Tokyo, May 2000. On a normal, i.e rainy day, I was
in Ginza, the central commercial district in Tokyo, when
I decided to walk to Nihombashi. Nihombashi is one of
the most famous bridges in Tokyo, and was the symbolic
center of Japan during the Edo period. Its name means
"Japan Bridge", and it used to be the starting point of the
major roads. You can see it on the first of Hiroshige's
"Tokaido 53 Stations".
Well, that's what they say to the tourists. After
walking under a thin rain during almost an hour, I finally
got to the bridge. It was a pretty bridge indeed, and it did
cross a little river as they said. But there was something
else: a gigantic expressway, fifteen meters above
the bridge, which followed the course of the river. The
beauty of the bridge was completely spoiled by the
expressway, and the river was half-hidden under the hideous
beast. How many of the innumerable salarymen who
drive the expressway every day think about that bridge,
somewhere under the wheels of their cars?
I had already noticed that the Tokyo expressways seem
to have their own life, independent from the rest of the
city. Sometimes there are two expressways, one above the
other. They run here and there, usually above normal
streets. One of them rushes out of a block of buildings
like a train out of a tunnel, crosses the Sumida river in
a very large curve and comes into another block on the
opposite bank, with absolutely no care for the existing
urban spatial structure and aesthetic unity.
I was amazed. I came from Paris, a town where every
remainder of the past is carefully preserved and emphasized:
large squares make beautiful churches look even more
majestic, major buildings are located at the end of long and
large avenues, and the bridges in the center of the city
offer a unique view where everything is old and
charming. In Paris, no detail must break the unity of
the district, and every district contributes to the beauty
of the city.
Tokyo is different. Every building and construction has
its own style, so that the city, as a whole, has
absolutely no style. Stunning and exciting. I have only
spent one week in Tokyo, and I wish I could live there for a
couple of years. | 
