RIO 2016 ! It ’s a showcase for the victory of the human spirit , chance for the world ’s top athletes to have all the gender , and a possible looming wellness disaster of larger-than-life balance . High jump over here for all ofThrillist ’s coverage of the games , and the games beyond the games .
You outlive Rio 2016 , a spectacle that American athletes romped through . Just one matter was miss in Brazil : you . Do n’t let the same thing happen when Tokyo throws the planet ’s grownup company four yr from now .
With the closing ceremonial occasion over , it ’s already time get ready for Tokyo – one of the most fun , most outlandish , and safe metropolis in the Far East and mayhap in the world . We ’ll tell you how to prepare , what to jam , where to go , what to relish , and how to get into trouble , if you really want to – you ’ll have to try hard .
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The top line: it’s a huge city that actually looks out for you
First of all , the metropolis is dependable , no small accomplishment for a megalopolis with 13 million people in the city proper and more than 38 million in the whole urban area . red crime is very low . Last year this island country of 126 million people counted only one buck demise – and the dupe was ayakuza– a Japanese gangster – which you are ( presumably ) not . The police are visible , helpful with directions , and loose to reach via the constabulary boxes ( koban ) in most major urban surface area .
Thanks in part to a scheme which reward multitude for change by reversal in lose object or wallets , you ’ll find many stories of people who give their cash , estimator , or other valuables behind , and were contacted by the constabulary after someone found them and had the objects return . I ’ve had citizenry chase me down the street to give me back my wallet or my umbrella and sometimes my sunglasses .
It ’s really not so tough . Be polite , talk a small Japanese , and you ’ll enjoy an astonishing city .
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The nightlife is on its way up
Tokyo has amazing malarkey clubs : the Blue Note , the Cotton Club , Billboard , the Shinjuku Pit Inn , and some small clubs you ’ll have to require around for .
There are fantastic nightclubs like WOMB where you may get your channel on . And this twelvemonth the ban on dancing after midnight at nightclubs ( HolyFootloose –yes , such a thing existed ) was at long last lifted so the nightlife is come back from the dead .
For grown - up adventures , you may try out melodic theme bars like the Robot Restaurant , which combines a stage show with animatronics , traditional Japanese drumming ( taiko ) by beautiful women , Walt Disney - esque storylines , and a nonsensical serial of performances that will leave your sense pleasantly obliterated . Then you could stumble to REN , the sister bar of the cafe , and revel karaoke or springy performances in a hallucinogenic setting . All of this is in the fondness of Kabukicho – which is to Tokyo what the erstwhile Times Square used to be to NYC . The themes may offend some . The Christon Café is a church with fiendish cocktail . Alcatraz ER combines the prison house - themed eating house with an insane - asylum meme and serves liquor in IV base ; if you ’re lucky , a buxom nanny in a slightly bloody uniform will bottle - feed you alcohol-dependent beverages .
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You actually have plenty of time to learn basic Japanese
Many Japanese can translate and write English but have trouble hearing it or speaking it . That ’s mostly the fault of the Japanese pedagogy system which emphasise rote memorization over pragmatic learning , but luckily for you , speak Japanese is a toppingly even and easy - to - larn oral communication .
Japan only has five vowels , a tiny glottal arrest ( sort of like stuttering ) , and no sound that ca n’t be discover in the English language . If you ’re British , you ’re lucky because the five - vowel sound strait " A - I - U - E - O " only has the " ah " speech sound , not the rough American " a. " The grammar is simple and does n’t have any sex horseshit that you find in the Romance lyric . You will never have to pretend the sex of an inanimate object . A library is a library and not a man or a fair sex .
There are some things that are interesting about the spoken language and can be tricky . Pronouns are n’t required . " Ikimasu " could have in mind , " I go , you go , it goes , we go . " Context will clew you in .
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To learn to speak the language aright , you ’ll have to accept the Japanese view of the world , which is : we ’re not adequate . Our relationship is run low to be defined by age , sexuality , occupation , job claim , and situation . Even the honorifics are going to change according to how I perceive them in the power hierarchy . Those are , in order of obedience : -sama , -san , -kun , and/or -chan . People are usually address by their last name first . Adelstein being such a retentive name in Japan , I ’m content with Jake - kun .
When in doubt , just bow and say " domo " ( doe - mow ) , an all - function phrase that can mean " thank you , " " excuse me , " " you ’re too kind , " " I really do n’t desire to get into a discussion about Donald Trump with you . " Very utile .
Focus on speaking first and you ’ll go far . If you could make sense out of the bookMaking Out in Japanese , you ’ll go even far . allow you ’re not an ass .
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These will be Olympics with an emphasis on “summer”
One of the most fabulous Trygve Halvden Lie that the Japan Olympic Committee told the IOC to win the 2020 spot was that the period in which the Olympics will be held , ending on August 9th , was : " With many day of mild and cheery weather , this period allow for an idealistic climate for athletes to perform at their safe . " Sure , in an alternate universe . temperature in the July - August period mountain range from the mid-80s to over 100 degrees , with humidness routinely breaching 80 % . If being inside a sumo matman ’s armpit is the ideal mood for athletes to do at their upright , then , yes , Tokyo will be grand .
It ’s no coincidence that Japanese haberdasher UNIQLO make a terrific series of summer habiliment that wicks away the heat and elbow grease . you’re able to corrupt it at the airport – the AIRism shirts are great .
Or reach for a traditional cotton and hemp Japanese garment such as ajinbeior even a summeryukata(kimono lite ) and wear them to feel like you ’re going aboriginal . If we could get off with it , many of us men would just wearfundoshi , which sort of look like white cotton lash . The yukata are tremendous for woman .
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You ’re going to take to outride cool . The master Olympic stadium , a largely wooden structure , reportedly will have no air conditioning , or , for that matter , Olympian cauldron ( though in a mostly wooden stadium , maybe that ’s not so speculative ) .
But there are ways to take the edge off
Tokyo morning commute are infernal experiences of being jampack into overcrowded gearing that sometimes even zephyr conditioning ca n’t make sufferable . You may discover that amaze from your hotel or Airbnb to the Games get out you tempestuous , sweaty , and tense . unwind and Diamond State - knot with a moderately priced massage at Karuchi Road in Roppongi or a traditional Nipponese massage , shiatsu , involving finger’s breadth insistency to yourtsubo(vital points ) , may palpate good for some people . I prefer a westerly massage that does n’t feel like being wring .
One plait on the massage shot here : the form that cease , uh , happily is legal here , as are most intimate service shy of actual copulation . And even that has a loophole . Just do n’t go groping blindly for a happy closing in Kabukicho , the red twinkle district . You ’re liable to heat up with a credit poster bill you ca n’t pay , a raging headache , and a distant computer storage of a West African or Nipponese slattern hit you up : " Titties and beer , my supporter . "
Some final words of caution, especially for gangsters
One guess that even in 2020 , Tinder will still be around . Just do n’t spread out the app in the Olympic bowl . It might be perceived as a fire hazard .
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