A Land of Contrasts

Japan is really a land of contrasts. With every turn I made I could see the clash of old and new, traditional and contemporary,
rigid and flexible, open and closed. This poster, which I saw in a subway station, I felt captured this clashing of sensibilities.
When walking down the street, or through a subway station, I could see men and women in black business suits, woman dressed in their finest kimonos, young sumo wrestlers in their indigo robes and high wooden sandals or teenagers dressed to the nine's getting ready to parade their looks, and style, through the Harajuku section of Tokyo. Yet, with all these contrasts there is an overall pervasive Japanese aesthestic which I think is guided by a deeply routed tradition in Shinto Buddhism. There is a respect for the environment, a respect for each other and a respect for the moment. Being back in New York City I decided to make a top 10 list of differences and similarities between Japan and New York City. My lists follow...