







 



<rss version="2.0" xmlns:beenthere="http://ivebeenthere.co.uk/beenthere-rss">
    <channel>
        
                
        <title>Been there | Tips</title>
        
        <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/</link>
        
        <description>
            Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love,
            live in or have just visited - are what make this guide.
        </description>
        
        
            <item>
                
                
                <title>Walking</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2644</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The existentialists had a special word for walking around randomly in order to escape the routine and see things from a different angle. I can't remember what the word is, something long and French probably, but I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment, especially in Tokyo.<br><br>Tokyo is basically an unplanned city - it has developed in a chaotic, messy way which means, sadly, that Tokyo is a very ugly city when seen from the macro level. But this also means, thankfully, that it is a joy to explore on the micro level. <br><br>Set off in any direction and you will come across tiny temples and shrines, strange shops which never seem to have any customers, ugly houses, more ugly houses and then a beautiful decaying old Japanese style residence.  <br>You don't have to travel far for this experience - that is another wonderful thing about Tokyo's chaos - you can walk 10 minutes from the busiest train station, take a few turns and find yourself in a lovely, quiet, ancient residential area.<br><br>And the best thing about all this is the order behind the chaos - wherever you go and however far you walk, you will always be only a few minutes from a train station or bus stop. In Tokyo you can comfortably get lost, and Tokyo is a great place to get lost in.]]></description>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2644</guid>
            </item>
        
    </channel> 
</rss>
