Tokyo - it's more than just a city. And not just figuratively (he is often referred to as "another planet"), and in the truest sense of the word. Formally, the present capital of Japan - an entire prefecture, which includes 62 administrative units. Under the "city of Tokyo" is usually understood as 23 special district, which since 1943 have been assimilated in status to the cities, but still remained in the minds of most people in the country and foreigners, a single entity.
Furthermore: until relatively recently the pore, 1869, and the name of the city was different - it was called Edo, which translates from Japanese as "the entrance to the Gulf. Capital of the country at that time was Kyoto, and Edo was the only capital of the shogunate (Tokugawa - a military clan, the de facto ruled by Japan from XII to XIX century) In 1868, the shogunate came to an end, and the Emperor Mutsuhito moved to Edo capital, which was called Tokyo (in Japanese - "Eastern capital»).
say that Tokyo - a city of progress, therefore, to say nothing. Life in the Japanese capital in the XX century. can not be called serene. In 1923, in an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter scale, caused a lot of damage. Tokyo suffered a lot and during World War II, undergoing regular air attacks. Then the city has experienced a military occupation, the Korean War, for some time, became an American military base ... and each time was reborn like a phoenix in the high-tech style. Particularly intensively began to develop the construction of the second half of XX century. That's when the light appeared hundreds of his most famous skyscrapers. Their architecture is so comprehensive and complicated that it is difficult to see any building as a whole - an eye every now and then pulls out a gigantic structure some specific details.
It seems that the Japanese in the consciousness of average Europeans have always been aliens. At the same time, life-style of this nation for thousands of years remained unchanged, like Mount Fuji. Only in the last century, the Japanese began open to the world, beginning to absorb the art, science and technological developments in Europe and America, and recycling all of this, coupled with its own identity, something entirely new in our world. Like thousands of years ago, tokiytsy able to skillfully enter their temples in the surrounding landscape, and now they can with an amazing skill to harmonize the space in which new, aggressive glass skyscrapers perfectly with traditional sakura and wooden deities. Only the Japanese can build a skyscraper on a foundation of the pagoda. From each square meter they can make a work of art, placing a flower, having laid a few stones and empty stream of water. And this despite the desperate economy of space! And now you can sit in the middle of the "stone jungle" and meditate. The harmony of opposites.

In this regard, not surprised by the fact that in Tokyo, for example, has its Eiffel Tower - just an orange. (Now, by the way, here are under construction and the highest TV tower in the world - if not prevent the crisis, promised to finish building by 2011.) There is in Tokyo Bay and its own copy of the American Statue of Liberty. Not without its cultural links to Russia - in the form of monuments to two great Russian writer: Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. First, the sculptor Yuri Chernov, executed in classical style and was established in Soviet times, while the second appeared in 2004 - the year the centenary of Chekhov's death. The author, Gregory Potocki, allegorically depicted the author as unknown character of the Russian soul that is installed on an inclined plane. Needless to say, that he had not stirred controversy in Japan. It seems to them to relatives.
And here is a monument to faithful dog. Her former boss, a professor at Tokyo University, traveled to the station at work and the dog every day, accompanied and met his master. But once the professor had a heart attack, and he never returned home. Dog every day, as many as eleven years old, came to the station and waited and waited ... so that was later immortalized in bronze. During the war, the statue was melted down, and then restored by donations of citizens.
Saving space, the residents of Tokyo does not skimp on feelings.

AND Of course, lack of space, overcrowding and fumes in the city forced its residents to seek creative ways of relaxation and wellness. For example, in recent years began to appear in Tokyo hotels with rooms capsule. Rooms in these hotels are usually equipped with the latest technology, but are the size of two square meters. In such numbers the Japanese often come to relax for an hour or two, take a break from work or on the eve of important negotiations. That is obtained by a relaxation space for rent.
Course, an improvement in Tokyo is inextricably linked with technological progress. So, another popular local way of recreation - capsule oxygen. You go inside the capsule, a sarcophagus filled with concentrated oxygen, and totally improve their own metabolism, at the same time achieve enlightenment. The session lasts from 10 minutes to an hour and costs from. By the way, such cameras are not only in sports clubs and beauty salons - the Japanese are buying them for 000, even his home. In fact, experts recommend this procedure to restore emotional balance under stress, which most people in Tokyo is exposed every day.
Another popular way to nirvana in Japanese - is a massage chair, which took place among home and office furniture. Strengthens muscles, reduces stress, normalizes blood circulation. Chairs are available in hundreds of variants, with different views, from different manufacturers.
Can breathe in the heart of Tokyo and the pairs of salt - in one of the health clubs, where every restroom is lined with hydrochloric tiles. They say it's also a way to relieve stress and achieve harmony.
Well, of course, the much-loved tokiytsami stone element is reflected in the local SPA-procedures. This is not just a banal stone massage. In Tokyo, stone baths offer a whole ... that fill the stone-powder blend, called SGE (from the English. Super Growth Energy, superenergiya). These rocks were formed in the Mesozoic Era, provide relief from toxins, normalizes blood pressure, reduce blood sugar, relieve nervous disorders and even, according to some experts, improve the condition of malignant tumors.

Author: Maria Zhelihovskaya