TOKYO's an overpowering city for the first-time visitor. As our Kodama Bullet Train zoomed into a twilit Tokyo, a friend sitting next to me said: "This is straight out of Blade Runner!" Massive buildings towered over us in a melee of every modern (and post-modern too, possibly) architectural style known to man, the world's largest neon billboards winked and simpered, a gazillion cars choked the roads, crowds rushed in every which direction, each person in his invisible teflon cocoon (even non-Tokyoite Japanese regard the city with suspicion mixed with awe). "Yeah, Blade Runner without the rain," I said. But as we walked out of the station, a drizzle began. With wet sidewalks reflecting the neon lights and darkness gathering, Tokyo '99 became Ridley Scott's Los Angeles 2021. At that point I wouldn't have been surprised if I saw tiny police aircraft hovering, or bumped into blade runner Harrison Ford or replicant Rutger Hauer in their trenchcoats. Did Scott have Tokyo in mind when he made the film? I don't know, but his next film, Black Rain, was set in this city.
