Tokyo is for the expressive.

The streets are lit up at night by the shiny billboards of Shibuya Crossing, and the smiles on lovers’ faces. The city center is full of colors. Individuals dressed in whatever outfits they feel best represent their mood, from traditional to street hip hop. You can be whoever you want to be.


Tokyo is for the spiritual.

The smell of incense fill the temples and prayers flags hang in the air. Visitors are asked to wash their hands and mouth before entering the temple, to cleanse of all sins and dirtiness. A short walk away, at the Japanese rock garden, lines and circles are drawn in white sand and resemble ripples in the water. The landscape is a careful arrangement of rocks, pruned trees, and raked sand.


Tokyo is for the early-risers.

At 4am, fish vendors are setting up their booths. The light at each vendor’s stand light up the aisles at Tsukiji Fish Market - the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. Tsukiji seems intimidating on the outside, but a closer look reveals that everything and everyone is moving at a routined manner. Fresh catch is loaded into the market by car, boat, or truck then parts are auctioned off.

Tokyo is for the adventurous.

I poke my head out of the taxi for some air, noting the darkness that surrounds us at 4:00am. This morning, we’re going to Tsukiji Fish Market - the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world.

Sellers are still setting up shop when we arrive. It’s the perfect time for me to acquaint myself with the space. Upon arrival, Tsukji  seems  intimidating with a whole lot of chaos. But a closer look reveals that everything and everyone is moving at a routined manner. Fresh catch is loaded into the market by car, boat, or truck then parts are auctioned off.

With one eye on my eyepiece and the other on the trucks zooming by transporting catch from one location to another, I peruse the aisles for anything interesting on display.

My hand feels around on the nightstand quietly, I’m trying to find my cell phone in the dark and not wake up my roommate Sal at the same time. The phone flashes 3:49am.

I’ve had a hard time falling asleep the last few days but I don’t mind. There is no better place to stay up all night than in Tokyo, Japan. I sneak out of bed and grab my camera, I tiptoe around the suitcases on the floor and snap a few pictures through the window.

Japan is addictive for photographers - its ancient culture with ceremonies and traditional dress, its lush green landscape and the romantic spring cherry blossoms, its quick embrace of technology and fast economic development.

For me, the appeal of this country lies in its contrast. Japan is a world of dichotomies and of contradiction - it is futuristic as much as it is traditional, it is calm and collected yet effusively emotional, it is the past and the present, preserved in one place. It is wabi sabi.

I sit by the window for a few more minutes and start to yawn. Tiptoeing back to my bed, I decide to give sleep one more try and snuggle back under the covers.

Tonight, I hope I dream about Tokyo.