Tokyo’s high quality of life

I just found that Monocle magazine ranked the “World’s Most Livable Cities (Quality Of Life)”.

Their criteria was:

• Safety / low crime
• International connectivity
• Climate
• Quality of architecture
• Public transportation
• Tolerance of others
• Environmental issues and access to nature
• Urban design
• Business conditions
• “Pro-active policy developments” and
• Medical care

Tokyo ranked as the third most livable city in the world.

Their entire Top ten “most livable cities” are:

1. Zürich, Switzerland
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Tokyo, Japan
4. Munich, Germany
5. Helsinki, Finland
6. Stockholm, Sweden
7. Vienna, Austria
8. Paris, France
9. Melbourne, Australia
10. Berlin, Germany

Tokyo runs like clockwork and its service culture beats any competition.

–Monocle magazine

Personally, I think Tokyo should be number one! Especially in regards to safety, international connectivity, tolerance, access to nature, business conditions, medical care, and public transportation.
All of those are top-notch in Tokyo!

Shinjuku

Today is ひな祭 (Doll Festival…used to be called “Girls Day“).
I wrote an FAQ about it (Click here)…and mentioned it in a post last week (Click here).

Yesterday, we went to 新宿 (Shinjuku, Tokyo).

While we were there, I took many photos of some of the skyscrapers and other interesting things there.

I love the 下町 (traditional, downtown areas) of Tokyo…but I also love the modern areas, like 新宿 (Shinjuku), with all the stores, skyscrapers, and neon!

We were there in the daytime only this time, so I didn’t get any photos of the neon-lit night in 新宿 (Shinjuku)…but I think 新宿 (Shinjuku) is beautiful in both day and night!

Some of the photos I took in this post were from the view from the Southern observatory on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
Last May we went to the Northern observatory and I posted photos from the 新宿 (Shinjuku) skyline on that day, too. (Click here to see that post).

Here are the photos that I took yesterday:

The Tokyo Dome can be seen.

「明治神宮」 (Meiji Shrine) grounds are visible

Do you live in a big city with many skyscrapers? Have you ever been to a city like that?

Which do you prefer? A big city or a small town?