[bangkoksbest]

I'm assuming there is a fuller post behind the paywall because the one that I see seems extremely short.

I'm also going to assume the author is referring to the mythical Paris of the early 20th century for its artist/creative opportunities. If that's the case, a couple things:

1. None of us actually experienced early 20th century Paris, so we judge it romantically on the output (particularly in English/Spanish) of creatives living there.

2. Do we have (or the author have) evidence of a similar kind of creative output (particularly in English/Spanish) from Tokyo? My sense is no, even though I like Japanese food and Japanese punk. I don't like or follow anima/manga so maybe that is a blind side for me to see such evidence.

3. Tokyo is cheaper than Paris/NYC/London, but it's still not super cheap, and Japan is not the easiest country to move to. I'm not aware of many "creative" foreigners moving semi-permanently to Tokyo in anything comparable to Paris, 20th or 21st century.

[bobthepanda]

Japan has a pretty hefty cultural presence with notable directors, and is pretty influential in terms of fashion, interior design, and architecture.

The usual issue is that Japanese culture is pretty understated, so the streetwear, the architecture, etc. is not something that immediately grabs attention like New York, Paris or Milan.

But see Zaha Hadid’s Tokyo Olympics stadium [1] vs the Japanese design that it got replaced with [2]

[1]: https://www.dezeen.com/2015/07/17/japan-scraps-zaha-hadid-to...

[2]: https://www.dezeen.com/2021/07/28/japan-national-stadium-ken...

[bangkoksbest]

I suppose I should have thought of that—I'm wearing Japanese raw denim jeans right now—but I forgot all about fashion, so good point bringing that up. I don't know if there's much "you have to be in Tokyo" for, given the exportable quality of clothing, but it's a fair point on cultural output.