Unique Japan

The wet season is usually over by July, leaving us free to enjoy and complain about the hot, steamy weather. But – perhaps due to climate change – weather patterns in Japan, and for that matter all over the world, are out of whack, and lately it’s been raining on and off and on again despite the calendar. Every morning we flip on the TV to see how wet the day is going to be. Almost every day the weather lady has been instructing us to “Remember the umbrella!”

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I just finished listening to a podcast about the most livable cities in the world. Tokyo made #3 on the list. We got beat out by Zurich (The Beverly Hills of Europe) and Copenhagen. According to Monocle’s Global Quality of Life Survey 2009, Tokyo’s plans to plant 1 million trees and its transit system that runs like clockwork, gave it the number 3 slot this year.  Tokyo is bustling yet safe, futuristic yet culturally attentive, and its 18+ train lines stretch to every corner of the city.

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