--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Twenty million people live and work in…" description: "\"“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 plain, and now it’s c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/david-mitchell-264_quote_twenty-million-people-live-and-work-in-t_906226.jpg" --- # Twenty million people live and work in Tokyo. It’s so big… ![“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 plain, and now it’s creeping up the mountains to the west and reclaiming land from the bay in the east. The city never stops rewriting itself. In the time one street…” quote by David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/david-mitchell-264_quote_twenty-million-people-live-and-work-in-t_906226.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/david-mitchell-264_quote_twenty-million-people-live-and-work-in-t_906226.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/david-mitchell-264_quote_twenty-million-people-live-and-work-in-t_906226.jpg) > ““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 plain, and now it’s creeping up the mountains to the west and reclaiming land from the bay in the east. The city never stops rewriting itself. In the time one street guide is produced, it’s already become out of date. It’s a tall city, and a deep one, as well as a spread-out one. Things are always moving below you, and above your head. All these people, flyovers, cars, walkways, subways, offices, tower blocks, power cables, pipes, apartments, it all adds up to a lot of weight. You have to do something to stop yourself caving in, or you just become a piece of flotsam or an ant in a tunnel. In smaller cities people can use the space around them to insulate themselves, to remind themselves of who they are. Not in Tokyo. You just don’t have the space, not unless you’re a company president, a gangster, a politician or the Emperor. You’re pressed against people body to body in the trains, several hands gripping each strap on the metro trains. Apartment windows have no view but other apartment windows.”” [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’s endless expansion overwhelms individuals, forcing them to find personal grounding amid constant change. **In simple terms:** City growth can overwhelm personal identity. Key Takeaway Seek personal space and identity in dense environments. Themes urbanism identity change overwhelm Mood anxious contemplative Type observational critical When to use this quote - commuting - urban planning - mental health strategies - personal reflection Key Concepts sociology psychology environmental design Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain self‑identity in a crowded city? - What small actions can create personal space? 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And there's a certain desolation about it, an alienation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-cities-people-go-to-work-and-all-walk-there-together-like-some/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [My heart and my love is in the country because something feels pure and noble and good there, but at the same time, obedience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-garrels/my-heart-and-my-love-is-in-the-country-because-something-feels-pure/) [Josh Garrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-garrels/) ## 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. 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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!' 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