This trip to Tokyo was also the first time I went to Odaiba. Unlike much of the rest of Tokyo, Odaiba doesn't seem to care about the Japaneseness of it's image. It's dominated by Fuji Television and a few shopping malls that are the spitting image of their American counterparts. Actually, I'd say they're better than most American malls because they aren't full of the lame stores that fill every other mall (though there is a cinnabon).
taken in odaiba
Most of the time, emulation of foreign lifestyles and trends strikes me as either forced exoticism, or a full fledged effort to be authentic (i.e. authentically hip hop, authentically hippy). Odaiba is like an unselfconscious acknowledgement that certain aspects of an American (and international) lifestyle are desirable and fun, while still understanding them as foreign. In keeping the foreign air about everything, it becomes unmistakably Japanese, and unmistakably international.
Speaking of international, there's a "little Hong Kong" inside one of the malls. It was really charming in it's own way. There incense scented air fresheners blow non-stop, as the sound of low-flying airplanes play over the loudspeaker. In the food court area the speakers play a loop of marketplace shouts in Chinese, and the clanking sounds of some utensils. Of course when you pay this much attention to detail, you've got to preserve the illusion. The place is covered in painted-on fake dirt, and carefully applied imitation wear and tear.
1 comment:
fake dirt for the authentically chinese? hilarious! i also notice rotten airvents and one or two other obvious signs of backwardness in the picture. now, do they also have fake obese poor people sitting at the authentic Wendy's restaurant?
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