Ikebukuro Station…was a lot, to say the least. However, I was happy to have been pushed to explore the area and explore the different environments surrounding the station. From the moment I got off the train I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of people swarming around rushing to get from one point to another as quickly as possible. The first decision that I came across was choosing what exit I would use, I decided on the West exit, but I later discovered that there were three west exits. I ended up in the Metropolitan Plaza which took me by surprise because it was a shopping center basically in the station, and this was not just any shopping area but a seemingly pricy area. There were stores I recognized like Lush, Gucci, Balenciaga, and other cosmetic store and smaller clothing boutiques I did not recognize. I was also surprised to see an entire grocery store in the basement of the station with lots of smaller food stations with baked goods but also a full meat counter and checkout lines. A pattern I noticed in the food shops downstairs was that most of the workers were older females. The more I walked the more I was blown away at the size of the station and the number of people walking around. The building was many escalators high that would have probably taken me the entire day to explore completely.
The people I saw when I exited the station out into the metropolitan plaza were lots of elderly people that were very well dressed and seemed to be enjoying their time with friends. I noted that many of the people shopping around were older women that to my best guess were retired or no longer worked and were socializing with friends as they walked in groups. Another type of person I say a lot if were salary men with briefcases and suits rushing in and out of the station. Lastly, I saw a fair amount of high school student as well as some younger schoolchildren in their uniforms characterized by their cute and differentiating hats making them easy to spot.
As I exited the Metropolitan Plaza, I was instantly faced with several high buildings that looked like a mix of shopping centers as well as corporate offices where seas of people exiting. The number of people wanting to cross the busy streets at once to get to and from the station exit/entrance was a bit of a shock as I had never seen so many people relying on public transportation to this extent. The further I walked from the station the less busy the smaller streets got, and it quickly became apparent that many of the well-dressed women in business attire were trying to get to their homes in the residential areas nearby. There were also several students that were making their way towards a calmer area further north from the station with convenience store bags in hand. Before I reached a quieter area of the surrounding station, I came across a map of the area and realized that there was a tourist information center leading me to believe that this area is likely a tourist-heavy area. I later found that this was true as I came across multiple non-Japanese people that were shopping around and exploring. After some time, I no longer saw as many older people and began to see an increasing number of locals not dressed in business clothing instead they wore casual clothing. The number of people in my age group grew exponentially and the number of school children walking in small groups also increased. This was likely because I was walking into a collective area of educational buildings. I walked around Rikkyo University, a primary school, high school, and junior high school and noticed that all the parks and outside areas surrounding the schools were gated and equipped with security personnel.
After walking back toward the station through a smaller side street I stumbled upon a park that gave me a sense of relief, happiness, and safety. It was peaceful despite the children playing in the multiple children's sets being watched b their parents nearby. I was surprised by the number of teens and adults I saw at the park as well because many were not doing much other than just sitting and looking around as if taking a breath of fresh air from the congested daily life in the concrete jungle. Many of the men that were sitting around had drinks and a number of the younger teens were simply chatting and smoking away from the children. As I sat in the park, I soon heard some Spanish and met a family from Madrid after gathering the courage to ask the family where they were from. The park I think was my favorite part of the area because of all the children which were all fairly young and around the same age accompanied by their young mothers. While there were some fathers around there were not many including the father of three from Madrid that had brought his three kids to the park. The housing in the area was like I mentioned before commercial offices closer to the stations, decent but not new apartment complexes near the park and in one area I came across there was a neighborhood with a smaller single-family house that ranged from brand spanking new to run down but perhaps still inhabited. The largest form of transportation I noticed was bicycles, they were everywhere, this includes motorcycles. They were very easy to spot as many had at the least one baby carrier and some had two on in the back and the other near the front of the bike. Overall this neighborhood was interesting, fun to explore, and had a variety of things to see and different feels depending on the distance from the station.
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