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As the question says, this is specifically about how subjectively large, massive, crowded, impressive, prominent each city feels, not a general which city you prefer, or which is more multicultural.etc...
I've been to New York and will be visiting Tokyo in October, so I'm curious as to how different they'll feel.
Tokyo obviously wins in terms of population - it's metro boasts 35 million vs 22 million in New York (I only really care about metros). It is also still the city with the highest GDP in the world. On the other hand, New York is still to me the original 'big city' and still just feels huge.
In area I'm not sure which is larger (depends how you measure it), but I think the area of the 'unofficial downtown' or built-up area is more important than the metro. NY's outer 'burbs like in Long Island can be rather low-density, while Tokyo is probably more uniformly dense. Tokyo has surprising few high-rises though, considering it's size and population, while NYC has quite a few.
Like most New World cities Manhattan is based on a grid pattern, so it feels like one cohesive mass of urbanity and skyscrapers. Avenues flanked by concrete, steel and glass canyons stretch to the vanishing point in New York, while Tokyo's layout seems more akin to London, more bends and broken up into more distinct 'neighbourhoods.' Central Park is a perfect rectangle so doesn't seem to break up the city form so much.
In terms of crowds, Shibuya and Times Square can certainly be packed like sardines, and both boast tons of neon billboards. Much of Tokyo is like Times Square though.
Daytime crowds in each are probably similar, in excess of 3 million people. Manhattan has about 1.6 million, I'm not sure what area in central Tokyo would have a similar population.
Traffic in both is of course no doubt heavy, and both cities boast two of the most busy and extensive subway systems in the world. Tokyo's is busier, but New York's is so iconic and is 24/7.
I hear Tokyo is surprisingly quiet after midnight in many parts, and trains stop running soon after midnight, while the New York subway runs 24/7, 365 days a year.
New York's worldliness/globalness and multiculturalism might subjectively influence how prominent it feels although I don't think it should be part of the comparison.
Be especially interested to hear from those who have quite a bit of experience in both.
Lost in what sense? I would think Tokyo would be easier to get lost in because of the layout and maybe the language difference. It's actually hard to get lost in Manhattan because of the grid pattern and the numbered streets. The numbered streets ensure you always know where you are relatively speaking.
NYC is not a big city geographically. People are often surprised at how small Manhattan is. And it takes a particularly special person to get lost in the grid there
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