Part 1-Fabric of Society
The societal fabric that seems to be prevalent in Tokyo these days from the point of view of an outsider is one of duality, of separate domain. Tokyo seems to run on a separation of male and female activities more then any city in America and many in Europe. The daytime locations in Tokyo and the surrounding districts is largely a female focused endeavor. With countless shops and brand named fashion outlets much of Tokyo seems to make it’s consumer sales from women with even some entire districts seemingly devoted to massive stretches of big ticket fashion clothing, accessories, cosmetics & heath care as is the case with Harajuku and parts of Shibuya.
The nighttime is as opposite as it can get by and large. Many shops close early in comparison (20:00-21:00) and the ones that stay open or even open only at night are focused largely on the Japanese male.
With the massive grouping of love hotels (glitzy and outlandish hotels that charge by the hour) and a smattering of soaplands, pink salons & fashion salons mixed in. Not to mention the many bars, nightclubs & for the sake of British gaijin and their American/Australian friends high cost pubs with football and rugby from Europe playing nonstop (except with Japaneses commentators instead of English). There is no lack of distractions once the sun goes down.
Aside from the majority of retail that is focused on one sex or the other the rest of Tokyo is focused locally and serviced by small privately owned stores. A style which gives it the dense overcrowded completely new store around every corner fun that you come to expect after only a few hours of walking but makes it highly susceptible to a focused brand name with a store in each district you would come to appreciate after searching for an hour or more to find someone that sells decongestant. 
Something which can been seen in action right now with the 2 hour line craze for the one and only Krispy Kreme donuts in all of Tokyo at the Train terrace in Shinjuku (something many people thought would be a flop but is very much not so). The duality of Tokyo may be deep rooted and may not change in the next decade or it may be seeing the end of the 800-1000 sq ft store in light of Brand name mass appeal gender neutral competition. Either way whatever the outcome Tokyo will most assuredly do it with a flair that is unique to the enjoyable controlled chaos that is the modern day Tokyo.
