By Emily O'Connor
I love Tokyo. But if I had to picture myself living anywhere else in Japan, it would definitely be Sapporo. I first went there last year to record c.cedille's album, and almost instantly fell in love.
The first thing that really stuck me as impressive were all the trees. The studio we record at is located a bit outside of Sapporo literally in the middle of a forest, and it reminded me so much of New York's greenery that it was almost shocking. The air was the same, the frigid weather even in August was the same... I was highly impressed. At first we (Serey and I) were locked up in the studio so we didn't get to see downtown Sapporo, but the day when we finally went downtown to do a gig we were both blown away. The streets had names and were easily labeled, the land was separated in traditional city blocks, and everything was just easy to decipher. When I first moved to Tokyo there were times when I got so lost that I couldn't even find my way home. After spending two days in Sapporo though, I pretty much had the area around Sapporo Station figured out.
Tokyo is great in that it has literally everything. Too much of everything, maybe. I think there's a subtle line between convenience and over-abundance, and Tokyo probably has just a few thousand more vending machines than what are actually necessary, more fast-food joints than possibly necessary and way too many high-end shopping facilities. When everything is so conveniently at-hand it tends to lose it's charm, I think. Part of me thinks that department stores and electronic stores open up just to fill up space in Tokyo. There is no way by any means that Ikebukuro needs five electronic mega-stores within a three mile radius. Especially with how popular online shopping is nowadays, I cannot even fathom how all of these stores stay open. That's why I like Sapporo-- there are just enough nice shopping centers and just enough electronic stores, for example, to keep things interesting and uncomplicated. Anything you're searching for is available somewhere, but unlike Tokyo it isn't available everywhere. In a way it gives people more individuality.
I guess one of the biggest differences between Tokyo and Sapporo is the fact that things in Sapporo just feel newer, mostly because they are. While many buildings in Tokyo have been around for ages, buildings in Sapporo are relatively newer because Sapporo is a more recently developed place. A lot of European-like architecture is also jumbled in, which is another aesthetically pleasing part about Sapporo. Sure, Tokyo has many absolutely beautiful state-of-the-art buildings, however mixed in with those buildings are often tattered buildings that have been around for forever. You could argue and say that old tattered buildings have charm-- and they do. I just prefer the fresher feeling that Sapporo has. It feels like a downtown area that you would see somewhere in North America as opposed to how Tokyo feels like... Tokyo. Amazing in it's own way, but not for everyone.
I'm not sure if I would really like living in Sapporo or not, since I've never been there for more than a week at a time. But from what I can tell it seems like a pretty great place, besides the fact that the winters are extremely cold and driving would be almost a necessity to live there. Although they have a metro system in Sapporo, from what I can tell it's really difficult to get by living there without owning a car. Anyway, if you're ever going to visit Japan, or just want to get out of wherever it is in Japan you live, then check out Sapporo. I suggest going there when it's not below freezing, unless you want to check out the skiing.
I love Tokyo. But if I had to picture myself living anywhere else in Japan, it would definitely be Sapporo. I first went there last year to record c.cedille's album, and almost instantly fell in love.
The first thing that really stuck me as impressive were all the trees. The studio we record at is located a bit outside of Sapporo literally in the middle of a forest, and it reminded me so much of New York's greenery that it was almost shocking. The air was the same, the frigid weather even in August was the same... I was highly impressed. At first we (Serey and I) were locked up in the studio so we didn't get to see downtown Sapporo, but the day when we finally went downtown to do a gig we were both blown away. The streets had names and were easily labeled, the land was separated in traditional city blocks, and everything was just easy to decipher. When I first moved to Tokyo there were times when I got so lost that I couldn't even find my way home. After spending two days in Sapporo though, I pretty much had the area around Sapporo Station figured out.
Tokyo is great in that it has literally everything. Too much of everything, maybe. I think there's a subtle line between convenience and over-abundance, and Tokyo probably has just a few thousand more vending machines than what are actually necessary, more fast-food joints than possibly necessary and way too many high-end shopping facilities. When everything is so conveniently at-hand it tends to lose it's charm, I think. Part of me thinks that department stores and electronic stores open up just to fill up space in Tokyo. There is no way by any means that Ikebukuro needs five electronic mega-stores within a three mile radius. Especially with how popular online shopping is nowadays, I cannot even fathom how all of these stores stay open. That's why I like Sapporo-- there are just enough nice shopping centers and just enough electronic stores, for example, to keep things interesting and uncomplicated. Anything you're searching for is available somewhere, but unlike Tokyo it isn't available everywhere. In a way it gives people more individuality.
I guess one of the biggest differences between Tokyo and Sapporo is the fact that things in Sapporo just feel newer, mostly because they are. While many buildings in Tokyo have been around for ages, buildings in Sapporo are relatively newer because Sapporo is a more recently developed place. A lot of European-like architecture is also jumbled in, which is another aesthetically pleasing part about Sapporo. Sure, Tokyo has many absolutely beautiful state-of-the-art buildings, however mixed in with those buildings are often tattered buildings that have been around for forever. You could argue and say that old tattered buildings have charm-- and they do. I just prefer the fresher feeling that Sapporo has. It feels like a downtown area that you would see somewhere in North America as opposed to how Tokyo feels like... Tokyo. Amazing in it's own way, but not for everyone.
I'm not sure if I would really like living in Sapporo or not, since I've never been there for more than a week at a time. But from what I can tell it seems like a pretty great place, besides the fact that the winters are extremely cold and driving would be almost a necessity to live there. Although they have a metro system in Sapporo, from what I can tell it's really difficult to get by living there without owning a car. Anyway, if you're ever going to visit Japan, or just want to get out of wherever it is in Japan you live, then check out Sapporo. I suggest going there when it's not below freezing, unless you want to check out the skiing.
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