The density of life

It's hard to visualize and appreciate the density of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.

You've got an urbanized area of more than 35 million people and a local economy of more than 1.9 trillion dollars, making it basically equivalent in population and economic power to California. But if you visualize the size of California compared to that of Tokyo, you can begin to appreciate the density of life here.

I took this view looking north from the 23rd floor of the Excel hotel above 渋谷駅 (Shibuya station) across 代々木公園 (Yoyogi park) towards the high-rise area of 新宿 (Shinjuku).

[Panorama made with Olympus E-P1 using my new Olympus Digital Zuiko 12mm f/2.0 lens. Its wide angle renders quite a different perspective from a regular length lens.]
Link: full panorama can be downloaded here.

As you can see in the photo, Tokyo's air is remarkably clear for such a large and dense area. In winter, if facing west, you can easily see 富士山 (Mt. Fuji), which is about 100km away.
(Compare it with the Bladerunner-like perpetual haze of Shenzhen, Hong Kong or Guangzhou, all of which are smaller metropolitan areas.)

The area seen can be roughly marked as follows:

Here is the same area marked on the metropolitan Tokyo area:

On the lower right corner of the panorama, you should be able to spot the famous and much photographed ハチ公 (Hachiko) crossing at Shibuya station.

I took the opportunity to make a photo of the crossing from the same vantage point as the panorama on this quiet winter day.
This time I used my new Digital Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 lens, which is equivalent to a mild telephoto:

(Parameters: taken with 1/250s shutter speed and f/2.8 aperture at ISO 200.)