--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tokyo is too close up to see, sometimes…" description: "\"“Tokyo is too close up to see, sometimes. There are no distances and everything is above your head - dentists, kindergartens, dance studios. Even the r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/david-mitchell-264_tokyo_tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-t_2581309.jpg" --- # Tokyo is too close up to see, sometimes. There are no… ![“Tokyo is too close up to see, sometimes. There are no distances and everything is above your head - dentists, kindergartens, dance studios. Even the roads and walkways are up on murky stilts. An evil-twin Venice with all the water drained away.” quote by David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/david-mitchell-264_tokyo_tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-t_2581309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/david-mitchell-264_tokyo_tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-t_2581309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/david-mitchell-264_tokyo_tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-t_2581309.jpg) > ““Tokyo is too close up to see, sometimes. There are no distances and everything is above your head - dentists, kindergartens, dance studios. Even the roads and walkways are up on murky stilts. An evil-twin Venice with all the water drained away.”” [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tokyo feels like a surreal, floating city where distances vanish, evoking a dreamlike, disorienting atmosphere. **In simple terms:** Tokyo seems dreamlike and confusing. Key Takeaway Notice hidden layers in familiar places. Themes urban alienation perception culture disorientation Mood contemplative melancholic curious Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - travel - city exploration - urban photography Key Concepts surrealism spatial metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does unfamiliarity change your perception of a city? - What details make a place feel surreal? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overlook practical city life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Close Distances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-distances-1779992/) [Tokyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tokyo/) [Tokyo Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tokyo-close-1779991/) [Twin Venice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twin-venice-1779994/) [Walkways Murky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walkways-murky-1779993/) ## Related quotes > [“Twenty million people live and work in Tokyo. It’s so big that nobody really knows where it stops. It’s long since filled up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/twenty-million-people-live-and-work-in-tokyo-it-s-so-big-that-nobody/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Tokyo cab drivers are all ex-kamikaze pilots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/tokyo-cab-drivers-are-all-ex-kamikaze-pilots/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [When my dad toured in '91, I think my first gig properly was the Tokyo Dome, 50,000 people indoors. That was pretty scary. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhani-harrison/when-my-dad-toured-in-91-i-think-my-first-gig-properly-was-the-tokyo/) [Dhani Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhani-harrison/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Tokyo is like the New York of Asia. Although the people there are all basically from Japan, they celebrate what they like about various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharrell-williams/tokyo-is-like-the-new-york-of-asia-although-the-people-there-are-all/) [Pharrell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharrell-williams/) > [In Tokyo, we have more three-star Michelin restaurants than Paris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nobu-matsuhisa/in-tokyo-we-have-more-three-star-michelin-restaurants-than-paris/) [Nobu Matsuhisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nobu-matsuhisa/) > [My plan of going to Tokyo has gone out of the window, but I was able to spend three to four months with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/my-plan-of-going-to-tokyo-has-gone-out-of-the-window-but-i-was-able/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [It's marvelous when you visit Tokyo: they have these clubs, and they'll have 'Motown Night' or 'The Beatles - Totally Authentic and Live!' You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-palmer/it-s-marvelous-when-you-visit-tokyo-they-have-these-clubs-and-they-ll/) [Robert Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-palmer/) > [I moved to L.A. and really didn't dig living there until I found places like Koreatown and Little Tokyo. I really like hanging out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stump/i-moved-to-l-a-and-really-didn-t-dig-living-there-until-i-found/) [Patrick Stump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stump/) > [ \[General Curtis\] LeMay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side has lost. But what makes it immoral if… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mcnamara/general-curtis-lemay-recognized-that-what-he-was-doing-would-be/) [Robert McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mcnamara/) > [I just gave them a little scare. A touch of psychological terror. As Joseph Conrad once wrote, true terror is the kind that men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-just-gave-them-a-little-scare-a-touch-of-psychological-terror-as/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [We're competing against other great cities: Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. That's why it's important that we all join together on the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-daley/we-re-competing-against-other-great-cities-madrid-rio-de-janeiro-and/) [Richard M. Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-daley/) > [In Tokyo, London or Los Angeles people go into McDonald's and the restaurants are identical and people are comfortable. It's unthreatening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/in-tokyo-london-or-los-angeles-people-go-into-mcdonald-s-and-the/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [“The Professor noted two nymphs with strawberries on their heads, a DayGlo Amish lady, a mustachioed man in a rainbow apron. He wrote Saturday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-carmina/the-professor-noted-two-nymphs-with-strawberries-on-their-heads-a/) [La Carmina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-carmina/) > [“Isabella Di Fabio Web development is a constantly growing field with ever-evolving coding languages ​​and libraries. The basics, however, have long remained the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-di-fabio/isabella-di-fabio-web-development-is-a-constantly-growing-field-with/) [Isabella Di Fabio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-di-fabio/) ## More by David Mitchell > [“In the next room a freckly girl Julia's age sat in a wheelchair. One of her legs wasn't there. She'd probably love to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/in-the-next-room-a-freckly-girl-julia-s-age-sat-in-a-wheelchair-one/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I envied my uncritical, unthinking sisters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-envied-my-uncritical-unthinking-sisters/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“... Ethical cyberexplorers are responsible, yeah? We are friendly ghosts in the machine, not poltergeists or hooligans. We are a growing breed. Over sixty-five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/ethical-cyberexplorers-are-responsible-yeah-we-are-friendly-ghosts-in/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I succumbed. Late-fifteenth-century verb, Old French succomber or Latin succumbere, but a basic necessity of the human condition, especially mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-succumbed-late-fifteenth-century-verb-old-french-succomber-or-latin/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Your environment affects you wherever you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/your-environment-affects-you-wherever-you-are/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The second tunnel’s a Ministry of Defence tunnel...dug for a nuclear bomb shelter. The entrance is in the garden center at Woolworth’s in Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-second-tunnel-s-a-ministry-of-defence-tunnel-dug-for-a-nuclear/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Loyalty looks simple... but it ain't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/loyalty-looks-simple-but-it-ain-t/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Only the trombonist played on. That's trombonists for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/only-the-trombonist-played-on-that-s-trombonists-for-you/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [War's an auction where whoever can pay the most in damage and still be standing wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/war-s-an-auction-where-whoever-can-pay-the-most-in-damage-and-still/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-human-world-is-made-of-stories-not-people-the-people-the-stories/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [So little is actually worthy of belief or disbelief. Better to strive to coexist than seek to disapprove . