Most Japan-like city in the United States? (neighborhood, centers)
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Most Japan-like city entails more than just density and populations of Japanese people. Japan has other qualities. I mention some of those in my list. I don't think any US city is remotely close to Japan, though.
Density like Tokyo/Osaka - NY/SF
Largest Japan town - SF
Volcanoes - Seattle/Portland
Earthquakes - SF/LA/Seattle
Hurricanes - Miami
Tsunamis - Hilo
Japanese Redwood forest - SF
Most Buddhist (%) - San Jose
Shinto Shrines - Honolulu
Bullet trains - Acela corridor (a very sad corollary)
Cherry/Sakura blossoms - Washington D.C.
Humidity - Houston
Politeness - Quad Cities/Omaha/Charleston/Minneapolis
Fish Markets - NY (Fulton), DC (Maine Ave)
Rain - Seattle
I got this impression from just walking around the city. The Yokohama downtown core has a grid pattern with architecture very much resembling a mid-size US city. I suspect that much of the resemblance to western cities is based on history - as it was the main port for interfacing with the west following Commodore Perry's arrival in the 1850s and grew from a small village to a city with significant western influences seeping in.
Of course, my impression is entirely subjective and there may be better examples in Japan that I have not yet seen.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Originally Posted by mead
I honestly don't think NYC looks anything like Tokyo. I've flown between the two cities and I'm always struck by the differences. I've spent a lot of time in Asia and I think there are better comparisons to NYC.
Hong Kong in my mind reminds me a lot more of NYC than Tokyo ever does. I haven't really seen a city anywhere that really strikes me as being similar to Tokyo.
The closest thing to cities that look like Japan are places in Korea or Taiwan. This is only the case because both Korea and Taiwan were Japanese colonies prior to WW-II.
I agree. NYC is pretty unique worldwide, since a lot of it's scrapers are so old. There are tons of skyscrapers built before WWII in NYC, which is pretty much unheard of outside America. It doesn't look anything like Tokyo either at street level or from the air.
I'd say one of the newer, glassier cities sort of resemble Japan a bit more, Seattle would be the closest but it's not the same, no US city could be confused for Japan. LA has a lot of Japanese but is nothing like Tokyo.
Tokyo's skyline isn't as impressive as HK or NY, which seem to form a coherent skyline while Tokyo's is more just a sprawl.
Anybody who believes that there is any city in the US that looks like Japan, has obviously never been to Japan. To put it in perspective. Tokyo has more people then NYC and LA combined, in a space smaller then NYC.
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