character.
- Disneyland has a castle in the center of the themed lands. Tokyo also has a castle (well, the site of former Edo castle) in its center.
- Disneyland has a train that goes in a circle, connecting all of the themed lands together. Tokyo has the Yamanote Line, which connects all of the main districts together.
- Disneyland has trains and monorails. Tokyo has trains and monorails.
- Disneyland is known for being clean and safe. Tokyo is known for being clean and safe.
- Disneyland is known for being forward-looking (tomorrowland) while retaining history and tradition (main street USA from the early 1900s). Tokyo is known for being modern (technology, new construction) while maintaining traditional Japanese tradition (etiquette, culture).
- Disneyland is a highly controlled environment designed to craft an "experience", Tokyo uses social norms to manage behavior to establish a highly controlled environment.
Topics: Places | 2 Comments »
2 Responses to “Why Tokyo Is Like Disneyland”
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December 26th, 2008 at 2:55 am
You could be describing almost any old-world major city.
June 15th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
バカ がいこくぎん ですね。
東京はディズニーランドじゃないよ。