They are very business like in their demeanor. Unlike the people in SE Asia, they do not make eye contact or smile as they pass. I think it is a western, 'developed world' trait. I feel like I am in the U.S. They walk briskly as they move down the sidewalks, many with briefcases.

The sidewalks are always filled with pedestrians, unlike in the U .S. where you might be the only one walking down a sidewalk. I attribute this to the fact that so many ride the subways and trains. When they get off at their stops there is always a ways to walk to get to where they are going.

There are a lot of men that wear black business suits. Many others do not wear suits, just black dress pants and white shirts. This seems to be not only the older adults but the young men as well. Many of the girls and women wear the black and white, also. I do not know why this is the favorite style of dress. I read where the literacy rate in Japan is 100%25. I have not seen one beggar or panhandler asking for money.

The bicycles do not have bike lanes on the streets. Instead, they ride their bicycles on the sidewalks. The sidewalk has two parts marked out. One side is marked for pedestrians and the other part is for bikes. These are marked with graphics on the walks.

Vending machines are everywhere as you walk . You can buy not only food and soft drinks but coffee in a can. I try a can of coffee. It is cold coffee but not bad. Many things you will buy a ticket for out of a machine and then pay for your purchases with the ticket rather than yen.

Bicycles are parked all along the walks and at stores. At first they look as if they are not locked, but then I see small round locks that go just around the back wheel near the saddle.

Tokyo is a large, but very clean city. There are not trash cans anywhere, though. I carry my trash around with me all day looking for a can on the walk somewhere. How do the streets stay so clean without trash cans around for people to drop their trash in?

Train stations are never very far away and are always very busy.

Not many Japanese speak English. Many businesses and other signs are in Japanese only, even in the train stations .

These are the observations I have made on my first day in Tokyo.

I enjoy meeting local people in the country I am in, if they can speak English. The only one I have met so far is the young man working the front desk at the hostel. We talked a while and he gave me a lot of information about getting around Tokyo and things I might enjoy seeing while here. He speaks very good English, but, I find out he is not Japanese. He is Chinese and is here in Japan on a scholarship for two years of school.

His name is Jason. He explains it is not his Chinese name but the one he goes by at work because his name is too difficult for the foreign clients that stay here. He tells me his Chinese name and I call him Jason.

I talk to Jason about China. Outside of Beijing it is a very poor country he tells me. The internet is government controlled and many websites cannot be accessed by the people .

By the time his shift ends at 4 P.M. he invites me to go see some things in Tokyo. He rides the subway for about an hour to get home and some things on the way he thinks I would like to see. We ride for about half an hour and get off the subway. We tour the downtown area. He points out many places of interest before we stop at a cafe to eat. It is like a diner. You sit at a counter on stools to eat. It is busy but all the customers are Japanese, no foreigners. Jason puts some yen into a vending machine. It is all in Japanese. I tell him to purchase the same for me. We take our tickets to the counter and get a stool to sit on. The person behind the counter takes our tickets and soon brings out our food. It is a bowl of noodles and beef. It is very good and cost about 380 yen. No money is changed at the counter. All the money transactions take place at the machine.

We go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office. It is 243 meters tall with twin towers . There is an observation deck on the 45th floor of each tower. There are great panoromic views of Tokyo from the decks. On a clear day a person can see Mt. Fuji, but today it is cloudy.

The Tokyo night scene is just as busy and vibrant as in the day. People are on the subways and sidewalks shoulder to shoulder. The streets are lit by the bright neon lights.

I learn that Toyko will be the site of the summer Olympics in 2020.

Eventually, Jason leaves for his 45 minute subway ride home and I go the opposite direction, once again to test my skills on the Tokyo subway system.