This place comparison contrasts the lives of two children living in the megacities of London and Tokyo.
London is the capital of England. It's a very busy city, with a rich history, and many famous landmarks such as the Tower of London, and the Houses of Parliament.
Far away on the other side of the world in Asia is a country called Japan. The capital city is Tokyo, an enormous city, with lots and lots of people, fast trains and many tall buildings.
Kei: Hi my name is Kei, I'm nine years old. I live in Tokyo. I live with with my mother, father, grandmother and my little sister. Tokyo is a really busy city. People live in small spaces, and really tall buildings.
Louis: My name is Louis. I'm nine years old. I live with my mum and my little sister, and I come from London. London is a really big city, and there's loads and loads of different ways that you can get around. Buses, bikes, cars, the train… This is the DLR, and this is my favourite train in the world. When you look at the buildings, they're really really high and all made out of glass.
Kei: People travel by car, buses, train, walking, or some people take bicycles. I love travelling in Tokyo, because there's so many trains. But it gets really really crowded. My favourite way to travel around Tokyo is by razor scooter.
Louis: It's kind of like a holiday when you go to the centre of London and it's really really busy there. We are in central London, and I can see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are over there, and the London Eye is right over there. It's a ferris wheel, and you can see for miles and miles.
Kei: There are many places to go in Tokyo, and I like them all. My favourite food is Yakisoba. The Yakisoba costs 400 yen. These chopsticks are used to eat like this. Super-duper delicious!
Louis: My grandma's house is right next to the canal. On the canal there's lots of people that live on boats.
Kei: After school I go to karate.
Louis: I go to my grandma's house. There's a game that I play at my grandma's with my sister. called 'Roll All Over' and when we hit each other, we say 'Excuse me! Excuse me!' and if you roll over someone, you get a point, and the first one up to ten wins.
Kei: What I like about karate is it releases my stress and it makes me stronger. I usually wake up at 6:50.
Louis: I'm normally very very tired.
Kei: When I get up I wash my face and brush my teeth.
Louis: I have these special breakfast biscuits and they have yoghurt and jam in it.
Kei: The school bus comes at 7:40. My favourite class in school is maths and science.
Louis: Book Club is where I make books, and share the ideas of others. When I grow up I'd like to be a scientist, or an inventor.
Kei: When I grow up I want to be a cancer doctor, because I want to save other people's lives.
Video summary
This short film was first published in 2018.
Download/print a transcript of the video.
Contrasting the lives of two children living in the capital cities London and Tokyo.
Louis, 8, from London and Kei, 8, from Tokyo show us what it’s like to live in a busy capital city.
Both Kei and Louis enjoy multiple modes of transport to travel around the city.
The children explain the pros and cons of growing up in the hustle and bustle of the metropolis.
They reveal their contrasting daily routines: waking up, brushing their teeth, getting the bus to school, eating fish and rice for breakfast in contrast to breakfast biscuits and jam.
They also tell us about their school, interests and aspirations, as well as the busiest areas of the city.
Together the two children’s lives highlight the cultural and geographical similarities and differences of two distinct places.
This clip was first broadcast as part of the series Your World.
Teacher Notes
Pupils could make lists of the similarities and differences between Tokyo and London.
Can they name some of the human geographical features they see in the clip?
Pupils could locate London and Tokyo and you could lead a discussion on different modes of transport around cities.
This clip is relevant for teaching Geography at KS1 and KS2 in England, Progression Step 2 and 3 in Wales, Early and 1st level and 2nd Level in Scotland and Foundation and KS1 in Northern Ireland.
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