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/so-little-is-actually-worthy-of-belief-or-disbelief-better-to-strive/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I elbowed my way into the grubby café, bought a pie that tasted of shoe polish and a pot of tea with cork crumbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-elbowed-my-way-into-the-grubby-caf-bought-a-pie-that-tasted-of-shoe/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“A classical LP was playing... ... Jealous and sweet, this music was, sobbing and gorgeous, muddy and crystal. But if the right words existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/a-classical-lp-was-playing-jealous-and-sweet-this-music-was-sobbing/) [david mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [How lazily "xperts" dismiss what they fail to understand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/how-lazily-xperts-dismiss-what-they-fail-to-understand/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Writing poetry's,' I looked around the solarium, but Madame Crommelynck's got a tractor beam, 'sort of . . . gay.' '"Gay"? A merry activity?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/writing-poetry-s-i-looked-around-the-solarium-but-madame-crommelynck/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) [Explore all 748 David Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More Tokyo quotes > [“Isabella Di Fabio Web development is a constantly growing field with ever-evolving coding languages ​​and libraries. The basics, however, have long remained the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-di-fabio/isabella-di-fabio-web-development-is-a-constantly-growing-field-with/) [Isabella Di Fabio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-di-fabio/) > [“The Professor noted two nymphs with strawberries on their heads, a DayGlo Amish lady, a mustachioed man in a rainbow apron. He wrote Saturday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-carmina/the-professor-noted-two-nymphs-with-strawberries-on-their-heads-a/) [La Carmina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-carmina/) > [In Tokyo, London or Los Angeles people go into McDonald's and the restaurants are identical and people are comfortable. It's unthreatening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/in-tokyo-london-or-los-angeles-people-go-into-mcdonald-s-and-the/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [We're competing against other great cities: Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. That's why it's important that we all join together on the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-daley/we-re-competing-against-other-great-cities-madrid-rio-de-janeiro-and/) [Richard M. Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-daley/) > [I just gave them a little scare. A touch of psychological terror. As Joseph Conrad once wrote, true terror is the kind that men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-just-gave-them-a-little-scare-a-touch-of-psychological-terror-as/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [ \[General Curtis\] LeMay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side has lost. But what makes it immoral if… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mcnamara/general-curtis-lemay-recognized-that-what-he-was-doing-would-be/) [Robert McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mcnamara/) > [I moved to L.A. and really didn't dig living there until I found places like Koreatown and Little Tokyo. I really like hanging out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stump/i-moved-to-l-a-and-really-didn-t-dig-living-there-until-i-found/) [Patrick Stump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stump/) > [It's marvelous when you visit Tokyo: they have these clubs, and they'll have 'Motown Night' or 'The Beatles - Totally Authentic and Live!' You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-palmer/it-s-marvelous-when-you-visit-tokyo-they-have-these-clubs-and-they-ll/) [Robert Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-palmer/) > [My plan of going to Tokyo has gone out of the window, but I was able to spend three to four months with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/my-plan-of-going-to-tokyo-has-gone-out-of-the-window-but-i-was-able/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [In Tokyo, we have more three-star Michelin restaurants than Paris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nobu-matsuhisa/in-tokyo-we-have-more-three-star-michelin-restaurants-than-paris/) [Nobu Matsuhisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nobu-matsuhisa/) > [Tokyo is like the New York of Asia. Although the people there are all basically from Japan, they celebrate what they like about various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharrell-williams/tokyo-is-like-the-new-york-of-asia-although-the-people-there-are-all/) [Pharrell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharrell-williams/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [When my dad toured in '91, I think my first gig properly was the Tokyo Dome, 50,000 people indoors. That was pretty scary. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhani-harrison/when-my-dad-toured-in-91-i-think-my-first-gig-properly-was-the-tokyo/) [Dhani Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhani-harrison/) > [Tokyo cab drivers are all ex-kamikaze pilots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/tokyo-cab-drivers-are-all-ex-kamikaze-pilots/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [For my 20th birthday in March, I'll buy myself a present for doing my best. A one way ticket to Tokyo. All I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-yazawa/for-my-20th-birthday-in-march-i-ll-buy-myself-a-present-for-doing-my/) [Ai Yazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-yazawa/) [Browse all 206 Tokyo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tokyo/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Tokyo is too close up to see, sometimes. There are no distances and everything is above your head - dentists, kindergartens, dance studios. Even the roads and walkways are up on murky stilts. An evil-twin Venice with all the water drained away.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mitchell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-there-are-no-distances-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tokyo" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-there-are-no-distances-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/david-mitchell-264_tokyo_tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-t_2581309.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/david-mitchell-264_tokyo_tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-t_2581309.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/david-mitchell-264_tokyo_tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-t_2581309.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tokyo is too close up to see, sometimes. There are no distances and everything is above your head…” — David Mitchell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Mitchell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Tokyo is too close up to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-there-are-no-distances-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/tokyo-is-too-close-up-to-see-sometimes-there-are-no-distances-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```