A few things that surprised me about Tokyo, besides how different it is from China and how much more similar it felt to the West.

• People drive on the left side of the road.
• This one girl I was walking behind after the U.S. lost to Slovenia was, by all indications, drunk off her ass. She was stumbling everywhere. And yet, while walking down the stairs from the walkway overpass in 4-inch heels, she didn’t fall.
• There were squat toilets. People used them.
• For all Japan’s modernity, its hotels are rather stuck in the late ’80s/early ’90s. And we were staying in ones that were supposed to be nice.
• So many Chinese people!

I’ve made my way from the North ‘jing to the East ‘jing, which is in a whole other country, so that probably explains most of the differences. It’s the battle of the two giant Asian capitals: Beijing versus Tokyo. Which is better?

Cleanliness: The Japanese may have borrowed a lot from the Chinese, but they stopped short of the Chinese’s public hygiene habits. The sidewalks and streets were clean. Shops were neat. Even grubby ramen and sushi restaurants managed to keep their tables, floors and wares clean. Advantage: Tokyo.

Class: In Tokyo, no one made disgusting hacking noises, no one spat, no one spat 2 centimeters from where my next step would be. People dressed nicely to work. They didn’t stare. On the trains, talking on mobiles was forbidden, so nobody was shouting (grunting) into their phones. (For some reason, the Chinese only have two voice volumes when talking on their cells: loud or even louder.) That being said, in the evenings, just about every person in Tokyo is stumbling around drunk. Advantage: Tokyo.

Accessibility:

• Public transit: Beijing and Tokyo are both sprawling metropoli, the modern-day equivalent of city-states, divided in districts/wards, then further divided into neighborhoods. Beijing’s budding metro system is still in its infant, barely a decade old, while Tokyo has some convoluted rail/metro system that looks like a bowl of noodles when mapped out. This means that it can take forever to get somewhere in Beijing, but the simplicity its metro system makes it easy to find your way from Point A to Point B. In Tokyo, you’d spend all the time you would save with its super-efficient rail system figuring out the best way to get from Point A to Point B. At least, if you’re new. Which we were. Advantage: Even.
• Finding your way around: I must be really bad with maps in Tokyo because I always got lost when I used them. Beijing is organized in a strict grid layout and names its streets. Advantage: Beijing.

Food: Tokyo has sushi and ramen. But Beijing has dumplings and zha jiang mian. All I know is, I love food. Advantage: Beijing and Tokyo (for both having food).

Prices: Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world. A glass of Japanese beer is about 6 dollars or more. In contrast, a 350 milliliter bottle of Yanjing is about 45 cents. I spent 150 dollars on a 30-kilometer cab ride. On the plus side, sushi was cheap. And quality is definitely better in Tokyo. Advantage: Beijing.

Locals: Beijingers are crass, crude, ugly, loud, pompous and are generally rude and uncaring if they don’t know you and don’t see any reason to know you. Some do have hearts of gold, especially if you know them. Tokyoites are courteous and felt more genuinely concerned about my well-being. Both are city people. Advantage: Tokyo.

Culture: People in Tokyo stay out later — way later — than Beijingers. That’s why their metro system operates pretty much 24-hours a day, while it stops between 11 p.m. and midnight in Beijing. And they drink more. That is pretty much my limited experience in this category. Advantage: Withholding judgment.

Shrines/Temples: Based on the one shrine I went to in Tokyo, they are nestled deep within a woodsy area and blend seamlessly into their surroundings. Tourists and worshippers are spread out over a large area, so while there may be a lot of visitors at any given moment, it still feels empty and serene. From what I’ve heard, they all look about the same. Based on the multiple shrines/temples I’ve been in Beijing, they are overdecorated the same way. Lots of colors — lots of clashing colors — lots of loud clashing colors, lots of shapes, lots of figures, lots of symbolism. In a word: overload. But they are always in a nice park. The parks are always full of clueless tourists and locals who frequent them. Even though the parks are big, they are always crowded and noisy. But they’re great for people-watching and enjoying the outdoors, with the backdrop of a temple. This is a tough one. Advantage: Tokyo for its design and purity, Beijing for its fun.

Appeal to Western sensibilities: No question about it, Tokyo wins hands down. Tokyo looks and feels like a Western city. I could have been in New York if there weren’t Japanese people and signs everywhere. Tight streets, tall buildings, a haphazard rail system. The Japanese don’t stare and mind their own business. And as I said before, they are cleaner and have more class. Not that all Westerners are exemplars of cleanliness and class, but at least there is a general conception of it that is respected by the majority of people. This is true in Tokyo but not true in Beijing. But! — they both equally suck at making Western food. Advantage: Tokyo.

Final score: Tokyo 6, Beijing 4.

Tokyo is a world-class city, but the Tokyo v. Beijing debate is ultimately comparing a developed city to one that is, for all its successes so far, still deep in the throes of development. Still, seeing Tokyo makes me realize what Beijing could be and wonder if Beijing could ever make it to this stage — if it even wants to turn into a city like this.