If you want a 5 minute introduction to Tokyo, head straight to the Shibuya Crossing. Thousands of people (up to 45,000 in a 30 minute period) – cross at a time, coming from all directions but remarkably, it’s orderly like everything else in Japan. There’s no pushing and everyone is polite as all manage to dodge each other , well….. except for all those tourists that get scrambled in the middle while trying to take selfies ….
There is also the Kawaii, meaning “cute” or “childlike”, culture in Japan. The term is used for the phenomenon of Japanese obsession with cute characters, toys, foods, games, and fashion. This affinity for kawaii, mostly from Japanese women has grown at a tremendous rate over the past three decades and has become an integral part of Japanese society attracting a fair share of criticism. Some women, such as the wife of Japan’s prime minister said in a recent interview “Japan’s women are being held back by pressure from men to be cute, rather than capable.

We’ve seen many young women walking “pigeon- toed” (which at first we though was due to a medical condition) on purpose,purely because they beleive it is cute!

It would appear that the physical appearance of being weak, submissive, childish, helpless and some times dumb, is very appealing to some Japanese men ….

KON’NICHIWA TŌKYŌ from SAMt & Bike Without Borders on Vimeo.